1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,060 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:40,760 for the life we're searching for. We're so glad you're here with us this morning. 6 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,200 You know, I've noticed a statement that we make from time to time and the statement is 7 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:51,160 some things never change. Have you ever said something like that? Some things never change. 8 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:54,920 That's the subject of what we're talking about today. Please take your Bibles and turn to 9 00:00:54,920 --> 00:01:01,880 Genesis chapter 9 today. Today we'll finish this series called Finding God in Chaos. 10 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,680 And we've been walking through the book of Genesis. We spent time in the fall looking 11 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,320 at the origin series, which was the first three chapters of the book of Genesis. And 12 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,160 if you want to go back and review some of those, you'll be able to see those online. 13 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:20,480 And then we moved into finding God in the chaos that mankind created on the other side 14 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,560 of the Garden of Eden when man sent. So we've been in this series for about four or five 15 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:31,040 weeks. We'll complete it today with a look at the fact that some things never change. 16 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,200 So Genesis chapter 9 today, beginning in verse 1. About a year ago, my wife and I took a 17 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:42,600 trip to Colorado and we enjoy driving. So we drove to Colorado and one day we decided 18 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,720 to get on a road called the Trail Ridge Road. Don't know if you've ever heard that, but 19 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:53,320 the Trail Ridge Road is a road that rides across most of the major peaks in Rocky Mountain 20 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:58,800 National Park. In fact, as you drive on Trail Ridge Road, you're normally at 12,000 feet 21 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:05,760 above sea level. Getting near mountain peaks that are almost 14,000 feet above sea level. 22 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:11,760 There are four major peaks that are on that Trail Ridge Drive that are around 14,000 feet. 23 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:17,960 From the upper perspective, 14,000 feet is about halfway of the height that you fly when 24 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:22,600 you're flying in a jet airplane from one place to another. We're talking about way up on 25 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:27,880 the mountaintops that we are driving. And those four major peaks are incredibly beautiful 26 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:33,680 and unforgettable. And as we drove through that mountain range, we realized that what 27 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:39,340 we were at is an epic spot in all of North America and we just couldn't forget those 28 00:02:39,340 --> 00:02:43,040 four mountain peaks. There's a whole lot of terrain that we did forget about, but not 29 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:48,960 those four mountain peaks. I want to talk to you about four mountain peaks of truth, 30 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,700 four things that never change, four truths in the scripture today that will stand out 31 00:02:53,700 --> 00:02:58,960 as mountain peaks in your life. And when you're old, you'll look back and you'll say, some 32 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:04,100 things never change. And those four things that I'm going to mention today are among 33 00:03:04,100 --> 00:03:09,200 those things that never change. Genesis chapter 9 beginning in verse 1, let's stand together 34 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:16,680 as we read God's word. Genesis chapter 9 beginning in verse 1. Now this is the setting 35 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:23,840 of Noah coming out of the ark. And as Noah comes out of the ark to the land that now 36 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:30,120 is dry and the seas and the waters have abated, God is speaking to Noah. Here it is in verse 37 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:36,040 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill 38 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:41,200 the earth. That's the first command. The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every 39 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:46,000 beast of the earth, on every bird of the sky, with everything that creeps on the ground 40 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,440 and all the fish of the sea into your hands they are given. Every moving thing that is 41 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:56,760 alive shall be the food for you. I give all to you as I gave the green plant. Only you 42 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,720 shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood. Surely I will require your life 43 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,720 blood from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother 44 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:13,960 I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall be shed 45 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:21,020 for in the image of God he made man. As for you be fruitful and multiply, populate the 46 00:04:21,020 --> 00:04:27,620 earth abundantly and multiply in it. Let's pray today. Father thank you so much for this 47 00:04:27,620 --> 00:04:32,840 text and the many others we'll look at today. Thank you for your word. Thank you for clarifying, 48 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:38,600 revealing to us that there are some things in life that will not change. And we need 49 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:43,920 to know about these things in order to navigate them and in order to know what the rescue 50 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:49,520 from them is like. Father today speak to each of us in Jesus name. All God's people said. 51 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:56,400 Amen. Please be seated. Now the four points I give you today are four points that are 52 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:01,720 what I call mountain peaks as I've said. And four chapters of history in this era we'll 53 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:07,520 cover many years today as we finalize this series and work through the life of Noah and 54 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,600 those that followed him. And it comes in four major points and after I make those points 55 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,520 I'm going to share with you what the mountain peak of that truth is. What the thing is that 56 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,160 never changes. So first of all let's look at the command. The command is what we start 57 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:28,040 with in verse one and two. God says to Noah be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 58 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:32,320 The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every 59 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:39,560 bird of the sky. Now there are two things happening here in this text. One is to multiply 60 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,760 and the other is to fill the earth. Now you would think that would be obvious right? Do 61 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,120 you know how many people come off of that ark? Do you remember anybody remember how 62 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:53,480 many there are? There are eight people on the planet earth at that moment. Noah and 63 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:59,320 his wife, his three sons and their wife. That's all. The animals that came off came off with 64 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:04,160 these eight people and now this whole globe as we know it now and the condition it's in 65 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,560 now with all the land mass and all the seas and the mountains and the valleys as we know 66 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:13,800 it now only eight people on the planet. So it seems to me that that's an obvious command 67 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:19,680 to start with. You need to multiply. You need to have more people. You need to grow and 68 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:26,680 replenish and dissipate across the earth. Be everywhere on the earth. So that's an obvious 69 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:33,400 command but that's what he gives Noah. And so as they began to do that, realized that 70 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,760 the environment is not the same as it was in the Garden of Eden. There was harmony in 71 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:42,320 the Garden of Eden. Remember the harmony that was there? The harmony between Adam and Eve 72 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:47,480 and all of the animals. But as we pick up Noah's life and what happens afterwards, there's 73 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:54,280 no harmony there. In fact, the word terror is used. There is all kinds of opposition in 74 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:59,320 the animals, among the animals and man. And so we have this statement that's made that 75 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:04,000 there's potential conflict all the way through creation. Remember what happens now. Adam 76 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,920 and Eve in the Garden lived in perfect harmony, took matters into their own hands, felt the 77 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:15,680 temptation and sin. The result was sinful mankind. Their son Cain and Abel, the other 78 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:23,040 son, had conflict. Cain killed Abel. Seth was born. Then mankind began to multiply to 79 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:28,640 the point where God says the evil and the wickedness in every heart is so much that 80 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,540 I'm going to wipe them off the face of the earth. That's how we got to the ark. And that's 81 00:07:32,540 --> 00:07:38,760 why God judged the earth. So now when we look at Noah and his life on the other side of 82 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:44,480 the ark, we're looking at the fact that the world is not living in perfect harmony. After 83 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:50,560 the floods, God reminds Noah his primary work and his purpose is not through the animals, 84 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:55,440 but God will work through the man. For instance, if you look at verse six, and this is a key 85 00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:00,000 point that I want to make out for you today, the Bible says, whoever sheds man's blood 86 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:06,800 by man his blood shall be shed for in the image of God, he made him. Now I want you 87 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:12,160 to stop and pause for just a moment and look at the fact, the truth of this statement. 88 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:18,320 Man is unique among all of the creatures that God created and his life is to be protected. 89 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:24,200 That's what this says. From conception onward, God values the life of mankind. As a matter 90 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:29,560 of fact, this verse is the verse that is the basis for the death penalty for those that 91 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:35,240 are familiar with it today. Even though even more so, animals that take the life of a human 92 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:41,280 being are also to be put to death in nearly every culture. And all that points to one 93 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:45,400 undeniable truth, and this is Mountain Peak number one. Mountain Peak number one is that 94 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:53,000 God values the life of every human being above all else in creation. Now I'm an animal lover. 95 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,280 I have pets at home. I've always loved animals. I think animals are so beautiful. I think 96 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,880 some of these animals, some of these creatures, we don't deserve them. They love us so much 97 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:07,540 and they're so faithful to us. But God does not value animals as much as he values human 98 00:09:07,540 --> 00:09:14,120 beings. You are of infinite more worth to God than any animal on the planet. And it 99 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:19,000 doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are. It doesn't matter if you are a child 100 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:24,040 that's been conceived and not yet born, God values you. It doesn't matter if you're 90 101 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:30,160 years old and don't feel that you can contribute to life anymore, God values you. It doesn't 102 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,800 matter what color you are or what ethnicity you're a part of. It doesn't matter what group 103 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:40,920 you are with or what family you're from. God values you, male or female. God values you. 104 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:47,240 And the Mountain Peak of truth here is that you are made and created in the image of God. 105 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:52,560 Now why would God need to reinforce that? Why would he need to stress that again? Well 106 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:57,880 he needs to stress that because the flood was a moment where God said, my spirit will 107 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:02,960 not strive with mankind anymore. He is so wicked, so evil that I'm going to wipe them 108 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,880 off the face of the earth except for Noah and his family. And now God on the other side 109 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:12,360 of the flood says, man still has the image of God in him. As wicked as we're capable 110 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:17,840 of being, we still also have the capability of knowing God. Let me tell you something 111 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:23,860 today. You're of great value to God and God records death in the words of scripture so 112 00:10:23,860 --> 00:10:28,480 that you might know and so that you might remember. So Mountain Peak number one, God 113 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:35,120 values the life of every human being. Now as we walk through this text, you'll notice 114 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:41,640 some other things that are happening. So you're going to see that the, for the first time 115 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:48,200 mankind is told that he can eat anything on the planet. For example, in Genesis chapter 116 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,800 nine verse three it says every living thing that is alive shall be food for you, which 117 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:59,580 makes many, many people in the room happy because we like to eat meat or we're hunters 118 00:10:59,580 --> 00:11:04,080 and we like to hunt. Now I said this in the earlier service and nobody laughed, nobody 119 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:09,200 thought this was funny, but I know people who can quote Genesis chapter nine verse three 120 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:16,400 better than they can John 3 16 because they want God's approval upon their hunting prowess. 121 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:22,120 But the reality is God values us so highly that everything else is expendable in the 122 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:28,840 eyes of God. It's also important to note that heaven is for humans, for mankind. Will there 123 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:33,080 be animals in heaven? Maybe, but not much is mentioned about that in heaven. But what 124 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:38,280 you need to remember is God does mention that people will be in heaven and that we are valued 125 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:43,360 by God above all else on the planet. Keep that in mind. You are valuable, far above 126 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:49,800 any other creature that God has created. Somebody say amen. I mean, we're talking about you 127 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:56,800 from up here. You are valuable. You are loved by God. And as we walk into this mountain 128 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,900 peak truth, you need to remember that in spite of sin, in spite of the flood, in spite of 129 00:12:01,900 --> 00:12:08,440 all the evil, wicked things that mankind did, God still has a plan for man and this will 130 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:14,800 never change. God will always love people. You know, when I read the Bible, I find these 131 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:19,840 verses popping up and reminding me of just how much God loves me and how much God loves 132 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,840 you. Let me share a few of those verses with you. Jeremiah chapter 31 3. I have loved you 133 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:31,760 with an everlasting love. Therefore I've drawn you with loving kindness. That was God speaking 134 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:39,720 to Israel. John 3.16. Jesus says about the whole world, for God so loved the world that 135 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:44,360 he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have 136 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:49,680 everlasting life or eternal life. That's the love of God. That's the compassion of God 137 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:53,760 that's very apparent from the beginning and that will never change no matter what you 138 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:59,700 do, no matter what mankind does, God still loves mankind. Mountain peak number one, some 139 00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:06,720 things never change. You are loved and valued by God and always will be. You need to keep 140 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:12,400 that in your mind. Keep it in your mind when you're feeling low because you've blown it. 141 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,400 Keep that in mind when you've done something that seems like it's so despicable that God 142 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:21,240 couldn't possibly love you. Keep that in your mind when your own self-image is so tattered, 143 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:26,480 so torn, so beat up that you wonder how could God love me. When you see your imperfections, 144 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,920 when you see all the ways that you fail, when you and I see those kinds of things in our 145 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:36,560 lives we need to be reminded that as imperfect as we are, God still loves us, God still values 146 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:41,880 us, God still has a plan for us. This is not the preacher telling you this, this is the 147 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:47,920 word of God that tells you this. This is what God records in the Bible. Mountain peak number 148 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:54,440 one, it'll never change. God will always love people. As we move through the text we also 149 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:00,880 see a second key point in a key mountain top. I call this point the covenant, the covenant 150 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:06,880 because in verse 16, actually verses eight through 17 but specifically verse 16 we see 151 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:13,880 God refer to a covenant. Notice what it says in verse 16. When the bow is in the cloud, 152 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:20,700 that would be the rainbow, then I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant. 153 00:14:20,700 --> 00:14:26,520 See that phrase? The everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh 154 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:30,720 that is on the earth. By the way, this is the first time the word covenant is used in 155 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:37,240 the Bible. It's actually used seven times from verse eight to verse 17. So God is saying 156 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:41,520 over and over, this is my covenant, this is the covenant that I have with you. You say, 157 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:47,640 well what's a covenant? A covenant is an eternal promise. The eternal promise is that in spite 158 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:52,920 of the judgment of the earth through the flood, God will never again flood the earth and he 159 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:59,920 puts this natural phenomena in the sky to remind us of his eternal covenant with us. 160 00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:05,440 Think about the rainbow. We've got a few pictures up here and you look at that rainbow, whatever 161 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:10,000 context you were in, maybe you were in either sea when you saw this, maybe we were in the 162 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:16,280 mountains and you saw a rainbow. Whatever form that took, you saw a rainbow that you 163 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:21,280 may or may not have known the meaning of, but you saw it very clearly in the sky. Something 164 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,440 you couldn't even explain how it was there. You couldn't really scientifically explain 165 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:30,040 how all that worked even though there are explanations out there, but sometimes it appears 166 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:34,920 and sometimes it doesn't and yet all of us have seen it. I'm going to take a quick poll 167 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,880 in the room. Are you ready? How many of you have seen, how many in this room have seen 168 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:42,200 a rainbow with their own eyes? Would you raise your hand if you've seen a rainbow with your 169 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,700 own eyes? All right, some of you have not seen a rainbow with your own eyes? Are you 170 00:15:45,700 --> 00:15:52,120 blind or have you just not seen it? I mean, are you not looking up? Most of us have seen 171 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:58,320 a rainbow with our own eyes. Now let me say this. The reason God allows people to see 172 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,880 rainbows is to remember his promise so that you would remember his everlasting covenant 173 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:09,880 with mankind and in spite of sin, God's graciousness is still there. In fact, this is the mountaintop 174 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:16,280 of this particular point. The rainbow was a reminder of a gracious God who is all loving, 175 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:22,000 all powerful and forgiving. Every time you see that rainbow, it's a personal reminder 176 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:29,000 to you that God is all powerful, that God is loving, that God is forgiving. Some things 177 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:36,320 never change and this never changes. No matter how far you feel from God, that rainbow is 178 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:43,320 there to remind you. Now imagine how the early people of the earth saw that rainbow. And 179 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,480 remember how reassuring that must have been to them. The last time it rained in most of 180 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:53,080 their lives, the flood occurred, right? Or the stories they heard from Noah onward were, 181 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:57,920 when it rains, when it rains big, then the flood will happen and everybody will die. 182 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,280 And God says, no, that's not going to happen. Not going to happen again. I've already judged 183 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,400 the earth and now I'm putting this eternal covenant in the sky so that you'll know it'll 184 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:13,080 never happen again. My response to mankind, no matter how wicked he may be, is with graciousness 185 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:19,120 and love and forgiveness when they turn to me. So it's important when you see that rainbow 186 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:25,720 to know that it will never again flood, that God will not again wipe all of mankind off 187 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:31,760 the earth through flood. And this is an eternal image for us. It's constantly in the sky, 188 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,440 it's constantly reminding you that God is speaking to you. Sometimes people say, you 189 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,520 know, I've never heard God speak. Open your eyes and look at a rainbow and God's speaking 190 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:47,360 to you. But not only then, God speaks through all kinds of things that he has created to 191 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:52,840 be reminders to us. When I watch the sun rise and when I watch the sun fall, just as the 192 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:58,040 scripture refers to this, we're reminded of the faithfulness of God. No matter how long 193 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:03,200 the night or how difficult it is, the morning's gonna come and the sun's coming up. And at 194 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,680 the end of the day, it will go down. The faithfulness of God is what that should remind us of. Have 195 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:13,200 you ever seen an eclipse? And when you see the eclipse and the sun darken for just a 196 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:18,480 moment, it's a reminder to anticipate the last times when the sun will grow dark, when 197 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,880 Christ comes back. It reminds us that God is in control and he speaks to us from the 198 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:30,120 signs that he's placed in the universe. Or what about the stars and the constellations? 199 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:34,360 They're a reminder that God is a creative God. He knows the name of every star, the Bible 200 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:41,560 says, and he's arranged them in such a way to remind us of his design. Or what about 201 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:46,820 the seas? Where the seashore comes up to a certain place and stops right there. Instead 202 00:18:46,820 --> 00:18:52,120 of overrunning everything, it almost always stops right there. The book of Job says, where 203 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:56,840 were you when I created the seas? When I said to the proud waves, this far you shall come 204 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:03,360 and no more. I, the Lord, did that. Man, you just look around you, you see God speaking 205 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:09,640 to you. You can see God reminding you of his love and his passion and his power. So mountaintop 206 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:15,480 number two has to do with the fact that God is all powerful and he's gracious and he's 207 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:24,040 loving and he's forgiving and this will never change. This will never change. Psalm 103 is 208 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,720 one of those great passages in the Bible that reminds us so much of all that God does for 209 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:33,920 us. I'm going to read part of this passage. It says, the Lord is compassionate and gracious, 210 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:39,880 slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. He will not always strive with us. That's 211 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:46,040 a word that was used when God judged mankind. My spirit will not always strive with man, 212 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:50,600 he says. He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. He has 213 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:56,560 not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For 214 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:02,640 as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his loving kindness towards those 215 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:09,040 who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions 216 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:16,040 from us. What an incredible passage that describes the amazing love of God and the amazing grace 217 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:21,360 of God for those of us who fear him. Isn't that powerful? Isn't it amazing to go to 218 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:27,320 Psalm 103 and realize that there are so many benefits in knowing God. In fact, Psalm 103 219 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:33,680 begins by saying, forget not the benefits of God. That we have this mountain peak of 220 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,780 a reminder in the rainbow and the character of God spelled out in the Bible. When you 221 00:20:38,780 --> 00:20:44,480 see the rainbow, think of grace. Think of his mercy. Think of his loving kindness. The 222 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:50,360 rainbow will perpetually be in the sky to remind us of how God, how kind God is and 223 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:55,040 every generation is going to see it. Now you just imagine how many times the rainbow has 224 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:59,680 been seen since Noah's day. I've seen it, my children have seen it, my parents have 225 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,200 seen it, my grandparents have seen it, my great grandparents have seen it and on and 226 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:11,200 on and on. God is perpetually reminding us of his goodness and his grace. But you know, 227 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:16,860 when we die, when you and I die, when we spend our eternity with God, we'll also see a rainbow 228 00:21:16,860 --> 00:21:23,860 in heaven. Did you know that? In the book of Revelation chapter 4 verse 2 and 3, as 229 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:29,440 the Bible says, a throne was standing in heaven and one sitting on the throne and there was 230 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:36,440 a rainbow around the throne. What a powerful reminder of God's grace, God's love in the 231 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:42,120 heavens. So here's the mountain peak. God is loving and God is gracious for those who 232 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:46,880 fear him. It's such an important mountain top for our lives. Some things never change. 233 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:53,880 That never changes and aren't you glad? Then the third key to the scripture is the curse, 234 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,960 the curse. If you'll go to verse 20 to 22, you'll find one of the most embarrassing stories 235 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,320 in the Bible. And one of the things I love about scripture is that even though sometimes 236 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:08,320 the characters of the Bible embarrass themselves by their sin and all the things that they 237 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:13,680 did, God still records that so that we can learn from their lessons. I'm grateful for 238 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:19,960 that. But here we have Noah. Noah, the man who found grace in the eyes of God, the man 239 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:26,600 whom God used to build this monstrous ark by which he saved mankind. Noah makes a tremendous 240 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:31,120 mistake. Look at what it says in verse 20. Then Noah began farming and planting and vineyard. 241 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:37,000 He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself in his tent. Ham, the father 242 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:43,840 of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his brothers outside. What an embarrassing 243 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:49,160 story. Even great people like Noah embarrass themselves by sin. And even after the flood 244 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:55,040 when he knew how God dealt with sin and the wickedness, when the wickedness of sin had 245 00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:00,480 been removed in the fact that all mankind's been blotted out, then these eight people 246 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:07,680 unfortunately, still have the nature of sin residing inside of every one of them. You 247 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:12,720 know, that is the thing that never changes about humanity. We'll always be sinners until 248 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,840 we're rescued by Christ. You remember what it says in Genesis chapter 8 verse 21, the 249 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:23,420 intent of man's heart is evil from his youth. Now I'd like to think that man gets better 250 00:23:23,420 --> 00:23:28,200 year after year. I'd like to think that we evolve into better creatures after time. But 251 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,880 I look around me today and I don't think we've evolved very far in terms of being better 252 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:36,320 creatures on the planet. Do you? I mean, do you have any evidence that we're getting better? 253 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:42,360 The reality is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us have. 254 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:47,080 One thing never changes and that is that we'll all deal with sin at some point in our lives 255 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:55,400 and sin will always bring destruction, just like it did in Noah's life. So this man, Noah, 256 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:01,880 was used by God to rescue mankind and he demonstrates that anyone at any time, no matter who we 257 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:08,880 are, can sin. And in this case, Noah's drunkenness leads to shame and that shame leads to Ham's 258 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:13,920 mockery, his son's mockery. And when the others heard that they covered Noah up, but Noah 259 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:21,440 knew that Ham and his son Canaan had mocked him and ultimately Noah cursed them. The outcome 260 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:27,120 of all that was that it prophesied the future of what we know as the Canaanites today. He 261 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:33,000 were enslaved to false gods and atrocious sin. Now sin always creates a human mess, 262 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,120 no matter who does it. So here's the mountain peak that we need to realize. The mountain 263 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:43,760 peak is sin will always destroy. Though we need to be reminded of the domino effect of 264 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:48,840 the first sin, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, walking in perfect innocence and 265 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:55,440 harmony with God. And yet when the temptation comes, they give in to temptation. They find 266 00:24:55,440 --> 00:25:01,720 themselves separated from God by their sin and the domino effect of that was incredible. 267 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:08,160 God says, curses the ground. God tells them that they will find cursing in their future 268 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:13,520 as well. They had their first children, Cain and Abel. Cain rose up and killed Abel. I 269 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:18,440 mean it just keeps on going. The domino effect just keeps on going. Eventually they're cast 270 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:24,160 out of the Garden of Eden and the result is what proceeds to flood. Sin always begets 271 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:29,920 sin. Sin always impacts other people. It will ultimately destroy. That's a mountain peak 272 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:35,800 that you and I need to remember and that never changes. That never changes. When I was in 273 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:44,320 high school, our principal set up or arranged for a vehicle, a car, that had been in a horrific 274 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:48,960 accident to be placed near the front door of the school. For about a week we would go 275 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:54,520 out from the high school and see that car. It was a car that was in a wreck that we were 276 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:58,840 very aware of, took the lives of human beings. We knew the story. So every time you looked 277 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:04,080 at the car you were reminded of the whole story of what happened. Because what happened 278 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,800 was someone drank that led to drunkenness which led to a catastrophic car wreck, which 279 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,800 led to the death of the driver and the grief of his family, which also led to the death 280 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:20,000 of the two in the other car who were parents and left their children parentless. You couldn't 281 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:26,280 help but look at that car and say, wow, what a domino effect of sin. We walked away being 282 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:33,200 impressed by how costly sin is. But that's the point of this text with Noah. Sin is a 283 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:39,440 curse that affects many people and requires the grace of God to rescue us from it. Some 284 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:45,280 things never change. And that thing that never changes is that sin is always destructive 285 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:51,480 and always leads to the need to be rescued. When you're old and gray, when you're at 286 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:57,600 the end of your life, you'll say, some things never change. Sin always destroys. Then we 287 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:04,920 get to point number four, point number four, the conflict, the conflict. In Genesis chapter 288 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:11,160 10 verse five, we find the after effects of the tower of Babel and God's judgment on 289 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:16,440 that tower of Babel. And here's what it says in Genesis 10 five, from these the coastlands 290 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:21,040 of the nations were separated into their lands. Everyone according to his language, according 291 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:27,340 to their families into their nations. Now stay with me for just a moment. When you read 292 00:27:27,340 --> 00:27:33,440 Genesis 10 and 11, you'll realize that by chapter 11, you're looking at the story of 293 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:39,340 the tower of Babel, which the Bible goes into great detail for. But it's going back to comment 294 00:27:39,340 --> 00:27:44,840 on chapter 10 verse five, which tells the result of the tower of Babel. Now the Bible 295 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:49,520 does this from time to time. For example, we walk through Genesis chapter one and we 296 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:54,220 saw the overview of creation. We looked at chapter two and we dove into the creation 297 00:27:54,220 --> 00:28:01,200 of mankind in particular and specifically. So Genesis two commented on the result of 298 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:06,640 Genesis one. That's what's happening here. But if you summarize Genesis 10 and 11, the 299 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:13,080 verse I read says that right there, that the overview is a divided group of languages and 300 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:18,440 the details of the tower of Babel are to follow. Now that's the story of a massive conflict. 301 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:24,080 Let me tell the story for you. There was someone named Nimrod in the Bible who's quite a figure 302 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:30,440 and you find him in chapter nine, 10 and 11 of the book of Genesis. Nimrod was a warrior 303 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:35,560 of men. He's a hunter of men. You'll read it in your Bible that he's a great hunter, 304 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,760 but he was greatly respected, but he was a hunter of men. Not many people were on the 305 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:45,840 planet, but this man was one who hunted men down and who somehow caused them to serve 306 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:52,120 him in a variety of ways. That's the story of a massive conflict here. He's a city builder 307 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,880 and he actually builds the city of Babel, which we now know as the city of Babylon. 308 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:02,560 You find that in Genesis chapter nine. So here's the story unfolding. Nimrod, this man, 309 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:07,240 rallies the people to settle in one place, which is an ambition that God did not give 310 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:16,240 him. God did not say to do that. Nimrod represents man's plans without God. Man's plans without 311 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:21,520 God. Whenever I see Nimrod in his story, I think of all of us that have ambition to want 312 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:27,000 to do what we want to do and they are plans that God did not make and you see it perpetually 313 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,320 in life. You see it all around us, but I want you to see exactly what happened and how he 314 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:37,480 built this tower and what God did. So now we turn to Genesis chapter 11 for that detailed 315 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:44,760 look. By the way, at this point, mankind is 100 years past Noah and there are approximately 316 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:50,360 a thousand people on the planet. We're still not talking about a lot of people on a big 317 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:56,480 planet called earth. If you read Genesis 11, one, it says this, now the whole earth used 318 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,800 the same language and the same words. It came about that as they journeyed the east, that 319 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,240 they found a plane in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, come 320 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,840 let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. And they use brick for stone. They use tar 321 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:15,280 for mortar. They said, come let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top will 322 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:21,400 reach into heaven and let us make for ourselves a name. Otherwise we will be scattered abroad 323 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:26,760 over the face of the earth, which by the way is what God said to do. All right. Now you 324 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:31,800 see the specifics of what happened, the results of Genesis chapter 10, but let's take a 325 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:36,720 look for a moment. Just imagine if we had a thousand people in the room today and we're 326 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:41,560 not far from that. Would you imagine that we could build a city that reached into heaven? 327 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:45,000 I mean, just look around you. Do you look like you're sitting next to someone that can 328 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,160 build a city that reaches into heaven? I mean, I think about this and I think a thousand 329 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:53,320 people and we build a city that reaches into heaven. Can we really do that? There must 330 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:58,720 have been some incredible motivation behind these people because they begin to build this 331 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:03,860 tower that we know as the tower of Babel. Now what's going on here? What makes this 332 00:31:03,860 --> 00:31:09,680 man strike out and do his own thing apart from God? Well, I think he's motivated by 333 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,200 fear. It may be that they're building this tower because they're afraid that God will 334 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:19,920 flood the earth again and that they'll all die. In which case they're not believing 335 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:25,240 the rainbow, not believing the promise and everlasting covenant of God. Or it may be 336 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:31,320 as the text says, they simply have this desire, this ambition to make a name for ourselves, 337 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:38,040 to build a city that reaches into heaven because we want to do it right here and right now. 338 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,560 And part of this is God said, be scattered and go to all the ends of the earth. And then 339 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:46,760 the emirate says, along with the people, we're going to stay right here on the plans of Shinar. 340 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,840 The pastor, why are you building this story up in this way? Because I want you to see 341 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:59,980 what happens when man has his own plans in contrast to God's plans. The Bible says in 342 00:31:59,980 --> 00:32:05,400 Genesis chapter 11, God sees what they're building and says, come, let us go down and 343 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,360 let us destroy this city, confound their language and scatter them across the face of the earth, 344 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:15,280 which was God's plan for them in the first place. I read the story of the tower of Babel 345 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:21,200 and I am reminded that my plans are nothing if they're not in alignment with God's plans. 346 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,440 When I read the story of Memron, I think I shouldn't be too ambitious and you shouldn't 347 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:30,680 be too ambitious. We should know what God wants us to do and come into alignment with 348 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:36,720 that and that above all else. So here's the mountain peak. The mountain peak that you're 349 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:43,600 going to remember is that when we plan our life without God, we regret it to the end. 350 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,920 Some things never change though. And those some things that never change is we're always 351 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,840 going to have our own ambition. We always want to build our own way. We always want 352 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:57,520 to go our own direction. Sometimes in contrast to God. And the thing that never changes is 353 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:02,960 God at some point will bring it all back to the starting place. I know this in my life. 354 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,720 I've been back to the starting place a number of times. I may even be well intentioned and 355 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:12,760 sincere in what I want to do in life. But the bottom line is God has a plan for my life 356 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:17,280 and he wants me to be in alignment with him and hear him and follow him in every way I 357 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:23,680 possibly can. And when I do that, I find my life to be filled with harmony, harmonious 358 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,760 and I have the blessing of God in my life. But when I go my own way, the way Memron and 359 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:32,680 these people were, I always find my plans frustrated in some way. And I've learned that 360 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:37,640 some things never change. Build life on your own, you're going to be frustrated. It's going 361 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:44,480 to come down. When you build your life without God, then we regret it in the end. I just 362 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:50,360 wonder what are you planning to build? What are you planning to do? Are you including 363 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:56,400 God in that or are you not? Because some things never change. So four mountaintops that we've 364 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,000 looked at today that are accompanied by that statement, some things never change. Here 365 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:07,880 they are again. God will always value mankind. That's number one. Number two, God will continually 366 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:14,280 remind us of his love and his grace. Number three, his sin will always hurt us and those 367 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:21,680 around us. And number four, our plans will always fail if we progress without God. God 368 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:30,680 has so much more for us than we could possibly imagine for ourselves. So four peaks of history. 369 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:37,560 Four mountaintops that never change. But look beyond those things and you see something 370 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:43,240 else. It's another mountain. It's not as high as each other's mountains. In fact, we call 371 00:34:43,240 --> 00:34:50,240 it a hill. It's called a hill of Calvary where Jesus Christ died on a cross. And the reason 372 00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:55,580 I want you to see that is because in the same way some things never change, the answer never 373 00:34:55,580 --> 00:35:01,000 changes either. And the answer is always going to be Jesus Christ. It's always going to be 374 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:06,560 Jesus Christ that expresses God's love and God's value to you. Always going to be Jesus 375 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:12,520 Christ that shows you the eternal everlasting covenant of love and forgiveness. Always going 376 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:17,800 to be Jesus Christ that's the answer to the sin that destroys us. Always Jesus Christ 377 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:22,480 is the answer to those plans we have that go awry because they're not God's plans. We 378 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:28,040 run to Jesus, he brings us back to where we need to be. That hill is bigger than all those 379 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:33,560 other mountain peaks because it's the hill upon which Jesus Christ died and then was 380 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:39,280 buried then rose again the third day. What an incredible God we have. But he takes those 381 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:45,760 things that never change and he becomes the answer for us when we find ourselves in those 382 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,520 places doing those things. There's a verse in the New Testament that I love to share. 383 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:56,320 It's in Romans chapter five, verse eight and nine. Listen to this. That God demonstrates 384 00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:04,080 his own love, his own love for us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 385 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:11,200 us. Much more than have him been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath 386 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:18,760 of God through him. Jesus is the answer. You know, you look at these mountain tops of truth 387 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:25,960 and you wonder sometimes about how it is and what it's like to be in the target of God's 388 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:31,880 wrath. But the answer to that question is Jesus Christ. He became the target of God's wrath. 389 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:37,080 He paid the price for us so that we could have the forgiveness and the grace that God 390 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:42,880 promises. And there's one thing that never changes is Jesus will always invite you to 391 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:50,080 come to him, that it be your Lord, your savior, your master, your guide, the one who can do 392 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:55,800 everything in your life. I want you to consider today the decision that you need to make. 393 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:00,360 You see these four mountain tops of truth we've talked about today. You see these things 394 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:05,000 that never change and you probably recognize different anchor points in your life that 395 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:09,560 align with them. Maybe you find yourself building something you shouldn't be building. Maybe 396 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:13,760 you find yourself moving in a direction you shouldn't move. Maybe you're considering 397 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:20,560 sin and you think that sin has no other consequences and you forget the domino effect of sin. Or 398 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,840 maybe you think you've done something and God cannot forgive you. Look up in the sky. 399 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:30,240 Look at the rainbow and the testimony of the rainbow will contradict what you feel because 400 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:36,720 it will say, no, God is cutting an everlasting covenant with mankind and that means grace 401 00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:42,560 for you. You see it's really important that you know that God is for you and God wants 402 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:48,880 to take your life and do things you never imagined he could do. But it takes the willingness 403 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:52,600 to let him do it. It takes surrender. And I want to encourage you today to make that 404 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:57,840 decision to surrender to him. It might be you need to surrender for salvation. You may 405 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:02,560 need just to simply say, I'm going to give my life to Jesus because he gave his life 406 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:06,960 to me. And we want to talk to you about that if you're ready to make that decision. We 407 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:12,120 have what we call decision stations. And the number one thing I'm asking you to do today 408 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:18,440 is to go by that decision station and talk to someone about what it means to have a relationship 409 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:23,000 with Jesus Christ, to have him be the answer for your life. A second invite I'll give 410 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,800 you is to come to guest reception room right outside the center exit door if you're a 411 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:31,080 guest and you want to know more about our church, I would love to talk to you further, 412 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:35,520 meet you personally. It's right outside the center doors and across the hallway. A last 413 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:40,520 thing I ask of you is go and invite someone to come back with you. We want to have an 414 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:45,080 invite cluster where people know you can come here and hear the Word of God. You can also 415 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:49,280 come here, bring friends and they can hear the good news of Jesus Christ. We have so 416 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:55,160 much good news that we share every single week. I invite you to invite others. Would 417 00:38:55,160 --> 00:39:03,400 you stand with me as I close in prayer today? Father, I am so very thankful for all that 418 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:09,920 you do for us through Jesus. I thank you that you're the answer, Lord, that these things 419 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:16,600 that never change really are all answered by Jesus Christ on the cross. Father, for 420 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:22,880 those in the room today, many of us are at the point of needing to make decisions, decisions 421 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:30,600 about how we'll live, who we'll trust, decisions about the power of sin in our lives and whether 422 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:36,280 we're willing to ignore the damage that may be taking place. Lord, today I just pray that 423 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:41,080 you move people. Move them and lead them by your Holy Spirit to talk to someone at the 424 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:47,140 decision station, to have further conversations later on today. Lord, we just come to you 425 00:39:47,140 --> 00:39:52,360 as people who need you. Thank you so much for being there for us. We ask this in Jesus' 426 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,440 name. Amen. God bless.