Failed Reboot

Today on Summit line pastor Jeannie Greer talks about Noah's Ark slide was God's leading teaching of creation. But this reboot is going to fail not because God field. Of course, but because God was flying through that failure to demonstrate something to cause about the human race and what it was going to require.

If you were going to fix or repair of the human rights Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Arthur and legend JD Greer. As always, I'm your host Molly benefits were so glad you join us for another week of working our way through God's word here in the program and I bet if you asked a few people to name their favorite aspects of God's character.

You probably hear things like his love for his grace and his wrath anyone come up with that one. That probably wouldn't be at the top of anyone's list. But today Pastor JD explains that God's wrath isn't something to be covered up ignored or minimized is actually an important beautiful part God is and will see why that is, as we unpack the story of Noah's Ark. Let's get started. Pastor Jeannie titled this message fail the story of Noah and B are you list all three Bible stories that everybody in America knows about the story of Noah and the ark would always make a list probably the biggest irony about the story is that we have turned into a cute little bedtime story. I am let you know incoming animals to bow to the hippopotamus on the kangaroo work. Some like that public payment is a mural over her baby's crib is this cuddly little bedtime image on the irony is that this is not really a kid friendly story at all. It is an incredible story, but I think by the end of this message, I might have convinced you that this story may not be the best one to suit your cobbler to sleep each night. It is a story about a catastrophic global flood.

God sends the kill every living thing. Noah's Ark is going to bring up a lot of questions for people questions like how could a good God do something like this or maybe they are historical questions like you know when it says the whole world was flooded.

Does that mean literally the whole world was that just a figure of speech for the known world at the time. Or maybe it's just curiosity. Questions like they found Noah's Ark, I saw some guy in the National Geographic Channel that said he bow me off, but he looked like he had the crazy eyes and Robbie has got a guy that has that your bumper sticker in case of the rapture.

This car will be unmanned and so I didn't know if I should trust him or not, sometimes her questions are more logistical like how could you even fit all those animals on one boat, I'll answer that one really quickly based on the arch dimensions. It seems that they could've held about 35,000 different kinds of animals, which raises even more questions like how much poop with 35,000 animals produce everyday whose job was in the clean all that up or how did they get all the animals on their the first place. How did Noah figure out which ones were boys and girls. How do you tell the difference in a boy dog and a girl dog things like that would've been a problem if I were no me all these questions and those are all great questions, but they're not the main focus of the Noah account are not the main focus of this message either the story of the flood is about God's rebooting of creation after it had gone terribly wrong, I have one dilution for every computer problem that I encountered one and that is to reboot if that doesn't work then I rebooted again. The worst moment for me is when I rebooted my computer for like the fourth time and the problem has not gone away because then I know it's going to be a long and painful evening on the phone with somebody in India that ends up with me by another computer slide was God's rebooting of creation.

But this reboot is going to fail not because God failed.

Of course, but because God was trying through that failure to demonstrate something to us about the human race and what it was going to require. If you were going to fix or repair the human race. Therefore, words that I think summarize what happens in this story and I hope that you will remember these, there is the first word grieved, grieved, verse five chapter 6 the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted verse six that he had made man on earth and it grieved him to his heart, so the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I've created from the face of the land man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them sometimes when people hear stories of judgment like this one. It bothers them. But not as much as it bothers God. God says he is literally heart broken over this. The word for grieved to the heart that she's there in verse six in Hebrew is a very specific word that is used to describe what an abandoned wife feels if her husband leaves her another Bible writer uses the same word Isaiah 54, six, Isaiah says that God is like a wife who married a young, only to be deserted and then her spirit filled with pain. Frankly, some theologians say it's an odd word you to use to describe God because it makes God sound really vulnerable and literally means unfulfilled longing or despairing frustration with this hollow sick despairing feeling. That's what God says he feels about our sin. We see Sam like a disease had consumed the human race there thoughts.

He said were only evil continually. That meant we know that meant they were very violent.

Verse 12 shows us that the strong use their positions of strength to extort and exploit and oppress the weak included sexual perversion. The reason I know that is because of a really strange reference to the beginning of chapter 6 says the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were attractive and they had sex with them now. To be honest. Scholars are totally sure what that phrase means the sons of God saw the daughters of men and have sex with them.

There are some theologians who say that refers to some kind of demon human sexual encounter since sons of God in Scripture can refer to angels. That is way to twilight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer of interpretation for me. I'm pretty sure it just means that godly people got mixed up in the ungodliness families dissolved in sex became whenever and with whomever and whatever hunts of God sees this wickedness on multiple levels and he determines to stop it is going to do so by sending a flood to literally cleanse the earth so I don't sound very loving. What's like if someone you love is being eaten up with cancer you take radical measures like chemotherapy, which is a very violent process. The cleanse that person you love from their cancer.

That's what God is doing with his creation is an interesting word play in Hebrew down in verse 12, the word that God uses to describe human violence in verse 12 sheet is the Hebrew word literally they are destroyers to the exact same word that God uses to describe what he's about to do to the human race. He must teach the misleaders he destroys the destroyers. There are a lot of people in American society so I God should never judge that love for God is love is the sentimental deity. That is, turns his head away from wrong things. This is whatever they'll figure it out. No fix themselves one day Miroslav golf return about the personal hero of mine on the left of the oppression of the genocides of Croatia. He is a Croatian. These are the only one that anyone could ever make a statement like that God is love and just turns his head away from injustice. The only way they can say that is if they live in the suburbs of the United States all their life and never really experience true injustice is when you watch your family and friends murdered when you see your mom and dad had their throat slit like I did the only way you can keep it from driving you insane is by knowing that there is a God who will one day bring justice is that upon coming to America I discovered that one of the deepest held American myths is this idea that a belief in a God of judgment leads you to be violent. Is it going people who say that or those who never really experience true injustice. In actuality, he said it's exactly the opposite. If you believe in a God who is all love and no justice.

You will see in rage with vengeance and you end up taking matters into your own hands is only when you believe that God will one day execute perfect justice that you can lay the sword down out of your hand and be free from hatred and bitterness and the driving desire to avenge the wrong because you know that vengeance belongs to God.

Is he I would say that our culture is a very lopsided view of God. Every culture gets it wrong in some way. Our culture is very lopsided view of God of God is a sentimental, your loving deity and then we havefor things like justice and his glory. And that leads us to just confusion when you come to. I'm not a story like this one in the Bible but it's it's a lot of sites like how you figure the Jimmy see some guy that works out.

What we call the beach muscles all the time you nice shoulders in his arms and ripped and everything and then everybody always were sweatpants and when they think of sweatpants and got shorts on your like whoa was a muscle legs like that they were hanging out of the nest. You know he's lopsided. He's got part develop, not the other part was a lot of people have is lopsided view of God, and it keeps them from not understanding a lot of stuff in the Bible and also keeps them confused about a lot of things that are going on in life. Don't believe it or not, listen to this.

Believe it or not, there is something on earth that God loves me more than individuals in the human race in their comfort and that thing that he loves more is his glory in the universe and the justice that undergirds his throne and that is the foundation of the universe.

God loves his creation too much to let it persist in wickedness and he loves glory and justice too much to let the wicked go unpunished. The sin of man grieves God because of what it did to his creation, and because of what it did to his glory because of the devastation it was causing in the human race. And so God decides to do something about it. There's your second word favor favor. Chapter 6 per se, but Noah found favor or grace is how some of the English translations will translate that grace in the eyes of the Lord may say why what was special about Noah. Nothing really. Verse nine tells you he was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Is that because Noah had no sin, no blame his art all know you have plenty of evil in his heart. You see that at the end of the story.

These part of the same evil human race. They were 11 seven says very clearly that he was righteous because he responded to God's offer of salvation Hebrews 11 seven by faith Noah been warned by God concerning events as yet unseen and reverent fear. Noah construction art to the saving of his household. By this he watch became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith Noah's righteousness was the righteousness that comes by faith, just righteousness the righteousness that comes not from being perfect, but from believing what God says and receiving it with surrender and God just to you a righteousness. You do not possess in yourself. In other words, God did not save Noah because he was righteous Noah became right.

Just because he received God's offer of salvation. That's always the way that people become righteous weather in that day or this one God grants righteousness as a gift to all who believe and respond to his offer of salvation in faith and surrender to see all God ever ask of you of anybody in any generation is that we give an unqualified, unconditional yes to him when he screws her wet sounds a lot describe it before. I just waking up in an ambulance wake of an ambulance, you don't know how you got there, but a doctor stated above you and want to EMTs are doing things your body. The doctor says you are in a terrible accident and you almost died but you know what these EMTs and they got there just in time they saved your life and I'm saving your life that doctors not ask you to jump up and help save yourself that you are doing things that mess it up. The doctor is telling you were to do everything that you got a consent you get a lay there, you can jump up start pulling tubes out saying no you can mess everything up.

Basically what God does in salvation as he says you messed it up.

I'm going to save you, but you have to give him your consent where you're going to say God.

It all belongs to you when you're in charge.

Everything is not the posture that you are in with God. You see a lot of people I talked to her like well and am mostly surrender to God and do a pretty good job so there's no such thing as mostly surrender as a thing as mostly surrender. It can remind me when I was on taking drivers at my was 15 years old told you you're in the car with the instructor under the do this anymore, but in my day you were on the sole instructor and my guy had little break Bill into his side of the car. They do that. I thought maybe the edited just for me, so they added this breaking was on the card because you like like him one time you're coming up to him.

Stoplight is like now Jenny the light just turned yellow. What does that mean is that it means clutch if you know and he says no you exclaims break and we can old car comes to a screeching halt. I'm kind of in charge of the car, but he's really in charge of the car right because he's letting me come to go through the motions but he's got ultimate veto powers a note not bear what will know you better slow down. That's the position. A lot of us try to be in with God Roy Gautama let you influence someone to follow your directions. You but I keep ultimate you like responsibility about when I say no and what I'm going to do my guy give that a minute ago. They are not to say that mostly that's no surrender at all, only except the only position.

The only terms God accepts our terms of absolute and total surrender like CS Lewis says were not good people try become bad people to become better people were rebels, to God who must lay down our arms and surrender.

That's what Noah does, he sets out in faith and obedience and surrender to build is Hebrews 11 seven says this is one human history's greatest acts of faith come to think about it. How ridiculous must this must this have seemed to everyone. Noah lives in the mountains and it took over 100 years to build this big 500 foot long boat. Can you imagine the ridicule from his buddies or are like hey you got a bill in F3 50 with that thing also. You live in or near the beach. I going to get into a body of water, but no endure even when nobody else came along to join him and even though everybody else made fun of him because see that's what faith does want you to hear this faith is not shown in the initial yes that you say to God, faith is shown in the follow-through of obedience here is why I say that because a lot of people that think that their great act of faith was when they prayed a prayer to receive Jesus as their Savior then got in a baptismal tank and and and and so Jesus is Lord not okay I'm good, if not the initial yes it is the follow-through that counts is faith. So the question is not that you ever stood in a baptismal tank at some point declare that Jesus is Lord. The question is that your life today is clear that Jesus is Lord, is now Jamal says it determines whether you have faith if what your actions in your life says the determines whether or not you really have faith not initial yes is the follow-through Noah follow-through and finally the day comes when God said okay Noah now sometime take the animals and go in.

I know I'm sure that will supernatural direction involved in that will help in assessing possible is a miracle if you can believe that God created the world with a word, then you can give them a pass on this one.

I think you could pull this off after the last one was in the last animal however that happen. Noah walks on number 16 Lord sentiment minute, says the mountains above and below the earth were opened up, which means torrential rains from above in some kind of underground flooding or a tsunami or a continental shelf. Toronto, however it happened, by the time it was over. The floodwaters cover the highest amount at the time of more than 30 more than 45 feet. There they remain the floodwaters remain on earth for another five months and every living thing every man, woman, every boy or girl and all living animals were outside of the ark ground to put that in your babies mural that depicted somewhere. So what about the kids, even if the adults were bad want the kids innocent Scripture always urges us to think about questions like that one, or situations like this one in light of eternity. God is perfectly just, much more so than we are enemies of God will not hold them accountable for sins they did not commit. So in a situation like this happens where the innocent get caught up in the destruction of justice what Scripture urges us to think about is that the joys of heaven are going to vastly outweigh any temporary suffering that any of us go through on earth what you think about in situations like this one where the innocent get caught up in the destruction of justice you think about is basically God collecting them early into that eternal happiness. Happiness that more than makes up for any temporary suffering that you go through on your time on earth. It's the same thing I say to a woman. For example, when she goes to a miscarriage. What I do, that was wrong. What had the baby she didn't do anything was wrong answer course not, and what God tells you to do this. It is think about eternity when the reunion went the joy that you experience in eternity completely wipes away any thought of the temporary, the temporary suffering you had on earth is like Mother Teresa said the were suffering on earth is like one bad night a cheap hotel that you quickly forget about see eventually the floodwaters receded and the art comes to rest on Mount Ararat. Noah emerges out of the ark with his three sons, Jim Ham, and Japheth them, their wives, Hermione Granger and a couple of US actresses that I can remember their names.

And of course Noah's wife Joan of arc in verse 20 the Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal on some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar be taken seven of all the sacrificial animals so we had a few spare Lord smelled the pleasing aroma on the Lord said in his heart. I will never again curse the ground because of man for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth is an odd statement. Neither will I plan to follow the logic there. God won't give it usual again. Ever I ever strike down every living creature like I just did.

Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

Chapter 9 verse one and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the air chart a new generation of humans verse 12 and then God said this is the sign of the covenant that I made between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth when I bring clouds over the earth and the boat was seen in those clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. There's 1/3 word it reboots reboot with these eight people know his wife are sons and their wives.

God starts over to agendas seem to define this reboot me in the mug and given the order of importance, but I see both of them and that the text there.

Here's the first agenda in the reboot and the one God's care for the whole creation.

Did you notice that the covenant is not just made with Noah and his sons is made with all creation.

Did you did you catch that universe.

While the covenant I made between me and you and every living creature covenants with them to all the animals it's for all future generations. God certainly loves humans the most in his creation makes it very clear. But God cares for all of it furthermore is one theologian I was reading points out, God never calls anyone into a covenant relationship in Scripture, unless it is a saving relationship that begs the question what is God saving the animals and the earth from all great questions operate verse 20 tells you human sin.

Never again will I curse the earth because of human sin right there. This person didn't do anything to deserve that we did something they got person or place. Roy got curse loneliness. God is going to deliver the whole earth from human sin. The apostle Paul says in this way he rephrases it and when we separate the creation itself waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God, the gracious yearning. He says he wants to be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. In other words, nature is chomping at the bit to be restored to its ultimate purpose. Psalm 19 tells us that that God gave the creation of purpose.

Its purpose was to declare and display his glory boy. Psalm 19 says it is this the heavens declare the glory of God that that's more than just poetic language. It means that if you listen to creation. Creation has a voice to listen to a waterfall to music or to the seer look at a mountain or the sunset days about the stars and they will speak to you and they will say, a god of beauty and infinite power and boundless creativity stands behind all this when you are created in the image of that God not God loves you and you can know you and you can sense that in the heavens of blogging and since that of the ocean.

You can pick it up in the forest ever asked God wrote I love you in the sky and on the earth and under the sea. He created everything in this world to reflect him like a mirror to show us what he is like to help us know him to make our hearts seen your listening to Senate life with pastor JD Greer if you missed any part of the message today.

You can find the full broadcast online. JD Greer.com. The messages are available because friends like you stepped out and partnered with us and were so grateful this month when we begin working our way through the entire Bible here in the program were focusing on prayer to Jenny. How can we be more real in our prayers instead of trying to get prayer right yellow that question because for many years. I obsessed over my prayers promoted home a mode of what my gut would never hear me right when God talks about us and our relationship to him.

He uses father's children and children. They just ask but met my kids need some it didn't matter what time of day it is how exorbitant the request. How unable I actually am and that it is become writing as a dad.

This is what I need the same way that I would approach her heavenly father like dependent children saying daddy, heavenly father, I need I need this in the first place him a look is for you to instruct me on how I should go about pursuing this so just ask you go like children and don't obsess to just just be a kid to be a kid with her dad listen Molly, I know the prayer to be a struggle Psalm to do everything I can to help you make it a delightful and essential what you feel is essential part of every single day.

That's why I wrote this book just ask and you can you can check it out@jdgreer.com. Simply go to JD Greer.com or give us a call at 866-335-5220 to get your copy pastor JD's new way of thinking, donate and support. If you think going to the teaching found on this program deeper into the gospel and that all that number again is 665-5220 10. Remember to pastor JD but I don't just don't want to forget how the pastor JD on Facebook and Instagram were encouraging contact Molly for events tomorrow. Pastor Jenny continues his message of God's love is both work together in the story of Noah's Ark listen to state Senate life JD Greer by JD Greer ministry