THE NEED - GENESIS 6:5-8

INTRO: Need vs Wants

GOD SAW THE NEED - v. 5

E - The LORD saw the NEED because His eyes are always open to the activities of His creation.

God SAW the errors of man produced by sin.

R - When God SAW His creation, He said, “That’s Good!”

Creation was ruined by Adam’s decision to disobey God’s command.

Instead of Adam becoming ‘like’ God, Adam fell into the dismal pit of degradation.

cf Gen 6:2 “2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives.” Misuse of God’s creation; abuse

Historically, 3 opinions who the Sons of God and Daughters of Men - 1)Angels; 2)human rulers; 3) Descendants of Seth

Angels - Can’t procreate; Mt 22:30 “For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.”

Human Rulers - Polygamous warriors; line of Cain;

Seth - The line of righteousness; the line of Christ.

A - Surely we have a God who sees our NEED. He sits and looks low.

He sees the evils of RACISM - Thoughts of oppression. Homeless; Poverty; Health Care;

He sees the evils of GOVERNMENT - Plot -Redistricting voters;

He sees the evils of SOCIETY - World Events/Oppression.

But SEEING was not all…

GOD FELT THE NEED-v. 6

E - His HEART was broken by what He saw.

He repented = grieved = naham - not over the sinner but the SIN.

R - Can you imagine, the Almighty Creator, maker of heaven and earth, being heartbroken?

God used Hosea to describe the state of His heart.

God gave victory to the people of Israel - 2 kings 14:25-26

Liberation (freedom); economic prosperity; increased. Spiritual condition - decreased; abandoned God.

God commands Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife - Israels’ unfaithfulness.

She leaves Hosea and has children - Israel produced unrighteous kids.

Hosea is commanded to Go, buy his own wife back - God’s promise to REDEEM.

A - We are living that all over again.

God has given us FREEDOM; ECONOMIC PROSPERITY - Spiritually, we have decreased. We have abandoned God.

We have chosen to give ourselves to the pleasures of the world - in many ways. We are unfaithful to God.

We are producing a generation that doesn’t even know about God.

Yet God in His rich mercy; God in His lovingkindness; God in His abundant GRACE, promised to REEDEM US.

SO - GOD MET THE NEED

E - Noah found favor with God.

It only takes one.

R - See, God could’ve wiped out everyone and started all over again.

But God knew that the problem wasn’t mankind, it was Sin.

Noah couldn’t redeem man from sin.

But he used Noah as a recipient of His grace.

Noah endured the storm; Noah worshipped; Noah trusted God for His life and the lives of His family.

A - Let this be our highest ambition - to be the recipient of God’s grace.

God’s grace finds us in the darkest times of life - be faithful.

Be faithful because God’s grace keeps us in the worst of times - sin abounds around us.

Most of all Be Faithful because of God’s Promise - REDEMPTION.

We are REDEEMED by the One God sent from Heaven; the Perfect Lamb; able to remove all sin.

The Bible says Matt 20:28 “28 The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The bible Says Rom 3:24 “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

The bible says Gal 3:13 “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing.”

As recipients of the PROMISE...

Serve God only - 1 Cor 6:20-for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Because you have been REDEEMED through the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ.

CLOSE: The celebration of Christ’s birth has come to mean TREES, GIFTS, and TIME OFF FROM SCHOOL AND WORK.

Let us, the Christian Community, remember the reason - THE NEED.

God SAW; God FELT; God REDEEMED.