Can You Stand The Rain

Introduction

New Edition is an American R&B group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980’s. During the group's first experience with fame in 1983, its members were Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant. Johnny Gill joined the group years later to add continued success. Early hits included "Candy Girl," "Cool It Now," and "Mr. Telephone Man". Tresvant was the lead singer on most of the songs.

Candy Girl

Candy Girl You are my world You look so sweet You're a special treat

Is This The End

Is this the end? Are you my friend? It seems to me you ought to be free. You used to be mine when the chips were down. You used to be mine when I weren't around. Girl, can't you see how I feel? All these feelings that I feel are real. Oh, girl, can't you see I need you?

Aw, baby, is this the end? Aw, baby, is this the end?

Mama told me one day it was gonna happen But she never told me when. She told me it would happen when I was much older. Wish it…

Cool It Now

Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike If I like the girl who cares who you like

Cool it now Oh watch out 'Cause you're gonna lose control Cool it now You got to slow it down Slow it down You're gonna fall in love

Mr. Telephone Man (Bobby Brown on Solo)

Mr. telephone man, there's something wrong with my line When I dial my baby's number, I get a click every time Mr. telephone man, there's something wrong with my line When I dial my baby's number, I get a click every time

New Edition’s “Can You Stand The Rain?”

By 1987, New Edition was a group in transition. The band members were aging out of their teens into their twenties, and sought for their image and sound to reflect their coming of age. In addition to employing the famed production team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to help steer their music into a new direction, they also recruited Washington, D.C.-based baritone/tenor Johnny Gill.

Prompting Gill’s entrance into the group was when lead singer Ralph Tresvant considered recording a solo album. To circumvent New Edition being left without a lead singer, Michael Bivins suggested bringing in 20-year-old Gill to replace him. Gill accepted the invitation, joining the group in the spring of 1987. Tresvant, however, wasn’t ready to leave— resulting in New Edition, inadvertently, becoming a quintet again as they began production on their fifth album, Heart Break, released June 20, 1988 by MCA Records. Heart Break is the fifth studio album by American R&B quintet New Edition. Heart Break is the first album to return the Boston-reared band as a quintet after the public exit of original member Bobby Brown, and the first album to feature Johnny Gill as member of the group.

Boys To Men

Growing up can be a pain You're not an man until you come of age We've given up our teenage years In the effort to pursue our career

Who assumes responsibility Of having to support our families Who's protecting us from harm Is there anyone around That we can trust

So we search for answers to our questions Looking for answers No answers but we're taught a lesson everytime Through mistakes we've learned to gather wisdom Life's responsibility falls in our hands

Keep on learning Keep on growing 'Cause wisdom helps us understand We're maturing Without knowing These are the things that change boys to men

Can You Stand The Rain?

Johnny Gill

On a perfect day, I know that I can count on you When that's not possible Tell me can you weather the storm?

Ralph Tresvant

'Cause I need somebody who will stand by me Through the good times and bad times She will always, always be right there

Whole Group

Sunny days, everybody loves them Tell me baby can you stand the rain? Storms will come This we know for sure (This we know for sure) Can you stand the rain?

Transition To Body

Building Resiliency

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV

12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Illustrate: Isley Brothers- & Public Enemy- We’ve Got To Fight The Power’s That Be

Isley Brothers back in 1975

Time is truly wastin' There's no guarantee Smile's in the makin' You gotta fight the powers that be Got so many forces Stayin' on the scene Givin' up all around me Faces full a' pain

As you find yourself shut up in your homes today, I have a question of primary importance ? Has your home been built to stand the rain? In other words has your home become an Ark today? And I am not just taking about the physical building. I am taking about your spiritual home- your spiritual self...

Context Of Genesis 6:5-8:1

Well Noah’s Family is arguably the first family of faith within the Holy Bible to suffer through a world, national, state, city, and local emergency.

Unlike our present situation though, we know that Noah & his family is experiencing a disaster of Godly proportions and that the LORD God is the one behind it- that God is bringing judgement upon the people of the earth.

We find in

Genesis 6:5–7 ESV

5 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. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have 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.”

And Jesus said in...

Matthew 24:9–13 ESV

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Lawlessness- ESV, NASB, NKJV

Wickedness- NIV

Sin- NLT

Iniquity- KJV

Well today I would like for us to examine together the parallels of Noah’s Ark experience and the present situation which we find ourselves.

Body- There Will Be Judgement But The Righteous

Find The LORD’s Favor Through Faithfulness

Genesis 6:8 ESV

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Found = discover; uncover; reached; meet accidentally; obtain, achieve

John 15:16 ESV

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

1 Corinthians 15:8 ESV

8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

And what about Noah!

Genesis 9:21 ESV

21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.

Genesis 9:24–25 ESV

24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

Favor= acts which display one’s fondness or compassion for another

The LORD God showed compassion towards Noah in a way not shown to the rest of Noah’s generation

There was something about Noah that got God’s attention , that got Noah within God’s eyesight...

Why did Noah find favor in the LORD’s eyes?

Noah Found favor but the LoRD was the one looking!

Do you see this in the text today?

Genesis 6:8 ESV

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Why? Noah’s Faithfulness

Genesis 6:9 ESV

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

Noah Was A Righteous Man

righteous = just; innocent, in the right; upright, devout

Noah Was Blameless In His Generation

blameless= complete, unscathed, intact; without fault, free of blemish; impeccable; honest, devout, completeness

Illustration: Not drinking the cultures cool-aide

Did not get lost in the sauce

Did not get caught up in the syrup

Noah Walked With God

Walked= go; behave; vanish, die, pass away

i.e. the more Noah trusted in the LORD God, the more Noah began to look like the LORD God.

Do I have any witnesses in hear today that can say...

Illustration:

And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me i am his own And the joy we share As we tarry there

Luke 9:23 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

{

There Will Be Judgement But The Righteous

Find The LORD’s Favor Through Faithfulness

}

Receive The LORD’s Preservation Through Obedience

Noah & the LORD God are talking. Are you and the LORD God on speaking terms today?

When is the last time you prayed to God?

Have you been studying God’s WORD lately?

What burning desire has God placed on your heart concerning His people?

God Tells Noah

Make Yourself An Ark

Genesis 6:14 ESV

14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

Ark= chest; casket (not only a big boat or ship, we’ll come back to this point momentarily)

Apply The LORD’s Architecture (because)

Genesis 6:15 ESV

15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.

Judgement Will Be Deadly (so)

Genesis 6:17 ESV

17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.

Get Your Family In Ark

Genesis 6:18 ESV

18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

covenant=

an agreement between two parties, marriage, pledge

Noah Responds To The Covenant In Obedience- Noah obeyed the LORD’s commands

4x those that enter the Ark are repeated

Genesis 6:22 ESV

22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 7:5 ESV

5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

Genesis 7:9 ESV

9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.

Genesis 7:16 ESV

16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

John 14:15 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:16 ESV

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

John 14:17 ESV

17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

{

Yes, there Will Be Judgement But The Righteous

1. Find The LORD’s Favor Through Faithfulness

And They

2. Receive The LORD’s Preservation Through Obedience

}

Remembered And Redeemed By The LORD’s Presence

What happened to Noah an his whole family while inside the Ark?

We only hear about Noah again after the LORD remembers Noah.

The LORD shut Noah inside the Ark

Genesis 7:16 ESV

16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

shut= hand over someone; deliver; surrender, give up; apprehend; separate

I told you earlier, the Ark also means a casket!

Genesis 7:23 ESV

23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

left= be remaining; stay back, leave over; preserve alive

Genesis 8:1 ESV

1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

remember=

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 2349 I. זָכַר

to recall information or events, with a focus on responding in an appropriate manner

And God made a wind (Spirit) blow over the earth

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 8120 רוּחַ

the divine Power of God, which can be grieved, closely identified with the LORD himself

Genesis 1:1–2 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Psalm 46:1 ESV

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 NIV

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Transition To Close- Are You In The Ark today?

Jesus said

John 16:33 NKJV

33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

"More Than I Can Bear" by Kirk Franklin’’s NU Nation God’s Property album

I've gone through the fire

And I've been through the flood

I've been broken into pieces

Seen lightnin' flashin' from above

But through it all I remember

That He loves me

And He cares

And He'll never put more on me

Than I can bear

The beginning of “but God remembered”:

God Remembered Noah In The Ark

Genesis 8:1 ESV

1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

God Remembered Abraham & Saved Lot

Genesis 19:29 ESV

29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

God Remembered Rachel and Listened To Her

Genesis 30:22–23 ESV

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

God Remembered His Covenant With Abraham

Exodus 2:23–25 ESV

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Numbers 23:19 ESV

19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

The LORD Hears The Groans Of Israel

Exodus 6:5 ESV

5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

The LORD Remembered Hannah’s Worship

1 Samuel 1:19–20 ESV

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”

The LORD Remembered His Steadfast Love & Faithfulness to the house of Israel

Psalm 98:2–3 ESV

2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

The LORD Remembers The Lowly

Psalm 136:23–26 ESV

23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; 24 and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever; 25 he who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

And Jesus Remembers His Followers

Luke 23:42–43 ESV

42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

At the cross, at the cross where   I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,   And now I am happy all the day!

Close- Build Yours House on the Rock Of Jesus Christ

Matthew 7:24–25 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Matthew 16:18 ESV

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Romans 8:28–30 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Beloved, Jesus Died for you and me!

And Jesus was Raised from the dead!

So

Romans 8:33–34 ESV

33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:35 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Romans 8:37 ESV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am persuaded!

For I am confident!

For I know without a shadow of a doubt!

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But The Righteous

Find The LORD’s Favor Through Faithfulness

Receive The LORD’s Preservation Through Obedience

Remembered And Redeemed By The LORD’s Presence

To Be Continued next week...