Sign of the Times

Introduction

The Arts are important in expressing culture. Someone who is an artist is someone who is interpreting their world through music, literature, paintings, sculpture, dance, fashion and the like……

One article in the Atlantic states: “As much evidence will support, drawing has significant developmental benefits for young children. It gives them space to represent what they think—territory within which they can exaggerate what is important to them or express ideas they are not yet able to verbalize. Through art, children are able to describe and reveal their notions about themselves, the world, and their place in it.”

The lack of expression through art is missing today…..that helps us take a look at the sign of the times…In 1908 you have the Ford Model T; We have the Roaring 20’s and the Great Depression of the 30’s; In the 50’s you had Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, drive in movies, sock hops, The 1960s brings images of cultural revolution, peace symbols, flower power protests of Vietnam War; For Me the 70’s is the fashion; Bell bottoms; Plat forms; Swedish knits; and the Pick with the fist at the top!The Rap artists of the 80’s/90’s come to mind…..and the evolution of the cell phone and video games and digital technology in the 2000’s….Why can we not identify whats happening in our world today? Its not like we don’t have time to think….Someone asked me in the words of Al Green, “ Whats going on?”

Need

We need to pay attention to the signs around us….As the church, people will ask questions why is this happening, that happening……Why does all this evil happening today? So many bad things all at once! The Coronavirus, Corruption in Government, Corrupt leadership, Corrupt TV shows and themes; so much hate, so much violence! Some of us are so lost down here because we refuse to pay attention to God’s word….We refuse to read the signs from a biblical worldview…..We only look at it through a political, social, or economic, but What about God!

Interrogative:

Why cant we just take a moment to see it from the scriptures….. God loves to give you signs from his word! Read the sign today so we can prepare for tomorrow..

1 Chronicles 12:32 from the Tanakh

“of the Issacharites, men who knew how to interpret the signs of the times, to determine how Israel should act;[1]”

Est 1:13 — Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times—for it was the custom of the king so to speak before all who knew law and justice

Transition:

We are so wrapped up in zodiac signs ( not biblical, do not practice), and so much other junk that we are missing the most important signs……God is showing us something in our lifetime…….We have a pandemic which have produced and economic, social, and political crisis all in one….God is showing us that mankind has screwed everything up because sin is messy……Go to 1 st point…..

Satisfaction

Division 1 Statement

Point #1 Sign of a Mess (Clouds of Judgement) Genesis 6:11-13

Explanation

Mankind have been making a mess……since rebelling against God early on: (SIN of Adam) Genesis 3:6…..(Salvation Gen 3:21)Covered by Grace….. Murder by Cain Genesis 4:8 Salvation Gen 4:15 Mark of Grace…….By the time we get to Genesis 6, Sin has been magnified…….its a mess

We are living in a time where everything is a mess. We live in a world where the level of corruption in the highest office in our country has become the norm; Shacking over marriage; access to pornography; alcoholism; greed; lust envy, pride and anything else that’s under the sun that has been exposed. The Coronavirus has exposed the hearts of men and women and has become a sign of how sinful we are.

Illustration:

Just like some of us when we would celebrate Christmas and tear everything apart and make a mess…..or when children decide they want to cook and don’t want to clean up their mess, or when a child puts on clean clothes by their parents and as time progress throughout the day, their hair is mess, their face is dirty, their clothes are filthy, then they come home unrecognizable…

Application

Because of the people sin, God had judged Israel, but like Jeremiah, we can cry a nd weep for God to Heal us in our mess…He can heal you of your greed, your arrogance, pride, selfishness…..Sin takes place in the human heart and rises to God……God wants us to know what sin smells like to HIM in the spiritual realm… and punishes sin in the Physical….

God specializes in cleaning up our mess…..Were in a pandemic, but God is sticking or noses in our mess……………Clean up you mess…….Give God your mess…A mask will not fix it, Lysol wipes cannot fix it,hand sanitizer and temperature checks cannot fix it…..We need a cure….Jeremiah asked the question, “Jeremiah 8:22 (NASB) 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?

GO TO THE PLACE OF HEALING…….

Ge 37:25 — Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

Jer 46:11 — Go up to Gilead and obtain balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain have you multiplied remedies; There is no healing for you.

Jesus is my Balm in Giliad…..He my Doctor when I’m sick, Food when IM Hungry, Water when I’m thirsty, Were in a mess down here because of Sin……but Jesus is my Sin Bearer my Heavy Load Sharer…

2 Corinthians 5:21- For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Sign of the times is that we are in a mess right now….Our families, our Jobs, but when you find grace in the sight of Jesus…..Hope come back, …..

Division 2 Statement

Point 2 -Sign of Mercy( God Sets His Bow) Gen 9:13-17

Explanation

When Noah found Grace in Genesis 6:8, What does Grace look like?

On June 17th @ 5:44am I saw an amazing rainbow…on my way to work. Surrounded by dark, threatening clouds, there it was! Beautiful, Serene and threatening….

There is a popular song played at weddings by Stevie Wonder called “Ribbon in the Sky.” It’s a love song that speaks about a symbol or a sign that represents love in this classic song….Though we love to dance and sing to this song, like everything else in this world, The rainbow has been redefined to mean something totally different.

Websters define rainbow as: an arc or circle that exhibits in concentric bands the colors of the spectrum and that is formed opposite the sun by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays in raindrops, spray, or mist[2]

We see ribbons everywhere…..On the Obama White house, on flags, clothing, Jesse Jackson Rainbow Push political organization and even the symbol of Gay Pride throughout the world, but, what does the bible say about rainbows?

Genesis 9:12–17 NET

12 And God said, “This is the guarantee of the covenant I am making with you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all subsequent generations: 13 I will place my rainbow in the clouds, and it will become a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures of all kinds. Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things.16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things that are on the earth.”

Illustration:

The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind.

Argumentation:

The “bow” that God placed in the sky is not merely a curve of light shining through the rain. This sign is an archer’s bow, a weapon. The psalmist described God’s bow this way: God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day. If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot his flaming arrows. (Psalm 7:11-13) By setting his “bow in the cloud” (Genesis 9:13, KJV), God is saying that even though humans are sinful, he won’t destroy us. The bow is hung in the sky, not strung tight with arrows at the ready, but loose and hanging at the warrior’s side. God is no longer at war.

Application

God can hang up his bow for only one reason. It is not because Noah and his descendants will no longer sin, and it’s not because God will now overlook sin. He can hang up his bow because its arrows have been spent on someone else. God chose to aim the arrows of judgment toward an innocent Christ rather than toward guilty sinners.

Know this that Christ has taken every arrow of Judgement for you and I. We cannot just look at the sign of the times and think that this stuff is happening today just because of this and that….If you are a true Christian, someone who is not practicing sin willfully…….and you have placed your faith in Jesus, Stop blaming everybody else and blame sin……but thank you God for hanging up your bow….thank you Jesus that you do not need Prevagin to remember, or ginkobiloba, all you do is look at the clouds and you’ll see your bow hanging in the Halls of Heaven…..Thank you Jesus for not wiping us out ….Thank you ….thank you that My Mess became your Mission of Grace……Thank you for your Mercy because after the Storms of Life…….Every trial, every tribulation, Your Bow is there……The world makes a mockery when they display the rainbow as a symbol of

li·cen·tious- promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters.

Noah Saw your Mercy after the Storm……Ezekiel Saw the Glory of God in the Midst of the Storm

Ezekiel 1:28 (NASB) 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

John Saw the rainbow in a complete circle, not a bow….around the throne before the storm….No matter what the Sign of the times are…..no matter the storm…..Trust in Jesus….

PREACH THE GOSPEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Notes for ship Reference if needed......

The Gospel in the Ship Genesis 6:12-22

Introduction

I. The Plans for the Ark

A. The Articles: (6:14)

1. Gopher Wood — A type of humanity. (⇒ The life cycle of a tree) To build the Ark, trees had to be cut down. To provide a way of salvation, the Man, Jesus, had to be cut down - Isa. 53:3-8

2. Pitch — A type of the atonement. A. It Covered the Wood Christ's blood covers our sins - John 1:29 B. It Protected the Wood

(⇒ Waterproof - water a type of judgment) The shed blood of Jesus protects us from the wrath of God - Rom. 5:9.

B. The Abodes (6:14) Rooms - Literally, nests! Indicates a place of resting. Jesus provides a place of rest for the weary sinner:

1. Here — Matt. 11:28 (There is room for all who will come) ⇒ The Invitation - 7:1, they were invited to come, not go! That implies that they were asked to join God, not depart from Him. The sinner is invited to join God, not driven to anything, Rev. 22:17!) (⇒ The size of the Ark - 450l x 75w x 45h = 1,518,750 cu. ft. Each deck contained 33,750 sq. ft. Of floor space, or the equivalent of 21 basketball courts. It is estimated that the 35,000 known species could fit into 150 box cars. The Ark was the size of 530 boxcars. There was room in the ship then, there is room tonight!) 2. Hereafter — John 14:1-3 (There is room in glory for all who will come!) C. The Access (6:16) 1. The Door — There was only one door into that Ark. There is only one door into God's salvation - John 10:1-9. Jesus is the only way - Acts 4:12; John 14:6.

2. The Window — The window allowed light to enter the Ark. It was located above, therefore Noah would have to look up for light. The sinner must look up for light, Jn 6:44, and salvation - Eph. 2:8-9.