The Day Before the World Changed...

Introduction

In a few short days it will be two decades since Terrorist attacks on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. A day which I, and anyone who was old enough to comprehend the magnitude of the events will ever forget as long as we live. Yet, I was thinking about Monday, September 10, 2001 as I started thinking about this sermon. How many remember that Monday? It was just Monday, September 10, 2001. It was six months after my 17th birthday. It was the fourth day of my junior year of high school. From time to time in my life I have kept journals (not very faithfully I am afraid), but I had started a prayer journal as I had ministered the first summer counseling at camp and had continued it into that school year. I dug them out as I was preparing this message. It was a prayer journal where I was writing out my prayers to God. On that day before the world changed I wrote this in my journal: “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the good night’s rest. Thank You for waking me just a few minutes before my alarm sounded so I was already awake so I didn’t have to get out of deep sleep. Thank You for answering that prayer. Lord, I have so much to be thankful for. I thank You that I’m still alive, I have air to breathe, I have clothes to wear, I have food to eat, I live in a free country. I’m just thankful!” I continued through the prayer, praying for classmates in high school that I could be used to witness to them and for their salvation. I would go to school that day not knowing that 24 hours later that so much was going to change. It was truly the day before the world changed, but I didn’t know that the world was going to forever change the next day, but God did. I was thinking how so often in Scripture the day before an event happens makes the event even more powerful.

The Day Before the Flood

One event in the Bible that stands out to me is the day before the flood in Genesis.

The background is that the earth was corrupt. Turn to Genesis 6.

Genesis 6:1–12 NKJV

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Spiritual corruption was happening where the “giants” or the Hebrew word Nephilim. Demonic /super natural beings creating offspring with humans.

Genesis 6:13–22 NKJV

And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Hebrews 11:6–7 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Then the Ark was built and the time of the flood was nigh. The world was going to change forever when one week before the rain began Noah was commanded to go into the ark and God shut the door. Let us look at Genesis 7.

Genesis 7:1–24 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Noah, knew that there was a flood coming. He didn’t know the day it would come, but he knew it was coming. For a century as the ark was built for that day that the world would change. In Genesis 5 :32 “And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” It says he is 500 years old and in Genesis 7:6 “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.” He was 600 years. A century of building and preparing for that day that the world would change. 2 Peter talks about Noah and what he did also during that century, he preached about that day the world would change forever.

2 Peter 2:4–5 NKJV

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

The Day Before the Crucifixion/Day Before the Resurrection

Another day before the world changed, was the day before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The day before Jesus was arrested, tried, falsely accused was the day He had the final Passover with his twelve disciples. One would betray Him.

Turn over to Luke’s Gospel where we often read the Passover for the Lord’s table, but I want us to continue on a few verses after.

Luke 22:14–23 NKJV

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

So the Last Supper has happened, Judas has left. It is the evening before the world would change forever!

Luke 22:24–30 NKJV

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

The night before He would go to the cross to die for your sins and mine one of them would go to betray Him and several were arguing over who was going to be the greatest. Things would change in a matter hours. The Day before the world changed forever.

The Day Before You Die

What will be the day before you die? Or maybe what will be the day before the LORD returns? We don’t know.

Matthew 24:36–39 NKJV

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Hebrews 9:27–28 NKJV

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

What will your last day on earth be like? Will it be filled with joy and happiness or sadness and pain? I cannot answer that question.

James 4:13–17 NKJV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Since I don’t know when I will leave this earth I should make each day count for Christ. I know where I am going when I take my last breath, do you? If you don’t know Christ, you have no idea if today is the day before your world changes forever. You don’t know if tomorrow the world changes in some way or if tomorrow you take your last breath.

Conclusion

Monday, September 10, 2001. The Day Before the United States changed. The Day before the World changed. Men, women, husbands, fathers, children, grandchildren, family members, friends, co-workers all had gone through an ordinary “Monday” and Tuesday looked like another ordinary day, yet everything changed. Some would never come home. Some would come home, but they would never be the same again. The world of Monday, September 10, 2001 would fade away into the history books as a new reality would set-in. We may never know when our “Monday, September 10th” is. When will be the last day before we stand before God. The people around Noah didn’t know. They had been warned, but they didn’t know the day was there until it was too late. Yet, because God knew long before the day His Son was going to hang on a tree and rise again, we have hope. That when our last day arrives, we will be with Him. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior? You have no guarantee of tomorrow as those people who went on those planes on September 11 or went to work in the Twin Towers or Pentagon. You only have right now. Come to Jesus Christ before you do not have a tomorrow.