December 11th, 2016
ICA Sunday Pulpit Message
The Family that fulfills the Covenant of the Ark (Gen 6:8-22)
(Intro)
It’s good to see you. Greet those around you. Have you had a good week? Today’s title is, “The family that fulfills the Covenant of the Ark”. It has gotten cold. There is a saying. “Every cloud is a silver lining”. In Korean, there is a similar phrase. “If the sky falls, we shall catch larks.” No matter what happens, there is a way to escape. In every age, there has been an age where there was an incident when the sky crumbles down. We have the age of Noah. God made a decree. He gathered all the waters of the sky and earth, then wiped all living beings. He did so and all living things died out. However, in the midst of that, God gave us His covenant. We can survive this judgment. It was the covenant of the Ark. He told Noah to build it. Those who want salvation will be in it and survive. We would like to take a look at this and realize what the covenant of the Ark is. Is this applicable in the present? It is the promise of God for you to survive in a deadly situation. This is vital. This was the promise that changed the age. It completed the age of Adam. Through Noah, the new age started. Through Adam, mankind began. However, mankind perished. Then, through Noah, they started once again. We often say that our ancestor is Adam. However, we are descendants of Noah as well. Noah held onto the covenant from God and survived. He began anew. We must realize this covenant.
1. Spiritually distinguish the ages from the past to present
(1) Corruption and absurdity (Gen 6:11, 12)
(2) Sin and Atrocity (Gen 6:5, 11, 13)
(3) Destruction and Judgment (Gen 6:7,13)
We must look at his situation. In the Bible, it says that all the people living in the age were evil. When we take certain actions, we can make mistakes. It wasn’t even that. it is written that their actions and thoughts were evil. The land was filled with corruption, absurdity, sin and atrocity. Naturally, destruction is inevitable. God was extremely worried. It was a terrible age to the point where God was sad. It was rightful for him to cast judgement. It says that God lamented. The Bible says that God never regrets. He doesn’t life a live like us. He was more sad and lamenting than regretful. We are living in the same type of age. It is all the same, we just don’t realize it. It’s just a matter of whether or not it is hidden. Do you think that the people of the old ages would steal? They would steal and show it to the others or hide it. Even in the 10 commandments, which was written thousands of years ago, says to not steal. God gave the 10 commandments to Moses. God should have told us to have vision, but He just told us to not steal. We are going to talk about the age of Jesus. Judah stole the possessions of Jesus. Even companies and governments steal other possessions. They still steal. Even business people steal. That is why the IRS is such a scary place. There is a lot of corruption regarding money. Today, we are having a final budget meeting for 2016. Elders and senior deaconess must see if someone stole money. There are is a large history of crime on this earth. Families would fight with each other, or gangsters would fight with each other. Even politicians and companies fight with each other. Countries would fight each other. Mankind is crawling to a path of destruction. In South Korea, there is a big story with the president. It even brings shame on our nation in an international field. It is a mess to the point where we should pray for them more. it sounds right. We cannot sway back and forth from this to the point where we lose the blessings of God. it is revealed. The same corruption is flowing everywhere. You may wonder why I am saying such things. If I am wrong, then Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross. Jesus had to die on the cross. It’s not the situation where you can advise and give comfort. He had to die for us on this issue. Some people would criticize me if I say this. You don’t have to protest. Some people may ask if I am against protest. I am saying that there is no hope in this world. We must look up to heaven. We are only here temporarily and go to heaven. Some people may ask why I sound so irresponsible. I am not. We have to realize the word of God and make disciples. We may have conflicts. However, those conflicts may not be resolved. We may go to the courts to resolve this. Do not go there. Do not do something to the point where you have to go to courts. Then you will be injured spiritually. You may think that I am saying that people who are protesting are evil. God opened the view. Even though we are lacking, God opened our eyes. That is why God left them because the only way to go through this is impeachment. The Gospel that we possess has resolved and finished everything. We must pray for our country. Do you understand what I have in my mind? I am not trying to condemn the former president. It is rightful for her to be impeached. However, you are a man of God, you don’t need to be involved spontaneously. That is how chaotic this world is. During the age of Noah, God was so furious because mankind was so evil. He had to bring about judgment. You may know the reason if you look at this spiritually. God recorded Genesis 6 and called Noah. You must know the intention of God to record the Nephilim in the part of beginning in chapter 6. Nephilim refers to giants. They were brought about when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of man. They brought chaos. They were so wicked so the Spirit of the LORD would not contend with them. They became evil to the point where God had to limit the lifespan of mankind to about 120 years. It may sound complicated. In other words, they were so evil and became corrupt. God had to wipe them away. This judgment was inevitable. God made that decision. This age was spiritually corrupt. It was the worst age. If you become evil, then this will happen. This judgment took place. God made them experience this. God is showing us that if we continue to do this, we will have judgment. Only Noah’s family received salvation. And, even animals received salvation. However, the rest of mankind could not receive salvation even though animals received salvation. When we criticize others, we compare them to animals. They became lower than animals. Noah’s family received salvation. In this grave age, only Noah’s family received salvation. They received grace from God. everyone else was wiped away. You must know why.
2. However, seek for God’s grace even today
(1) The grace of being with God (Gen 6:9)
(2) The grace of hearing the voice of God (Gen 6:13)
(3) The grace of fulfilling God’s covenant (Gen 6:22)
Noah’s family received the grace of walking with God. I want to ask you how much you feel you walk with God. How often do you think God is walking with you? I can’t really tell. I realize that the word, Immanuel, is not easy. Are you able to do scheduled prayer easily and connect with your lifestyle? You will realize that it is impossible. You have to talk with people. You have to go shopping. You will forget about God. you have to prepare a meal for you husbands, and you will forget about Immanuel. It is easy to forget about God and Immanuel in your daily life. When you can tell someone is different, then things will change. When you notice that someone has something special that you don’t have, then you will change. It is something that you need. You will think that continuously. Jesus is the Christ. He is a special and incomparable being. If you discover this, you will be changed. You want to make people happy, then you will be able to walk with them. It is the same. If you discover how Jesus is precious, you will be able to walk with Him. I bless that you will be able to walk and be with God. Once you walk with God, things will change. You will realize His presence. You will discover new things about Him. That’s why you can confess that He is my shepherd. You are the shepherd who leads me to clean waters. You are my fortress because you protect me. You are the sun who appears in the mid-day. You are my friend and brother. You are my king. You are stronger than death. You can devote everything to Him. Once you walk with God, then you will realize Him one by one. You will continuously call Him. Adam named all living beings. When you walk with God, then you will describe the Lord with new names. People can complement one another. Once we walk with God, we discover the beauty of Christ. Noah’s family received the grace of God to be able to hear the voice of God. It is the holy expectation of receiving answers from God. It is the yearning heart towards the word of God. Those who have that kind of heart will be able to hear the voice of God. God wants you to give evidence. If you know that, you will have no choice but to do schedule prayer and worship. You will hear the voice of God and receive detailed guidance through meetings. Those who look forward to coming to worship will be in God’s grace. May you be in it. They all have common a common trait: they are not bothered nor scarred by others. Noah was a person who enjoyed being with God. He wasn’t bothered by the words of others. He wasn’t upset not angry by the criticism of others. He received so much grace to that point. That is the common characteristic of people who are with God. They are all the same. That is how Noah and Joseph were. It is the same with David and Daniel. They were able to see greater things. When you hear something bad, then you’re not supposed to be shocked. If you do not see things spiritually, then you will suffer. At the end, Noah’s family completed the construction of the ark. They fulfilled God’s covenant and received grace. You may say that thay endured. They received so much grace and it made everything possible. “I am doing what God wants. If I am making the ark, there will be someone to be saved”. This is something that Noah received from the grace of God during that process of making the ark. Even though no one was saved, it didn’t matter because Noah received so much grace form God. Recently, there was a movie about Noah’s ark. They expressed how his family was, but it wasn’t accurate. Noah’s family would continue to receive grace to the point where the numbers saved didn’t matter. The Ark represents salvation and the evangelism movement. Who makes this? It is possible to only those who receive and enjoy the salvation through the Gospel. Through Christ, I was able to taste the joy of being renewed so that you can have a desire to save a person. If I didn’t have that joy, then I won’t be able to save others. Those people can do evangelism. I bless that the evangelism movement will take place in your lives. You must see everything spiritually and receive grace today. Have the eyes to see how Christ is. May you be with God and walk with Him to the point where you can speak about Him. Then, you will realize that all living beings are related to Christ. You will realize that all living things are something that explain a part of Christ. May you have this holy desire to hear the voice of God. May you find true happiness to be able to change people with Gospel. This is the grace you must uncover today.
3. Now fulfill God’s covenant for the future
(1) You who will save souls (Mk 16:15)
(2) The family who rises the descendants (John 21;15-17)
(3) The church which makes and teaches disciples (Mt 28:18-20)
You must fulfill God’s covenant. We need a detailed strategy. You can challenge yourselves to save souls. Whoever enjoy this blessing will be loved by God. God will utilize them. If you have realized the value of salvation, God will know. When we advertise, you would overexaggerate how good this is. It is the same when you introduce people. Jesus is a precious being. He is on our side and guides all of us. You must be able to share this name. You must be able to introduce this being. That is why we practice the Gospel message. Make up your mind and resolution to share the gospel to all nations. This is the way to survive in the last age. That was how Noah’s family received salvation. Be the family who raises descendants. Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs. It is vital to educate your children. Most importantly, plant the spiritual mysteries. Help your children live with the spiritual mysteries. But, don’t force them. You must help them to be imprinted that naturally. It is the way to conquer the future. In John 21, Jesus tells Peter to feed His lambs. Even if every age perishes, this is the way to save the world. What must the church do? It must raise disciples. As a saint of church who lives in this world, we are in the field. If you truly have a desire to change the world, you will discover something. If you do not have change at all, then you can’t save yourself nor the world. The only way is to raise disciples that can be trusted by God. This is something that we must do in the church. Just like how we get married and have a child, you must have spiritual children and dispatch them out to the field. This is the rightful thing that we must do in the church. You will realize what we must do. Everything is inside of the process of raising disciples. All wisdom and knowledge will be granted to you. You will have conviction and joy. You will become a true man. When a person raises a disciple, they will truly mature. Jesus said to disciples to go and make disciple of all nations, and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded them. Discipleship is the only way to survive. God wants our church members to enjoy this blessing.
(Conc)
The covenant of the Ark in the present age is evangelism. It is sharing the name of Jesus. The biggest event in history was the cross of Jesus. Worst things will happen and Jesus will come again. He came as a sacrificial lamb. This time, He will come as a king. Even if we just share this, how pleased will Jesus be? We are introducing His 2nd coming. God will be pleased. Rightfully, the blessing will come. You will obtain everything. Noah obtained the entire earth. He was holding onto the covenant of the Ark. Once you hold onto the covenant of evangelism, then you will possess everything. This covenant is for you. Genesis 6:14. “So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.” Hold onto the covenant of evangelism which is the best thing for you.
(Prayer)
I pray that our Lord who is great, wonderful and precious, and we took a look at Noah’s family. May we be able to hold onto these lessons that you taught. May we hold onto this covenant of ark in the midst of corruption. In Jesus Christ name, we pray. Amen,.