WEBVTT 00:00:07.445 --> 00:00:09.573 Well, good morning, welcome to church. 00:00:09.573 --> 00:00:11.800 What a great day that it has been already. 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.969 I'm so grateful that you're here today. 00:00:13.969 --> 00:00:16.881 Kids, why don't y'all stand to your feet and head out to kids? 00:00:16.881 --> 00:00:30.529 Man, let's give our kids a big round of applause as they roll out this morning, so that the video we just watched ask the question why? 00:00:30.529 --> 00:00:33.180 Why is the world the way that it is? 00:00:33.180 --> 00:00:40.961 Why do we so often seem to engage in self-destructive, self-centered, short-sighted behaviors? 00:00:40.961 --> 00:00:43.911 Why are things the way that they are? 00:00:43.911 --> 00:00:49.632 And that's the question that we're going to ask and hopefully come to some clarity on today. 00:00:49.652 --> 00:00:57.311 This is part two of a series called Vapor and Rust, and it's about making the most of the moment that we have. 00:00:57.311 --> 00:01:00.644 Life is a mist, it's a vapor here today, gone tomorrow. 00:01:00.644 --> 00:01:05.112 How do we maximize our time on this planet? 00:01:05.112 --> 00:01:20.829 You know, the reality is, I think, for all of us in the room we want the keys to the kingdom, we want to be in charge, we want to be in the driver's seat, we want to be the captain of our own ship, the captain of our own soul. 00:01:20.829 --> 00:01:23.897 Right, we want the keys. 00:01:24.699 --> 00:01:25.862 Do you remember when you started driving? 00:01:25.862 --> 00:01:29.051 Some of you got to go a little further back in the archives. 00:01:29.051 --> 00:01:33.371 You know some of our youth in the room they're there now Some of the parents in the room. 00:01:33.371 --> 00:01:37.611 You're going through that with your youth and that's a whole other ball game. 00:01:37.611 --> 00:01:41.773 But I was thinking about that idea this week when I started driving. 00:01:41.853 --> 00:01:43.358 I remember my dad. 00:01:43.358 --> 00:01:50.108 His favorite phrase for the entirety of the time that I was learning to drive was use the brakes, use the brakes. 00:01:50.108 --> 00:01:51.152 And I didn't like the brakes. 00:01:51.152 --> 00:01:54.406 I liked the gas, as the kids would say all gas, no brakes. 00:01:54.406 --> 00:01:55.652 I didn't like the brake. 00:01:55.652 --> 00:01:59.385 And dad would say on repeat use the brake, use the brake, use the brake. 00:01:59.385 --> 00:02:01.190 Like dad, I'm going 15 and a 45. 00:02:01.190 --> 00:02:02.721 It didn't matter, use the brake. 00:02:02.721 --> 00:02:09.824 When my sister started driving, she did not like to use the gas, she liked only the brake. 00:02:09.824 --> 00:02:16.688 And so she'd pull up to her road, you know, and it's before lane, she's trying to pull into traffic and it would be like Emily, you got to go. 00:02:16.688 --> 00:02:23.341 She's like I can see a car, it's a glimmer on the horizon, I can see a car coming and she's waiting on the car. 00:02:23.341 --> 00:02:28.728 And then when Emily would finally start to go, you know she'd inch out and be like are we even moving? 00:02:28.728 --> 00:02:30.336 And this car is getting closer. 00:02:30.336 --> 00:02:32.024 That used to be a glimmer on the horizon. 00:02:32.024 --> 00:02:33.009 Now it's right there. 00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:35.218 Emily, hit the gas, right, that was her phrase. 00:02:35.218 --> 00:02:36.723 Hit the gas, go, go, go. 00:02:37.084 --> 00:02:50.540 When Sam started driving, sam's thing was he was going to turn around and have a conversation with somebody in the backseat and you know he's driving down the road trying to make eye contact with somebody on the third row of the minivan and my mom and dad. 00:02:50.540 --> 00:02:53.310 We got to the point where it was like just keep your eyes on the road. 00:02:53.310 --> 00:02:56.674 And then my mom, I think, finally said like I'm not riding with him anymore. 00:02:56.674 --> 00:03:04.343 I remember being like 22, 23 years old and having to ride in the car with Sam and try to help keep Sam's eyes on the road. 00:03:04.343 --> 00:03:05.867 It was quite an experience and we made it. 00:03:05.867 --> 00:03:17.513 We're here today, but that sense of like learning to drive, trying to figure it out, and then and then you passed the driving test and you go from the permit to the restricted or the actual license. 00:03:17.513 --> 00:03:23.633 Y'all remember that feeling Like you actually can have the keys now and drive the car by yourself. 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:29.721 I remember passing my restricted test and getting the keys and going home and be like mom, dad. 00:03:29.721 --> 00:03:31.406 I got to go to grandpa and grandma's. 00:03:31.406 --> 00:03:32.288 Like, why? 00:03:32.288 --> 00:03:33.170 Like, because I can drive. 00:03:33.170 --> 00:03:36.736 Now I just need to go to grandpa and grandma's, you know, get in the car. 00:03:36.736 --> 00:03:40.346 I put, like Kenny Chesney on the radio, rolled the windows down. 00:03:40.346 --> 00:03:41.909 It was living right. 00:03:41.950 --> 00:03:47.609 When you get the keys and you're in charge, it is life, right, it's life. 00:03:47.609 --> 00:03:49.193 And then then what happens? 00:03:49.193 --> 00:03:53.932 You start to drive and then you realize, oh, my goodness, my gas tank is on empty. 00:03:53.932 --> 00:03:59.272 And now I'm the only one in this thing, cause I got the keys, now I got to pay for gas. 00:03:59.272 --> 00:04:05.972 And then there's car insurance, right, which, as a teenage driver male, that ain't cheap, right. 00:04:05.972 --> 00:04:12.152 And then you got car insurance and gas and then inevitably something breaks and that's always expensive. 00:04:12.152 --> 00:04:16.918 And then in my case, you know people don't like it when you roll through stop signs. 00:04:16.918 --> 00:04:31.801 Apparently, police officers are trained to pull you over for that, and that happened a couple of times and it's like, wait a minute, I thought I wanted the keys and now I'm paying for gas and there's insurance involved and I keep getting pulled over only twice for rolling through stop signs. 00:04:31.822 --> 00:04:46.827 Don't judge me, you know like there's a whole lot more involved in this thing than I thought there was, and that's a great metaphor for what happened in Genesis, chapter three, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God. 00:04:46.827 --> 00:04:58.811 They sinned, they give into temptation, they give into their flesh and they fall, and in the worst possible way, what they got was a whole lot more than what they bargained for. 00:04:58.811 --> 00:05:01.822 And that's really where we're going to go today. 00:05:01.822 --> 00:05:06.475 What is the impact of sin on us and on our world? 00:05:06.475 --> 00:05:08.280 Why is the world the way that it is? 00:05:08.280 --> 00:05:25.639 It's because of what happened in Genesis, chapter three, and today, in about 30 minutes, y'all, I need you all to like, get ready and hang on tight, because we're going to cover eight chapters of scripture in 30 minutes, okay, and the first service looked at me like you're all looking at me right now, and we almost made it out on time. 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:31.828 It wasn't quite on time, it was close to on time, so y'all hang with me, we'll make it out on time this morning, I promise. 00:05:31.828 --> 00:05:36.524 Uh, or the kids teachers will come and get me, um, because they'll be like hey, come get your babies. 00:05:36.524 --> 00:05:50.212 You know, but we're going to get through eight chapters of scripture and we're going to see today the impact that sin has on the world, what comes with our rebellion against God and we're going to land on good news. 00:05:50.212 --> 00:05:56.327 So don't worry, it's going to get difficult and dark for a few moments, but it's going to land today on good news. 00:05:56.367 --> 00:06:01.241 So here's the story, from Genesis, chapter four, through Genesis, chapter 11. 00:06:01.241 --> 00:06:04.971 I'm going to summarize it first and then we'll go back and break it out. 00:06:04.971 --> 00:06:06.142 So Adam and Eve. 00:06:06.142 --> 00:06:08.089 Adam and Eve have a son. 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:09.093 His name is Cain. 00:06:09.093 --> 00:06:10.117 He's the firstborn. 00:06:10.117 --> 00:06:19.169 They have a second son, his name is able, and there comes a point when Cain and able are growing up, they decide to make an offering to God. 00:06:19.169 --> 00:06:21.257 And Cain, he's a farmer. 00:06:21.257 --> 00:06:24.065 So he goes and gets some of the crop of the ground. 00:06:24.065 --> 00:06:25.670 Able is a shepherd. 00:06:25.670 --> 00:06:35.062 He goes and gets the firstborn of the flock and they bring their offerings to God and God accepts able's offering of the firstborn of the flock. 00:06:35.062 --> 00:06:39.216 He rejects Cain's offering of the harvest of the ground. 00:06:39.276 --> 00:06:41.122 Now here's what's important to note. 00:06:41.122 --> 00:06:43.973 It's not the type of offering that was given. 00:06:43.973 --> 00:06:48.044 It's not that God was looking for a sheep and Cain brought a cantaloupe. 00:06:48.044 --> 00:06:49.307 That's not the point. 00:06:49.307 --> 00:06:52.262 The issue is the heart behind the offering. 00:06:52.262 --> 00:06:56.155 Able brought the first and the best to God. 00:06:56.155 --> 00:06:58.901 Cain just brought what was laying around. 00:06:58.901 --> 00:07:05.733 Cain was ungrateful and had a lack of generosity in his spirit. 00:07:05.733 --> 00:07:11.814 Able was grateful to God and gave willingly from a generous spirit. 00:07:11.854 --> 00:07:17.207 And so Cain is ticked that God has accepted able's offering, rejected his offering. 00:07:17.207 --> 00:07:19.572 He lures able into the field. 00:07:19.572 --> 00:07:22.128 I don't know what he said hey, let's go to the field and throw the baseball around. 00:07:22.128 --> 00:07:22.600 I don't know. 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.385 He gets able in the field and he kills it. 00:07:25.385 --> 00:07:30.584 God shows up and says hey, cain, what happened to your brother able? 00:07:30.584 --> 00:07:31.246 Cain says I don't know. 00:07:31.246 --> 00:07:32.971 Am I my brother's keeper? 00:07:32.971 --> 00:07:34.542 And the answer there is absolutely. 00:07:34.542 --> 00:07:34.943 You are. 00:07:34.943 --> 00:07:38.251 We're responsible to each other and for one another. 00:07:38.859 --> 00:07:43.014 And Cain ends up being cursed and sent out to wonder the earth. 00:07:43.014 --> 00:07:50.012 And so, in one act of sin, one act of the flesh, adam and Eve have lost both their sons. 00:07:50.012 --> 00:07:53.974 But God is good and he gives Adam and Eve another son. 00:07:53.974 --> 00:07:54.993 His name is Seth. 00:07:54.993 --> 00:07:58.054 And so there begins another branch on the family tree. 00:07:58.054 --> 00:08:02.218 Cain's branch trends in one direction, toward chaos and brokenness. 00:08:02.218 --> 00:08:09.883 God shows up through Seth's lineage and begins to work again in Adam and Eve's family. 00:08:10.536 --> 00:08:11.623 Genesis, chapter five. 00:08:11.623 --> 00:08:14.878 You get a little bit of a genealogy In Genesis chapter six. 00:08:14.878 --> 00:08:17.404 Things have gone from bad to worse. 00:08:17.404 --> 00:08:22.702 Things have gone from bad to worse and the whole earth is full of violence. 00:08:22.702 --> 00:08:26.303 The hearts of men and women are corrupt. 00:08:26.303 --> 00:08:32.394 Every intention of the thought of every heart is evil, Except there's one man in his family. 00:08:32.394 --> 00:08:33.514 The man's name is Noah. 00:08:33.514 --> 00:08:36.565 Noah finds favor in the eyes of God. 00:08:36.565 --> 00:08:38.875 Favor can also mean grace. 00:08:39.115 --> 00:08:45.961 God is gracious to Noah because Noah, in the middle of a broken and twisted generation, noah believes God. 00:08:45.961 --> 00:09:00.203 And isn't that good news for us today, that even in the middle of a world that seems to be trending toward disorder, in a world where chaos and violence reign supreme, we can stand strong, even if we stand alone. 00:09:00.203 --> 00:09:02.682 And God will be gracious to his people. 00:09:02.682 --> 00:09:07.194 And so God comes to Noah and says Noah, I need you to do something for me. 00:09:07.194 --> 00:09:08.579 I need you to build a boat. 00:09:08.579 --> 00:09:10.720 Noah's like what's a boat? 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:14.900 God's like it's what you're gonna need when the rain comes, and Noah's like what's rain? 00:09:14.900 --> 00:09:17.342 But yeah, he believes God. 00:09:17.342 --> 00:09:21.159 And at about 480 years of age, noah begins to build a boat. 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:23.669 He works on it for 120 years. 00:09:23.669 --> 00:09:27.673 How many of you are getting some new life plans right now, even as we're talking about that? 00:09:28.096 --> 00:09:45.939 And at the age of 600, the rain begins to fall on the earth and Noah and his family and a bunch of animals load up the boat and God closes the door and judgment falls on the earth and God begins again and through the flood, he preserves Noah and his family. 00:09:45.939 --> 00:09:49.218 Finally, the day comes, the ark comes to rest on the top of a mountain. 00:09:49.218 --> 00:09:55.741 God opens the door, noah and his family exit the ark the only people left on the planet. 00:09:55.741 --> 00:10:03.420 Noah gets off and immediately, as a response to the graciousness of God, noah builds an altar. 00:10:03.420 --> 00:10:07.024 Builds an altar and begins to worship God. 00:10:07.024 --> 00:10:13.043 God comes and makes a covenant with Noah, says Noah, never again will I destroy the earth like this. 00:10:13.043 --> 00:10:16.283 I'm gonna preserve you, I'm gonna preserve your line, your family. 00:10:16.283 --> 00:10:20.665 I'm gonna one day bring deliverance through your family. 00:10:22.534 --> 00:10:25.879 Then Genesis, chapter nine, ends with a bit of an R rated scene. 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:31.584 Cause Noah, even though he was faithful to God, found favor in the eyes of God and made a covenant with God. 00:10:31.584 --> 00:10:33.120 Noah was not a perfect man. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:48.962 And Genesis nine ends with Noah's grandson being cursed because of this weird scene that ultimately has massive ramifications for the Israelite people all throughout the New Testament or the Old Testament Genesis 10, you get another genealogy. 00:10:48.962 --> 00:10:50.237 Genesis 11,. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:53.125 People are migrating to the East. 00:10:53.125 --> 00:10:58.360 They're doing what God told them to do, they're being fruitful, they're multiplying, they're going to fill the earth. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:15.439 But then, all of a sudden, they get to this plane and they gather in this plane and, rather than carrying out the mandate of God into the earth, they're like, hey, this is a great place to settle down, build a tower with its top in the heavens, and we're going to make a name for ourselves right here on this plane. 00:11:15.439 --> 00:11:25.459 So, rather than carrying the glory of God into the earth, rather than allowing God to dictate to them how they're going to live their lives, they say no, we're going to do it our way. 00:11:25.459 --> 00:11:31.442 We're going to build a tower, we're going to reach God on our terms, we're going to make our name great. 00:11:31.442 --> 00:11:34.401 But God's committed to his plan. 00:11:34.401 --> 00:11:43.362 So he comes down, he visits the people on the planes of Shinar and he scatters them all throughout the earth and we call it the tower of Babel. 00:11:43.362 --> 00:11:46.483 And that's Genesis four through 11. 00:11:46.483 --> 00:12:00.768 That's where we're going today, and the reason that we're putting all of this in two weeks Genesis one through 11 is because this is a pattern that helps us understand why the world is the way that it is. 00:12:00.834 --> 00:12:08.400 So today, let's talk for a few moments about five impacts that sin has on me and on you and on our world. 00:12:08.400 --> 00:12:10.480 Number one sin. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:20.442 Sin corrupts or introduces dysfunction or it breaks connection to Almighty God and it inhibits our worship. 00:12:20.442 --> 00:12:23.281 We see that in Genesis, chapter four. 00:12:23.281 --> 00:12:29.543 For some reason, cain and Abel decide to make an offering to God. 00:12:29.543 --> 00:12:33.584 Abel's offering is from a generous spirit, a grateful heart. 00:12:33.584 --> 00:12:34.543 Cain's is not. 00:12:34.543 --> 00:12:36.877 Cain's is not. 00:12:36.877 --> 00:12:41.645 And isn't that the impact that sin has on our lives? 00:12:41.645 --> 00:12:46.600 It stops us from worshiping God the way God intends to be worshiped. 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:49.622 God is all powerful, he is glorious. 00:12:49.622 --> 00:12:51.802 He is sovereign over all his creation. 00:12:51.802 --> 00:12:56.322 What that means for me and you is he is worthy of our worship. 00:12:56.322 --> 00:12:59.780 And yet sometimes we don't feel like worshiping, do we? 00:12:59.780 --> 00:13:03.423 Sometimes we'd rather do our thing. 00:13:03.423 --> 00:13:08.461 Sometimes we'd rather take care of us before we honor God. 00:13:08.461 --> 00:13:23.221 Cain's issue in Genesis, chapter four, is that, because of the impact of sin, cain's focus has turned inward Rather than Cain's focus being upward towards God and outward towards others. 00:13:23.221 --> 00:13:25.842 Sin has made Cain self-centered. 00:13:25.842 --> 00:13:41.034 Rather than a generosity of spirit, cain is concerned with holding on to what is his, and God invites us into his story and he invites us to give back to him generously. 00:13:41.115 --> 00:13:46.329 Paul says in the New Testament the Lord loves a cheerful giver. 00:13:46.329 --> 00:13:55.870 A cheerful giver, jesus said to his followers God's looking for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, from a pure heart. 00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:58.254 A place of worship, a place of willingness. 00:13:58.254 --> 00:14:02.158 It's a get to, not a have to, not a have to. 00:14:02.158 --> 00:14:09.678 Abel gives freely and generously, grateful to God. 00:14:09.678 --> 00:14:19.453 Cain gives reluctantly from the leftovers because he feels like he's supposed to out of obligation. 00:14:19.453 --> 00:14:23.394 Can I challenge you to evaluate your world a little bit? 00:14:23.394 --> 00:14:28.793 Are you giving freely, generously, from the overflow of a grateful spirit? 00:14:28.793 --> 00:14:31.846 You know God has given us so much, has he not? 00:14:31.846 --> 00:14:42.852 John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that we who could believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. 00:14:42.852 --> 00:15:01.233 When we understand that God is generous, god is a giver, it creates a generous spirit within us, and I'm not just talking about money, I'm talking about time and effort and love and compassion to those who don't even know Jesus yet. 00:15:01.324 --> 00:15:05.670 Generosity isn't just about what you do with your finances, it's about what you do with your life. 00:15:05.670 --> 00:15:16.268 Generosity at the core is an act of worship, a response to a generous God who's been good and gracious to us. 00:15:16.268 --> 00:15:21.610 Can I just say this morning I'm so thankful to be part of a really generous church. 00:15:21.610 --> 00:15:31.232 Not only does this church give generously financially, this church gives generously of time, this church gives generously of service. 00:15:31.232 --> 00:15:44.693 This church is a place where anybody can come and feel welcomed and loved and a place that you can belong, and the reason is because it's full of people who generously give of what God has given to you. 00:15:44.693 --> 00:15:46.369 Thanks for being generous. 00:15:46.369 --> 00:15:53.874 Thank you for who you are, for allowing the overflow of grace in your life to flow the people around you. 00:15:53.874 --> 00:16:01.855 May we always be a generous people who worship God and spirit and truth from a pure heart. 00:16:04.324 --> 00:16:06.630 Sin fractures our connection. 00:16:06.630 --> 00:16:08.395 It inhibits our worship. 00:16:08.395 --> 00:16:13.995 The second thing that sin does sin brings dysfunction into our relationships with others. 00:16:13.995 --> 00:16:17.933 Anybody wanna say amen to that this morning? 00:16:17.933 --> 00:16:20.908 Relationships are hard, I always tell our youth. 00:16:20.908 --> 00:16:26.890 I used to say all the time relationships are hard because people are weird and you're people and I'm people right. 00:16:26.890 --> 00:16:29.932 And the reason we're weird is because we sin. 00:16:29.932 --> 00:16:30.595 We fall. 00:16:30.595 --> 00:16:34.745 We want what we want at the expense of what somebody else needs. 00:16:34.745 --> 00:16:36.211 We're selfish at the core. 00:16:36.211 --> 00:16:40.755 Sin fractures our relationships not only with God. 00:16:40.755 --> 00:16:43.212 It brings dysfunction into our relationships with one another. 00:16:43.904 --> 00:16:48.972 Genesis four begins with broken worship that overflows into murder. 00:16:48.972 --> 00:17:01.742 Adam's and Eve's first son kills their second son because of the exponential impact of sin in their lives. 00:17:01.742 --> 00:17:05.769 Cain's angry, his face falls. 00:17:05.769 --> 00:17:11.673 God says, cain, if you do well, will you not be accepted? 00:17:11.673 --> 00:17:14.131 Now your face will be lifted up. 00:17:14.131 --> 00:17:17.692 But sin is crouching at your door, cain. 00:17:17.692 --> 00:17:19.850 Its desire is for you. 00:17:19.850 --> 00:17:22.488 Sin wants to consume you from the inside out. 00:17:22.488 --> 00:17:28.253 And God says, cain, you must rule over the sin in you. 00:17:28.253 --> 00:17:30.791 But Cain's like me and he's like you. 00:17:30.791 --> 00:17:37.512 He has no power in and of his own strength to rule over the sin within Sin, rather rules over him. 00:17:37.512 --> 00:17:45.276 He calls his brother out into the field and in Genesis, chapter four, he murders his brother. 00:17:46.925 --> 00:17:55.171 But the dysfunction in Adam and Eve's family doesn't end there, because later on in Genesis, chapter four, cain's got a great, great grandson. 00:17:55.171 --> 00:17:56.475 His name's Lamik. 00:17:56.475 --> 00:18:02.594 And Lamik says to his wives, in Genesis four, 23, adam and Zilla, his wives, hear my voice. 00:18:02.594 --> 00:18:04.813 You, wives of Lamik, listen to what I say. 00:18:04.813 --> 00:18:08.769 I've killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:13.913 If Cain's revenge is seven fold, then Lamik's is 77 fold. 00:18:13.913 --> 00:18:17.072 Lamik's, like you, thought grandpa was bad. 00:18:17.072 --> 00:18:21.352 Look at me, look at me. 00:18:21.352 --> 00:18:38.505 Adam and Eve's family, because of sin, falls into disorder and chaos, and I say that to give, maybe, you a little bit of hope today, if you're looking at your family, there's some dysfunction in my family too. 00:18:38.505 --> 00:18:44.736 There's some disorder in some of my relationships too, because I want you to see what happens next. 00:18:44.736 --> 00:18:45.480 Genesis four, 25,. 00:18:45.501 --> 00:18:45.985 Adam knew his wife again. 00:18:45.985 --> 00:18:52.225 She bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, god has appointed for me another offspring. 00:18:52.225 --> 00:18:54.643 Instead of able, for Cain killed him. 00:18:54.643 --> 00:19:03.905 To Seth also, a son was born and he called his name Enosh, and at that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. 00:19:03.905 --> 00:19:14.258 So on one side of the family tree you've got Cain, who murdered his brother, and great, great grandson Lamik, who says if Cain's bad, I'm 77 times worse. 00:19:14.258 --> 00:19:25.345 But on the other side of the family tree you've got a son named Seth, who has a son, and in that generation people begin to call on the name of God again. 00:19:26.717 --> 00:19:30.681 So if your family today is in dysfunction, you're looking at things when I don't know if things are ever gonna get better. 00:19:30.681 --> 00:19:50.945 Stay faithful, keep praying, keep believing, keep loving and serving your family in the name of Jesus, because God is the God who's able to bring beauty from the ashes, and there's coming a day I believe this with all my heart where your family will one day again call on the name of Almighty God. 00:19:50.945 --> 00:19:58.225 And maybe you see it or maybe you don't, but here's the thing you can be the example for the generations to follow. 00:19:58.225 --> 00:20:10.778 Maybe you didn't have that growing up, maybe you didn't have grandpa or mom or dad to look at and say that's what it looks like to follow Jesus, but you can be that example for the generations to come after you. 00:20:10.778 --> 00:20:13.025 You can be that example for your friends. 00:20:13.025 --> 00:20:15.745 You can be that example in the office. 00:20:15.745 --> 00:20:35.531 You can be what you needed when you were young and you can believe that one day, god who allowed Adam and Eve's family to experience incredible pain, the same God, will be at work in your family To redeem and restore. 00:20:35.531 --> 00:20:37.706 To redeem and restore. 00:20:45.671 --> 00:20:57.562 Genesis, chapter five it's the genealogy, and every line in the genealogy goes something like here's a name, here's how long this person lived and he died. 00:20:57.562 --> 00:21:02.950 Name, time of life, and they died. 00:21:02.950 --> 00:21:09.269 And if you put Genesis five up against Genesis one, you notice the difference in repetition. 00:21:09.269 --> 00:21:12.680 Genesis five and he died and he died and he died. 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:15.678 Genesis one before the fall it was good. 00:21:15.678 --> 00:21:19.354 It was good it was good In the middle. 00:21:19.515 --> 00:21:21.630 Genesis three sin enters the world. 00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:28.401 Sin leads to death and we see that in the genealogy in Genesis chapter five. 00:21:28.401 --> 00:21:30.302 Now there is one exception. 00:21:30.302 --> 00:21:31.208 His name is Enoch. 00:21:31.208 --> 00:21:33.246 Enoch walked with God and God took him. 00:21:33.246 --> 00:21:33.670 He was no more. 00:21:33.670 --> 00:21:35.290 And that's all you get about Enoch. 00:21:35.290 --> 00:21:43.411 I'm like can we not get a little bit more about Enoch, like in the middle of all this, like that's actually some good news, let's talk more about that guy, you know. 00:21:43.411 --> 00:21:47.381 But that's all we get about Enoch in Genesis chapter five. 00:21:47.381 --> 00:21:56.413 But we see how quickly the world has been broken and corrupted, which is number four. 00:21:56.916 --> 00:22:00.475 Sin corrupts both the human heart and the entire earth. 00:22:00.475 --> 00:22:06.778 So after the genealogy in Genesis chapter five, it lands on a man named Noah. 00:22:06.778 --> 00:22:23.777 And what we see in Genesis chapter six there's this strange little interlude at the beginning of chapter six where the sons of God and the daughters of man get together and that's not a good scenario and we can talk about that another day. 00:22:23.777 --> 00:22:37.139 But then, genesis six, verse five the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil, continually. 00:22:37.139 --> 00:22:45.313 So this is what sin has done to the human heart, every intention of the thoughts of the heart. 00:22:45.313 --> 00:22:46.618 What a phrase, right. 00:22:46.618 --> 00:22:49.578 It's not just like people were bad occasionally. 00:22:49.578 --> 00:22:55.750 No, it's like the deepest part of who we are is broken beyond repair. 00:22:55.750 --> 00:23:04.310 Every intention of the thoughts of the heart, the stuff nobody sees and nobody knows about, the inner motivations that make us who we are. 00:23:04.310 --> 00:23:06.137 That's where we're broken. 00:23:06.137 --> 00:23:08.070 This is what sin has done to us. 00:23:08.070 --> 00:23:13.423 It has corrupted us at the core, the very core of our being. 00:23:14.923 --> 00:23:15.630 Paul, in Ephesians, chapter two. 00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:34.670 He expounds on the impact that sin has had on our lives and he says this you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 00:23:34.670 --> 00:23:37.509 So for some of us, this used to be who we were. 00:23:37.509 --> 00:23:45.429 This is past tense, but that same spirit is still at work in the world today, in people who do not know God. 00:23:45.429 --> 00:23:58.023 Paul says we all once lived there in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 00:23:58.023 --> 00:24:00.669 This is what sin has done to the human heart. 00:24:00.669 --> 00:24:04.144 This is what sin has done to us. 00:24:04.144 --> 00:24:08.008 But not only has sin corrupted us. 00:24:08.028 --> 00:24:08.430 Genesis six goes on. 00:24:08.430 --> 00:24:10.069 We get the introduction of Noah. 00:24:10.069 --> 00:24:12.088 Noah finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. 00:24:12.088 --> 00:24:14.627 He's a righteous man, blameless in his generation. 00:24:14.627 --> 00:24:15.742 He walked with God. 00:24:15.742 --> 00:24:21.310 And then Genesis six 11 says the earth was corrupt in God's sight. 00:24:21.310 --> 00:24:25.670 So not only is the human heart corrupt, the earth is corrupt. 00:24:25.670 --> 00:24:26.988 The earth was full of violence. 00:24:26.988 --> 00:24:35.610 God saw the earth and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 00:24:35.610 --> 00:24:44.256 So watch this because of Adam and Eve's sin, not only are they broken, but the creation is broken, the world is broken. 00:24:44.256 --> 00:24:49.430 Why does our world, our universe, trend toward disorder and chaos? 00:24:49.430 --> 00:24:54.470 Because sin broke not just us but the world around us. 00:24:56.057 --> 00:25:10.350 Paul says it like this in Romans, chapter one he's talking about the tendency that we all have to do things our own way and how God and his judgment has handed us over to what we want because of our sin nature. 00:25:10.350 --> 00:25:28.109 And Paul writes this in Romans, chapter one, verse 20, his invisible nature, god's invisible nature, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. 00:25:28.109 --> 00:25:35.542 So they amen or without excuse, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. 00:25:35.542 --> 00:25:40.590 But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. 00:25:40.590 --> 00:25:42.067 So this is what it's done to us. 00:25:42.350 --> 00:25:50.326 Now fast forward to Romans, chapter eight, and I want you to see what this is done to the world. 00:25:50.326 --> 00:25:56.310 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 00:25:56.310 --> 00:26:11.170 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 00:26:11.170 --> 00:26:18.130 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 00:26:18.130 --> 00:26:28.689 So, because we chose our way over God's way, creation itself now exists under the curse, the condemnation of sin. 00:26:28.689 --> 00:26:34.210 And Paul says in Romans eight creation itself is groaning. 00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:36.630 Because creation has been subjected to futility. 00:26:36.630 --> 00:26:39.570 It's not functioning as God intended. 00:26:39.570 --> 00:26:45.144 It's in bondage, just as we are in bondage to our sin. 00:26:45.144 --> 00:26:51.930 Sin corrupts both the human heart and the entire earth. 00:26:52.030 --> 00:26:59.950 And then number five sin places us under the just judgment of God. 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:05.910 Sin places us condemned before God. 00:27:05.910 --> 00:27:10.686 The wages of sin, scripture says, is death. 00:27:10.686 --> 00:27:14.849 The payment demanded of sin is blood. 00:27:14.849 --> 00:27:16.017 Because sin enters the world. 00:27:16.017 --> 00:27:21.303 We die because we've sinned. 00:27:21.303 --> 00:27:22.950 The wrath of God rest on. 00:27:24.277 --> 00:27:31.485 So we see that in Genesis seven and eight, as God wipes out everything he's made, except Noah and his family. 00:27:31.485 --> 00:27:35.950 Everything on the dry land and whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 00:27:35.950 --> 00:27:42.869 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground man and animals, creeping things, birds of the heavens that were blotted out from the earth. 00:27:42.869 --> 00:27:46.642 Only Noah was left. 00:27:46.642 --> 00:27:52.950 See, this is why we have to take sin seriously. 00:27:52.950 --> 00:27:53.758 We can't wink at sin. 00:27:53.758 --> 00:28:08.277 We can't pat sin on the head and act like it's just like a pet that we just keep around because we're not really fond of it, but it's just here, right Like we can't treat sin Carefully. 00:28:08.277 --> 00:28:11.646 We can't treat sin lightly or casually. 00:28:11.646 --> 00:28:14.883 We've got to kill sin in our lives. 00:28:14.883 --> 00:28:18.098 Gotta, put it to death. 00:28:18.098 --> 00:28:20.863 That's the language Paul uses in Romans. 00:28:20.863 --> 00:28:27.405 He says put to death the flesh that is within you by the power of the spirit of God within you. 00:28:27.405 --> 00:28:41.371 We can't treat sin casually, because sin corrupts everything, and that's what we see in Genesis 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. 00:28:42.555 --> 00:28:46.720 Fortunately, genesis 9 comes, God makes a covenant with Noah. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.399 And don't you love that? 00:28:49.399 --> 00:28:54.401 Even in the midst of the brokenness, we serve a God who's faithful. 00:28:54.401 --> 00:28:58.842 We sang earlier I've seen you move. 00:28:58.842 --> 00:29:06.816 You move the mountains, and I believe I'll see you do it again, y'all. 00:29:06.816 --> 00:29:10.586 The mountain of sin is massive. 00:29:10.586 --> 00:29:24.942 The impact of sin on the earth is exponential, and if there's anything we learn in Genesis 4 through 11, it's that we are powerless in the face of sin. 00:29:24.942 --> 00:29:26.988 Because what happens? 00:29:26.988 --> 00:29:36.244 God comes in Genesis 9, makes a covenant with Noah and by the end of Genesis 9, noah's grandson is cursed because of sin. 00:29:38.455 --> 00:29:43.721 Genesis 10 happens and then Genesis 11 comes and the Tower of Babel happens. 00:29:43.721 --> 00:29:47.085 And people are doing what people still do everywhere. 00:29:47.085 --> 00:29:49.804 They're trying to reach God on their own terms. 00:29:49.804 --> 00:29:53.858 They're trying to seize the keys to the kingdom back from God. 00:29:53.858 --> 00:29:58.102 They're trying to do it their way and make their own name great. 00:29:58.102 --> 00:30:00.201 And don't you and I do the same thing? 00:30:00.201 --> 00:30:09.743 So God says in Genesis 11, behold, they're one people. 00:30:09.743 --> 00:30:11.680 They have all one language. 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:13.521 This is only the beginning of what they will do. 00:30:13.521 --> 00:30:17.660 Nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 00:30:17.660 --> 00:30:26.841 So God comes down and confuses their language, disperses them from there over the face of all the earth and they left off building the city. 00:30:26.841 --> 00:30:33.545 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. 00:30:33.634 --> 00:30:40.221 Now here's what's interesting the Hebrew word for Babel is the same Hebrew word that's later translated Babylon. 00:30:40.221 --> 00:30:55.277 And so what you see in Genesis 11 is this pride that exists within every single one of us that says I can be my own God, I can do it my way. 00:30:55.277 --> 00:31:00.061 I'm gonna build a tower and it's gonna be so impressive. 00:31:00.061 --> 00:31:01.640 God's gonna come down and see it. 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:04.843 I'm gonna reach God on my own terms. 00:31:04.843 --> 00:31:07.384 I'm gonna make my own name great. 00:31:07.384 --> 00:31:12.903 That is the spirit of Babylon that exists within every single human heart. 00:31:12.903 --> 00:31:22.802 Later, babylon becomes an empire Set up in opposition to the plan and the purpose of God and the earth. 00:31:22.802 --> 00:31:33.819 The New Testament writers pick that theme up, and the great enemy defeated at the end of the age, alongside the dragon, by the rider on the white horse, is called Babylon. 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:40.317 It's the spirit of prideful rebellion against the rule of Almighty God. 00:31:41.845 --> 00:31:43.400 Why is the world the way that it is? 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:48.067 Because Genesis one through 11 is the pattern of all humanity. 00:31:48.067 --> 00:31:53.980 God creates a good, perfect world and invites his people into relationship with him. 00:31:53.980 --> 00:31:59.600 People, lured away by their own desire, rebel against the rule of God. 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:05.740 They break the boundaries that God has put in place, not for our restriction but for our protection. 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:09.489 And because of sin, the world descends into chaos. 00:32:09.489 --> 00:32:17.100 And time and time again, we build our own babble, we attempt to be our own God. 00:32:17.100 --> 00:32:20.528 We seize the keys of the kingdom. 00:32:20.528 --> 00:32:33.086 One pastor said one time that Genesis one through 11 isn't just the story of what happened, it's the story of what always happens, it's the pattern for all humanity. 00:32:33.086 --> 00:32:36.585 So, thanks for coming to church today. 00:32:36.585 --> 00:32:40.628 What do we do with this? 00:32:40.628 --> 00:32:49.889 If this is why the world is the way it is because we have a tendency to rebel against God's rules, to break the boundaries that he's put in place for our own good. 00:32:49.889 --> 00:32:53.969 What do we do about this today? 00:32:55.400 --> 00:33:11.185 Well, jesus, in Revelation, chapter one, he shows up to a guy named John who's in exile, and he gives John a vision of what is to come, the world that will be. 00:33:11.185 --> 00:33:18.753 And John, when he sees Jesus, he's overwhelmed. 00:33:18.753 --> 00:33:28.009 He's overcome, because this time he doesn't see the baby in a manger, he sees one who's like a son of man. 00:33:28.009 --> 00:33:32.688 He's clothed with a long robe, he's got a golden sash around his chest. 00:33:32.688 --> 00:33:36.282 The hairs on his head were white like white wool, like snow. 00:33:36.282 --> 00:33:38.108 His eyes are like a flame of fire. 00:33:38.108 --> 00:33:42.427 His feet were like burnished bronze refined in a furnace. 00:33:42.427 --> 00:33:45.129 His voice was like the roar of many waters. 00:33:45.129 --> 00:33:53.669 In his right hand he held seven stars and from his mouth comes a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 00:33:53.669 --> 00:33:55.203 That's what John sees. 00:33:55.203 --> 00:34:01.986 He sees the risen, resurrected King Jesus in all of his glory and power. 00:34:02.420 --> 00:34:20.543 And when I saw him, john says, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand, the hand of blessing, on me, saying fear not, I'm the first and I'm the last, I'm the living one. 00:34:20.543 --> 00:34:30.411 I died and behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and hate. 00:34:30.411 --> 00:34:32.121 Ease, see, guys. 00:34:32.121 --> 00:34:57.704 What happens is when we seize the keys from Almighty God and we say I'll run my life, I'll order my life, I'll drive this ship myself, where we end up as a place called death, and death, promising freedom, promising life, captures us and we are powerless to get out of the prison that we have locked ourselves in. 00:34:57.704 --> 00:35:00.242 So what do we do? 00:35:00.242 --> 00:35:20.646 We surrender the keys to King Jesus, the first and the last, the one who died and the one who is alive forevermore, because he has the keys to everything that keeps us bound, what we're powerless to defeat. 00:35:20.646 --> 00:35:27.671 Jesus has defeated, is defeating and will forever defeat. 00:35:27.671 --> 00:35:33.090 He's the King, today, yesterday and forever. 00:35:33.090 --> 00:35:41.548 He's the rider on the white horse who will conquer the dragon, who will defeat the spirit of Babylon, who will redeem his people once and for all. 00:35:41.548 --> 00:35:48.139 He is the one who is worthy of the keys, and so Paul says in Romans 12, he's like. 00:35:48.180 --> 00:35:50.809 What's our response to the glory of Christ? 00:35:50.809 --> 00:35:54.008 It's to lay down our lives, to surrender. 00:35:54.008 --> 00:35:59.170 It's our reasonable response to who God is. 00:35:59.170 --> 00:36:03.070 We're not going to be conformed to the pattern of this world. 00:36:03.070 --> 00:36:13.108 We're going to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, surrender the keys and break the pattern. 00:36:14.820 --> 00:36:34.208 I don't have the power to break the Genesis 1 to 11 pattern, but Jesus, the risen one, the one who is alive forever, who's conquered death and hell in the grave, he can break the pattern of sin and shame and guilt that I find myself stuck in so many times. 00:36:34.208 --> 00:36:37.006 He can break the pattern of dysfunction. 00:36:37.006 --> 00:36:40.789 He can break the pattern of death and destruction. 00:36:40.789 --> 00:36:54.108 Jesus can conquer and lead you into victory in whatever it is that you're walking through, and maybe it won't look like you want it to look right now. 00:36:54.108 --> 00:37:00.527 Maybe the victory comes one day in glory when we see Jesus face to face. 00:37:00.527 --> 00:37:09.700 But Paul says in Corinthians we know that in Christ, god always leads his people in triumphant procession. 00:37:09.700 --> 00:37:20.130 So give Jesus the keys to your life, to your family, to your marriage, to your finances, to your business, your career, the dysfunction that you try to hide and you don't want anybody to know about. 00:37:20.130 --> 00:37:29.238 Give him the keys to that too, because he's the first, the last, the living one who is alive forevermore. 00:37:29.238 --> 00:37:30.590 Surrender the keys and break the pattern. 00:37:32.731 --> 00:37:33.378 Father, we are thankful today. 00:37:33.378 --> 00:37:35.403 Surrender the keys and break the pattern. 00:37:35.403 --> 00:37:50.648