Introduction to the Series Here is a fact that might surprise and traumatize you. Nobody really knows when Jesus was born. We can come up with a space of two years (5-4 B.C.) for his birth and good arguments have been made for almost every month of the year. So, December 25 is a bit of a convention, an agreement, followed through the years and cemented by Hallmark and the retail industry. Having said that, December 25 is as good a day as any to celebrate the historical moment in which the incarnation of God the Son took place. I do think that it is appropriate for us to celebrate one of the greatest events in the history of redemption. The host of heaven certainly did when Jesus was born. Introduction to This Sermon Could we get any more graphic, more specific, more all-inclusive words than verse 5? Immediately after, you have what may be the saddest passage in all of Scripture, 6. What makes this passage so graphic and so sad? This passage signals the end of love for God in the heart of humanity. A. Before we get into this passage and Christmas, we have briefly to consider what it means for God to be sorry. "It is surprising to read that the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, whose wisdom is unsearchable and who knows the end from the beginning, repents, that is, regrets or is sorry that he made Saul king." Ralph Dale Davis B. There are several things going on here that we need to keep in mind. 1. God uses language we can understand even though language is limited to describe God fully. a. He uses human forms to get a concept across – the arm of the Lord, the mouth of the Lord, the hand of the Lord, etc. b. He describes himself in terms of human emotions even though he doesn't feel things exactly like we do. 2. There is more than that going on though – God as a personal God is really grieved by sin. a. Humanity's sin really grieved him. b. God is immanently involved with the life of his people and this repentance or regretting shows that. 3. The "change of mind" described in this passages is consistent with God's revealed and immutable mode of operation – key passage to help us understand what is going on here. a. God always hates evil and always loves righteousness. b. Notice that humanity changed its ways – from serving the Lord to going against the Lord's direct command. "God does not change his mind; he does change his response…. His actions change not because he has changed his character, but because we have changed our attitude." Tim Chester II. In order to understand the significance of this passage, we need understand the original intent of God's creation. A. Humanity was created to love God. 1. We were hardwired to live in an intimate relationship with the Creator that would shape every motive, every desire, every choice, every word, and every action. 2. If at any moment you asked Adam why he was doing what he was doing, he could say to you, "Because I love my God." a. Why do you speak to your spouse the way you do? Because I love my God. b. Why do you treat your children the way you do? Because I love my God. c. Why do you spend your money the way you do? Because I love my God. d. Why do you schedule your life the way you do? Because I love my God. 3. Love of God was the plan. a. We were created to recognize his existence and his grandeur and his authority. b. In acts of deeply personal love, we would choose to serve him with all our time and energy, and it wouldn't be a hassle. c. We would obey because of our personal love for God. d. Because we loved God the lawgiver, we would find joy in following his laws. e. We would find joy in serving him and staying inside his boundaries. B. It's very clear that something went terribly wrong – we strayed from that original intent. 1. Love of God no longer ruled the heart of man. 2. Genesis 6:5-8 signals the end of love for him in the heart of man. a. This doesn't mean that human beings stopped loving. b. Every human being is hardwired to be a lover. c. The question is: what love rules our heart? C. At the deepest, most profound level of our existence, we love, and we will either love God or we will love ourselves. 2 Cor. 5:15 – … and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 2. Without Christ we live for ourselves. a. The thing that always replaces love of God is love of self. b. The thing that leads to an endless catalog of evil is always love of self. c. You and I will find a way to insert ourselves into the center of our world. d. We are obsessed with our will; we want to be sovereign over our own lives; we want to set the rules; we are addicted to our own pleasure and happiness. 1) What makes marriage so hard? a) You have two individuals that love themselves. b) Very quickly, that self-love will escalate to conflict. 2) What makes parenting so hard? a) You have given birth to children that love themselves. b) As soon as you start to give them rules that rub against their desires, that self-love will escalate to conflict. 3) What makes being parented so hard? You have sinners for parents. 3. Every sin is rooted in self-love. a. Every act of murder and violence is rooted in self-love. b. Every moment of greed is rooted in self-love. c. Every word of gossip and slander is rooted in self-love. d. Every act of adulterous desire is rooted in self-love. 4. By Genesis 6, the world had exploded into chaos because this self-love ruled the heart of every man, woman, and child. 5. The same self-love still rules today; all you need to do is watch the news. D. The heart of the Lord was grieved because his beautiful creation, designed to live in an eternally loving relationship with its Creator, had betrayed him. III. How did God respond to this ultimate betrayal? A. The story doesn't hesitate to tell us, 7. 1. He lovingly and personally designed every element in creation to provide humanity with every good thing they ever would want and could never design for themselves, and they betrayed his love. 2. So in an act of holy justice – not ugly vengeance – God sent the waters of the flood to wipe the earth clean. 3. God had every right to blot out mankind – so the flood came and destroyed humanity. IV. Not the end of the story. A. It seems like a tragic end to the story, doesn't it? B. Thankfully, the story doesn't end there. C. Genesis 6 has a verse 8. 1. In an act of sovereign grace, God placed his saving favor on Noah and his family. 2. Noah wasn't deserving; God was zealously loving. D. If you read past the covenant God makes with Noah (Genesis 9:1-17) to the genealogies of Noah's sons, you will find a familiar name – Abram (11:26). Gen. 11:26 – Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 1. God changes Abram's name and makes a covenant with him, promising to bless all the nations of the earth. Gen. 22:18 – In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. 2. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul alerts us to the fact that the seed of Abraham is Jesus Christ. Gal. 3:16 – Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed,"who is Christ. E. This is what Advent is all about. 1. God was personally grieved by the betrayal of his creation, but motivated by an even greater personal love. 2. Instead of sending a flood to blot out the earth, he sent his Son to be exposed to all the harsh realities of life in a fallen world. 3. Despite daily pain and temptation, Jesus lived perfectly to provide the ultimate sacrifice that we could never provide. 4. In so doing, he paid the penalty for sin in full, quenching the wrath of God and restoring hope to the entire universe. F. This redemptive work of the Messiah is both an event and a process. 1. By his work on the cross, the power of sin has been forever broken. a. He made a public spectacle of the enemy, triumphing over him. b. We don't need to live under the slavery of sin any longer. 2. But a battle still rages, because the presence of sin still remains. a. It's being eradicated by sanctifying grace. b. but it's an ongoing process. V. Honest interaction with Genesis 6. A. When you reflect on Genesis 6, you need to be honest. B. There are times when your thoughts are shaped by love of God... but not always. 1. There are times when things we desire flow from a heart that loves the Lord... but not always. 2. There are times when you act from a pure heart that loves God... but not always. C. You and I gave empirical evidence this week that the war of love still goes on in our hearts. In this Advent season, you need to embrace the sad reality that your heart is still prone to betraying the Lord. You love yourself everyday. But the Advent is also a glorious celebration of the hope that is ours, represented by that baby in a manger who has come on a mission of rescue and deliverance. There will be a day when every microbe of sin is destroyed and every cell in your soul will be controlled by the love of God. Look forward to that day, because when it comes, it will never expire. You will live inside God's boundaries and live for his glory forever and ever and ever. As you think about the need for the advent from Gen. 6 throughout the week, ask yourself the following questions: · What are some things that grieve your heart?
Do the same things that grieve the Lord bring your heart sadness? · In what ways this week did you allow love of self to replace love for God? What was the outcome? · In what ways this week did you die to self and act out of love for God? What was the outcome? May the Lord give you freedom to enjoy his love in Jesus Christ as you think about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-need-for-savior-genesis-65-8.html |  | Send olympiabp blog feed to OBPC Podcast |  |  | |
