This week we continue looking at the “Evidence of Conflict”
between Satan and God Almighty. Someone
has said, “Our lives are not properly understood until there’s an appreciation
of the conflict waged by Satan against God.”
It’s a conflict in which every one of us is engaged whether we like it
or not; and Jesus knows it. In the final
week of His earthly ministry Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “If the
world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would
love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out
of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:18-19. He’s warning of the realities of the
conflict.
When I was in high school in Virginia the Charismatic Renewal
was in full bloom. High school and
college students from across our area were being regenerated by the power of
God and filled with the Holy Spirit with a wide variety of evidence of radical
change. Some, without provocation, piled
books and records together and burned them.
Others left behind drugs and alcohol.
Still others redirected their career plans and moved in the direction of
full-time Christian ministry. But I’ll
never forget what one guy did.
Possessing excellent artistic skills he took automotive paint and painted
the following words on both back panels of his GTO: “In this world you will have
tribulation. But be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Though I didn’t fully appreciate his
selection of verses back then, I certainly do now. Indeed, the condition of the world in the
early 1970s seems quite tame when compared to what we face today.
Sunday’s text puts us squarely into the jaws of Satan’s
frontal assault against God and His creation.
In less than three chapters Satan has conspired not only to fuel the
wickedness of every human heart, but directed his demonic henchmen to breed
with the daughters of men. We often
sing, “These are the days of Elijah,” and indeed they are. All around us today we see dry bones being
resurrected to newness of life. And yet,
like Noah, we are also living in the days of Noah where satanic forces run
roughshod and God’s promises seem shaky. That’s why this text is so important. It provides us a clear picture of how God
determined before Lucifer’s fall to gain the absolute, eternal victory. It’s the strategy to be employed whenever you’re
living in the days of Noah.
In preparation for Sunday’s message “In the Days of Noah”
you may wish to consider the following:
1. How
is human pride an assault on God’s sovereignty?
2. What
is the purpose of juxtapositioning the Enoch and Lamech of chapter 4 with the
Enoch and Lamech of chapter 5?
3. What
is the meaning of the name Lamech?
4. What
danger is there in the sons of God marrying the daughters of men?
5. What
is the reason for Enoch to name his son Methuselah?
6. How
is Methuselah one of the greatest illustrations of divine grace in the
Scriptures?
7. How
is 369 years more important than 969 years?
8. What
is the foundation of Noah’s righteousness?
9. In
what ways does Noah demonstrate faith in God?
10. What does
God mean in Genesis 6:3?
11. Why cover
the ark with tar on the inside and outside?
12. How is
Jesus like Noah and the church like the ark?
See you Sunday – come hell or high water!
