Turn with me back to Genesis
chapter 9. Something stood out to me in
the end of this chapter and I want to show you what that is. I want
to show you how awful our condition is right here on this earth. I want to show you how awful
it is. And then I want to show you a condition that we can all
start looking forward to. Two Sundays ago, we looked at
Noah and the flood. God's great judgment on this
earth because of its sin. Everybody knows the story of
Noah's Ark. Everybody loves the story of
Noah's Ark. But what most people don't enter into is the fact
that it is the judgment of God on this world because of its
sin. That's what the story is. and
only having one place of safety from that judgment, inside that
ark. God spewed out his wrath on this
earth. And it didn't matter whether
the people who were standing on this earth were old or young.
It didn't matter if they were rich or poor. Religious or not religious, it
didn't matter. God killed them all. He killed them all. It says,
but Noah found grace. He found grace. Noah received
favor from God. He received mercy from God. He spared Noah. And he spared his house. He was
merciful to his house by putting them in that ark. He put them
in that ark, the one place of safety. And God beat upon that
ark. And he flooded this wicked world. And he washed it clean from all
that vileness. He washed it clean. All that
wickedness and all that vileness was gone. Chapter 9 verse 1 says, and God
blessed Noah and his sons. Chapter 9 verse 8 says, and God
spoke to Noah and to his sons. Verse 11, he said, I will establish
my covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be cut
off anymore by the waters of a flood. Neither shall there
anymore be a flood to destroy the earth. Verse 15 says, and
I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and
every living creature of all flesh And the waters shall no
more become a flood to destroy all flesh." God's goodness and
mercy to Noah and his sons. His goodness and his mercy. He
wiped out all of that filth. And then he set Noah on a clean
earth. Verse 18 says, and the sons of
Noah that went forth of the ark were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth. And Ham is the father of Canaan.
These are the three sons of Noah, and of them was the whole earth
overspread. And Noah began to be a husbandman,
and he planted a vineyard, and he got drunk. Really? That's how you repay God for
all of his goodness and all of his mercy. He got drunk. God wiped out this world, but
he did not wipe the sin out of this world. He cleaned it because of the
filth and the sin. And he set eight souls back down
on this earth. Verse 21 says, And he drank of
the wine, and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan
saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. Ham saw his father's nakedness
in a way that should not be. Sin was raging again. Sin was growing. Sin was spreading
again. History repeated itself. It repeated itself. The similarities
between Adam and Noah are amazing. They're amazing. In the beginning,
this world was without form and void. It was covered in water.
It's all covered in water. And God said, let the waters
be gathered together and let the dry land appear. And God caused all that water
to come down and rest in the sea. And the same thing happened
for Noah. This whole earth was covered
with water until the peak of Mount Ararat started to come
out of it. And God caused all that water to settle down and
rest into the sea. Look over at Genesis chapter
1. Genesis 1 verse 28 says, And God blessed them, Adam and
Eve, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth." It's okay, it happens. I heard it happen to a pastor's
wife one time. Don't worry about it. He told them to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth and have
dominion over all the fish and the cattle and everything that
moves. Okay, now go with me back over to Genesis 9. Genesis 9, look at verse 1. It
says, And God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them,
Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth And the fear
of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth
and upon every fowl of the air and upon all that moveth upon
the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea into your hand are
they delivered. God told him the same thing. God put Adam in a garden, right? To dress it and keep it. He was
a husbandman. That's what he was. Chapter 9
verse 20 says, And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted
a vineyard. For both of these men, the means that God allowed for
them both to fall into sin was the fruit of that garden. For
both of them. For both of these men, the result
of their sin exposed their nakedness. But both of these men were covered
by another. I'm so glad. So glad. Covered by another. Noah was no better than his father
Adam. We are no better than our father
Noah. No better. Sin has covered this earth again. Just like it did in the days
of Noah. It does not matter what we do. It is infected with sin. Everybody knows that to be true.
It's infected with sin. Noah got drunk. He got drunk. Is there anything wrong with
wine? Is there anything wrong with
wine? Our Lord said, nothing that goes into the mouth can
defile you. Nothing. Turn with me over to
John chapter 2. John chapter 2 says, In the third day there was a
marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
And both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage.
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto them,
They have no wine. They ran out. They lacked. They
wanted. They lacked. And they ran out. Verse seven says, Jesus saith
unto them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them
up to the brim. And he said unto them, draw out
now and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bear it.
When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made
wine and knew not whence it was, but the servants, which drew
the water knew. The governor of the feast called
the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man at the beginning
doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then
that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine
until now. This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory, and
his disciples believed on him. He made it. He made it. Now turn with me
to Luke 7. Luke 7 verse 33 says, For John the Baptist came neither
eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, he hath a devil. The Son of Man is come eating
and drinking, and you say, behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners. He's a wine drinker. Not only
does he make it, he drinks it. Now turn with me to Matthew 26. Matthew 26 verse 29 says, but
I say unto you, this is the Lord speaking. But I say unto you,
I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until
that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. He is going to serve it in glory. One more, go to 1 Timothy 5.
1 Timothy chapter 5. Paul is telling Timothy in verse
23, drink no longer water, but use
a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and then often infirmities. Here's the point I'm trying to
make. The sin was not in the vine. The sin was not in the
grape. The sin was not in the wine. The sin was in Noah. He was in Noah. What this word says is don't
be given to wine. Don't be consumed by the wine. Don't be overtaken by wine. Don't become drunk with anything. That's what it's saying, anything.
Is it okay to eat food? Sure it is. But the word says,
don't be gluttonous. Is it okay to have a job and
earn money and buy things? Sure it is. But the word says,
don't be consumed by it. Don't be money hungry. It's the root of evil. These
things are not the problem. I am the problem. I'm the problem. Sin is mixed with all that I
do. Every single thing. A man wrote
this, I believe it was George Whitfield, I'm not sure, but
listen to this. This is the truth of sin, okay? If you want to
get honest about sin, He wrote, I cannot pray, but I sin. Anybody who's ever had to stand
up here and pray in public understands that. I cannot hear or preach a sermon,
but I sin. I cannot give an alms or receive
the sacrament, but I sin. Nay, I cannot so much as confess
my sins, but my very confessions are still aggravations of them.
My repentance needs to be repented of. My tears want washing. And the very washing of my tears
needs still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer.
Thus, not only the worst of my sins, But even the best of my
duties speak me a child of Adam. I can't get away from it. In so much that whenever I reflect
on my past actions, me thinks I cannot but look on my whole
life from the time of my conception to this very moment to be but
as one continued act of sin. Is that not the truth? Is that
not the truth of sin? Man at his best state is altogether
vanity. Noah represents every single
one of us. Every one of us. Laying there
in our sin and our rebellion against God. But Noah received
a covering. The gospel is so good. It's so
exciting. When a sinner gets a hold of
his sin and then finds out there's a covering. That's me, but there's
a covering. Go with me back over to Genesis
nine. Genesis 9 verse 20 says, And
Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard. And
he drank of the wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered
within his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan
saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth Goodness
and mercy. Grace and peace. I think about Psalm 23, it says
no matter what the good news is, goodness and mercy are following
right behind me, covering up all my. Sins. Paul kept talking to the faithful
in Christ Jesus in all these epistles. Grace and peace be
unto you. The gift of Christ, the gift
of the blood of Christ and peace with God through that blood be
given to you. It says, Shem and Japheth took
a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and went backward
and covered the nakedness of their father and their faces
were backward and they saw not their father's nakedness." Noah
received a precious robe. That's what he received, a very
precious robe. Verse 24 says, And Noah awoke
from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto
him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants, shall
he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord
God of Shem. Shem means honor. It means authority. It means
lofty. It means seated. That is Jesus
Christ. Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ,
he has covered all my shame, robed me in his own robe of righteousness. Thanks be to God. Verse 26, he
said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be
his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and
he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his
servant. And Noah lived after the flood
350 years and all the days of Noah were 950 years and he died. Now Noah died because of the
sin that was still in the world. All right. He died because of
the sin that was still in him. That's why he died. It was still
in his nature. That's why he died. And then
chapter 10 is a long chapter of a long genealogy of men just
like Noah. Every one of them are just like
Noah. Every single one of them has
the same nature that Noah has, a nature of sin. And to this very day, We live
in a world that is still infected with sin. Still. Therefore it
is full of sinners. Sinners with a nature that can
do nothing more than rebel against God and then die. That's all
it can do. Rebel against God and then die. That is the condition that we
are in here on this earth. That's the condition we live
in, we move in, we breathe in, we work in. That's our condition. But I want to show you a condition
that we can start looking forward to. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. It says, therefore, if any man
be in Christ, if any man is covered in Christ, If goodness and mercy
comes to any man, if grace and peace comes to any man and covers
that man in Christ. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. He's a new creature. Different
from Adam. Different from Noah. Not the
same old sinful creature. He is a new creature. Sinless creature, just like Jesus
Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. When God destroyed this world
with a flood. That boat. set back down on the
same old earth. Those eight souls that came out
of that ark were the same old eight souls that went into the
ark. But our God has said, behold,
I'm going to make it all brand new. Brand new. Go with me over to Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65 and look at verse 17. For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth and the former former shall not be remembered
nor come into mind, but be glad and rejoice forever in that which
I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem
a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall
be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath
not filled his days, For the child shall die a hundred years
old, but the center being a hundred years old shall be accursed.
And they shall build houses and inhabit them. And they shall
plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build
and another inhabit. They shall not plant and another
eat. For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, mine
elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not
labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble, for they are the
seed of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them.
And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they are yet speaking,
I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and
dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." There's not going
to be any sin there. It is all going to be brand spanking
new. Brand new. Brand new creatures. This old me will not be there. Go over to 1 Corinthians 15.
I'll show you a couple more and we'll be finished. 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 45 says, And so it is written, the first
man, Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam made a quickening
spirit. That's Christ. How be it that
was not first, which is spiritual, but that which is natural as
flesh and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is
of the earth earthy. That's all he's ever going to
be. Sin. Sinful. The second man is the
Lord from heaven. If any man be in Christ, the second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. Aren't you so glad? Aren't you
so glad that this flesh and this blood will not go? Will it ever
be infected again? The Lord judged the earth. It
started over and sin took over. Will it ever be infected again?
It can't be. Flesh and blood can't inherit
it. Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show
you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. No more death, because there's
going to be no more sin. None. It's going to be brand
new. Brand spanking new. A new heaven, a new earth, a
new creature. A new nature. Christ. Christ in every one of them.
Go over to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3 verse 10 says, But the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also,
and the works that are therein shall be burned up. All of this
sin, all of this wickedness is going to be burned up. Seeing
then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, We, according
to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness." Nothing but righteousness. Nothing but
righteousness. That's going to be the new nature
of every soul there. Righteousness. Brand new. No possible way sin can infect
it. Last one. I'll close with this.
Go to Revelation 21. Revelation 21, look at verse
27. And there shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination
or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life. And he showed me a pure river
of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and out of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of
life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month. And the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And
His servants shall serve Him. And they shall see His face,
and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be
no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the
sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign
forever and ever. Isn't that wonderful? You know,
we look at this world, and we look at sin, and it brings us
down, and it brings us down, and we cannot imagine what it's
going to be like to have no more sin. Thanks be to God, He covered
us in Christ. Thanks be to God, He had mercy
on us in Christ. If any man be in Christ, he is
a brand new creature. I'm ready. I'm ready. All right,
let's stand together.