God Keeps His Promises | Sunday Message

Hey there, thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners.

I'm Greg Laurie encouraging you if you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Here's one to 11 and we're gonna return to it later because we're gonna start a new series on the Sermon on the Mount. And this is such a powerful portion of scripture all given by Jesus himself. So Genesis chapter six, the title of my message is God Keeps His Promises. Let's pray. Father, we're so glad you keep your promises to us.

We don't always keep our promises to you. Sometimes we are faithless, you are always faithful. Now we ask you to speak to us from your word. I pray for anybody here who doesn't know you that this would be eye-opening for them and they would want to get right with you. Or maybe someone who has stumbled and fallen in some way, shape, or form, that they could be restored after hearing this message from your word. We commit this Bible study to you now. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We've all had promises made to us.

Maybe some were broken. Maybe we made a promise to someone else that we broke. But the good news is, is when God makes a promise to us, He's good for it.

You can take it to the bank. He always keeps His promises. And in fact, every time you see a rainbow, it's a reminder that God keeps His promises.

Because the rainbow is a symbol of this covenant that He made with humanity after Noah and his family got out of the ark and landed safely, now the Lord was promising something very special to them. And God keeps His promises to us. Someone said that there are at least 3,000 promises from God to us in the Bible. Well, what are they? Here's just a few.

You might want to write down these references. God promises to forgive you of all of your sins. He promises to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God promises to give us a new life in Christ.

Because over in 2 Corinthians 5.17, it says, if any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. The old things have passed away. And behold, everything becomes fresh and new. I love that. One of the reasons I like it when it rains is everything gets cleaned.

All the dirty cars are cleaned. Right? And you might even see a rainbow afterwards. God makes all things new when we believe in Him. He promises to be with us in our hard times. Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now going through a very difficult time.

You feel as though you've been abandoned and you're alone. Here's what God says. Philippians 1.6 says, I'm sure of this. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. God also promises to give us peace in our hearts when we're tempted to worry. Because we're told in Philippians 4.6, don't worry about anything.

Pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all of us. All understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. God also promises to provide for your needs. Jesus says, don't be like the non-believers.

All they think about is what they're gonna eat, what they're gonna wear, what they're gonna drink. But rather, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. One other promise I would like to focus on. Jesus promises that He will come again to our world. That's right. Jesus said in John 14 three, I will come again.

And He means what He says and He says what He means. It's interesting, I read a Gallup poll that revealed that 66% of the American people believe Jesus Christ is coming back to the earth in the future. 66%. That's more than the amount of Americans that claim to be born again. The believers are believing Jesus is coming. I think even people who aren't Christians are alarmed at the state of our world right now.

The turmoil, the upheaval, the unraveling before our eyes, it appears, of our own culture. And they're saying, is this like what the Bible was talking about? They're wondering, is Armageddon coming? Jesus is coming again. And when the first one falls, the others will fall in rapid succession. And those events in chronological order are the rapture, the revealing of the antichrist, the tribulation period, the battle of Armageddon, the second coming, and then the millennium. So it starts with the rapture. That's the next event on the prophetic calendar. The word caught up is from the Greek word harpazo. It means to be taken by force. It's been translated into the word rapture.

That is commonly used to describe this event. We're caught up to meet the Lord. And I bring this up because Jesus actually said it would be like it was in the days of Noah before the Lord's return. The arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood, everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time, right until the day that Noah entered the ark.

They knew nothing until the flood came and swept everything away. The Son of Man's arrival will be like that. Two men will be working in the field. One will be taken, the other left behind.

Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken, and another left behind. So stay awake.

Be alert. You have no idea when your master will show up. So we're talking a little bit about Noah. Last time, Jonathan talked to us about how evil things were and how Noah managed to walk with God when no one else did. In the book of Amos that gives an insight, it says, shall two walk together unless they have agreed. Unless they have agreed. So to walk with God is to be in agreement with him. In fact, this can be translated, can two walk together unless they've made an appointment? So you have an appointment with God.

And I suggest you keep it. The Lord showed up in the Garden of Eden, and Adam was hiding. Why? Because he had sinned against the Lord. And God wants you to keep your appointment. You know, some people are always late for everything. Are you one of those people? Who are the late people? Raise your hand.

See, while you're raising your hand, you're owning that. You're the late people. Always late. Always 15 minutes late, right?

Why is that? You don't want to be late for your appointment with God. How many of you are punctual and always on time? Raise your hand. Oh, a few more of those people. Okay, now let me ask you another question.

How many of you who are punctual are married to a late person? Raise your hand. Interesting. Welcome to my world. I won't say who's who. But you might be able to figure it out.

But anyway. And speaking of marriage, the word, unless they have agreed, also speaks of a betrothal. Can two walk together unless they've been joined as if in marriage? My wife being married to Christ is used many times in Scripture. He's the groom. We're the bride, right? And my wife and I, you know, being married so many years, know each other very well. We'll go into a restaurant and we'll sit down, a restaurant we've been to before.

And before Kathy even picks up the menu, I'll say, you're going to order this. And she'll ignore me. And she'll go through this whole process of asking many questions about, substitute that for this and this for that.

And what about this other thing? And she goes around and around and she always orders what I say she'll order. Because I know what she's going to do. And she often knows the same about me. I'll forget something, she'll remember it. She remembers, and see, between us we have one complete brain, right?

But here's the idea. I'm getting in sync with God. I know what God thinks about this.

How do I know what God thinks about it? Because I read the Bible. And the Bible reveals God to me.

And I know his thoughts. When we get into the Sermon on the Mount, effectively you're reading the manifesto, the worldview of Jesus himself. That's why if you have a red letter Bible, the Sermon on the Mount is all red.

All red, because it's just the words of our Lord. You want to know what Jesus thinks about these things? Well, of course, read the whole Bible. But in particular, in the Sermon on the Mount, you will see.

So can two walk together unless they have agreed? So to walk with God means to get in sync with God. To be in rhythm with God. Number two, Noah was a witness for God. He was a witness for God. And second Peter, he's described as a preacher of righteousness. You know, though, he didn't have a lot of converts.

In fact, he didn't have any. He lived 950 years and effectively, outside of his family, did not have a single convert. But he stands as an example to all of those faithful seed-sowers out there. You know, it's not my job to convert anybody. It is my job to faithfully communicate the Gospel. So maybe you've shared the Gospel with many people and no one has ever responded. Maybe you might want to think of breath mints.

I'm not sure. Stop eating raw garlic before you engage people. There might be some extenuating circumstances here we could look at. Apart from that, your job is to deliver the message and leave the results in the hands of God. Well, Noah did that, but he did reach his family. Because Hebrews 11, seven says, by faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. Number three, Noah worked for God. He worked for God. So the Lord gave him a pretty interesting job. He asked you to effectively build a giant boat. Now, there was no body of water nearby. It had never rained before and Noah's building a giant boat, effectively like a big box that was unsinkable.

In one of the greatest practical acts of faith in all of history, Noah cut down that first gopher wood tree to build this ark. You know, the Bible doesn't tell us he was a carpenter. He certainly wasn't a shipbuilder. But God called an unqualified man to do something. God does not call the qualified.

He qualifies the called. Consider this fact. The ark was built by amateurs, but the titanic was built by professionals. Okay, so.

Sometimes it works out just fine. Now, when we think of the ark, we think this is impossible. You could get all of those animals inside of that ark.

Well, it's not impossible at all. And they didn't have to get every animal in there. Only to carry air-breathing, land-dwelling animals and creeping things and winged animals like birds.

Aquatic life like fish and whales and other amphibious creatures obviously could be in the ocean around. They didn't have to have every breed of dog, for instance, out today. They just had to have the original two dogs before we started coming up with all of these weird oodles. Oodles should be bred with every other breed of dog. We have Labradoodles and all kinds of other variations. Jackapoodles, spoodles.

I looked this up. There's even a German woodle, which is a German wire hair standard poodle. Look, how many of you own a Labradoodle?

Raise your hand up. Okay, let me just insult your dog for a moment, if you don't mind. This is my opinion. They're not shedding one. They're very cute.

And they're hyper-allergenic, right? Okay, we know that. They don't shed.

Okay, that's nice. But everyone I know that has one of these dogs, these dogs all seem to be collectively stupid. And I've tried to figure it out. They run around like they're insane. Like, what is wrong with this dog? Other dogs will sit quietly. You can pet them. The Labradoodles are just, I don't know what it is. The Labradoodle's so stupid. And said something interesting happens, because labs are not stupid, and poodles are not stupid, but when you get the oodles gone, something happens.

But I also read that it's because they're very hyperactive, and they need to be, attention given to them. Okay, whatever. But I shouldn't have said any of these things. I know I've offended someone. I'm sorry. I feel like gone after the cat people long enough. Now it's time to just offend everybody out there.

Let's not offend. Let's think for a few moments about the spiritual life of Noah. I mean, this man, you know, really, without any support to speak of, followed the will of God. And he sat on this boat for all of this time, and he waited on the Lord. And then when they finally reached dry land, bringing me to point number four, he remembered God. And it's on page 820 that says, Noah built an altar to the Lord.

I mean, hey, if you'd been cooped up in a boat, for that long, wouldn't you wanna just run around for a while? No, I said, no, I'm gonna bring a sacrifice to God. I'm gonna remember that God did all of this for us. And I think it's so important to remember the Lord. There's so many ways that we can do it. You know, one way is just to say grace over a meal.

I like that, don't you? Go on a prayer and ask God to bless our food. By the way, if you're asked to say grace, don't go too long. You know, it's just, thank you, Lord, you provided this food. Don't wait for the food to get cold.

Just don't be that person. You probably have a labradoodle, too. I don't know. Probably in the restaurant with you, right?

Because it's your emotional support dog, right? But giving thanks, that's a simple way. When you take a portion of your income, the tithe, an offering, and say, we're gonna give faithfully to the Lord. That's a way to remember the Lord. When you get up in the morning, you need to start the day with scripture and prayer. That's a way to remember the Lord. When you set Sunday aside and say, this is the Lord's day.

There might be things we can do, but we're gonna go worship the Lord in church. Okay, so this is great. Everything's going great in this story.

I love it. It's almost like a fairy tale. You know, the ark is on dry land. And now God puts a rainbow in the sky, and he makes a covenant with all of mankind. And if it's a movie, you can see the credits are starting to roll. The camera's pulling back. There's the ark in the background. There's the rainbow. There's Noah, tears slowly falling down his face.

The music is swelling. The animals are all standing around. It's awesome. But it's not a fairy tale. It's a Bible story. And Bible stories are true, and they're historical. Let me read of some things that Noah did that kind of shock us.

But actually, they shouldn't shock us at all. We see Noah messing up big time in Genesis chapter nine. Let's read about it. Verse 20. Let's read verse 21. Wow, okay, what?

Why did this happen? Because the Bible's an honest book. And if one of our heroes messes up, we're gonna read about it. And we're gonna learn from it.

Just like we learned from their positive example, we'll learn from their negative example of things to not do. First point I would bring up though, the fall of Noah shows that anyone can fall into sin. Anyone can fall into sin.

No one is above or beyond temptation. It's ironic because when Noah is introduced to us in Genesis 6 nine, it says he was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Then of course, we're told he was a preacher, of righteousness. There are a few characters in the Bible with credentials like this. He's a genuine hero of the faith slipping.

But let me say something that might surprise you, but I want you to think about this. You might be surprised to know that sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping than the person who is younger in the faith. Sometimes those who have known the Lord longer can be more vulnerable to slipping, falling, than those who are young in the faith. Take a small child. A small child knows they need their parent. They call out to their mommy or their daddy for everything. They can't even feed themselves yet. They're dependent upon their parent. But as they get older, they become more independent. When they become teenagers, they don't even want to see you anymore, right?

But that's the whole point, isn't it? We're raising them to stand on their own two feet and think for themselves. And as we grow in our faith, initially we're so dependent on God. But after a few years have gone by, now a decade has passed, now two decades, now three decades. You've acquired a little bit of Bible knowledge, haven't you? You've worn out a few Bibles. You know a few things. In fact, you think you probably know more than you actually know. Now you're a sermon connoisseur.

And I disagree with you now. So you're an expert on everything. And here's the problem. You start lowering your guard a little bit. And you think, I know all these things.

And I've grown so much. Okay, that's great. But wait. Be on guard. Because you might find yourself falling into some kind of sin. Pride goes before a fall. That's what the Bible says. I will never deny you. Jesus said, before the rooster has crowed twice, you will deny me thrice, basically. And that's exactly what happened.

Consider this. Noah's not the only one who messed up later in life. Moses did too. Here's Moses, the great lawgiver. Moses, who delivered the Israelites on the bondage of Pharaoh and went through the wilderness with them. He was unable to enter in because he sinned against God. And the Lord did not let him enter into the land.

David too, the great king of Israel, sinned later in life. When he should have been leading his troops into battle, he was idle. He's in his 50s.

He's kicking back. And he's thinking he's above it all. And he falls into sin. And David's own son, Solomon, also fell into gross sin in his later years. Solomon was blessed with supernatural wisdom that was so great. People came from around the world to sit at his feet and learn. But then Solomon went on a sinful binge sampling everything this world has to offer.

So think of these great men of God who messed up later in life. You see, Noah had done the big work already. He's built the ark. He's landed the ark. He's accomplished the purpose. Now he's thinking, I don't know.

I've worked awfully hard. I think I'll just plant a vineyard and enjoy the fruit of my labor and you know what happens here in this story. And this also brings up the destructive power of alcohol. Look at verse 21. He became drunk and lay naked. Do I have to tell you it's a sin to get drunk?

This comes as a revelation to some people. The Bible tells us to not be drunk with wine. And I know about the destructive power of alcohol. The first 17 years of my life, I lived in an alcoholic home. My mom didn't just drink. She was a raging alcoholic, screaming and yelling every night, throwing things, passing out, sometimes not coming home at all. And my mother, who was a beautiful woman at the age of 70, looked like she was 90 or beyond because the effects of her drinking had taken its toll on her, including the head-on collision that she had while driving drunk one night.

It was so sad what drinking did to her life and I saw the ruined relationships and all the rest of it. And I've seen to this day how alcohol destroys people. And even Christians.

And sometimes even people in leadership. So this is something we need to be so careful of. Think of how many lives have been destroyed through it. I love how quiet it gets when I address this subject. It's almost as bad as when I was talking about Labradoodles.

And don't get me started on drunk Labradoodles. That's a whole nother topic. But Noah's life stands as a warning to every person who follows Jesus because nothing is recorded about him after his fall. It's like the next 300 years of his life are a blank. You don't want that to happen. You finish a race. If you're holding the first place position in a race of 10 laps for the first nine laps and you collapse and fall in the 10th lap, it's all for nothing. And so here is a man at the end of his life messing up.

Thank God there's still restoration even when we fail. But we want to be so careful because look at what his son Ham does. He sees his father in this compromised state. And by the way, the Bible suggests he deliberately put himself in that state. Not just that he was drunk, but scholars tell us the Hebrew word for uncovered indicates a deliberate act, not a mere unconscious effort of drunkenness.

So he was intentionally living in a bad way here. And he should have never done this. But okay, he had done it.

Alright? So his son Ham sees him and thinks, I'm going to tell everyone how badly my father messed up. And what a shame that was. The other brothers did not react that way. He was only someone who was godly falling into sin. Should we take a perverse delight in it?

Should we make sure we tell as many people as possible about it? By the way, some people behave, you would think the Bible says if a brother or a sister is overtaken in sin, you who are spiritual should kick them when they're down and tell as many people as possible. Well that's not what the Bible says.

It says the opposite. If a brother or a sister is overtaken in sin, we're told in Scripture, you who are spiritual should seek to restore them in a spirit of weakness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. In other words, be humble about this because it could be you.

That could have happened to you. And our objective is never to destroy. Our objective is always to restore. I know it's hard. Because when you confront someone who's in sin, well let's go back to drinking again since you love that subject so much. And so they're drinking. And you're seeing it's ruining their life.

You're seeing they're making horrible decisions. Man, you've got to stop doing that. What are you doing?

Why are you living that way? Hey man, don't judge my journey, they say. Or they say something more like judge my journey. Okay. I'll tell you what. You've got to change your course.

I love you. I'm saying this because I care about you. See, my objective is to help them. To get them back on their feet again. Because I'm told in James 5.19, if anyone should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this, whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Alright, let's wrap this up and review what we've seen together. If you're taking notes, number one, God keeps his promises. No matter what you're going through right now, God's gonna be faithful to you.

I love you. I love that story when Jesus said to his disciples, let's cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then they hit a horrible storm. They despaired of life, but they made it to the other side. He didn't say let's go to the middle of the Sea of Galilee and I'll drown in a big storm.

Had he said that, I would have never boarded that boat. He said let's get over to the other side. He doesn't promise smooth sailing, but he does promise a safe arrival.

And the same is true for us. You're gonna get to the other side. You're going to make it. God who has begun to work will complete it under the day of Jesus Christ.

It may not be smooth sailing, but you will ultimately have a safe arrival. Remember, God never forgets about you. Even if things are hard for you right now, circumstantially, maybe you feel as though you've not heard from the Lord, just hang in there and hold on.

Think about him. Thirdly, you should never lower your guard or rest on your laurels spiritually. Don't think you're above it all. Don't think you could not fall into sin because you could, I could, any of us could. Number four, if someone has fallen into sin, our goal should always be to restore them, not destroy them, but help them get back on their feet again. So Noah was effectively a last days believer. Waiting for the judgment of God to come through a flood. We too are last days believers. Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be when the Son of Man comes back again.

And what did he tell us? After that he said so two men will be working in the field, one will be taken, the other left. Two will be in a bed, one will be taken, and the other left. Then he concludes so stay awake. You don't know when your master will show up.

So let me ask you this in closing. If you were to come back today or tonight, would you be one of the ones who would be caught up to meet him in the air or would you be one of the ones who would be left behind? You don't want to be. Because then a great tribulation period is coming.

It's going to be a horrible time. You want to be ready for the Lord's return. Or maybe I'm talking to somebody right now who like Noah, you've fallen. You're like that lady in that commercial. I've fallen and I can't get up. I want to help you. And God will help you. He'll pull you up and he'll forgive you.

Not condemn you. He died for your sin. And he loves you. Even when you fail, even when you fall short, he'll give you a second chance.

But you must call out to him. And as we close our message today I want to extend an invitation for any of you to believe in Jesus Christ. To be forgiven of your sin and know with certainty that you'll go to heaven when you die. And know with certainty that you'll be ready for the Lord's return. And if you've fallen, to be restored. And get back up on your feet spiritually. If you need to make a commitment to Christ or recommitment to him, why don't you do it right here, right now.

Let's all pray. Father, thank you for your word to us. And I pray that you will speak to every heart here, everyone watching and listening wherever they are. They're loved by you within every heart. Everlasting love. And you want to bring them into relationship with yourself.

Help them to respond now. Know while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. Maybe I'm talking to somebody right now who would say, I'm not sure if my sin is forgiven. I don't have the confidence that I will go to heaven one day. I don't know that I'm ready for the Lord's return but I want to be. I want Christ to come into my life. I want my sin forgiven.

I want this relationship with God you've been talking about. Would you pray for me? If you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin. If you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die.

If you want to be sure you'll be ready for the Lord's return. Would you just lift your hand up right now and let me pray for you. Wherever you are, raise your hand up and I'll pray for you today. God bless you. God bless you. Raise your hand up high where I can see it, please. God bless.

I see you. God bless you. God bless you all around the room. God bless. Maybe you didn't raise your hand.

Others are. You can if you want to. Anybody else, just raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. You want Jesus to come into your life today. God bless you.

While our heads are still bowed, maybe there's somebody who would say, I'm kind of like Noah. I fell. I've messed up and I need to be forgiven. I need to be restored. Would you pray for me? If you need to come back to the Lord, return to the Lord. Be restored by him. Would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you.

You need to come back to him again today. God bless you. God bless you all. Now you that have raised your hand, if you would please, I'd like you to stand to your feet and I want to lead you in a prayer of commitment. If you raised your hand, even if you did not, stand up right now.

That's right. Just stand up. You heard me.

Stand up. And we're going to pray and we're going to get this resolved. Now you're supposed to be praying and you're clapping, you cheaters. Okay, it's okay.

I'm kidding. Okay, anybody else, stand up. I want to pray with all of you that are standing.

Anybody else? There might be a few more of you. God bless you. Let me lead you in this prayer.

You won't regret doing this. God bless all of you standing. You guys at Harvest Riverside, you can stand as well. Harvest Maui, you stand up too and we'll pray this prayer. And you guys watching online, you can pray this prayer with me too. I'll wait one more moment. Anybody else you want to stand and make this commitment or recommitment to Christ, stand now.

Alright. You that are standing, pray this prayer out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this prayer out loud after me. Pray these words if you would.

I stand from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin. I turn from my sin. And I choose to follow you, Lord, from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on Know God.