Bro. Austin Reed "Noah & Lott" - Sunday AM 08/04/2024

read with us and he's going to come and he's got a video for us to update on his ministry and the work that uh uh that they've got going on around the world and then he's going to be preaching for us and looking forward to What the Lord Has for us so let's uh uh give him a rutford county welcome as he comes and introduces the [Applause] video well good morning it's a blessing to be here with y'all today uh up here in the far north um y'all think I'm joking there are people in my home Church in uh Swani Georgia that told me they were going north for Christmas and I found out they were going to Pigeon Forge um but I think the furthest North about half the people in our church have been as Myrtle Beach so it is a blessing to be up here with you and I'm just kidding I consider y'all Southerners if you're from Kentucky in here um I won't say anything other than I'm not drinking any sweet tea you offer me uh but that's just a business decision on my part it's a blessing to be here with y'all today my name is Austin Reed uh I met had the chance to meet many of you about three or four months ago we stopped in for a service I had my family with me then I'm sorry I couldn't have them with me today U my wife gave birth to our second daughter our third child about 10 or 11 days ago uh so I figured I'd give her a week or two off I think she's earned that uh but mama and baby are healthy they're at home my mother's staying with them right now uh so we pray praise the Lord for his provision there and I praise the Lord for the the blessing your church has been to our ministry for these many years now your church has been a faithful supporter of global Baptist Church planers for some time and it is through your generous giving your faithful giving that we have been able to see the Lord do great things around the world and we have a video here we'll show just a minute uh in just a minute and it'll explain a little bit just a refresher maybe some of you haven't heard from us before it'll let you know what we do around the world and then I'll get up after that and give you an up todate report of what the Lord has been doing uh the churches we've seen started the soul saved and I hope that'll be a blessing and an encouragement to you to know that your missions dollars are making a difference around the world so brother if you get that video playing right now and I'll get up and finish it out afterwards planners is the answer to a question we asked ourselves nearly 20 years ago that question was this how do we reach the world of course the answer is the local church that's what made a difference in your life that's what made a difference in my life however there's a real Famine of churches around the world over the years many American missionaries have gone out to bring the light of the Gospel to this dark world but one missionary can only do so much how can those missionaries multiply their influence what if the American missionary trains men men that live in the nation already men that know the language and Customs men that are already acclimated to the lifestyle and who are ready to go out and start reaching their own people it is through the national Pastor that we can see the seed planted by the American missionary take root and flourish and provide these countries with the Gospel Lighthouse not just during the lifetime of the missionary but well beyond the lifespan of his tenure in that country however just like American missionaries need support from churches in the United States national pastors need support to start churches as well and that is the role that God has allowed Global to fill we're not seeking to supplant the American missionary but to support him by helping the men that he has trained start churches when we first started uh truth Baptist Church in 2006 and the Bible College in 2009 all the churches that we started came directly out of our support around 2010 2011 we started planting churches and we got to almost a crisis point where we weren't even sure if we could continue supporting new church plants with our graduates and that is when Global Baptist Church planter stepped in not only do they Supply support for a new church plant opening but they make it to where that church planter does not have to work a full-time job outside of the uh role of pastoring they can concentrate on growing a church to where it be can become self- sustaining within just a few years they would never need support again from an outside Ministry also Global Baptist Church planners takes it out of my hands to where I'm not the one that uh is being relied upon as the missionary to provide all the needs we encourage the graduates the Seminary students to rely upon God for their needs and then another Ministry steps in and just gives them a boost for those first few years to where they can actually build a work that can become self- sustaining we're thankful for Global Baptist Church Planters it is not not only a blessing to those graduates those Church Planters but it has been a Ministry changing uh partnership that has allowed us to do more on the mission field when Global came and and contacted us we were in the middle of Crisis so to speak we had church plans that we needed to do but we just had no way to fund them they stepped in in a mighty way and we were able to receive help and continue to get the work of the Lord done we're so so thankful for Global Baptist Church planners they have really enabled us to plant churches throughout the Dominican Republic it's hard to have what you need to get a church up and going with their help seeing the need to help these National pastors plant churches it has really helped us to be able to move forward quickly on a lot of our church plan efforts and and just see great wonderful things happen they're a very worthy Mission organization that you can feel good about supporting and and being involved we're so thankful for them and go God bless them and we appreciate their help our churches here I have faith have faith promise Mission conferences they give the missions but it doesn't always uh come up to enough sometimes I I pull out of my own monthly support to help send a young man out to go plant churches the job is is too big for them alone uh especially financially a group like Global who's focused in on helping National Church Planters to go out and start a church is absolutely wonderful because not only will that help us to be able to do it uh more effectively and efficiently that will actually help instead of me just pulling out some from my monthly support I I I can do more with that in other areas it's absolutely a wonderful uh uh thing to to partner up uh in planning churches we need the people here to give and they do uh they do their best uh but we are in one of the poorest countries in the world and we're so glad that Global are there to help uh us Us in in achieving what God has put on our hearts and the vision that God has given us some of the pastors who have started churches are also training men to go out and start churches a lot of them have nighttime Bible institutes for married men who can't go away to Bible College and then there are even a few that have a regular daytime Bible College there nine pastors that you started helping in 2006 2007 those early years who now have Bible schools and the main purpose of each one of those Bible schools to send guys out to start uh new churches they're small Bible schools that average about 40 students per school there are 351 students uh registered right now in those schools and the last s years 124 of their graduates those schools have gone out to start a churches so you're not just helping a pastor start a church but you're helping multiplying the number of churches through the generous giving of God's people and the tireless efforts of our partner missionary Around The World God has allowed us to see more than 800 churches started since the year 2004 that number humbles us but that number also challenges us because we know there is so much more that needs to be done by the year 2027 we would like to see that number reach 1,000 churches started we have a big God and I think he has a vision for us that includes much more than we've already seen we invite you to partner with us in this great Endeavor to see Souls saved lives changed and local churches planted all around the world and we're not slowing down we're not seing to things in just rest on What the Lord Has Done over the years but we're excited about what the futs just this year we've had the priv of and man when I uh when I was an assistant pastor at a church in Indiana I was in charge of the sound there and I always got upset at the preachers who would come in and not be ready with their things in the front than we are excited already this year to have been able to start 45 churches and send out funding for those Church to be started around the world right now I'm holding I have three applications from church planners in Madagascar who are ready to go out and start churches already have a location picked out that we're hopefully going to start Funday here within the next week or two and those will be our first church PL in that country that will be the 13th country that we haveed church around the world in Mexico additional one in India which will bring our total up to 50 churches planted this year alone Lord willing here with the next month or so and we are shooting hard to that goal of 1000 churches planted by the year 2027 and as I said earlier it's not go is not to supplant American Miss missionaries we praise the Lord for the many American missionaries the thousands hundreds of thousands even throughout the years who have been willing to leave everything they know in this country and go out and allow the Lord to use them to bring the gospel to a foreign land and those are some of God's choic as servants but as an American missionary goes out uh no matter how sold out and dedicated that American missionary is still one person and he can only be in one place at one time and he can only talk to so many people in a day so if he is going to see that work continue on beyond what he can do himself Beyond his time in that country the gospel message is going to have to be passed down to the people of that country and they're going to have to be able to pick up that mantle and carry it out all over in their nation and the surrounding areas and get into places that missionary might not be able to get ever get into and remain there preaching the gospel long after that missionary is gone and so what we do is we partner with that American missionary who is training these young men who his ministry is reached and is training them to make sure that they are doctrinally sound and stable that they are uh of uh the understanding of how to start and build a new testament church and that they are prepared to build that church to the place where the church can support them sufficiently in the future but for that window at the beginning when they're starting that church those National Church planners need support just like any American missionary would need and I praise the Lord here in the United States uh for the many Faithful Men of God who work bation and Pastor a church at the same time uh I've been in many churches where the pastor Works a part-time job maybe a full-time job and in the evenings and the week weekends he gives himself to his family and his church and God uses men like that and I praise the Lord for the many Good Men of God who do that but around the world the economies in just about every other country you can name are not like what they are here in the United States of America and in a third world country if a man wants to make enough money for him to eat for his family to eat uh and to put a roof over their heads um you're looking at working 65 70 sometimes 80 hours a week uh you're looking at working 12 hours a day generally five or six days a week usually six and that's not for them to live comfortably uh the average wage the average daily wage not hourly wage but daily wage for 80% in the world is about $2.50 a day and that is full-time backbreaking labor and there are men who have gone out and done that and worked a job like that whether they're charcoal Farmers whether they're working in mining whether they are uh working as a farmer on um just with crops or animal or things of that nature there are men who have done that but on average it takes them about 8 to 12 years to see a church that they're starting grow to the point where that church can support their needs financially so they can become a full-time Pastor doing what God has called them to do and through our ministry what we're able to do is we're able to come in and offer them the average wage that a person in that country would make which is much lower than someone in the United States would make to give you an idea of what that looks like uh on the high end of places we work in Mexico uh that's about $550 a month will fully care for the needs of a pastor and his family will'll take care of their food their housing and the places we work um and on the low end in the Philippines for $100 a month we can fully care for the needs of a pastor so he can be a full-time Pastor from day one and with that money coming in uh that Pastor is able to dedicate himself fully to soul-winning to discipleship to Ministry to the preaching of the gospel and our goal is not to put that man on Baptist welfare where he just continues on definitely into the future uh with Americans supporting him uh but we have generally a three-year program where the first year we'll give him 100% of that number we commit the second year 75% of that number the third year 50% of that number and by year four that man is going to be completely indigenous he's not going to have any financial support coming in from churches in the United States and he is going to have an independent Fundamental Bible believing Baptist Church that'll continue on and definitely into the future preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ just as we have churches here today just as we have pastors here today that's what they'll have there as well and we are so blessed to work together with these young men uh who have been called by God and let me tell you this the call of God on a young man in Nigeria or the Philippines or India to be a pastor is no different than the call of God in someone here in the life of someone here in the United States to be a pastor just as Pastor chisar is called to be your pastor and is Sanctified and set apart by God to be the pastor of mother for County Baptist Church so to are these young men called of our God and given the task to see the gospel preach Soul saved and churches planted and to be pastors of those churches around the world I'll give you uh one one example we just had the opportunity to begin partnering with a young Pastor in the country of India and this man has a wife and two kids he graduated from South India Baptist Bible College about eight or nine years ago and he had already gone out and he had started a church uh in a state in Southeastern India and he had started that church the Lord had begun to work that church had grown uh but there was a lot of religious upheaval that had occurred within that state and there's a great amount of Hindu nationalism that is sweeping across India right now and the people of that uh City where he was starting the church got riled up a mob was formed and they came to his church they pulled him and his members out of the church they beat him and his members threw them out of the city they burned down their church building and they literally salted the grounds there was nothing left and here he was beaten to the point where he had a lengthy stay in the hospital his life threatened his family threatened and thrown out his home burned down his church burned down he was left with nothing and he was living in his brother's house and when I talk about house I'm not saying a house here in the US his brother had a a small house with a metal roof a few tiles on the floor and they were literally living on the floor and their brother's house and he came to our missionary partner over there in India Dr pety cherion several months later and he said I believe the Lord is calling me to go back to them I believe that the Lord has called me to go back to that City to go back to those people and once more begin a work for Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to those people and we have the opportunity to partner with him and begin helping him as he goes back to that City to preach the gospel and now in this state in time he once again has a church there he's averaging about 30 five people every Sunday that are meeting secretly in a house church that they have he just had two baptisms last week he's having people saved there he just reached four young men about three weeks ago who transitioned or who were converted from Hinduism to Christianity and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and it is amazing to see the Zeal the fire that he has to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when we read about the uh the experiences of the Apostle Paul and other others within the the scriptures who were uh who were harmed for their faith who were persecuted for their faith often times that might seem like something that's far away but that's still occurring around the world that's still happening and praise the Lord for these Choice Servants of God who are willing to stand up in the face of that persecution and continue to be Faithful Servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to preach the gospel and we have the opportunity to help those men to assist those men as they go out and do what God has called them to do and I thank you for your continued support and allowing us to be about that work around the world uh moving forward I'd ask that youd pray with us about several things uh first and foremost I'd ask that you would pray uh for the safety of our pastors around the world as I mentioned we are currently supporting 45 Church plants and we have 843 of those Church plants in places around the world and many of those are in places that are hosle to the gospel so please pray for the safety of our pastors additionally I'd ask that you would pray uh that the Lord would send uh more money our way so that we can start more churches um and I'll tell you something amazing that the Lord has led us to do um my family went on full-time with global Baptist Church planners in September of last year and the lord has laid on our hearts uh to raise our support outside of the ministry of global Baptist Church planners which means I can tell you this much that one 100% every dollar that comes into Global Baptist Church planners will go directly to starting churches around the world we don't have an administrative overhead we don't have costs we have to take care of every dollar that comes in goes right out to church plants around the world and that is an amazing thing that we've been able to see there but that ask that you would can pray with uh me and my family as we are uh currently in the midst of finishing raising our personal support we just hit 50% of the number we're trying to get to and we've been uh busy going around the country and presenting that need so pray for us as we're doing that as well and I appreciate your support your prayers and looking forward to be able ble to continue being your church planning organization around the world seeing the gospel preached all over and churches planted if you would take your Bibles this morning and open to the book of second Peter second Peter chapter number three I do have uh some of our prayer cards with me I'll be in the back by those doors in the back of the auditorium after service today if you would like one of those uh to help you remember to pray for our ministry our family our pastors I would love for you to stop by and grab one of those again I'll be in the back door after the service with some of those but this morning we'll be in second Peter chapter number three and here in this chapter we find the greatest account the greatest prediction and Prophecy of the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that can be found anywhere in scripture at the beginning of second Peter chapter 3 you see the Apostle Peter addressing directly the question that scoffers were already asking in his day and time in verse number four and saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of Creation The Apostle Peter heard those questions in his time and we're still hearing those questions today there are still the skep ICS and the critics and the scoffers today who are saying where's the promise of Jesus coming where is this stuff you believe in where's the proof of it they say everything has continued the same as far as we can look back in history but the Apostle Peter tells us that it's not because God is slack concerning his promises it's not because God is forgotten it's not because God is busy but it's because God is merciful toward us God is merciful towards this world not willing that any should perish but that all should be come to repentance God is waiting so that one more Soul might choose to accept his gift of Salvation God is waiting for you to go and tell somebody else so that they might have the opportunity to accept that free gift of eternal life from our Lord and savior that's why God has delayed his coming by picking up in verse number 10 you'll see the Apostle Peter shift his tone here from talking about the scoffers to talking to us Christians in regards to what our lives should look like when contextualized with the fact that Jesus Christ is going to return verse number 10 of second Peter chapter 3 says but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heaven shall pass away with a great noise and the element shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and The Works therein shall be burned turned up seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved let me pause you right there for a moment when the Bible says seeing then that all these things should be dissolved what does it mean by all these things that's not a trick question everything right everything that is in this world is going to be burned up with fervent heat every ambition and desire that has ever been in this world will be gone in that day every bit of material every bit of belonging every bit of luxury is going to be burned up with fervent heat on that day you know what that means on this day in which Jesus Christ returns that nice car or that truck that we took out a 60-month note on that's going to be burned up with fervent heat that house that we were so excited to get into hopefully that you locked in like a 3% interest rate on that house is going to be burned up with fervent heat those toys we have in our garage or in the backyard those going to be burned up with a fervent heat all the work and effort we put into our job looking for promotion for advancement in our career that's all gone the work we've done in our community being an established and respected member in our neighborhood heaven forbid in our HOA that's going to be burned up in for need it's gone meaningless you know what the Apostle Peter here is telling us under inspiration of Jesus Christ the only thing that's going to make any difference someday is going to be what we've done for the kingdom of God the time and money and talent that we have invested within Heaven that which we have laid up above or moth and rust don't corrupt where thieves don't break through and steal that's the only thing that's going to matter someday everything else is going to be burned up in fervent heat that is the framework in which this next statement upon which this next statement is built let's start at the beginning of verse number 11 again seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved and here we go here's the Crux of the message today what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness we have the backdrop we have the setting for this statement and the fact that we know everything will be dissolved it'll all come to not it will all be burnt up someday and with that in mind here is the question I bring to you today if you were to take a step back and objectively look at your life look at your accomplishment look at your achievements look at the things you have done during the time you've had here on this earth when that is placed up against the fact that everything that's not done for Jesus Christ is going to be burned up what kind of people have we been in regards to that what difference has our life made in eternity and that day when everything is burned up everything comes to not except for what explicitly and directly was done for Jesus Christ what's left of our life is there anything of value is there anything of worth is there anything that means anything when it comes to Eternity in light of the fact that everything will be burned up and dissolved in fervent heat what manner of person have we been what manner of person are we right now have we been this week and most importantly in the question I hope you're ready and prepared to answer at the end of the sermon this morning what manner of person should we be tomorrow what manner of person should we be next week next month next year in light of the fact that nothing we do here matters except for what is done for Jesus Christ dear heavenly father I thank you for the privilege it is to take just a brief bit of time this morning to open your word I pray that you would speak through its Pages speak through the truth of it to our hearts I pray that your spirit would have his will in way within our hearts today that all would be open and be before you that all would be available for you to direct and shape how you would that nothing would be held back or off limits I pray that you would be honored and glorified that you would be lifted up so that all eyes might turn to you in Jesus name amen amen now one of my favorite things about the Bible there are many things I like about the Bible but one of my favorite things is that the Bible in principle gives us the answers to every question question that we have in life now what does that mean does the bible give us in specific the answers to every question in life let me illustrate that for you this way does the Bible have a verse that tells me if I wake up late on a Tuesday morning and it's raining outside a little little bit not like the real heavy rain that you just avoid but like that constant damp drizzle that nasty one that's going on outside and I get out there and the car won't start and things are going terribly and I have to walk down to the corner or to the store over down the way to get some sort of tool or part I need for that and as I'm walking down the road a car drives by and splashes through a big puddle and soaks me from head to toe does the bible tell me at that moment you should not say a curse word I haven't run across that verse in the Bible maybe it's in the Apocrypha but that doesn't count so it's okay The Book of Enoch something like that I don't know I haven't read it but I can confidently tell you this morning that God's will is for you in that moment not to utter a curse word do you know why I know that because the Bible tells me that there should be no filthy communication that leaves my mouth right so I have a principle that informs my decisionmaking when it comes to the actions that I take the words that I say the way in which I order my life now let's apply that over to the topic I have discussed already this morning the way that we're going with the message when we look across the landscape of our life and we realize that only that which we've done for Jesus Christ will matter when we realize friend that Jesus Christ is returning soon that our Lord and savior is coming sooner than we think that the stages set across this world that at any moment Jesus Christ could come through the sky and he could go up there on those clouds and the trumpet could be blown and be brought up to heaven to meet with him I I believe that do you do you believe that Jesus Christ is returning soon let me ask you this what prophecy remains unfulfilled anything left that has to happen before Jesus comes back no sir not that I know of in fact when you look at the descriptions of what the world will look like in the time leading up to Jesus Christ returning guess what that looks a lot like we're living it the Bible tells us in the end times the entire world is going to be under one government you know 5 10 years ago I could have understood when someone said I don't really see how that would happen everybody's kind of disperate they have their own thing how does that work well goodness gracious what happened three or four years ago all of a sudden every government across the world instituted the same policies almost immediately you had a Crackdown the likes we have never seen on a global scale across the world and you can see exactly how this world is going to come together and one Unified Government under the Antichrist whether you talk about the the different things that are mentioned whether it be the wars and rumors and Wars whether it be the mark of the beast you see all these things lining up for the devil to have his time here on this Earth for Jesus Christ to be returning soon our time is limited when we look at the parable of the the guy who owned the vineyard who went out to hire laborers throughout the day if you look at that relative to the time in history in which we are you know who we are we are the ones who were hired an hour before quitting time okay when we're talking about working in the morning working at new time working in the evening you know where we're working we're working in the dusk time I taught my son what the meaning of the word dusk is now every time we're out there and it's dusk he has to let me know Daddy it's dusk outside you know what the dusk is the dusk is once the sun is already down Beyond the Horizon but there is still some light rays that come up over the curve of the earth and refract off of all the water in the sky and come back down on top of us so we still have a little bit of light left can't see the sun anymore but the light is still there enough for us to get some stuff done I believe we are in the dusk of our time here to work on this Earth Jesus Christ is coming back at any moment and what we will do for him must be done soon because judgment is coming Upon This World judgment is coming upon the sin of this world judgment is coming upon the wicked of this world and we have the message that can make a difference when we look throughout the pages of scripture we come across two different men who exper a situation similar to the one in which we find ourselves who lived in a time as those who knew God they were men who knew who God was they were men who the Bible says were righteous men and they were men who lived in a time where the Judgment of God upon their world or upon the area in which they lived was imminent God's judgment upon sin was coming quickly but their stories end in very different ways if you would turn your Bible back just a page to Second Peter chapter 2 second Peter chapter 2 if you would please if you didn't have to turn a page to get there congratulations you have a really small print Bible and I am envious of your eyes second Peter chapter 2 and within this chapter we find an account of these two men in who we find a type of the two options we have in regards to what manner of person we can choose to be in light of the fact that judgment is coming in light of the fact that all these things will be dissolved in second Peter chapter 2 verse number four the Bible says for if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell and deliver them into chains of Darkness to be reserved into judgment and spare not the old world but saved Noah the eighth person a preacher of righteousness bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly who is the first character we have mentioned in this passage of scripture Noah did Noah know God yes sir yes did Noah live in a time where the Judgment of God upon sin was coming quickly yes he did Noah had a limited amount of time in which he could do anything for God because that judgment was going to fall but as we continue reading through this passage of scripture we're going to come across one more character maybe Noah occurred to you already when I mentioned there are two characters we're going to talk about but I'd be willing I wouldn't be willing to bet uh I'd be willing to do something I guess I don't know that seems more Christian I'd be willing to Guess that this next name this next man didn't come to your mind immediately picking up in verse number six and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemn them with an overthrow making them an ample unto those that after should live ungodly and delivered just lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous men dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful Deeds who's the next character we have mentioned lot when I think of examples at the Bible gives us Noah makes sense right Noah is a pretty cool guy no was a pretty great guy I learned of Noah in Sunday school I'm sure many of your children if they're here in Sunday school they're learning about Noah as well I was taught of the faith of Noah I was taught about The Obedience of Noah I was told to emulate Noah's life in those manners in fact I've been in many Church nurseries in which there was a big mural painted on the wall of Noah on the ark with all the little animals maybe there was a what they call that wallpaper thing that went around the top Noah generally good character we think positively or bad good or bad good right good example was he a perfect man no but he's a good example in our estimation but when we come to the character of lot there we go when we come to the character of lot generally good things we think about lot or bad bad right right okay lot not a great guy didn't end off very well uh when I was growing up in Sunday school whenever we heard about lot it was always in a negative manner oh be careful not to be like lot watch out for being like lot think of all the terrible and horrible things lot did don't end up like him I have never been to a church nursery where I saw a mural of lot painted on the wall and if I did my kids would not be going in that Nursery cuz that's weird I'd have some questions but when we take a step back and look at what the Bible has to say about these two men you might find far more similarities to their lives to their character to their person than you might immediately think there were let's see how the Bible describes each of these two men let's look firstly at Noah firstly we'll look at Noah uh hold your finger there in second Peter chapter 2 if you would please let's look back in Genesis chap 6 Genesis chapter 6 here in Genesis chapter 6 we find the world in a terrible place in verse number three we see the Lord saying that his Spirit wouldn't always strive with men we see the giants that are within the world in that time in verse number four we see God looking down on the wickedness of man in verse number five and that wickedness was so great that the Bible says the imaginations of every heart was only evil continually when God looked on the inside as only God can do all God saw was filth and vess and disgustingness that's all there was and God looked down at this world and said everything was so far gone that there was only one solution he had and that was to wipe the Slate clean and start over once more the Bible tells us that in verse number seven it repented God that he had made man that's how bad things had gotten but in the midst of all this darkness in the midst of all these terrible things happening there was one Beacon of Hope there was one bright light shining because in verse number eight the Bible says but Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord these are the generations of Noah Noah was a just man that's the first descriptive word I want you to remember of Noah Noah was a just man continuing on and perfect in his Generations what's the second descriptor we have of Noah here perfect right now is that word talking about moral perfection was Noah without sin no he wasn't but that word perfect meant complete it meant he was separated from the wickedness the sin of the world around him we don't have time this morning to go into what exactly the sin of the the world around him was but suffice it to say by the Bible describing his Generations is perfect that he was separated from the vile wickedness going on around him so there we have two words we have Noah is just Noah is perfect in his generations and let's look back in second Peter chapter number two hopefully you kept your finger there I did warn you second Peter chapter 2 uh let's look down in verse number n second Peter CH 2: number 9 the Lord knoweth how to deliver The Godly out of Temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished this verse is using to or is used to describe Noah specifically here the Bible says the Lord knoweth how to deliver The Godly out of Temptations who was The Godly person in Noah's story who was delivered out of Temptation Noah right Noah built an ark and was delivered from the judgment to come so there we have three words that describe Noah from the pages of scripture itself we have just we have perfect in his generations and we have Godly those words make sense don't they okay with what we know about the character of Noah with who we know Noah to be those things line up right there are no questions there I wouldn't have any problem with that which is a good thing because it's the Bible so I shouldn't but then we come to the man lot and the Bible has some descriptions for lot as well and those might surprise you a little bit if you know anything about the character of lot lot remaining here in 2 Peter chapter 2 let's look at verse number seven again the Bible says and delivered just lot now that word just there isn't there to say only lot we're not saying and delivered only lot we are saying that lot was just we had the descriptive for Noah too didn't we all right so there's a first word just and deliver just lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that that righteous man who's the man we're talking about lot and here we get another descriptive word righteous oo that doesn't seem to line up very well with lot does it right but the Bible's not done yet because it says for that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous Soul says it again from day to day with their unlawful deeds and here once again we come to verse number nine the Lord knoweth how to deliver The Godly out of temptations that word Godly isn't only describing Noah in this scripture it is also describing who lot was Lot delivered was he one of The Godly who was delivered out of the destruction there yes he was so once again quick reminder for Noah we have just perfect in his generations and godly and for lot we have just righteous Godly those line up really well okay what do those words words meaning specific but when we talk about the word just we're talking about Justified both Noah and lot are going to be in heaven when we get there right they're both there right they were both set apart they are justified by Jesus Christ that's who they are beyond that the Bible tells us that Noah was perfect in his Generations he was separated from the sin of the world around him and the Bible tells us that lot was a righteous man whose Soul was vexed by the wickedness around him you know what that tells me there was a lot of sick sin going on in Sodom and Gomorrah wasn't there lot wasn't involved in it yeah the sin of Sodom the big one we think about you know and all the other things lot wasn't part of that the Bible says lot was a righteous man lot was in the what's the root of that right but the Bible doesn't stop there the Bible goes on to tell us that both of these men were Godly men the Lord knoweth how to deliver The Godly out of Temptations what does the word Godly mean it means like God literally right we're not talking about God's character or his or we're not talking about God's power or his inherent attributes you know his uh immutability or his uh all those other words that start with i that I can't remember right now he's all powerful omn Omni that's the one I'm looking for omniscient omnipotent all those words what are we talking about then when we are saying they're like God we're talking about God's moral attributes God's mercifulness God's kindness towards us God's justness God's honesty they displayed some of those same attributes in their own life well if the Bible is the one describing these two men and it gives us such similar descriptions then why did their stories end so differently there's no denying that the stories ended in very different places right okay Noah pretty good ending right lot absolutely terrible ending like the worst ending you could think of just about then what happened but was it the Societies in which they lived was their outside influences that caused their stories to go so desperately lot lived in a very Wicked place did he not the Bible tells us that Sodom and gomorah was so wicked that the wickedness of those cities rose up before the Lord it was so wicked that Jesus Christ came down in christophany a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ with a couple angels to go and see the wickedness of the city for himself and pass judgment upon that City that's how Wicked that place was I don't think I know of any other cities that have a sin named after them that tells you something about the wickedness of that city was it the wickedness of the society in which lot lived that caused his life to go so terribly wrong well I know that's not it because Noah lived in a place that was just as wicked as we read already in Genesis chapter 6 and as I told you the Bible says the wickedness of the Earth was so great that the thoughts and imaginations of every heart was only evil continually that the only option that God had remaining to him was to wipe the Slate clean and start once more so it wasn't outside factors that led to their stories going in such disperate directions then what was it what happened what is the difference between the lives of Noah and lot that caused the Great disparity in their outcomes well I'll tell you this I uh I cheated a little bit there is a description we're given of Noah there is a little phrase we find here in second Peter chapter 2 about the man Noah wherein we find all of the difference between their two outcomes and in second Peter chapter 2 verse number five the Bible tells us and spared not the old world but saved Noah the eighth person and here it is a preacher of righteousness now I think we we could all agree that being a preacher of righteousness is a good thing right objectively we could see that term and say Ah that's a good thing but at first blush it might not be apparent how being a preacher of righteousness would make such a vast difference in how their lives turned out okay good like great no preached righteousness but how did that make him go over here and lot go way over there like what what caused that let's take a moment to understand how being a preacher of righteousness differentiated lot's life from Noah's life when God called Noah to build an ark okay Noah did not build that Ark in secret has anyone ever got a chance to go up and see the ark recreation in Kentucky right that thing's massive right you're coming down the road and you can't miss that it's humongous enormous right when Noah got to work building that Ark this was not something he did in secret everybody knew what Noah was doing and as Noah got to work building that Ark in his backyard maybe one day his uh his neighbor popped his head up above the fence they I'm sure they had fences I know give me some Liberty here maybe his neigh neighbor popped his head up above the fence there said uh Noah what you got going on back there looks like you got a lot of construction or something going on did Noah tell him oh well my boys and I just have a little woodworking project we working on for the summer oh you know I got a little bit of free time now with with me being 500 years old and retired and all I'll uh I'm going to be putting in some work in the shop back there oh don't worry about we're just doing some extensions to the house some expansion it's got a project I'm working on is that what Noah told his neighbor no it's not I know what Noah told his neighbor because the Bible tells me that Noah was a preacher of righteousness do you know what Noah told his neighbor that God has told me to build an ark because God has looked down at this Earth and he has seen the sin within it and he has pronounce judgment upon the sin of this world and unless you are willing to repent of your sin and turn to that God and get aboard the ark with us you will perish in the judgment to come and Noah preached righteousness to that neighbor amen as Noah was building that ark Noah needed a lot of supplies there were a lot of materials that went into building that as Noah went down to the local lumber Merchant since he is a uh a just man and a righteous person I'm sure it was Home Depot and not Lowe's I can tell you that much nothing spiritual goes on at lows goodness gracious as they went down there and put in his order for enough lumber to build that massive Ark I bet you that guy had some questions like dude this is a this a lot of stuff man what you got going on what you building did Noah tell him oh you know just got a a little project we working on got some stuff to do got a big bid that I put in and I won the contract no he didn't but Noah tell him Noah tell him that God has told me to build an ark because God has looked down at this world and he has seen the wickedness in this world and he has declared judgment upon it and unless you are willing to turn from your sin and turn to that God and get aboard that Ark with us you too will perish in the judgment to come and Noah preached righteousness amen and everywhere no went how long did he spend building that Ark did he build that in a weekend did he build that in a summer he spent a hundred years building this thing for a hundred years every opportunity Noah had every place Noah went everybody Noah talked to Noah preached righteousness over and over and over again giving everyone he could an opportunity to forsake their sin and turn to the Savior instead he preached righteousness time and time again did Noah have great crowds of people on the ark with him when the floods came no he didn't but who was there his three sons were all there his three daughter-in-laws were there his wife was there in fact we know that Noah's Three Sons helped him build that Ark much has been said about the faith of Noah when God spoke to him from heaven and told him to build this Ark gave him the Dimensions the materials the whole nine yards and Noah did it Noah heard the voice of God and he went and built that Ark but did Noah build that Ark alone no the Bible tells us his sons were there helping him who did his sons hear about the flood that come from did they hear from God about it I don't see that who told him about that Noah did all right it's amazing the faith of Noah to hear from God that judgment is going to come that rain is going to fall from the sky and bring a flood which had never happened before and Noah was willing to put his entire life on hold and spend the next hundred years preparing for that you know what kind of faith is more amazing than that the faith of Noah's three sons who never heard it directly from God but when Noah came to them and told them that God had spoken to him and God had told them that the sin of the world was so wicked that he had to bring judgment upon them the the earth and the only way they could Escape that was by building an ark and his three sons heard Noah and they said dad that lines up with everything you've ever said that lines up with the character you've always displayed that lines up with what you've always told our neighbors and our family and our friends that the preacher of righteousness you have always been makes perfect sense when lined up with what you've told us that God has said and they were willing to have faith enough and what their father told them God said to spend the next hundred years helping him build that Ark and boarding that Ark with their families because Noah's lifestyle as a preacher of righteousness l lined up with the message that he had lot on the other hand I spent some time at the beginning of the sermon telling you some good things about lot right Bible has some words to describe them with and you know what if you were to ask anybody in Sodom and Gomorrah about lot I bet you they would only have good things to say about him lot was a family man lot was well respected in his community when those angels came to the city of Sodom where did they find lot he was sitting in the gate of the city who does the scriptures tell us would be found sitting in the gate of the city Elders judges leaders of the city that's who sat in the gate right that was the city's Emissary representative their forward- facing image of their City towards anyone that would come to their Town lot was well respected within Sodom lot had been elevated within Sodom I tell you what I think the people of Sodom thought and this makes sense to me they said lot we really like you man we know you're a religious person and everything you have a god you believe in and lot we're so glad that because of the religion that you have we can trust you man we can trust you not to give us a bad deal we can trust you to mediate and judge between us lot in fact we trust you so much and we like you so much that we're going to make you one of our leaders one of our judges but lot one of our favorite things about you you don't try to beat us over the head with your religion you don't try to make us live by the rules that your God has you keep your religion at home and lot found all sorts of respect and acceptance from the community around him who was so glad for him that he had religion on the inside but we're so glad for themselves that lot didn't try to push that religion on them and the day before the angel showed up I'm sure lot thought he had it made lot could have stepped back and looked at his life and you know everything was pretty rough around him but lot wasn't involved in the sin that these people were involved in lot still got to go see his he had a couple daughters at home he could go see his daughters-in-law and his or his daughters and his sons-in-law maybe any grandchildren he had there lot was doing well financially lot was respected in the community everything everybody had good things to say about lot his life was perf perfect as far as he could tell but on that day that judgment fell those angels came and warned lot where was the first place he went after he received that warning he went to go tell his sons-in-law right and when he came to them and he told them that God had seen the wickedness of their city and that God was so angered by the wickedness of their city that he was going to Reign destruction down upon it did his sons-in-law say lot lot lines up with everything you've ever stood for lot that lines up with everything you've ever told everybody about who God is and what God expects of us lot we trust that you heard this from an angel we trust that God has declared judgment upon this and we're going to follow you was that their reaction no it wasn't the Bible says lot seen to them as one who mocked they said lot what are you talking about man look I know that you have God in your heart and everything you have this whole church Bible thing whatever you do man that's fine good for you we're happy for you but if the god that you serve was really so worried about how all of us were living and in fact hated what we were doing so much enough to destroy our city wouldn't you have said something about that earlier okay wouldn't you have warned somebody wouldn't you have cared enough about anybody else to speak out about what this God expects of us he said lot you're pulling our leg man get out of here lot made it out of the city lot wasn't caught up in judgment he made it out with his wife and his two daughters but as that fire began to fall and as the Judgment came down upon that City lot heard a lot of Screams and included in those screams were the screams of at least two of his daughters sons-in-law any grandchildren he had there gone his colleagues his neighbors his friends of 25 30 years all gone and as Noah or excuse me as lot made it out to a cave to live out the rest of his days in a terrible relationship with his two daughters I won't even go into that do you know what lot heard every time he closed his eyes at night to go to sleep hear the screams of all those he never even gave a chance to change he never even gave an [Music] opportunity to repent of their sin too we never told anything about righteousness too he saw those Flames burning he saw the burned out husks in bodies that were left of that City and he wonder what might have been if he had spoken up just once if he had told them just one time about the God that he knew lot knew who that God was lot had spent his life with his uncle Abraham he had seen the power of that God he had seen the provision of that God he had seen the purpose of that God he knew it all to be true but he kept it to himself and he lived out his days left on this Earth in regret wondering what might have been and someday what when he's there at that great right Throne Judgment at the end of time he is going to see his sons-in-laws held up before God his daughters his neighbors his friends his co-workers he's going to see him hauled up one by one and he's going to see their please and wonder if things might have been different if he had preached righteousness just once you know as Noah sat up on that Ark after the rain stop after 40 days and 40 nights of rain when Noah looked down on the water around him you know what he saw saw a lot of bodies not going to be graphic about that but as he looked down everyone who had ever lived on or everyone who was living on the earth at that time other than his three sons his three daughter-in-laws and his wife all of them died and their bodies coated the face of that water and as he looked down maybe he saw his neighbor floating down there and I bet you his heart would have been filled with sadness if he did but you know what wasn't there there was no regret CU he preached righteousness and he gave his neighbor an opportunity to repent to change to find Salvation from the Judgment that was coming maybe he saw some classmates maybe he saw some co-workers maybe he saw some friends maybe he saw a clerk from the local lumber supply store I'll tell you this much every face that he saw and recognized he knew that he had given them an opportunity to repent and they had chosen to reject the graciousness of God let Circle that back around to our initial thought in light of the fact that everything in this world is going to burn up in light of the fact that nothing we do on this Earth save what's done for Jesus Christ is going to have any meaning is going to matter a bit what manner of person have we been I'll tell you this much we only have two options we're either going to be a lot or we're going to be a Noah someday when we stand before that great right Throne Judgment at the end of time hopefully behind God as he is judging The Souls of all those small and great as we see those we knew in this lifetime hul up before God our family members our friends our neighbors will we be able to sit there like knowah someday sadden that they're there but knowing that we gave them an opportunity to receive the Forgiveness of God or will we sit there like lot will be with great regret in our hearts wondering what might have been different if we had only spoken up well you say this the Bible says Noah was a preacher of righteousness this church has one Pastor right doesn't have a bunch of pastors who lead the church is M guy right all Christians aren't called to be pastors but all Christians are called to be preachers uh turn with me if you will to Mark 16 Mark 16 Mark chapter 16 verse number 15 this verse might be familiar to you already here in this verse we find the Great Commission as it's called and you know I have heard some people say this before I don't think they do it with bad intentions but it irks me every time I've heard this called and I have seen this titled as the Great Commission of the church and I think if we have that mindset about this command that we're doing ourselves a great disservice and I'll prove that to you here Mark 16 verse number 15 the Bible says and he said unto them go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to Every Creature now can we all agree that this is a good command to preach the gospel to Every Creature right yeah good thing objectively but if I were to approach this passage of scripture that this is the Great Commission of the church then I can convince myself that because I am not the pastor of the church I'm not one of the Sunday School teachers of the church I'm not one of the chief people of the church then it is their job to preach the gospel and I am just a he part of this organization and collectively we're preaching the gospel to the world if I view this as the Great Commission of the church I can absolve myself of personal responsibility and pass that on to others but I'm going to prove to you that this is not a collective commission amen there is some question over when the church was founded there are several different opinions I'm not going to argue that with you uh basically the two main thoughts are that Jesus Christ started the church when he was here on Earth uh that would be thought number one thought number two that the church was started in acts when Jesus is removed and the Holy Spirit comes down and indwells the Believers that remain those are the two main camps I'm not going to argue with you about either one because either way my point is right let me explain to you why in Mark chapter 16 verse number 15 the Bible says and he said unto them go ye that word ye that word ye is not singular that word ye is plural you know what that means in modern Parliament for all y'all right go y'all that is not you specifically that is not you as a general assembly that is everyone here right at this point in time if the church was founded in Acts chapter number one then at this point in time when Jesus gave the command there were in fact zero churches right so the number is either zero or if Jesus in fact founded the church when he was here on Earth then at this point in time there would be one church let me tell you why I know that because Jesus if he was the pastor of the First Baptist Church at Jerusalem if you were were a part of the Baptist church across town that would be a little awkward like we know Jesus is the pastor of that one and all but you know we're kind of happy doing our own thing over here that' be a little uncomfortable right think you were a part of the wrong church if that were so so if there were any churches here there would only be one well if we have an pronoun that's the fancy word I was looking for if we have a pronoun that is plural that means he can't be talking to the church collectively here okay this is not all the churches here need to go out and spread the gospel this is all the Christians need to go out and be preachers of the Gospel each and every Christian who has ever accepted that free gift of Salvation from Jesus Christ who has been consecrated and placed into the service of our Lord and placed as a son or a daughter of our God has been given this command personally by Jesus Christ has been selected to be a preacher of the Gospel no matter if you're a teenager no matter if you have a little experience shown by the hair color on your head you have been called to be a preacher of the Gospel no matter if you're a man or a woman you have been called to be a preacher of the Gospel no matter if you are eloquent and good with words or if you're like Moses a man who just stutters and can barely talk you've been called to be a preacher of the Gospel we'll look at one more scripture Acts chapter 1 Acts chapter 1 you say well brother Reed I don't know how I can be a preacher of the Gospel I can't stand up in front of a church or in front of a group of people and yell at them for a while I can't go up there and do that I'm going to give you some more good news in Acts chap 1 verse number 8 the Bible says but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth what does Jesus Christ call us here to be Witnesses for a moment let's think about that word in the context of a courtroom okay in the courtroom there's a judge he's presiding over things there's a legal council for the defense there's a legal council for the prosecution and they call up Witnesses right the Witnesses are a key part of the legal proceedings here when they call up Witnesses do the witnesses have to have uh a vast amount of training in legal scholarship no do the witnesses have to be very eloquent people able to speak in front of people well no do the witnesses have to have all sorts of qualifications and degrees no what's the witness there to do the witness is there to testify of what they have seen heard and experienced that's all that's expected of them and when Jesus Christ has called you to be a witness he hasn't asked you to get up in front of a church on a Sunday morning and put together a long outline to preach to people Jesus Christ has asked you to find somebody else and testify to them tell them the things you have seen heard and experienced if you're a Christian in this room this morning if you have experienced the loving forgiveness of Jesus Christ coming to where you were finding you in that pit of sin offering you that forgiveness and lifting you up and placing you upon a solid rock then you have experienced everything you ever need to to tell somebody else about what Jesus Christ has done for them you have come to a place in your life where you realized that you were a sinner and that your sin was going to send you to hell that the only way to escape hell was to come to Jesus Christ who died on that cross on Calvary 2,000 years ago that man who lived a perfect life and never did one thing wrong The Man Who was the the Son of God and gave himself for us and you came to that man and you knelled on your knees and you said dear Jesus I'm a sinner and I deserve to go to hell because of my sin there is no good I can do there is nothing I can accomplish here on this Earth that'll save me from hell and take me to heaven but I believe that you are the perfect Son of God and that you died to pay for my sins and I am asking you to forgive me of my sin and take me to to Heaven someday when I die if you're a Christian today you've had a point in your life where you experience that moment and you know what Jesus Christ requires of you tell somebody else about it tell somebody else what you did tell somebody else how that has changed your life forever about the Savior that you have gotten to know on a personal level about the goodness of God that you have experienced as a result of that decision you say well well brother Reed I'm I'm just not very strong I'm not very sound when it comes to that I'm not very persuasive does our weakness restrain the working of God does our impotence hold back God from doing what he wants to do does God say oh I wish I could do something great through them but they're just too stupid Our God's never said that is our God wanting to do a great work but he is held back because we're just not good enough of public speakers no he's not in fact you know what the scriptures tell us that his strength is made perfect in our weakness but let me tell you this his strength is not made perfect in our weakness while sitting on the couch his strength is made perfect in us his strength is made powerful through us when we are willing to take a step forward in our weakness and open that door he's been knocking on for so long and give him the opportunity to show himself strong and powerful to work in the heart of a sinner and call them to a place of repentance you know when his strength will be made perfect in your weakness when his power will be shown forth to the world when you're willing to step out and give him a chance to work within that weakness okay your weakness by itself is just weakness that's all it is but when you in your weakness step out to be a preacher of righteousness step out to be a witness that's when his strength is made perfect it's not you who saves a soul it's not you who draws someone to the Savior it's not you who lift someone from hell it is the holy spirit it is Jesus Christ that does that but you have to give him that opportunity you have to be that preacher of righteousness that witness seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved it's all going to be gone nothing left what manner of person will you choose to be will you choose to allow God to make his strength perfect in your weakness will you choose to be someone who can stand without regret at that great white Throne judgment someday and see the faces of those who have made it to heaven because you were willing to be a witness or will you choose to live like lot maybe respected within your community keeping yourself separate from the sin of this world but keeping your mouth shut and find great regret someday you got two choices what manner of person will you choose to be if I could have every head bowed and every eye closed the Bible has given us in principle the two choices we have in how to live our lives I know the Lord has worked in my heart through this truth the Lord has challenged me and called me to be a witness for him but just as surely as I know the Lord has called me to be a witness for him a preacher of righteousness for him I know the Lord has called you to be as well when held up against the picture of Eternity and the things that matter and the things that really don't mean that much what is your life meant for the cause of Christ for the past week have you told anybody in the past week have you done anything that'll have any meaning in eternity this past week what about the past month the past year the past five years has your life had any meaning I can't answer that question for you and no one can change what that answer is but I can tell you this much you can make a difference today you can make a difference tomorrow you can see Eternal reward next week and the month after if that's what you so choose if you choose to step out in your weakness and allow him to show his strength in just a moment I'm going to pray the piano is going to begin playing we're going to stand to our feet and this altar will be open I ask you just to follow what the lord has laid on your heart today dear heavenly father I thank you for the truth from your word I pray that you would work within Hearts today that you would draw us to yourself that you would have us be the witnesses that you have called us to be in Jesus name as we stand to our feet with our heads bowed and eyes closed the piano is going to begin playing this altar is open this morning and the Lord is working in your heart he's calling you to be a witness will you make that decision today will you choose to live a life that has Eternal Merit that has meaningfulness far into the future or will the sum total of your life be burned up in a fervent heat as we stand in here with our heads bowed and eyes closed this Sunday morning maybe your life has never had any Eternal meaning because you've never met that Savior Jesus Christ the Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and because of that sin we have been condemned to a place called hell hell is a real place hell is a literal place that burns with fire day and night and because of our sin the Bible says we deserve to go there for all of eternity with no Second Chances but the Bible tells us that the son of God came not into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved if you've never experienced the Salvation from hell that Jesus Christ offers this altar is open this morning there are people in this church who can open you a Bible and show you exactly how it is that you can find eternal life that you can escape hell and have a home in heaven instead if the Lord is working your heart this morning come forward don't let another day pass come find forgiveness for your sin today come find home in heaven for all of eternity today while the Pio plays the altar is open if you need to come and do business with the Lord I was reminded during that message of the Watchman in Ezekiel whose job it is just to warn the people of the enemy that's coming how are we doing on that today you might say like like like like you said you might not be experienced that's all right we still want you to come come out come on out for soul wining Pastor has always said I'll put some put you with someone who's experienced teach you how to do it all right you got a blessing from that say Amen am thank you brother Reed we appreciate it he'll be in the back with those prayer cards make sure you stop by and talk to him get an update on that thank you again for everyone for being here good to see our visitors we're glad to have you with us uh make sure you take a look at those missionary letters make sure you stop by and talk to brother Reed and and tell him how much you appreciate him it's been good to have him with us here this morning uh don't forget tonight back in your place at 6:00 5:00 choir practice if you're playing an instrument don't forget to bring that with you always looking forward to that in the first of the month brother bills JR could you pray and dismiss us today thank you dear lord god father thank you