INSIDE AUTHORITY
Genesis 6:1-5 (KJV)
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
If you are like me, I could give a list of things I think are wicked and evil, but a definition is a bit more complicated.
In our world, for instance, the word wicked can have two opposite definitions. One online dictionary[1]gives the following:
“wicked
1. morally bad or wrong; acting or done with evil intent; depraved
2. naughty in a playful way; mischievous”
Another site[2] says,
“The key difference between wicked and evil is that wicked can have connotations of mischief, playfulness whereas evil is indicative is malevolence, immorality and sin.”
But then I also found this,[3]
“Wickedness is an act of harm that has no useful purpose. Evil is an act which causes unwanted harm but may have a useful purpose. All acts of wickedness have evil associated with them BUT not all acts of evil are wicked.”
And then this[4]
“Among theologians and philosophers, it (wicked) has the more specific meaning of evil committed consciously and of free will.”
The point I am trying to make is that, if you attempt to interpret the Bible according to what you THINK a word means, or even according to what it means today, you may be terribly mistaken.
Our passage this morning is the very first time that the Bible uses the word, heart.
It occurs in those days just before the flood of Noah’s time.
The Bible says in
Luke 17:20-27 (KJV)
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
The Bible says that the days of Noah were very much like it will be in the days when Jesus returns.
I believe we are in those last days so whatever the Bible says about the heart of men then, would be healthy for us to consider now.
The first thing that I noticed is that God saw.
Nothing happening today escapes His eye.
· He sees what’s happening in the middle east
· He sees what’s happening in Washington D.C.
· He sees what’s happening right now in Bible Baptist Church, Puyallup and
· He sees what’s happening in your home
God saw.
And the Bible goes on then to describe what God saw.
In order to preach this message, I want to try to define for you three terms as they are found in the Word of God
I. MAN’S HEART
Genesis 6:5 (KJV)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
I’ve mentioned before that recently I found in my Bible study program something called the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible
It is a fascinating tool in that it traces the Hebrew words down to their pictographic roots. When the Hebrew alphabet was really a series of symbols representing something they could see.
The word Heart – comes from two symbols
The first a shepherd’s staff, representing leadership or authority
The second a tent, represent what is inside of you.
So, the Hebrew word for heart in this passage isn’t speaking about the organ in your chest that beats around 70 times per minute, a little bit faster when you get under conviction.
The word heart, in its most basic meaning is your “inside authority.”
It’s your moral compass.
It’s the thing that guides you and determines how you will respond to the situations of life.
There are two of these compasses in Genesis chapter six because God has one too.
Genesis 6:6 (KJV)
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
The first lesson we learn about man’s heart is that it is broken.
It doesn’t give good directions anymore.
Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Notice with me secondly,
II. MAN’S IMAGINATION
Genesis 6:5 (KJV)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The heart is a compass, and it operates on the information it receives. This passage calls that, the imagination of the thoughts.
Imagination has to do with a frame, walls.
Thoughts – plan, design, invention
“Imagination of the thoughts” then speaks of one’s
· worldview,
· preconceived notions,
· the conformity of the mind
It can be a trap.
How one views his world can lock him in so that he cannot see any other way.
When you think about it like that, it explains a great deal.
People are trapped in how they see things.
They are blind to anything other than what they already believe
They have been conformed[5] to see things just one way.
The Bible says Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
For 120 years he worked on the ark, but when the floods came no man was onboard but the eight souls in his own family.
The people were so stuck in their own ideas that they:
· Could not believe God would judge them and
· Would not accept the salvation God offered them
We all get trapped in our own mental box, don’t we?
· We have preconceived notions about what church should be like
· We have preconceived notion about what preaching should sound like
· We have preconceived notions about how people should treat us
· We have preconceived notions about marriage, parenting, Christian living, witnessing, clothing, music, food.
We’re trapped.
Now notice
III. MAN’S WICKEDNESS
Genesis 6:5 (KJV)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
People have all sorts of ideas about what is wicked and evil.
Earlier I gave
· A modern definition
· A theological definition and
· A general opinion
About the words wicked and evil.
But since saw the wickedness of man and said that the imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and God repentedthat He had made man because of it.
And because Jesus said Matthew 24:37 (KJV)
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
It would be a good idea for us to figure out what the Bible means by wickedness and evil.
A. Wickedness is connected to witchcraft,
Think “Wiccan”
Now I have something to work with.
The Bible says,
1 Samuel 15:23 (KJV)
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Wickedness has to do with rebellion.
B. Evil, this word has as a root meaning, unhappy or anger.
Whatever else we might view as evil, it begins from an angry or unhappy spirit.
Brother Michael Pickens asked me a question the other day that helped me with this.
1 Samuel 16:14 (KJV)
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
God did not send a spirit of murder or a spirit or some other really horrific sin into the heart of King Saul.
What happened is that the Spirit of the Lord departed and he became unhappy.
· He got bitter with God and
· He got jealous of David
And then he did all sorts of other evil things.
· A person who is wicked is rebellious
· An evil person is angry, unhappy, sullen, bitter
Now let’s go back to Genesis 6:5 (KJV)
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
I know what you have always thought:
“Man, they must have been doing some really bad things for God to repent He ever made them.”
But that’s because you’ve written into the passage what you think is evil and what you think is wicked.
Their rebellion was great. Their moral compass was broken because they were unhappy and angry.
· And that is exactly the world we live in.
· And that is inside the churches just as much as it is outside in the world.
Do you really think Noah was the only person who believed in God?
I guarantee he wasn’t – he was from a whole family of people who had heard the truth about God.
But only eight people got on the ark.
Because everyone else was
· Angry, and
· unhappy and
· hurt
about something and they were
· too rebellious
to listen to a man called by God tell them how to get right.
Now let’s put this to a New Testament application.
1 Thessalonians 5:15-25 (KJV)
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Brethren, pray for us.
We generally think of these as unconnected statements at the end of this letter. They are absolutely connected.
Notice verses 15-16
Evil and rejoice
The opposite of evil is not good. It is rejoice.
You defeat evil – unhappiness, anger by rejoicing.
Verses 17-18
How do you pray without ceasing?
By giving thanks for everything.
“Father, I want to thank you for letting me wake up. Thank you for hot water for my shower. Thank you for the food for breakfast. Etc.”
But if you are angry and unhappy, you won’t want to do that.
Verses 19-20
Quench not the Spirit
Despise not prophesyings
You quench the Spirit by refusing to obey the preaching of the Word of God.
Verse 21-22
Abstain from all appearance of evil
Don’t even give the impression that you are angry and unhappy.
What happens if you obey all of this?
Verse 23-24
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
God will be faithful.
· He’ll give you peace,
· He will sanctify you and
· He will make you Christlike.
And the world needs Christlike people – why?
Verse 25
Brethren, pray for us
Because people need you to pray for them.
· People need to be saved
· People are sick and need us to pray for them
· Families are in shambles
· Our country is divided
· We have soldiers getting shot at, probably right now
And if you are angry, unhappy with God, bitter at your life.
· You won’t follow that which is good
· You won’t listen to the preaching and obey the Holy Spirit
If you are angry and bitter and unhappy
· You won’t have a Christlikeness and
· You won’t pray as you ought or as you could have
Conclusion
God sees Bible Baptist Church in Puyallup right now.
And I’m telling you, He sees your angry countenance, your bitter, hard heart, your stubborn pride, your rebellion against His Word
He sees it in you and
He sees it in me
We aren’t any better than those people in Noah’s day.
But we have an opportunity right now.
We can make the invitation, the altar call that is about to happen, our own door into the ark.
We can kneel before God and confess our wicked rebellion
We can bow before His and repent of our evil anger and bitterness
We can humble ourselves and admit we are trapped with ideas and notions that are opposed to everything that is godly.
And we have to do it.
· If we are ever going to pray effectively
· If we are going to be any help to those who are sick among us
· If we have any hope of seeing God heal our land[6]
We have to do it.
[5] Romans 12:2 (KJV)
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
[6] 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
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