Sermon Central
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Good News For The New Year
Contributed by Chris Gowen on Jan 9, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: There's bad news to face the coming year, but there is good news.
Good News for the New Year
5 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.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
As we face this new year there is this sense of hope. Hope that this year we will do better. Hope that we will reach our goals that we failed to meet last year. It might be to pay off some debt, save up some money, lose some weight, read a book, take a vacation, meet new people, or get the house painted. We look around the world and and in our country we have hope that there will not be another act of terrorism. But deep down in our heart we know the likelihood of some tragic event is very possible.
If we were to take a stethoscope and listen to the heartbeat of the American heart, we might hear what seems to be a healthy heart. Like a ripe watermelon on the outside it may seem sound and healthy, but with closer inspection there is rottenness on the inside. That rotten and vile corruption has made its way to the surface and we are seeing indications of Sodom and Gommorah. When mankind has no place for God then one can expect to see a huge rip in the fabric of society. We are now seeing the deteiration of the home, the public acceptance of Sodomy, the collapse of institutions, the corruption of politicians, the death of sound economical principles, the teaching of lying prophets, and the abandonment of the local church.
Thank God there is still hope! We have good news to share. We will take a look at the good news for the New Year. First, there’s the bad news. You say, “I don’t want bad news, only give me the good news.” The bad news is what makes the good news—good!
I. The Bad News (vv. 5-7)
A. Man is sinful. (v.5)
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.
1. Man is sinful based on God’s standard. “And God saw….”
It’s not what we think, but what God says. God saw the wickedness of man.
2. Man is sinful to the very core. “every imagination of the thoughts..”
3. Man is sinful all the time. “only evil continually”
4. Man is sinful with no sign of things getting better.
2Timothy 3:13
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
B. Man’s Sinfulness Grieves the Heart of God (v.6)
We have grown so accustomed to sin. It’s part of our existence. It’s our nature. I saw this protest on TV once of Gays marching and their chanting slogan was
We’re here; we’re queer; Get Used to it
We have come to the place where we are used to it. What we allow today, our forefathers would turn in their grave to know what is going on now in America. Here’s the Bad News…..not that sin bothers us, but that it bothers God. God is offended. You can get me upset, or others upset, but it’s a bad thing to upset God.
Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
God has regrets of even making man. It grieved Him at his heart. That’s the bad news. Man today does not seem to think God gets all that upset. We think God only dislikes the Adolf Hitlers and the Saddam Husseins of the world. God has a holy dislike, and perfect hatred for sin that is in you and in me.
Psalm 7:11 ESV
11God is(A) a righteous judge,
and a God who feels(B) indignation every day.
2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is fierce in wrath. The LORD takes vengeance against His foes; He is furious with His enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will never leave [the guilty] unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm,and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
There is danger coming to those who are comfortable in their sins. There is the whirlwind and storm, the kicking up of dust indicating the approaching God who will measure out wrath against those who oppose Him.
