Genesis 6:1-8
Wickedness in the World
1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Years ago there came a time of great evil on earth...There were was a mysterious, large and strong men called the Nephilim in the days of Noah—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the women and had children by them...They were the heroes of old, men of renown...The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time...The LORD regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled...So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”...Man had sinned and continued to sin more and more...
And so God had Noah build an ark, and He flooded the earth...Waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days...God remembered Noah and stopped the rain and flooding, and the waters receded...And Noah came out of the ark, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives...They were the only humans left on earth...All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another...
Years later God would send Jesus to save us from our sins...God would send a messenger for Jesus named John the Baptist...John the Baptizer would baptize people with water for repentance...But after John the Baptist said One would come...One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire...And Jesus would teach of the Holy Spirit...
And the LORD manifests Himself in the Holy Spirit...But what if there were no Holy Spirit?...What if the human heart was evil all the time?...What if there was no fruit of the Holy Spirit, no love, no joy, no kindness, no goodness, no peace, no patience, no faithfulness, no gentleness, and no self control?...What kind of world would we live in?...It would be an evil world...The acts of the flesh would be very obvious...With no love or kindness in the world, there would be no peace or goodness, or gentleness toward our neighbors...With no self control sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like would be more common...The world would be in a bigger mess than it already is...There would be no morality without the Holy Spirit...A world without the fruit of the Spirit is a world without hope...Without the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we would be lacking in God's Word, and would have trouble seeing the Truth...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...The fruits of the the Spirit bring the world its good morality...The fruit wants us to love our neighbor...Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires...Since it is better to live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the fruit of the Spirit...Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other...
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD...God saw goodness in the one who would build the ark...Let us be more like Noah...
And let us be more like Jesus...Jesus will one day return to earth...No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father...As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man...For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark...
We must keep watch and alert, because we do not know on what day our LORD will return...But let us understand this: If the owner of the house had known the time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into...So we also must be ready for Jesus' return, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him...So God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed...God has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead...
Let God’s people pray to Him night and day, and He will always give them what is right...He will not be slow to answer His children...Jesus teaches us that God will help His children quickly... But when the Son of Man returns again, Jesus asks will He find people on earth who have faith and believe in Him?...