Heart to hearts
 
The reason why I entitled this article Heart to hearts is because in the story of Noah and the flood that is exactly what happened.God's Heart was grieved when He looked into the hearts of men. In Genesis 6:5"the wickedness of men was great on earth,and that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually."I never heard anybody say we have thoughts in our heart (ideas,motives). In verse six it says..."and it grieved Him at his heart."Genesis 6:6. God looked at mankind and was grieved.Obviously that statement speaks for itself. The Holy Spirit gets more specific about the fruit of man's heart in Genesis 6:11."The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." God saw that excessive sin in a world leads to violence. The violence is spoken of in verse 11 (the number of confusion) because violence and confusion are intertwined with each other. God can only look at so much before He intervenes. God did eventually have to judge the world in it's unrepentant state because it was filled with sin and violence.At the time God gave Noah the Relvelation about destroying the world with a flood He was still willing to give the world 120 years. Even though God's heart was grieved He was reluctant to judge right away.
 
It is interesting that the account of the flood starts in Genesis 6. Six is the number of man being destitute from God. The chapter number reveals a picture. The sin was out of control. No doubt there was idol worship because they did not listen to Noah's message. They were not interested in God. As a result the sin level lead to excessive violence. The Bible and History will attest to that. Here God is given mankind a choice. Will you repent and turn to Me or do you want violence and confusion. God has indeed given mankind a lot of horizontal latitude to do what they want. One of the biggest mysteries of the Bible is that not even one person stepped forward to repent and go into the Ark. That ought to really make us think. The evil that ran rampant in the world must have really been intense.
 
It is my opinion that Noah received Revelation regarding the 120 years and the flood when he was worshipping God. Noah felt compelled to preach (Genesis 6:22). He obeyed all of the specific instructions about the building of the Ark and he went into immediate diligence after God gave him Revelation.That ought to tell you something about Noah's heart. There is an old saying actions speak louder than words. I am amazed at Noah's response and attitude. Noah really did look at the world with fear; however,he had such a heart about him for the lost. His empathies was repent and turn to the One True God that created the universe. When anybody talks about God always look for the emphasis. If it is off then just go back to a simple devotion to Jesus Christ. Depending on the situation you might even have to explain to the person why their focus is off in a nice way. Noah's emphasis was right but the inhabitants of the earth misunderstood him because they were so sinful and wicked. Their conscience was seared to the message. I think that is kind of ironic because they were living in the dispensation of Conscience (The Fall to the Flood). I don't even think they wanted to hear Noah except for entertainment purposes.They just wanted to mock and laugh.Have a party as it were.
 
In closing I would just like to give you some of my thoughts regarding the story of Noah.God is showing mankind mercy today as the Gospel travels around the world. He has given the world some early warnings through natural disasters. When the world shifts so far away into sin and violence God has no other choice but to intervene. God is in perfect control because He is sovereign. For example the justapostion of the flood started in Genesis 6 (The very meaning of the number representing the story).He describes the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Eleven is the number of confusion and that is exactly what happened in the account (everyone started speaking different languages and as a result they could not understand each other). Are you seeing how world events match the prophecies of the Bible? At the risk of repeating myself God is in perfect control and Jesus Christ is coming very soon.
 
One further note - the account of the story of Noah and the flood are centering around God's Heart,Noah's obedience,and the hardness of people that inhabited the earth.When we give the Gospel message to other people it has to come from our heart in a genuine and sincere way. I realize we are busy and we live in a world of preoccupation but the recipient will know if you are giving the Gospel message of Jesus Christ from the heart. Pray-have a yearning in your spirit that they would accept the Lord Jesus Christ into their heart. God will Honor that. They may reject the message but they will almost always look at the messenger (that would be us). In this fast pace world try and slow it down a bit and have a heart to heart with somebody about the Gospel.
 
Praying for you always
Bob D.