[0:00]respect God. Yes. Let's bow our heads and pray. Father in heaven, Thanks for life. Thank you, dear God, for the honor of speaking for you. Thank you for the presence of your sons and your daughters who have come to listen to your words, not mine. Thank you for the online audience wherever they are. I ask you, dear God, in the name of Jesus Christ, a name that means power. In his name, bless everyone listening. Bless them in all areas of their lives. In the area of health, in the area of finances, in the area of marriage, in the area of children, in the area of employment. Bless them, dear God, in all areas, but particularly in the spiritual area. Give me the words to speak. Forgive my sins, God. Make me a fit vessel in your hands tonight. Bless the Philippines, dear God. Bless every Filipino everywhere on this earth. Also bless all those countries listening to this program. Now, Father, here I am. Speak through me, I pray. In Jesus' name, let God's people say, Amen and amen. I have a question for you. When you think of the word or the name Noah, what comes to mind? The flood. In the days before the flood, the people who lived in the times of Noah could ask the question in times like these, what should we do? When you think of Lot, what do you think of? The destruction, come on, of Sodom and Gomorrah. How? By water or by fire? By fire. Those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah and Adma and Zeboim and Bela, the five cities of the plain, had every reason to ask the question, in times like these, what should we do? I'll tell you a secret, a public secret. What they had to do then in the days of Noah, we have to do today. What they had to do in the time of Lot, we have to do today. When Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago, those who saw him and listened to him, they had every reason to ask the questions, in times like these, what should we do?
[3:39]Now we are in 2025. What should we say? In times like these, what should we do? And by the grace of God, I will answer that question tonight. Let us look at the times of Noah. Go to Second Peter chapter three, or chapter two, sorry, we read from verse four of Second Peter, chapter two, reading from verse four.
[4:20]Who is still looking? Say amen if you're still looking. Do you have Second Peter, chapter two, reading from verse four?
[4:34]The Bible says, For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. Now listen to verse five, And spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the what? Ungodly.
[5:05]God only destroys the ungodly. He does not destroy the godly.
[5:17]Maybe I should move to that side and then you'll speak to me. Listen again to verse five of Second Peter 2. By the way, if you have the King James version, you may read with me. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. Now, the world of the ungodly, not just the city of the ungodly or the village of the ungodly or the house of the ungodly, the flood came upon the world of the ungodly.
[6:08]Quick question for you. When the flood came, how many people were saved? Tell me quickly, eight.
[6:20]Eight. From an entire world. How does the Bible describe that world? Ungodly. Then if someone were to ask back then in times like these, what should we do? The answer would be, change your ungodly life. From ungodly to godly.
[6:53]Let me change my words, not change your ungodly life, no one can change from ungodly to godly, allow God to change your ungodly life to godly. Let's go from Noah and the flood to Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Let us stay in Second Peter chapter two. Let's read verse six to eight. Are you ready? And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow, making them an example of the those that after should live how? Ungodly. Give me one word to describe the world of Noah. Ungodly. What happened? A flood came. Give me one word to describe the lifestyle in Sodom and Gomorrah. Ungodly. What happened? Fire came. Now, the other words that are the same as ungodly, let's keep reading, let's look at verse seven of Second Peter chapter two. Our subject, in times like these, what should I do? By the way, before I say anything else, let me speak to God again. Father, as I try in my human way to deliver your words, give me strength, give me wisdom in Jesus' name, Amen. Verse seven Second Peter chapter two. And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of whom? Ah, the wicked. In verse five, the days of Noah, there are called and godly. In verse six, the days of Lot, there are called ungodly, they're also called in seven wicked. Now, let's go to verse eight, For that righteous man, doing what? Dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vex his righteous soul from day to day with what? Unlawful deeds. Now, we have three words that apply to the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Give me those three words. Word number one, Word number two, Word number three, they were ungodly, they were wicked and they were unlawful.
[10:44]And God's response was, in the days of Noah, death, in the days of Lot, death. And in 225, if you would describe as ungodly, wicked and unlawful, what can you expect?
[11:03]But God is a God of love. Go to second, we are in second Peter. Go to chapter three as quickly as you can. Let's read verse nine of Second Peter chapter three. Our subject, in times like these, what should I, not we, I, make it personal. It is now according to eight. Do you have verse nine, Second Peter chapter three? The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. Now listen carefully, but is what? Long suffering to us. Pause. Give me another word for long suffering. Patience. Oh, I like you. Patience. Give me another word for long suffering. Come on, they gave me a word. You give me one. Is this a smarter side? Okay, give me another word for long suffering. What?
[12:20]What? Oh, enduring. Very good. The Bible says God is long suffering. I'll give you two reasons why, and they're both connected. Finish the verse. Not willing that any Filipino should perish.
[12:43]Finish the verse, but that all Filipinos. Come on, should come to. Ah, we have a new word, repentance. When I say Filipino, it's in the Bible.
[13:00]The word all is in the Bible, am I right? Then does that include Filipinos? Does that include Americans? Does that include Japanese? But now I'm not in Japan, I'm in the Philippines. So Second Peter 3:9 is for the Philippines. The Lord is not willing that any Filipino anywhere on earth should perish, but that every Filipino should come to repentance. Repentance from, before I ask you that, repentance from what? Let's read the verse again. I told you I'd make a connection for you. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises. He's not forgetful. He's not irresponsible. He's not unreliable. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but his long suffering to us. Here's why God is long suffering, reason one, he loves you.
[14:06]He knows the ultimate end for you and me is either heaven or hmm. Heaven or hmm. Now,
[14:20]heaven, no sin, no death, no hospitals, no divorce, no police, no armies, no aids, no Covid, no malaria, no dengue fever, no disobedient children. No harsh, cruel bosses.
[14:49]Face-to-face communication with God. Now describe hell. Fire. Hot, suffering, then final destruction. That's one, that's the other. The Bible says God is not willing that you should experience that. He wants you to experience heaven. Now, why does God not want you to experience hell? Because you and I have no idea how terrible it will be when God destroys this earth. And so he waits and he waits and he waits because he does not want to do it.
[15:46]In our society, all over the world, all legal systems have something called probation. And so you commit a crime, it's not too serious. The courts put you on probation, because the court does not want to put you where in prison. So they put you on probation and they ask you please, behave yourself. God in his system, he does not want anyone put in destruction, and so he gives us a probationary period to behave.
[16:27]So that we can go from ungodly to godly, from wicked to righteous, from unlawful to lawful.
[16:42]In times like these, let's figure out from Noah's perspective. Now Noah could also ask the question, in times like these, what should I preach? Let's find out what he preached. We're still in Second Peter chapter two, let's look at verse five closely.
[17:11]What Noah preached. In times like these, what was Noah to preach?
[17:21]Second Peter chapter two, the Bible says and spared Noah, and spared all the world but saved Noah, the eighth person, read the next statement, a preacher of righteousness. Give me another expression for righteousness. Yes, holiness.
[17:38]But the other expression also begins with right. I heard it, I heard it, right doing, but by the power of God. Right doing is only possible by the power of God. Whether you're saved or unsaved, whenever someone does what is right, it is by the power of God. And so when Noah asked the question, Father, in times like these, what should I preach? God said, preach righteousness. Because a righteous person cannot be destroyed.
[19:09]Destroy the wicked, not the righteous. And so when Noah preached righteousness, he was preaching a message of salvation.
[19:25]A preacher of righteousness.
