One Mind Church

The Blessings of Family That We Must Enjoy in the Age of Nephilim (Gen.6:1-17)          May 13, 2012

Last Sunday, we shared the Word of God concerning the three blessings of family (spiritual family within oneself, physical family, and church) that God’s people must enjoy especially in the Family Month. Today’s message is entitled “The Blessings of Family That We Must Enjoy in the Age of Nephilim”. The Age of Nephilim does not necessarily refer to a particular time period as to the age of Noah which is the background of today’s passage, but in each age, there is a time during which this being called Nephilim’s presence seems especially strong. The word Nephilim is a Hebrew word that means “fallen from above”. What comes to your mind? It is Satan. He was originally from heaven, but fell corrupt and eventually was banished to the world (Eze.28:16 and Rev.12:9). What do you think he is doing in this world? He is turning this world evil. Why is the world getting more and more evil? It is because of this being. He is doing everything within his power to drive mankind who was created in God’s image and the world into corruption and curses. Today’s passage explains what the Nephilim were like during Noah’s time. What did they do? First, the Nephilim made sons of God go to the daughters of men. Sons of God symbolize people of faith who have God’s covenant. The Nephilim drove men of God to live among the daughters of men who had no faith in God. This was the time when faith collapsed. With what did the Nephilim tempt sons of God next? “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” Do not fall for something just because it is pleasing to the eye. Of course physical beauty is an important aspect, but if you are truly a man of God, you must be able to find beauty from what is unseen. Such unseen aspects are faith and inner-self. It says in 1Jn.2:15-16, “Do not love the world or anything–[the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does]–in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Moreover, to what extent did the Nephilim drive sons of God corrupt? In verse 5 it says, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” God had no choice but to judge mankind and begin anew. Compare those things that were described during Noah’s time to what we see in this world today. People are either losing or compromising with faith, or they leave church for good. How much have they fallen into obsession of outer-beauty and physical manifestation? Look how many cosmetic surgeons we have gotten over the few decades. “Sexy” has now become the best compliment you can pay to a lady for her beauty. We do not even have to talk about how evil this world has become. Leaders of the church and even the leader of one nation are now approving homosexual marriage. This is the world in which we and our children are living. God did not just save Noah’s family in this age of Nephilim. He completely rewrote the history of this world through Noah’s family. I hope you and your family may be within God’s blessing for the family that is used for His history.

1. God first gave Noah’s family three blessings.

(1) God personally chose Noah by grace. It is recorded in verse 8 “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” God chose Noah in advance by His grace so that he and his family would not be swept away by the corruption and curse that came upon that age.

a. What is the secret to victory that you and your children must grab hold of in order to survive in this world full of corruption and curses? It starts from realizing the fact that you and your family have been chosen by God (Eph.1:3-5 and 1Pet.2:9). You must hold onto the fact that you and your family have been chosen by grace as your blessings first, and make the rest of your family hold onto it as well.

b. You did not choose God, but He chose you. That is what grace means. To what extent do we must live with the pride, confidence, and self-esteem as God’s children? There is no need to compete or use humanistic methods to achieve success. We already received the greatest blessing (Deu.33:29). There is no need to fear no matter what crises may come (Is.41:1-2) and no one can separate us from the love of God (Rom.8:31-39).

c. How is it that we are going to be fine even if we do not follow the worldly standards and traditions or begin from the lowest place? It is because God will eventually make us stand in the highest place. Those who know this secret are called the “Remnant” (those who remain). Even if just one person within a family is holding onto this covenant, the entire family will live. No matter how hard and corrupt the world has become and how much it seems as though people of faith are persecuted and found at loss, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

(2) To this family God gave the blessing of the ark. This is the mystery of Christ and blessing of salvation. The Nephilim (Satan) will undoubtedly work and the curses and judgment will follow in this world, but God will open the way of salvation. In Gen.6:14 God even specified how to build an ark. They are symbolically describing salvation and Christ.

a. The main material is cypress. Cypress wood does not change over time. That is how eternal our salvation is (Christ’s perpetuity).

b. God instructed Noah to coat the ark with pitch. No authority of curses can penetrate. That is how complete our salvation is (Christ’s completeness).

c. “Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.” Jesus is described as a door in Jn.10:7, and He opened the door to nations and all people (Christ’s justness).

d. There is only one window on the roof. Do not look around at your surroundings and reality and fall, but fix your eyes on Christ as you look above (Christ’s uniqueness). That is when the answer of uniqueness comes.

(3) To this family God gave the blessing of saving the world.

a. It was not just a blessing of saving himself. God entrusted him the work of saving all creatures. There ais a lot of people who advocate animal rights; that is not a wrong thing to do, but what is more important is saving souls. Do you know how many people are getting closer and closer to curses and judgment without knowing this blessing of the ark?

b. Noah is referred to as a “preacher of righteousness” that basically means evangelist in 2Pet.2:5. God gave everything to that evangelist’s family after the flood.

2. What do we have to do now?

(1) It did not take hundreds and thousands of people to enjoy this blessing and save the world.

a. Noah and his family were all God needed. If one family really holds onto these three blessings, they can do anything. We call such family a mission home. One family can send out a missionary or run a regional church that saves one region. Imagine how much they were ridiculed and made fun of while building the ark. That was how much the whole family must have held onto the Word and prayed. In a sense, they gave everything they had to build the ark. That is evangelism and missions.

b. A family that has lost hold of the Word, prayer, and commission within the Gospel is worthless in God’s eyes. That is why Jesus asked back when His mother and brothers came to seek Him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

(2) Now, God wants us to deliver this blessing to the world. There are many people in this world who have not heard of the blessing of the Gospel. That is why the LORD said “Go.” That is missions. I ask you to join me in prayer for the upcoming medical mission trip to Africa.

<Conclusion>

We are living in the Age of Nephilim, but it will be okay no matter what problems come as long as you and your family hold onto the covenant (chosen by grace, ark, and saving the world) pray, and go forward towards your commission. We will win the world.