Sailing away from destruction

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of man Luke 17:26. God grew tired and despaired with man in Noah's
day. It hadn't been very long at all since mankind had been banished from the
Garden of Eden, a realization that must still have been fresh in some minds. Yet
man continued away from God, and descended into all manner of immorality and
debauchery. The result, of which we know, God despaired that He had made man,
and sent a great flood over the earth, permitting only the righteous to survive
while the rest perished.

Is mankind once again in a position similar to the days of
Noah, almost past the point of no return in terms of sin and unrighteous
behaviour? Will God soon act sovereignly once again and fulfill all that we are
waiting for before sending His son to usher us home? I will leave the answer up
to you and your own interpretation of scripture and worldwide events.

From where I sit, over a period of years I have witnessed a
steady decline in the moral standards of Western civilisation and society in
general. Values such as honesty and integrity appear 'abnormal' in our
current social environment. In a recent article in a national newspaper I was
interested to read that the decline of moral standards was one of about
three reasons for the increase in plagiarism according to New Zealand
universities.

One reason for this decline I believe is directly related to
what we are taught to do with 'self'. Some time back Western Society could
have claimed to be Christian, and I daresay some would even continue that claim
without fully understanding its meaning. Our fall from being Christian societies
picked up momentum over the last two hundred years with the increased importance
placed on science and the advent of evolution. As with all forms of 'humanism'
when we continually exalt ourselves and our own interests and pleasures, putting
ourselves before God, we become devoid of God, and who He is.

I am not anti-science, in fact I rather enjoy the wonderful
discoveries that have been made. The more I find out about the world in which I
live the more I marvel and give glory to God. I just do not support all
scientific conclusions that are made -– the ones that are devoid of God.

With huge advances in technology and an increased
understanding of our universe, the arrogance of man has increased to an even
larger scale (Romans 1:18-22) to the point where we feel we know so much about
our universe and origins that we have no need for God. We have distanced
ourselves from the only true God and embraced all manner of things which have
replaced him in our lives. (Romans 1:28-32)

We find when reading the book of Revelations in the bible
that the final church age is called Laodicea. Jesus spoke against this church
for being lukewarm due to its comfort in material things. It is widely accepted
in Christian circles today that we live in the Laodicean age. If this is the
case then the sin of putting self ahead of God will be seen in our places of
worship.

My family and I live quite comfortably and want or need for
nothing. However parts of my life are spent worrying about money and how to
improve our financial standing, gain further material comforts and generally
make life easier. I have also become quite accustomed to working five days a
week with two to myself. Yes indeed, perhaps a very selfish lifestyle -– and I
am a believer.

This state of living for self has plunged us all headlong
into the position that we find our societies in today. Perhaps we, the
Christians, can do more to assist our neighbours to see God through shifting
the focus back to Him. Once we would have spoken out against unrighteousness
where now we have become too preoccupied with our own affairs. As a result we
now live in an era where all manner of sin, (including some that were once
talked about in hushed whispers) is openly accepted, considered normal, flaunted
and even rejoiced in.

Yes, 'as it was in the days of Noah'... This does not
mean that we should concede defeat and let Satan steam-roll us.

As Christians what do you think we should do? For myself, the
out-of-fashion word repent (turn around) springs to mind. We have a heritage,
inheritance and new home waiting for us through Jesus in Heaven - let us focus
there. As individuals and believers we need to consider our spiritual state, and
whether we are truly rich or truly poor. It is time for us to return to the old
tried and true methods of finding God. Yes that's right, travailing on our
knees in prayer and spending many hours in his Word, readjusting our minds and
lives to conform with our Lord, His Word and Spirit. This will not be easy, but
rather gut wrenching as we wrestle with our flesh. When we have dealt with and
overcome the undesirable elements and attitudes of self we will then truly begin
to hear from the Lord.

Scripture tells us that things will continue to deteriorate
until the fulfillment of time. We will never take back or recover this world for
the Lord. Instead God will continue to do his work through those submitted
to his will and gather in those souls who respond to his call. As
Christians we need to resist the flood of evil (Isaiah 59:19b). Remember
brothers and sisters, Jesus is not coming for everyone that professes his name,
but for those who are without spot or blemish.

So whether Jesus comes tomorrow or 50 years from now, we need
to submit our lives to Him and His will. His will has a lot to do with 'other
people'. Remember there are many confused and frightened people out there -–
some believers, and many who are not. Remember it's you and I who hold the
answers in Jesus, so lets forsake the call of self, and get about our Father's
business.