Adam and Eve, Jonah and Noah by Brother Curtis Hansen

         You will find what is in scripture that was written thousands of years ago can still be correlate to our lives in the present. Our first point is that the devil is a liar. The devil can quote scripture to you to twist your understanding of the scripture. He did that very thing to Jesus when Jesus was in the wilderness. Unlike a lot of us today though, Jesus had the knowledge to counter scripture with scripture. The title of the message this morning is Adam and Eve, Jonah and Noah. We will be reading from Matthew chapter 19 beginning with verse 4.

        4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

        The Pharisees were seeking an answer to divorce at the beginning of chapter 19. They always sought a way to tempt and trip up Jesus. This isn't really about divorce though. Jesus was talking about his promise. He was always speaking about the larger picture. Let's read on.

        5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. 

        6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh, What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

        Jesus is referring to Adam and Eve in this text. He's talking about the rule he made at the time. At some point you will have to submit to the truth. If Jesus spoke about certain people or events, they weren't a story, it was written history. Jesus was speaking about his goal was to show these events all would point to him.

        In looking again at verse 4, Jesus confirms the fact his original design and purpose that was established. Is the bible an instruction manual to you? There's instruction and design laid out in the scripture. A humble mindset does not happen over night. For many people, it can take years to come to a humble mindset. Jesus' purpose was that the design has not gone away. There are things God wants to do for you, but are you humble and patient enough to receive?

        The world has always tried to revise or rewrite history. It likes to interject opinion and blur facts. You need to be wary of what you listen to and what you read. We are going to go back a few chapters in Matthew to chapter 12. We will be reading at verse 39 to 41.

        39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and there shall be no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.

        40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

        41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

        In this scripture, Jesus is referring the missionary journey of Jonah. An adulterous generation is always pursuing a sign. They need confirmation of their life being good. Sometimes Jesus will send someone who hates you to deliver a message that you need like Jonah. Jonah was commissioned to Nineveh to prophesy to the people and Jonah did not want to go. The people did not pass the message down to their next generations. It's why they would fall many years later. There are times in our life where we could be slain spiritually and God can raise us back up. Like Jonah, we often run from God's calling. If you want some response from God, try fasting for 3 days.

        We are going to move over to chapter 24 in Matthew next, and read verses 36 to 38.

        36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

        37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

        You can look at what Noah was going through in that time and see many parallels today. The signs are all there.

        38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.

        Jesus was saying the people were just living life before the flood. They had the warning and access to safety but they ignored it. The same scenario we are seeing today. Just  like in the days of Noah, that door to heaven is still open.

        Like Adam, Jesus came to earth as a man. Like Jonah, he dwelt in the grave for 3 days. Like Noah, he bids those to come and repent.

        In this last point, I give a call to response to the skeptic. Jesus affirmed those stories to quell the doubt. If you can't see the truth to these event, you won't see beyond in Acts, the pentecostal fire.