Part CXXII on Galatians Study

Matthew 24:37-38
"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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,"
Now stop for a moment. There's nothing wrong with that is there? No, there is nothing wrong with our daily supply of food and drink. There's nothing wrong with marrying, and weddings and starting families. So that wasn't the problem, it doesn't show it as that's what brought God's wrath upon them, but they were so occupied with all of these human mundane events that they didn't have time to listen until the day that Noah entered into the ark. Don't loose sight of the fact that Noah preached a last days message for at least 115 years and then even while building the ark which took five years he still preached salvation but no one listen to him. He was mocked at every turn can you imagine people saying, Noah your crazing for what is rain? What do you mean a flood, what is that? You see they didn't know what rain was back then because the ground was watered by the mist which raised up out of it. Now here's the revelation of what the Lord of spirits [Christ] has revealed. It's found in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 5, those people of Noah's day mocked him and so does the world now mock Him [the Lord of spirits] again by making light of Him [Christ] and His Gospel.  So all they had is what we might call dry ground. Ever think on that? Now verse 39.
 
Matthew 24:39
"And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
Now you have to compare the Lord's statements in that they were so busy with their daily, materialistic activity they did not have time for the things of God. For its not until Seth Adams third recorded son that we find man worshiping God for its through this man Seth that Noah comes. Which such men as Mahalalee [praiser of God] and Enoch [dedicated to God] and Methuselah and then Noah  comes in these are all recorded as men who walked with God. All were known as righteous men.In Luke chapter 21 it says they were also building, and doesn't that fit so perfectly with today. We think for those of us who are looking for the departure, we will find at that time such a world-wide economic activity as we're seeing it even today. People are so caught up in this today and that is the reason we can't get them interested in Spiritual things. Hey they've got it too good! They're making big bucks, the stock market is roaring, who's got time for eternity?

So that's why we have to feel that the world economy didn't collapse January 1, 2000 with this Y2K thing. Now we're not going to knock the idea, and ridicule that it's of no count, but it just doesn't seem to fit that the world can be in the situation that Jesus described so far as their materialism is bent, and their wicked activity, which of course they couldn't do if they couldn't travel, they wouldn't have all this opportunity for the sinfulness that we see in the Scripture. So we have to feel most of this activity will keep going up until at least the mid-point of the Tribulation. And at that time is when the sky is going to fall. Everything at that time is going to go into a chaotic condition, there's no doubt about it. But we can foresee nothing to indicate the world is going to fall apart, or stop all their materialistic activity before the Lord comes. So keep these things in mind. Always remember that Genesis tells us that the world was filled with violence. All they could conceive of were things that were wicked an irritant to God. But at the same time they were doing all the things that are part and parcel of everyday living as today, and so we believe that the time is short, the Lord's coming is seconds away in the view of the whole time period. Everything is getting ready for the Lord's soon return. BUT, First for the Church when we meet Him in the air at the departure, and then 7 years later when we come back with Him at His second coming.


Galatians 5:22-23
"But (here we have a total flip side. We talked about something that's a flip side, this is. This is just a total inversion of all of the activity of those previous verses we looked at. And now we'll read them all and come back and comment. But) the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Now there are nine fruits listed here, and we're going to divide them into three segments of three each. So the first part of the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy and peace. Peace is the inner results of Salvation in the life of the true believer. This is what we can experience just simply as a result of having believed and then received this Gospel for our salvation. We've always made the statement that we aren't saved as a fire escape. We're not saved just to escape Hellfire, not at all, but we're also saved to do as Jesus said. "to have life and have it more abundantly."

Now we're going to see in these nine fruits of the Spirit, that this is the abundant life. it's not as the worlds church of materialism teaches and spreads it's false doctrines. And that's why Paul says, "against these things there is nothing that can oppose them." There is no law that says, "Well there's nothing good about love, there's nothing good about joy, and so forth." No way, these are all attributes of the power of an Endless Life that enhances the believer. We have to look at it this way. Wouldn't it be great to live in a community where everybody lived this kind of a life, as opposed to living in a community where everybody practices what we see around us. Well we see those other practices too often, and it's pandemonium, the police blotters are full of people who practice those things and so we have churches are full of it.

We don't see people named on the police blotters who practice these fruits of the Spirit in verses 22 and 23, at least not very often. It probably can happen, but it's not routine. We feel sorry for policemen and law enforcement in general. Have you ever stopped to think what it would be like to be a policemen and be confronted with this stuff? Why we mean they're putting up with all these things that we looked at our daughter-in-law is a corrections officer for the county where we live and she sees this stuff every day. They never have to put up with people who are in trouble because of the fruit of the Spirit. OK now here we go.