Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.littlelogchurch.com/sermons/73966/love-covers-a-multitude-of-sins/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Genesis chapter 9, and we will be looking at verses 18 through 27. [0:16] ! Today's message is a second in the series. I wanted to be like Pastor Bill.! This is a second in a series of search me, O God, and know my heart. Show me any wicked way that's in me. [0:36] Last week, after I prayed that prayer a couple weeks prior to, he revealed my lack of love towards people. [0:47] And so this week, he's been showing me how that can be corrected. So the title of the message is, Love Covers a Multitude of Sin. [1:00] Noah was a man who was dedicated to serving God. Someone, despite the evil influences all around him in the world, chose to listen to and obey God, a man who walked righteously in his generation with God. [1:23] Noah and his seven family members entered the ark. [1:36] Noah, his wife, and his three sons with their wives emerge from the ark, along with all the animals, with fresh instructions to be fruitful and multiply on the earth. [1:51] Noah builds an altar and makes a soothing aroma of a sacrifice to God, a.k.a. a barbecue. At this time, Noah has been following God's commands for over 600 years. [2:09] After leaving the ark, and since there's no reason to be a carpenter or a sailor, he chooses to become a farmer. As time goes by, and the part about being fruitful and multiplying is going on, one of the crops he decides to plant are grapes, a vineyard. [2:31] He harvests the grapes and makes some wine. He may have left the wine out a little too long before he decides to have a drink of it. He tastes it. [2:43] Hey, that tastes good. In fact, so good, I think I'll have another. And another? And maybe just one more. Oopsies. I'm feeling really good now. [2:57] I know. I'll get naked. Nobody will see me in my tent. Or so he thought. His story is recorded in a bestseller. [3:10] And this man of God who followed God for centuries and centuries will be remembered for all time, not only as a man of faith, but also as a drunkard. [3:26] Because of a single moment of indiscretion. Let's look at that, the latter part of the story, together. [3:37] If you would, again, turn with me Genesis 9, picking it up in verse 18. If you're able, please stand for the reading of God's word. Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. [3:57] And Ham was the father of Canaan. These were the sons of Noah. And from these the whole earth was populated. Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. [4:09] He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. [4:23] But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father's nakedness. [4:36] When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. So he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers. [4:51] He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. [5:03] So reads the word of God. Father, we just ask for wisdom and understanding, and also what the Spirit would have us learn today. [5:14] In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Why would God choose to put this part of Noah's life in the Bible? [5:27] Why couldn't he tell us all about Noah's faith and walking in righteousness and just simply leave it at that? Well, Romans 15 gives us a hint where it says, Whatever was written of former days was written for our instruction. [5:49] We are to learn from this story, and man, are there a lot of lessons to be learned. On my way to church this morning, I was blessed with seeing a, not vision, a actual thing that was happening. [6:11] There was a field that needed to be mowed, and there was a father that was out in the field, and his son was on the riding lawnmower. [6:26] And they were sitting there discussing things. Of course, I don't know what they were discussing, but I'm surmising that he was teaching him how to mow this field. How to start the lawnmower, how to put it in drive, and to turn, because he was directing him and stuff as he was talking. [6:45] And I just, again, was privileged to see that. I just think that's so neat when God shows these little pictures here and there, just as an example of what he does for us, what he does in our life. [6:59] He takes everyday things, and he tries to teach us. He gives us stories from the past. He doesn't hide from it. To teach us a lesson. So that, and there are also warnings. [7:13] I think of other times when, I had to share these because I was so blessed. I remember one time when a father was, father and daughter were walking along the sidewalk. [7:25] And they came up to a driveway. And the car that was in the driveway happened to have, they were going to be backing out. Their backup lights were on as they're walking by. [7:39] And the father very quickly holds the daughter back. And she's just a little girl and just saying, you know, telling her, be careful. When you see these lights, that means warning. [7:50] The car is backing up. You be careful here. It was just so neat to see that and just bless because the Lord just said, I do that with you, Mark. I do that with you. Oh, thank you, Father. [8:01] Thank you. Another time, a mom was setting boundaries and explaining to the little ones the dangers of roaming the neighborhood. Setting boundaries. [8:12] You can only go so far. I want you to be able to still, I want you to still be able to see our house. And I still want to be able to see you. You're not to go around the corner because there's dangers out there. You don't know what can happen. [8:24] Again, just like God does with me. And there was another time when a father was teaching a son how to catch and throw a football. And just the time and the patience he was taking. [8:36] And again, the privilege that I saw just to be able to see these things. And the Lord impressing on my heart that that's how I treat not just you, Mark, but everybody. All my children. [8:47] And so this story is here to teach us. Are we going to listen and learn? Or are we just going to, eh, that's a nice story. [8:57] But what's it got to do with me? Well, I'll tell you, those many lessons in here, three of them I can think of. And within these lessons, there's multiple lessons hidden in those. [9:11] Not hidden. They're there to see. Number one, we have the reality of Noah's sin. Number two, we have the reaction of Noah's sons. [9:22] And then number three, we have the realization of Noah's sayings. The reality of Noah's sin. Verse 20 and 21. [9:35] Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. So the question, you're reading this, you're thinking, all right, so what part of this is a sin? [9:52] Is planting a vineyard a sin? I don't know. Jesus told the parable of a landowner who planted a vineyard. He leased it to tenants and went to a faraway land. [10:05] The landowner represents God himself. So, I don't think that planting a vineyard is a sin. How about the part where he was drinking of the wine? [10:20] Is that a sin? Is drinking a sin? Well, Jesus turned water into wine, and it was good wine. If you remember the story, there's controversy on there whether or not it was fermented or not. [10:35] That's up to you to talk with God about. But I do know that Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his ailment. [10:46] He had a stomach ailment, and it was fermented wine. So is drinking wine bad in and of itself? I don't think so. In fact, we're told that in 1 Corinthians 6.12, that all things are permissible, but not all are profitable. [11:11] I will not be a slave to anything. All things are permissible, but not profitable. Good for us. So, drinking wine is not a sin. [11:23] Then we come to the next part. Was getting drunk a sin? Well, 1 Corinthians 6.9-10 says, Do not be deceived. [11:37] Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. [12:01] So, I think it's pretty clear in Scripture. Is getting drunk a sin? Yes. There's our sin. [12:13] Well, we've got one more part to look at. Was getting naked a sin? Well, Adam and Eve were created naked. And it wasn't a problem until they sinned. [12:25] And then they were embarrassed and ashamed. So they hid themselves and covered themselves. Well, God had a better covering for them. [12:37] And ultimately, we have a better covering for our sin. Right? So, man, let's see. [12:48] Nakedness can lead to shame and embarrassment, but it is not a sin in and of itself when confined to your own tent. Man certainly abuses nakedness. [13:02] Example, pornography, which is sin. So in that sense, in that case, nakedness can lead to sin. So the sin of Noah is drunkenness. [13:17] None of these other things. A few things I want you to note. These are the lessons within the lesson. Noah was a man of God for centuries. [13:31] All around him was evil. Wickedness and violence. And during this adversity and trying times, he was a giant. He stood strong for God. [13:43] Similar to what Rick was saying during adversity. But now, after life settles down, it's on autopilot. We're retiring. [13:55] Thinking of retiring. Thinking of retiring. And old age begins to set in. His guard is down. He, we, are at our most vulnerable during this time. [14:08] We don't need to press in or seek God's advice. The point is, when we let our guard down, we are more susceptible to sin. [14:20] Another thing to note. Another thing to note. Here's another one of those small words, Rick. It's not so. But, in verse 21, if you'll notice. [14:32] He drank of the wine and, there is the little word, the little conjunction word, and. He drank of the wine and became drunk. [14:45] And uncovered himself inside his tent. There is always an and after temptation and sin. [14:58] It's the result of giving in to that temptation that leads to sin. And then, can lead to other things. [15:09] An uncovering of ourselves. Remember that all things are permissible. The drinking the wine, that's permissible. But, not all things are profitable. Because, it can lead to sin. [15:22] And, we become slaves to it. The temptation to drink is not a sin. But, is strongly discouraged. Because, it can lead to drunkenness. [15:34] And, our uncovering or shame and embarrassment. Sin follows temptation when it's given in. In two. [15:47] One last thing to note about this. You might be sitting here thinking, But, I don't have a problem with drunkenness. And, you might say, But, boy, this sure would be good for so and so. [16:01] They need to hear this. Wait. 1 Corinthians reminds you of that. 1 Corinthians 6, 9 through 10. That list. [16:13] Man, let me look it up again here. It's here. Yep. Do not deceive. Be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters. [16:25] The point is, this list of all these other things along saying, Nor drunkards will inherit the kingdom of heaven. There's all these other things that go not with it. [16:37] But, it's not just drunkenness. There's many, many things that are not profitable to us. It lists other sins along with drunkenness. [16:56] And, the list is not exhaustive, by the way. So, don't think, well, I don't fall under the category of any of those things. So, I'm okay. Nope. This list is not exhaustive. This is in 1 Corinthians. [17:08] You can add to that list as you're reading through scripture. Oh, there's another thing. Oh, there's another thing. Oh, I'm that one. Oh, I'm this one. So, be careful how you think. [17:19] Just to make things clear, this passage isn't just pointing out drunkenness. It can also be a metaphor for any sin we are caught up in. [17:36] We can be drunk with lust. We can be drunk with pride. We can be drunk with greed. You get the picture. So, and also remember, the scripture was written to teach and warn us. [17:54] It's for us, not somebody else. It speaks to us, and it pertains to us. When you're reading, keep that in mind. [18:06] So important. So easy to look at stories and things and say, no, it doesn't have anything to do with me. Or again, it's sure, somebody else sure needs to hear this. [18:17] No. Point it back at you. What's that old saying? If you've got one, if you're pointing at somebody, you've got four fingers pointing back at you. Three and a thumb. [18:29] You do it how you want. More pointing back at you. It's for you. That's the point. All right. By the way, as for the nakedness or uncovering of Noah, in verse 21, being a physical act, the nakedness, it can also be a metaphor. [18:49] A metaphor for shame, sense of guilt, vulnerability, being exposed. Expose your failures and your flaws, your offenses. [19:01] It can lead to embarrassment and humiliation. It could also be nakedness showing your spiritual poverty. Moving on. [19:16] We see the reality of Noah's sin. Now let's look at the reaction of Noah's sons. Verse 22. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. [19:36] When it says that Ham saw his father's nakedness, it means he gazed upon it. That just sounds weird, doesn't it? [19:51] So something else is going on here with Ham. It's not just seeing his father's nakedness, but now he's gazing upon it. You can draw your own conclusions, get the picture in your own mind. [20:04] Don't stay there very long. You don't need to. The point is that it wasn't just seeing his father and then going out and saying, hey, Papa is naked. [20:15] No, it was a little bit more than that. So be careful. Also remember that in that culture, it was a humiliation to be naked in front of another. [20:28] They were just very more modest during that time. So to be naked, yeah, embarrassing. Maybe Ham was revealing, reveling in seeing his dad naked because he's thinking, here's good old righteous dad, naked and exposed, feeling a little self-righteous. [20:52] That's me reading into the text. I don't know. So don't take that as what's happened here. But Ham shared the failure of his father with family members. [21:03] Don't forget, we're supposed to be learning things here. In the family, be it a personal family, be it a corporate church family, or even a work family, people are going to see our shortcomings. [21:23] There's no getting around it. We can't hide it. It eventually comes out. And when it does, what do we do with it? Do we go gossip about it to other people? [21:41] And tell other people in the family, again, being either your personal family, your church family, or even your work family, your co-workers, are you telling them, oh, Fred did this. [21:52] Boy, you should have seen what the boss did. I know this about the boss. Let me tell you. Dangerous stuff. This is why Jesus said, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own town, and among his relatives, or in his own home. [22:13] Anywhere a prophet goes, he is received, except where he lives. People say, we know him. We've seen his shortcomings. [22:23] Who is he to preach to us? Ham saw his father's nakedness and went out and talked about it. Why do we do that? Why do we talk about someone else's nakedness? [22:37] They're problems. They're failures. We put down others, thinking it makes us look better, and it doesn't. It makes us look like jerks. It puffs us up in our own mind while tearing others down. [22:56] You know, it's funny, because we try to hide our gossip. That's what it is. And it's hidden sometimes in spiritual conversations. Hey, brother, I just need to tell you about so-and-so, what they did. [23:11] Let's pray about it. Okay. Or, did you hear about so-and-so? I love this part. Bless their heart. [23:23] We all know that one. Here's one. And this is for Dan, for later on. Here you go, Dan. Mary and Martha. Mary's saying to Jesus, Jesus, Mary's not, I mean, Martha's saying to Jesus, I'll get it right. [23:44] Jesus, Mary's not helping. In other words, let me expose or uncover her faults. Tell her to help me. I don't know if that's the, it just seems to fit. [24:00] Makes you wonder. And again, how subtle it is that it can be in our life. And when we're talking with one another, on our way home from being at church, can you believe so-and-so? [24:14] Did you hear what the pastor said? Did you see what, you know, from work again? I can't, that guy doesn't ever do anything right the first time. [24:27] He does it halfway. Yada, yada. we're going to look at that in a second, why that's so harmful. So we have Ham's reaction, and now we contrast that reaction with those of his two brothers. [24:43] Verse 23. 1 Peter 4.8 says, love covers a multitude of sins. [25:13] My question is, all sins? Can love cover all sins? Are we to cover all sins? It's funny because I was reading some commentaries, I was reading other sermons that were out there, and listening to them online and stuff, and some of the take on that part, do we cover all sins? [25:42] And how some pastors just say, there's some, but there's some that we don't cover. Well, I'm here to tell you, I disagree. [25:53] So if you disagree with me, then you're in good company with them, I guess. But anyway, I disagree with that. I think it's all. So we have the three sets of, types of sins. [26:04] We have our trespasses, which are unintentional wrongdoing. You can see covering those. Can't you? I mean, they didn't mean to do it. [26:15] Then we have our transgressions. That's crossing the line, knowing it's prohibition, and that's called rebellion. It's getting a little touchy. [26:28] Somebody did it on purpose. They knew they weren't supposed to, but they did it anyway. Do we cover those sins? Yeah, I think so. This comes the difficult one, and this is what so many pastors out there say, no, we don't cover this. [26:42] And that's the iniquities, the twisted or perverted, perverting God's laws, like sexual abuse. Do we cover those? [26:55] Well, if we're to be like Christ, the answer is absolutely yes. It'd be difficult. Here's the thing. Covering a sin does not mean condoning it or hiding it or pretending it didn't happen or even wink at it. [27:19] Sin must be confronted in love and in the timing of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 6.1 says, Brothers, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, restore them in a spirit of gentleness. [27:43] The warning, keep watch on yourself. Be careful, though, lest you too be tempted. So are we supposed to cover and forgive all sins? [27:56] Absolutely. So why the blanket and walking backwards? Well, they didn't even want to be tempted to look and didn't want others from the outside being able to see in. [28:14] Now, this part is very important. Listen up. Another lesson. If I'm tempted to look at another's nakedness, their failings, their faults, put your terminology in there however you want, whatever the situation calls for. [28:36] If I'm tempted to look at another's nakedness or listen about it, and it's also key, it can taint the way I view them in the future. [28:49] Even though I know failures are common to everyone. But if we start looking for that and start pointing those things out, it starts tainting our view of people that any particular person that we're in, then we start getting a harder and harder heart towards them. [29:05] you go home and you start talking about a co-worker or boss, friends, family member, pastor, and you start complaining about the exposed nakedness you've observed. [29:21] You feel great. You got it off your chest, but the person you told stores, the person you told it to stores that information away, and the next time that person sees the person you're talking about, they are now tainted and hates them or looks down on them. [29:44] You can see how that works, right? Has that ever happened to you? To where you're talking about somebody? I know it. Personally, again, the Lord doesn't leave me alone. [29:55] He says, Mark, you know, again, you asked to search me, know my heart, show me any wicked way in me. [30:05] You prayed that. Remember, Mark? Yes. Well, remember how I showed you at work and how you are criticizing and you don't have love? [30:18] Well, it goes a little bit further than that. You expose, you expose people's sins. You don't cover it up. And you know that while you're in the process of doing it, I have whispered into your ear, love covers a multitude of sins. [30:35] Don't talk about it. No, but no, I've got some juicy stories here to tell. Come home, tell my wife all about work, about my boss, how a jerk they are and everything and they did this and how unfair that. [30:52] I was doing this and it was, I was in my rights to do this and that and they're coming down on me or they think this way and boy, are they idiots and stuff. What do you think is going to happen when she sees my boss? [31:07] You know? It happened when I worked for my brother for 13 years. He was my boss. Family business. Worked for him. [31:18] Very difficult man to work for. He had some weird ways of thinking and I'd come home and tell Sherry all about those weird ways and so as time went by and she can't help it, it's not her fault. [31:38] She sees my brother. What a jerk. I don't like him very much. Well, it's because she was only hearing my side of the story first of all but I uncovered him. I showed his nakedness. [31:53] If he knew about it, he'd be embarrassed. I'd be embarrassed if he knew about it and I said something. That happens too. Guess what? [32:09] This part's hard. If we listen, we are just as guilty as the one talking. not covering someone and only talking about their failures is destructive. [32:22] It divides and it destroys. If someone feels comfortable coming and talking to you, and I'm not talking about a husband-wife thing, although it can be because we need to hold each other accountable. [32:35] If someone feels comfortable coming and talking to you about someone else's flaws, it's an indicator of a problem with me. people should know that you won't put up with exposing others' weaknesses. [32:50] Just like Jesus when Martha came up to him, tell Mary she's not helping me. Martha, Martha. Mary is doing the better thing. [33:04] He turned it around on her. Oh, my. Can we do that? Will we do that? Will we turn things around and now cover, put a covering over them? [33:19] If someone talks to you about someone else, you can bet they'll do the same about you. Right? So if somebody is the type of person that likes to go around pointing out everybody else's faults, guess what? [33:35] When you're not in the room, what do you think they're saying about you? Yeah. Yep. Something to think about. Galatians 5 says, Take heed that you don't bite and devour. [33:48] You do this with your mouth by talking. Because you will be consumed one of another. Make sure that you're not biting and devouring with your words. [34:02] Psalm 32, 1. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Proverbs 10, 12. [34:14] Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all kinds of offenses. Hatred, it's always on the lookout for people's failures and flaws. [34:28] Drawing attention to them and they stir up conflict. Love, on the other hand, deals with them quietly and, if possible, privately. [34:38] you know, what's kind of neat, that whole part, that all of it points to Jesus and it's seen as a reflection of his love, which covers all sin through his sacrifice on the cross. [34:58] Even though Hebrews 4 tells us that all things are open and naked before God, which could be a very scary thought, but we all here know the great news and that is 1 John 1, 9. [35:14] If we confess our sins, he will be faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness and he not only forgives them, but Job 14, 17 tells us that my transgressions are sealed up in a bag. [35:34] You sew up my iniquity. He takes our transgressions, our sins, he puts them in a bag and then he sews it up. Does he sew it up for later, to bring it back out later on? [35:48] Of course not. He does it to cover and contain it. And then it goes on. Micah tells us in 718, what does he do with that bag? [35:59] He throws it into the depths of the sea. so deep that it's pitch black down there, the deepest of the seas. You can't see a thing. [36:12] And then what else does he do? He posts a no fishing sign. You can't go fishing and neither can anybody else to dredge that back up. [36:24] And if that's not good enough for you, how about Psalms 103 where he takes your sins and places them as far as the east is from the west. [36:35] We know that's infinity. Only God can do that. And then Hebrews 8 12, sins are forgotten and they're remembered no more. [36:49] Again, only God can do that to where not remember your sins. We go before the father and it's like, father, I blew it again, I did this again. He goes, what are you talking about? [37:00] Did what? I know that's a little, but that's the idea behind it. Did what? I don't remember, you've already confessed it. [37:11] I did it again, though. You know, this is not cheap grace. A huge price was paid. [37:23] It was the blood of his son. son. So, we've not only learned lessons about the reality of Noah's sin and the reaction of Noah's sons, we'll finally look at the lesson of curses and blessings. [37:41] We'll look at the realization of Noah's sayings, verse 24 through 27. When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. [37:53] So he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers. He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. [38:06] May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. Have you ever been a ham? [38:24] I'm talking about someone else's flaws and failures. I already alluded to this already, and you find out the person you were talking about was just around the corner, and they heard you. How did Noah know that his youngest son had done what he did? [38:41] He doesn't tell us, we don't know, maybe the police spirit revealed it to them, however it happened, but I know that's happened to me. I'm talking about somebody and thinking they're in another room, not thinking they're there, in fact, I'm looking around the corner, peeking and going, anybody there? [39:00] Let me tell you about this and this, and all of a sudden you look again and there's a person right around the corner and goes, oh man, I hope they didn't hear what I just said, I hope they don't know what I just did. [39:16] Embarrassing to us, the person who is a ham and reveals somebody's flaws. Verse 25, cursed be Canaan. [39:33] Why Canaan? Did you catch that? Why not cursed be Ham? Who's Canaan anyway? [39:46] Oh gee, scripture wants to make sure we don't miss who Canaan is. In verse 18 and verse 22, it says, verse 18, Ham was the father of Canaan. [39:58] Verse 22, Ham, the father of Canaan. So, Canaan was Ham's son. Right? [40:11] He, in fact, was Ham's youngest son. Noah's youngest son, Ham, is the one who told about his nakedness, gazed upon his father. [40:32] So, maybe that's the reason why Ham's youngest son is going to be the one that's going to be cursed. That doesn't sound right, does it, though? [40:43] It doesn't sit well. It's like, why would God punish the son for the father's sins? It doesn't match up. [40:55] Something else is going on here. It doesn't tell us, but I believe that the lesson to be learned here is how careful we need to be around our children because they pick up on things and they imitate the things that we do, good or bad. [41:26] in this case, Ham, not so good. You think maybe his youngest son, or I'm sure all of his sons saw it, but his youngest son really took to it, and maybe there was some perversion there, I don't know. [41:45] I just know what the outcome resulted in. Let me back up for a second. [41:59] Why curse Canaan and not Ham? Well, you can't undo a blessing, especially one that's given by God. [42:12] If a blessing is pronounced, you can't undo it. It's locked in there. Same thing with the curse. But God blessed Ham. [42:26] If we look at the beginning of chapter 9, verse 1, it says, and God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. [42:39] So God already pronounced a blessing on Ham. So he cannot undo a blessing. So Noah can't curse Ham. [42:52] So it now goes to Canaan. But again, Canaan, learning from his father, imitating his father, went in that direction of perversion, of just total immorality. [43:14] Not that Ham was that way, but it progressed from generation to generation. The blessings and curses pronounced by a patriarch were prophetic in nature. [43:31] So when a patriarch gave a blessing and a curse, it hadn't happened yet, but it was basically prophesying what was going to happen with that person or that group of people. [43:44] In this case, Canaan was cursed and most likely he did what he saw his father do, and then Canaan's sons did the same, and their kids did the same or more. [44:06] It got worse and worse with each generation, and history tells us about the Canaanites, and if you don't know about the Canaanites, just read a little bit in Leviticus, and you will see some of the depravity, some of the immorality that their culture was all about. [44:37] So much so that God wanted to wipe the Canaanites off the face of the earth because of how bad it was. So the lesson, be very careful how you act around your kids. [44:55] It can have generational effects. On the other hand, Shem and Japheth were blessed. [45:06] More correctly, if you look at verse 26, and he also said, blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. [45:17] So not Shem was blessed, but the Lord, the God, Shem's God, the God of the universe, that that's who Noah is blessing. [45:29] Kind of weird, isn't it? I mean, to bless God in that way, well, it played out. It was a prophetic, this was a prophetic utterance that was happening. [45:41] So, more correctly, the God of Shem was blessed, so much so that the lineage of our Savior came through Shem. That's pretty cool. [45:54] And Japheth was, may God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, let him be protected because of Shem. [46:05] I don't know, it's all pretty cool. So, with that, the big lesson that I get out of this is that I need to choose and purpose in my heart today, if today you hear his voice harden not your heart. [46:26] If he's speaking to you, purpose in your heart today to not be like Ham, but imitate Shem and Japheth, who, unknowingly, are imitators of Jesus, showing love by covering others' nakedness. [46:50] There we have it. There's the impository on God's word. Father, again, we thank you for your word. I just ask that it would permeate our hearts, that we would dwell on it, meditate on it, ponder it, chew on it, that it become, if it's pertinent to us, if you mean it for us, that we would internalize it and take heed, not just brush it off, but you, Holy Spirit, would continue to convict us when we are in times of exposing other people's nakedness, that you would remind us that love covers a multitude of sins. [47:44] we're not condoning it, we're not excusing it, we're just not telling other people about it, and that we would try to restore them when possible. [47:58] thank you for loving us, and not leaving us where we are at, but continually growing and shaping and molding us. [48:11] In Jesus' name, amen. amen. amen.