NOAHS BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

At Times Square Church, we embrace a biblical worldview. You may not know how rare that is in the church world today, but it’s the only way to find God’s strength in your life. I want to talk to you about the story of Noah and a time when people chose to adopt an alternate worldview. God came down to the earth and saw that the thoughts of humankind were just wicked day and night—scripture says they were continually evil. God said this world as we know it will end, but He established a testimony of mercy. It’s what Noah's ark is all about. The ark was built in a high place that was very visible to the populace of that time. Every day, people could pass by and see it.

The Bible says Noah was not just a builder but a preacher of righteousness. The vast boat frame is built with safety and provision. As people are on their way to school or work, Noah warns about the justice and judgment of God. He speaks about a line crossed in society, but very few people believe him. Matthew 24:37–39 says, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

The people were utterly unaware of their time, very similar to today. We are watching this incredibly rapid degeneration of not only our society but societies throughout the world. Immorality is on parade. Good is becoming evil, and evil is becoming good. As Isaiah once said, truth is being trampled in the streets, and anyone who departs from this evil makes himself prey. People who try to go back to truth become the laughing stock or the “hater” of their generation.

Why is a biblical worldview so important? The answer is simple: It's the foundation that promises us the ability to see a secure future as hopelessness and lawlessness increase. God promises to be our path, strength, and guide. The Word of God brings us into that incredible provision that only He can give. Psalm 119:130 says, “The entrance of your word gives light.” A biblical worldview banishes confusion. Everything that wants to cloud our minds and cause hopelessness in our hearts is dissipated. It becomes clear as day that God has a plan. Do you know He has something more profound in store than your thoughts about yourself? God wants to reveal His glory through you by a life that can only be attributed to His grace. Are you willing to let go of your plan?

When Peter didn't want to go to the Gentiles, God said whatever I have cleansed, you have no right to call common or unclean anymore. That's the Word of God for you! If He has cleansed you, you no longer have the right to call yourself unclean—you can’t disagree with God. He went to the cross and shed blood for you. Your sins are washed away, and you have the gift of cleanness in His eyes. A biblical worldview determines our direction. It defines our decisions, passions, pursuits, and the company we keep. It changes our lives and moves us toward God and His divine purpose. The Bible says do not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. For those who are thinking about getting married, remember this verse.

In 2 Timothy 4:1–4, Paul says, “I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

This passage isn’t saying they won't go to church; it’s that they won’t hear the Word of God. The people will not want to be challenged; they will not want their behaviors to be brought into the light. They want to go to a place where they're told stories. The word “fables” in Greek means nice stories with meaning. Fables can motivate you to applaud but can't change your life. Many people today in America are just gravitating to places to be entertained. Thank God this is not one of those houses. I love listening to Pastor Tim's messages. We preach the Word when it's popular and when it's not. We don't back away from what the Lord says. The evidence that you are receiving the Word of God into your hearts is the intensity of our worship here at Times Square Church.

I found an article in the Full Life Study Bible called “The Age of the Antichrist” that I want to share. When this antichrist spirit takes over this world, it will culminate in a world leader. Whether the church will be here or not at that point is not a discussion for today, but the fact is that this world will spiral down and move its hand against Jesus Christ. Jesus and Paul paint a dismal picture morally, spiritually, and doctrinally as the present age closes. Paul, in particular, stresses that the churches will be invaded by godless elements in the last days. The church world will have two dimensions. Theological apostasy is the departure from and rejection of a part or all of the original teachings of Christ in the apostles. False leaders will offer salvation and cheap grace while ignoring Christ's demand for repentance, separation from immorality, and loyalty to God and his standards. False hope that centers on human activity and self-interest goals will become popular. Moral apostasy is severing one's saving relationship with Christ and returning to sin and immorality. Some leaders may proclaim correct doctrine yet abandon God's moral law and standards of righteousness, thereby corrupting the truth and losing deception.

Many churches will tolerate almost anything for numbers, money, and success. Honoring the gospel of the cross, renouncing sin radically, sacrificing for God's Kingdom, and denying oneself will be unpopular. Both church history and the predicted falling away at the end-time warned believers not to be naive about the widespread corruption of the gospel. At some point in church history, rebellion against God and His Word will reach astounding proportions. The day of the Lord will bring God's wrath to those who reject His truth. Therefore, the ultimate triumph of God's Kingdom and His righteousness in the world depends not on the gradual increase of the professing church's success but on the final intervention of God when He breaks into the world with righteous judgment.

In Matthew chapter 24, the people were simply unaware of the times in which they lived. They embraced their worldview even though they were being warned. When God is about to judge a society, country, or the world in the end times, He establishes a testimony of His willingness to show mercy. In Noah’s day, it was the boat. The ark was built in a prominent place by a man who endured significant ridicule for decades. He was building where many say it had never rained—that would've looked ludicrous.

The apostle Peter said that in the last days, scoffers will arise and ask, “Where's the promise of His coming?” Why should it be believed that He's coming now more than in other times? God sent a testimony of mercy. That's why we are here at this moment in history. We are the testimony of God's mercy. We demonstrate this place of safety that God is building for anyone who wants to be redeemed through Jesus Christ. We are the testimony that God, by His Holy Spirit, made in an obvious place, and we will endure the mockery of a fallen generation. Join me and start building.

Start building your ark of safety. Be a Christian who calls out, “Folks, this world is under the judgment of God! One day, it’s going to be over. Until that day comes, will you build with me?” When I first came to America in 1994, I was stunned. Everybody was Christian; it was really popular. In less than 30 years, we've seen it go the other way. Being a believer is not popular; you're considered a “hater.” You're unnecessary and unwanted and will eventually be entirely rejected by society. God has us exactly where we need to be: scattered throughout society to show His light through our lives.

The biblical worldview is not just about judgment but also about mercy. It's about the cross of Jesus Christ. It's about God's willingness to forgive. It's about the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, Peter, stepping out of the upper room, said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” If we are willing to return to a biblical worldview, we begin to understand why we're here. Mercy always triumphs over judgment. If God had told Noah He would judge the world, He could have done it in a day. Instead, He waited decades to judge the world and sent a man to build a testimony of His mercy. He called that society out of its darkness and into a life freely offered to them through a man who had heard and embraced the Word of God.

Proverbs 11:21 says, “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.” This world may offer some kind of unity that will bring about a euphoric moment on planet Earth, but folks will need more time to work. The Bible says that sudden destruction will come upon them when they say peace and safety.

Isaiah paints a picture of the people of another specific time when the justice of God was coming to the nation. In Isaiah 5:13–14, he says, “Therefore my people have gone into captivity because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant shall descend into it.” Isaiah is talking about going farther away from God. They're jubilant as if entering into some kind of euphoric society, but they're walking right into the mouth of Hell. They have yet to learn what they're doing. Then, finally, one day, the justice of God came to this world as it was known in Noah's time, and he and his family were lifted above the destruction of the world. So, too, in our time, the Bible says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the trumpet of God will sound.

There's a second raising coming. I'd like to call it a first before the second. The first one is that God will empower us as His people to live above the darkness in our time. He's going to empower us to stand and speak. He will empower us so we're not swallowed by the waters of confusion or the fires of evil passion. We will stand as a testimony of who God is, His keeping, and strengthening power. In Acts 27, the Bible says when all hope of safety was taken away, they asked where the man was who said he had a Word from God. I want to hear from him. That's coming your way, my friend, brother, and sister, as all Hell begins to break out in this world.

A biblical worldview tells me when God closes the door, no man can open it. There is a day coming when the moment of mercy is finished, and the justice of God has come. Until that day, the door of God's mercy is still open. The Bible tells us there'll be a separation at the throne of God—those who know Christ and those who don't. There will be those going into everlasting joy with the Son of God and those being cast away from His presence. If you can hear His voice today, scripture says, “Don't harden your heart.” Adopt a biblical worldview. God changed my self-view and worldview to His perspective of my purpose on earth. God will take you if you want your life to make a difference. There's no way Noah could have rustled up the elaborate boat plan on top of a mountain. You don't have to come up with a plan; God will give it to you—trust me.