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All Nations, One Blood - Part 1

Sunday 8 February 2026 Pastor Craig Ledbetter Genesis 9-10
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All Nations One Blood - Part 1

Where Did We All Come From?

Genesis 9,10

I. Introduction

A. Paul Preaches in Athens (Acts 17:23-27)

  1. The apostle Paul is walking through downtown Athens and sees idol after idol after idol, and people gathering around all of them worshipping them and praying to them, and placing flowers and money on them

  2. Paul is a born again Jew

  3. These Athenians are Greeks, who are pagans, heathen, worshipping devils, and are so lost

  4. Yet Paul opens their eyes to the God they do not know!

  5. That is a soul-winner

  6. Acts 17:23-27

“For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.” - Acts 17:23-27

  1. Notice

    a. All nations - no exceptions. The Jews saw all other people groups not only as without God but inferior. Which is not true.

    b. Having All kinds of differences - different shapes and sizes and colours and hair and features

    c. All men everywhere - In places all over the world by the guiding hand of God

    d. All made by God in the image of God - with His spiritual nature (not just flesh and bones)

    e. Are one blood just under the skin - red!

  2. Why did God make us this way?

    a. Why are some people born in poverty, under dictators, some in wealth, some in severe health problems?

    b. Why are some people, most born in Asia, in India?

    c. Why are some smart, and some thick as a brick?

  3. So that we ALL would seek the Lord… and find Him!

    a. Jeremiah 29:13

    “And ye [ANYONE] shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:13

    b. There is no one that does not need God in this sin cursed world

    c. There are no super races

    d. Only the human race

    e. And ALL of us need to seek Him and FIND Him!

B. Let’s learn where we all came from - so we can decide where we are headed!

II. Message

A. Fill the Earth Again! (Genesis 9:1,7)

  1. The world was EMPTY, except for 8 people. Our world (after the flood) started with 8 people - Noah and his wife, and 3 couples

  2. God says, Replenish

“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” - Genesis 9:1

  1. Abundantly - not stay single, and not have only 1 child

    a. Genesis 9:7

    “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” - Genesis 9:7

    b. Be Fruitful and Multiply - fill the earth again with people

    c. Animals naturally reproduce

    d. We were made to have children - lots of them

  2. Mankind needs to be encouraged to get married and have children again!

    a. The birth rate is very low!

    1. In Ireland, 1.5 children are born for every two people - well below the needed rate of 2.1

    2. To maintain your population, you need 2 children to replace their 2 parents!

    3. Just 10 years ago, it was at 2.0

    4. Just 50 years ago it was 4.0

    5. Across Europe it is even lower at 1.43

    6. Europe is DYING!

    7. And bringing in immigrants is not the only answer

    b. How to upset the devil (and the politically left)

    1. Gentlemen, Get a job

    2. Get married (and stay married)

    3. You and your wife have a lot of children

    4. Buy some land, and a house together

    5. And honour God every day in everything you do!

B. The Three Sons of Noah (Genesis 9:18,19)

  1. Genesis 9:18,19

“And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.” - Genesis 9:18,19

  1. They are the source of all people since the flood

    a. Shem, Ham, and Japeth

    b. Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid

  2. Ararat is located in a central location to the entire world

  3. These three sons and their children went three directions, and started having loads of children

  4. Moden science has worked hard to try and prove that it is just impossible for all our “genetic diversity” to have come from 6 people just 4,600 years ago

  5. But the Bible keeps being proven as true time and time again

C. Noah Sees the Future (Genesis 9:26,27)

  1. Noah declares a blessing on Shem and Japeth, and a curse on Ham’s son Canaan

    a. Genesis 9:26,27

    “And he [NOAH] said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” - Genesis 9:26,27

    b. Noah gave a prophetic blessing, but also a curse.

    c. Noah was what we call a patriarch

    d. You’ll find the same kind of blessing when Abraham blesses his son Isaac, and when Isaac blesses Jacob and on down the line.

    1. God uses our parents as flawed as they are. Sometimes they can see things In our lives that we need to listen to.

    2. That’s why we honour our parents, even in spite of their flaws. God uses them for our good!

    3. And that’s why you seek your parent’s BLESSING when you decide who you are going to marry!

  2. Shem Will be Blessed the Most

    a. Genesis 9:26,27

    “And he [NOAH] said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem…” - Genesis 9:26,27

    b. Why is he singled out?

    c. Because Shem made Jehovah his God

    1. Psalm 84:12

    “O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.” - Psalm 84:12

    1. Isaiah 26:3

    “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” - Isaiah 26:3

    1. Psalm 33:12

    “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” - Psalm 33:12

    d. Not every child does this - not every child decides to trust God for salvation from sin

    1. So many children grow up in God fearing homes and don’t want God

    2. They don’t trust God, and don’t seek God for themselves

    e. Did you know Adam’s firstborn son Cain knew and spoke to Jehovah?

    1. He actually heard the voice of God, and knew God was there and heard His warnings and instructions…

    2. Yet he still rejected God’s authority over his life, and lived away from God’s will and presence!

    3. And never cared to return! Sad!

    f. Shem becomes the patriarch of the Jewish people, before Abraham

  3. And Japeth will be the great conqueror and try to own everything

    a. His descendants WILL fight and defeat all the armies of Shem, and Ham

    b. And will own most of the wealth of this world for much of history

    c. But without God, they are nothing!

    d. Matthew 16:26

    “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” - Matthew 16:26

  4. And Canaanites will serve the descendants of Shem and Japeth - and be the lowest of servants

    a. Are you from Shem? So what? Do you know the God of Shem? Do you trust Him?

    b. Are you from Ham? So what? Do you know the God of Shem? Do you trust Him?

    c. Are you a Japethite? So what? Do you know the God of Shem? Do you trust Him?

D. Canaan is Cursed by God (Genesis 9:25-27)

  1. Genesis 9:25-27

“And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” - Genesis 9:25-27

  1. A hardship on Canaan and his descendants

    a. A curse is a hardship placed upon the family because of someone’s sin

    b. Adam placed hardship on all of humanity. DEATH, and hard work

    c. Eve placed a hardship upon all humanity because of their rebellion, because of the choices that they made.

    d. Ham brought a curse upon his youngest son with his sin

    e. Men and women do this all the time - with their own sins

  2. And what was the curse upon Canaan?

    a. The future of Canaan’s descendants was now ruined - deeply affected by sin

    b. The descendants of Canaan would be destroyed, and subjugated by Isarel one day

    c. And replaced by God’s people, Israel - it was their Promised Land to begin with

    d. If they lived, they were cursed to be servants all their lives

    e. …Servants to the descendants of Shem and of Japeth - the whole world!

  3. Why such an awful curse?

    a. Genesis 9:20-25

    “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” - Genesis 9:20-25

    b. Ham humiliated his drunken father, did something to him that hurt him deeply - enough for Noah to be furious and curse his own grandson

    c. This was not the reaction of Noah, this was a condemnation by Noah the man of God (yes he was a sinner, but God uses sinful people)

  4. Singled out

    a. Canaan’s curse was that he would be a servant of servants.

    b. Canaan was the head of all the people that would fill the land that we call the promised land.

    c. The curse was on Canaan - not on all of Ham’s descendants - not all Africans!

    1. So Africans are not cursed to be slaves - what a misreading of Scripture!

    2. People don’t READ their Bible

    3. What an arrogant attitude!

    4. Only the Canaanites were! And for good reason - which we will learn as we go along this study

    5. Remember… Canaan is where Sodom and Gomorah are established; where where child and human sacrifices will be common; where where such unmentionable evils will be common place by the time that Joshua brings Israel to destroy them!

    d. Noah sees that Canaan not only is the servant of sin, but will become the servant of men. And isn’t that true when it comes to addiction and when it comes to our sins, we become enslaved by more than just that sin, but the consequences of that sin.

  5. Thankfully, God gives us the ability to break the curse

    a. Uriah the Hittite is an example of breaking that curse on the Canaanites

    b. The Gibeonites are an example of breaking that curse on the Canaanites

    c. The Rechabites and Ruth and Rahab are all examples!

    d. Romans 8:1 says, there’s no more curse on us, no more condemnation.

    e. Romans chapter 6:10 says, we are no longer the servants of sin when we follow Jesus Christ.

    f. So if you find that God is humiliating you and showing you that you are a slave to your sin, take heart. That’s not what He wants. And it doesn’t have to be how you live, if only you changed what you wanted.

E. A Servant of Servants is GOOD

  1. It’s interesting that people have a problem with this “servant of servants” statement

  2. And yet that’s what Jesus calls us to be as well.

  3. Hmmmm. So for one, it was a curse, but for the Christian, it is an honour!

  4. Many “free” men and women today are wretched slaves

    a. Bound in the chains of Self-hatred

    b. Trapped by Anger at God for no rational reason

    c. Enslaved to Alcohol controlling them, day after day

    d. Unable to live without Drugs - addicted even to prescription drugs

    e. Constantly turning to Cigarettes, Pornography, Gambling

    f. Unable to break out of Depression

    g. All are a bondage that most people cannot get free from on their own

    h. That’s why the Bible tells about the Passover

    1. It is an impossible story - an entire nation was in slavery

    2. And yet GOD freed them!

    3. By the substitutionary death of lambs for the believers!

  5. By the way, real freedom starts in the heart, not with the hands and feet

    a. In your soul, your thoughts, your heart

    b. Men unjustly imprisoned survived by remaining free inside their soul and mind!

    c. 1 Corinthians 7:21-24

    “Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” - 1 Corinthians 7:21-24

  6. Salvation frees you to make the right choices to be free

    a. You are NOT enslaved to any curse, or to your past, or to your failures

    b. But the only way to become truly free, is to desperately seek the Lord, and trust HIM to make you free

    c. John 8:34

    “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” - John 8:34

    d. John 8:36

    “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” - John 8:36

    e. Romans 6:12-18

    “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” - Romans 6:12-18

    f. Don’t let sin dominate your life now - don’t OBEY it

    g. You have a NEW Lord

    1. Romans 5:1

    “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Romans 5:1

    1. Romans 10:9

    “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” - Romans 10:9

    h. Don’t give in (yield to) your desires

    i. But instead yield to Jesus Christ - His words, His will, His pull on you

    j. And serve each other

    k. Galatians 5:13

    “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” - Galatians 5:13

    l. And do it as if you just came to life back from the dead!

    1. Think of how you would live differently if you had cancer, and then DIED

    2. And then was amazingly given your life back, whole, and without cancer now

    3. HOW WOULD YOU LIVE DIFFERENTLY?

    m. Yield now your members (your body parts) fingers, hands, feet, mouth, eyes, ears, shoulders, sexual organs, thoughts, dreams as instruments (things) that do right now

    n. Who you obey is what you are a servant to

    o. If you have been born again, you WERE the servants of sin, but NOW are servants of righteousness

    p. So stay a servant dear Christian! The moment you live above being a servant you lose!

  7. Stay a Servant

    a. Mark 9:35

    “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” - Mark 9:35

    b. Mark 10:44

    “And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.” - Mark 10:44

    c. 1 Corinthians 9:19

    “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” - 1 Corinthians 9:19

    d. 1 Peter 2:16

    “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” - 1 Peter 2:16

    e. 1 Corinthians 6:12

    “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” - 1 Corinthians 6:12

    f. Where does God have you?

    1. In Ireland?

    2. In a hospital?

    3. In a broken marriage?

    4. In a rotten job?

    5. In an imperfect church?

    6. In Russia?

    7. In China?

    8. Seek the Lord there - He will be found THERE!

    g. WHO does God have you bound to to serve?

    1. Your husband?

    2. Your family?

    3. Your parents?

    4. Your employer?

    5. Your neighbour?

    6. Your church?

    7. Your country? I serve my country is a normal phrase when joining the army

    8. Seek the Lord there - He will be found THERE!

    9. And you will be FREER serving THEM than when in sin!

F. Noah Dies (Genesis 9:28,29)

  1. Genesis 9:28,29

“And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.” - Genesis 9:28,29

  1. Lived 350 MORE years after the flood - the enviroment was changing, after the flood but people still lived longer than we do today

  2. He still had purpose and influence and was needed after building the ark!

  3. Look at all the people he influenced before his death… [SEE CHART]

    a. Noah continued to influence 10 more generations!

    b. Psalm 78:2-4

    “I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” - Psalm 78:2-4

    c. 2 Timothy 2:2

    “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” - 2 Timothy 2:2

    d. Paul wanted to influence at least FOUR generations for Christ!

III. Important Truths to Learn and Remember

A. Notice Who is in Heaven (Revelation 5:6-9)

  1. Revelation 5:6-9

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” - Revelation 5:6-9

  1. How does that happen?

  2. By the blood of God who became flesh so He could die!

  3. It’s amazing that there is now no difference between Jew or Gentile now.

    a. 1 Corinthians 12:13

    “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” - 1 Corinthians 12:13

    b. Romans 5:18

    “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” - Romans 5:18

    c. Yes, there are so many differences (male, female, Asian, European, African, tall, short, bald, hairy, weak, strong, and on and on the list goes), but to God, we are all one kind - mankind.

    d. And we all had one beginning

B. Don’t worry about who your physical father and mother were, and your great, great grandfather or grandmother

  1. Everyone is a mixture of all three sons over the past 4,500 years, since the flood!

  2. These three groups are the sources of all nations and people groups

    a. There are no superior races - just one race - the HUMAN race

    b. ALL of us are Sinful people, rebels against God - there is NONE righteous!

    c. In need of Someone who can reach down to our world, and restore what sin ruined

    d. That Someone is Jesus

C. Worry whether God is your Father or not!

  1. John 8:44

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” - John 8:44

  1. John 3:3

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” - John 3:3

D. Your future is far more important than your past!

E. The question is, where will YOU end up?

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