reciprocating much that Clay
has said. I've known of Clay from around
the time that I started regularly preaching. I began to, sort of
from 2007, Don mentioned him and mentioned the meeting here.
And I read a number of articles by Clay at the time. really appreciated
them, listened to some of his messages from time to time, really
appreciated them. And we've particularly been listening
an awful lot to this last couple of years because COVID and the
lockdowns sort of brought about circumstances, which meant that
we discovered his YouTube channel and began listening. And so we
felt like we're very much part of this congregation recently
and very blessed and very much one in the gospel. It's a great
privilege to be able to come from such a far country, thousands
of miles away to a country over here and to feel like you're
one with the people because we may be from a different nation
on the earth but we are citizens of the same heavenly country
and wherever you find the children of God, the true children of
God who share the same Lord, the same truth, the same gospel,
the same spirit, the same life, you're one. So it's a great privilege
to be here and I'm very I'm very thankful for Clay's invite to
preach, although as we told him, we will quite happily come over
and listen to him throughout our visit. So we've sort of negotiated
a bit of half and half. Before we come to the Word of
God, shall we come to the Lord in prayer briefly? O Lord God and gracious Heavenly
Father, we thank Thee that Thou hast gathered a people from the
four corners of the earth, a people who were children of wrath even
as others, a people who were wretched sinners, rebels against
thee, a people who hated thee when thou didst set thy love
upon them, a people who in their hearts crucified thy son and
put him to death. but a people whom thou loved
from all eternity, a people whom thou purposed to save. Lord,
we thank thee that thou hast saved every one whom thou chose
in eternity. Christ came and suffered and
died for every one the Father gave him. He bore their sins. He was made sin in their place.
He gave up the ghost. And he cried out in the end,
it is finished, having wrought their salvation for those that
could not save themselves. Oh Lord, we thank thee for a
gospel of grace, of sovereign grace, a gospel that comes not
in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, in much assurance. Lord, we thank thee if thou has
brought that gospel unto us in power. and if thou hast caused
us to live. But Lord, we pray this day as
we meet that we might not hear the words of a man, that we might
not hear the letter of the scriptures, but that thou mightest come and
meet with us and that thou would speak from heaven on high by
thy spirit in power. Quicken the dead unto life, break
the hard hearts, melt the heart within and cause us to hear Christ
speaking unto our souls. Bless us, Lord, we pray. Lead
us unto Thee. Build Thy church and bring all
glory unto Thy name. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If you're turning your Bibles
to the very next chapter from which Scott read, He's led me
into chapter 24 quite nicely. We're going to focus a bit later
in chapter 24, but it is the whole chapter. I won't read all
of it, but I will start near the beginning and then move through
following on from what Scott read. So if we read from verse
1 briefly, and then I will announce where we move to. Matthew 24
verse 1. And Jesus went out and departed
from the temple. And his disciples came to him
for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said
unto them, see ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you,
there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall
not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount
of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, tell
us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of
thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive
many. And ye shall hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled.
For all these things must come to pass. but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and
pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows. Then they shall deliver you up
to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of
all nations for my namesake. And then shall many be offended
and shall betray one another. and shall hate one another. And
many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he
that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations. And then shall the end come. move to verse 29 Verse 29. Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory. And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch
is yet tender, and put it forth leaves, ye know that summer is
nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall
see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation
shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But
of that day and hour knoweth no man. No, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah 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 Noah entered
into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them
all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall
two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other
left. Two women shall be grinding at
the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. Watch therefore,
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. Verse 37, but as the days of
Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. This chapter covers the prophecy
of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which came about
in 70 AD. Very much a statement that that
which was outward of the Jewish religion had been brought to
nothing when Christ came and fulfilled all that the temple,
the priesthood, the law, the prophets pointed to. He came
and he fulfilled it all. And with the coming of the Spirit
of God through the gospel, as the disciples, the apostles went
forth to preach it, all that was outward was as it were done
away with, and the temple was destroyed. A great statement
was made to the Jewish priests, scribes, and Pharisees that an
outward religion will not save. You must hear the gospel by the
Spirit of God. You must hear it in power. You
must be given faith. The passage goes on also to speak
of the end times and the coming of Christ. Jesus says, take heed that no
man deceive you, for many shall come in my name saying, I am
Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation. and kingdom against kingdom and
there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places
and these are the beginning of sorrows. We live today in tumultuous days,
perilous days. Throughout history since Christ
wrote these words, preached these words, there have been wars,
there have been pestilences, nations have risen up against
nation, there have been earthquakes throughout. The children of God
at times would think in their generation that is this the time
that Christ should come? And we do not know the time when
he shall come. But we can say in our day and
age, particularly in recent years, that we see the sin of our generation
multiply. We see the world in tumult. There is no peace. Nation rises
against nation. We've seen warfare break out
in Europe this past year. Pestilences, we've been through
this COVID pandemic. Earthquakes in diverse places. Wars and rumors of wars. We see
people in the same nation rising up one against another. We see
the enmity, the hatred. We see the instability in the
economy. These are tumultuous days. And not only are they tumultuous
for all men, but there are many trials that come upon the believer. The believer is not untouched
by these things. The concerns in the world have
an effect upon the believer too. Trouble comes upon him. Trial
comes upon him. Financial difficulties. health,
worry about the future, the hatred of others towards him because
of the gospel that he believes. These are tumultuous times. When
trouble comes upon us, it can hit us hard. I know many of you have experienced
many troubles, many trials. And it's one thing to know of
trouble in a sense of seeing it at a distance. It's another
thing when it comes upon you personally. It's another thing
when you're brought to lose your job or your livelihood or when
you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. or when you experience
the hatred and persecution of the world, when it comes close
to home, it can break you, it can crush you. I remember well some years ago
when our eldest son Benjamin at 18 months old was Very ill,
he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two weeks before Joshua was born
and we had to rush in to the hospital. My wife was much like
Sarah and nearly about to bring forth a child and then we had
Benjamin ill and he was rushed into intensive care. And for
a week or two, it was quite a tumultuous ride for us. At the beginning,
his life hung in the balance. And when these things come upon
you, natural strength won't get you
through. Being stoical isn't enough. You
need something more. When you're brought where Job
was brought, so that everything comes crushing down, that are
all the refuges that you could have rested in, naturally speaking,
are taken away. When your wealth is taken away,
when your health is taken away, when loved ones are taken from
you, when you're left alone, who do you turn to? When even outward religion is
taken from you, like the temple here, destroyed
and taken away, when all that you could turn to outwardly is
gone, where do you go? What will keep you? What will
keep others with whom you deal? Only one thing. The gospel. The gospel of Jesus
Christ. Only one refuge exists that will
truly lift you up, that will truly sustain you when all other
refuge has gone. When there's no strength left
in yourself, when you can't even think straight, when there's
no man or woman to whom you can turn, only the gospel can keep
you. Christ alone, the faith of Jesus
Christ is what will keep you, what will strengthen you, what
will preserve you, what will carry you through. Paul wrote
in Galatians, he knew what it was to be brought
to nothing. He says in Philippians that all
that was gained to him he counted but loss that he might know Christ. Everything he had he would have
removed that he might know Christ. And he says in Galatians 2 verse
20, I am crucified with Christ. I'm slain, I'm as a dead man. All that I am in the flesh has
been destroyed. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Christ was his refuge. Christ
was his life. Christ was his wisdom. Christ
was his strength. Christ was his all. Why? because Christ loved him and
gave himself for him. The life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Christ was his all. It is this faith, this gospel,
this life, which will cause the elect to endure to the end. Further on in the passage in
chapter 24 of Matthew, Christ speaks of false Christs arising
and people being led away. But he says in verse 13, he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Who will endure unto the end?
Only those who have been crucified with Christ and risen again with him. Only
those like Paul who live by the faith of the Son of God. And
when the end times come, when we see trouble in the world around
us, when we look hoping for the coming of Christ, his return,
when we look, what will those days be like? When the famines
increase, and the pestilences increase, and the warfare increases,
and the hatred towards the people of God and the gospel increases,
what will keep us? The gospel. Christ alone. What will those days be like? Christ says. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But of that
day of his coming, of that day and hour knoweth no man. No,
not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days
of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. As the days of Noah were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. What were the
days of Noah like? Well, in those days, before the
flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
living as though life would continue forever, making merry, seeking
riches, seeking pleasure, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark. And they knew not until that
day that the flood would surely come. Noah had warned them. Noah had preached. The gospel
had been made known. But they shut their ears. They
shut their minds. They shut their hearts. They
said, go away, Noah, we don't care. You're a madman. And the
day came when the rain began to fall, and the clouds darkened,
and the storm raged, and the floods came upon the world and
took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field,
the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be
grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other
left. Watch therefore, for ye know
not what hour your Lord doth come. Yes, the Lord is returning. And when he returns, this wicked
world will be rolled up like a scroll. It will be destroyed
with fire. The world will be no more and
Christ will return to separate his people who were brought to
faith by his gospel from the wicked who never cared, who never
heard, who shut their ears, who went another way and would not
and could not believe. The Lord will come in great power.
He will take his people, his elect, and lead them into everlasting
glory. And he will send the rest into
everlasting destruction. Noah warned his generation of
a judgment to come. Having been warned of God, he
preached unto his generation that a great storm was coming,
a great judgment was coming to a wicked generation and they
would not hear. And we preach today the same
gospel in the same world to a similar generation and by nature none
of us can hear. I couldn't. You can't by nature. We don't and we won't. We're taken up with our lives,
we're taken up with what we seek, our ambitions, our aims, our
desires. We will not hear. But as the
days of Noah were, so it shall be. Turn to Genesis with me and we'll
read a little concerning Noah. Genesis chapter 5 and verse 32. We read that Noah was 500 years
old, and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And it came to pass
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters
were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters
of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which
they chose. And the Lord said, my spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh. Yet his days shall be one hundred
and twenty years. There were giants in the earth
in those days. And also after that, when the sons of God came
in unto the daughters of men, and they bared children to them,
the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing
and the fowls of the air, for it repented me that I have made
them. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. As the Lord come unto you in
the gospel, in the midst of a wicked generation, Has he come unto
you as one whose heart is only evil continually, and opened
your eyes to see his Son crucified in your place? Have you found
grace in the eyes of the Lord? In the eyes of the Lord, when
he looks upon you, does he look upon you in judgment and wrath
for the sin that you are the rebel that you are or does he
look upon you in grace we read on in the chapter verse
12 God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for
all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said
unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth
is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy
them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood.
Room shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it with in and
without with pitch. And this is the fashion which
thou shalt make it of. The length of the ark shall be
three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height
of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the
ark, and in the cubit shalt thou finish it above. And the door
of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof. With lower,
second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And behold, I,
even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all
flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven. And everything that is in the
earth shall die. But with thee will I establish
my covenant. And thou shalt come into the
ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives, with
thee. And of every living thing of
all flesh, two of every sort, shalt thou bring into the ark,
to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female.
of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of
every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every
sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. And take thou
unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather
it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee and for them. Thus
did Noah according to all that God commanded him. So did he. And the Lord said unto Noah,
come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen
righteous before me in this generation. Verse five. And Noah did according
unto all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah was 600 years old
when the flood of waters was upon the earth. The Lord instructed Noah to build
an ark. told him how to build it, the
height, the length, the breadth. He instructed him to bring all
the living creatures two by two, that they with Noah and his house
should be saved from the flood that God sent to destroy the
old world. Peter spake of this. in 2 Peter
2, 5, when he says that God spared not the old world, but saved
Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in
the flood upon the world of the ungodly. A hundred years building
the ark, nailing the wood. A hundred years between the birth
of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah was building an ark. A hundred years between that
time when his children were born until the 600th year when God
instructed him to enter the ark. In that hundred years, Noah was
a preacher of righteousness, a preacher of righteousness.
In what sense was he a preacher of righteousness? He was preaching what he heard
from the Lord. He was preaching what the Lord
taught him. He was declaring under his generation
what the Lord had warned him of, that there was a judgment
to come because of the wickedness of mankind. He told them what
he was doing that the Lord had instructed him to build an ark
for the saving of his house. In this sense, he preached righteousness. He preached the gospel that God
gave him to preach. But he also preached righteousness,
he also preached the gospel in type and in figure. What he did
What he built, what happened to him and his household was
a wonderful picture of the gospel to his generation and to our
generation. Decades went by whilst Noah built
the ark, decades. He took gopher wood and he fashioned
out of it this arc, this huge box. 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide,
30 cubits high. He built an arc. He took the
wood. He cut the wood. He nailed the
wood together. Not only was this preaching the
gospel to those that beheld, but every day Noah was preaching
the gospel to himself. He built an ark out of wood.
He nailed the wood together to deliver from judgment to come. In this, God revealed under him
what his Savior would do for him in generations to come. That Christ, the carpenter, would
come and would be nailed to a stake of wood to suffer under the judgment
and the wrath of God for Noah's wickedness. Noah's rebellion,
Noah's unbelief. I see Noah here, year after year,
taking the planks of wood, taking the nails, and hammering them
together. And every hammer blow was a hammer
blow into his own heart. appointed to what he had done
to his Savior. Appointed to his sins that nailed
the Savior to the cross. Appointed to the judgment and
the wrath of God to come because of what Noah had done and Noah
was. He saw himself a sinner. He knew that God alone could
save him. And every day he built the ark. He preached righteousness to
an evil generation, and he preached righteousness to himself. Oh, what a pointer to the tree
upon which the Savior died. A pointer to the carpenter who
was nailed to a tree of death for the sins of his people. The tree of life, Christ, the
Savior of the world, was nailed to a tree of death. And every
day that Noah built the ark, he saw by faith through the ages
Christ nailed to a tree for him. how much there is in this account
of Noah. However much we see here, we're
but skimming upon the surface of the waters, so great are the
depths therein. In Hebrews 11, We read again
of Noah, Hebrews 11 verse 7. By faith, Noah being warned of
God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an
ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith, Noah. It wasn't his building of the
ark that saved him. God saved him. But God gave him
a heart. God gave him faith to believe
his God. To move him, to prepare that
ark to the saving of his house. By which he became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith. In this, Noah himself is a picture
of Christ. By faith, Noah prepared an ark
to the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. A picture
of Christ's obedience of faith. It was Christ who by faith went
to the cross, nailed to the tree, with his people within his heart,
safe within God's ark, of which Noah's ark is a picture, safe
within Christ himself, he went by faith to the cross in order
to bring in the righteousness of God. not by law, but by faith
for his people. He went into the darkness of
the judgment of God's wrath. He went into the storm, the tempest,
the raining down of God's wrath upon him. He went there by faith,
believing that all who were in him, all whom the Father gave
him, all his people who were in him, upon his heart, would
be taken through the storm, taken through the judgment, taken through
the darkness, taken through the fires, taken through the waters,
safely, To the other side, by faith, Noah prepared an ark to
the saving of his house. His house being a picture of
the house of God. Yes, Noah preached righteousness
and the world passed by. Noah preached the gospel in ways
we cannot comprehend. He preached outwardly, he preached
in figure, he nailed the wood. What a picture! He built this
ark, he warned of the wrath to come, he preached decades after
decades and the world passed by. Who heard? Who listened? Who cared? You're wasting your
time, Noah. What are you doing, Noah? What
do you mean there's a storm coming? These people had never seen rain. They'd never seen floods. They
thought he was a madman. You're wasting your time, Noah.
You're wasting your time preaching onto us, Noah. You're wasting
your time, Clay. Why are you preaching these things?
Nobody cares. You're wasting your time, Ian.
No one cares. No one's listening. No one cares
in our day and age. Where's the promise of Christ
coming? Decades go by. Generations go
by. You're talking about someone
from thousands of years ago. Where is he? No one cares. Yet Noah kept building his ark. Noah kept preaching righteousness. Not just by words, but in figure. He kept building that ark with
the wood, the nails. He kept declaring the coming
judgment of God against sin. He built that ark a great box
Not a boat as such. We often see pictures of the
ark and imagine it as a boat. It doesn't tell us that in scripture.
It just describes a box, very much like the Ark of the Covenant.
It is a box to deliver through judgment. The Ark of the Covenant
was a box. It had a mercy seat upon it.
It had the tablets of the law within it. It spake of the wrath
of God. and the covering of the blood
of Jesus Christ, upon which the mercy seat was sprinkled
with blood, pointing to the blood of Christ, the priest sprinkled
the blood upon it. That ark was covered in blood.
The ark that Noah built was pitched within and without. It was made
watertight with pitch, but that pitch is a picture of the blood
of Christ on the outside of the ark to cover from all sin and
judgment, and also on the inside, applied to those within. Yes,
he built his ark, and the world passed by. Do you pass by? When you come to hear the gospel,
does it wash over you? Is it nothing to you? You hear
the words, you know the facts, you know of sin, you know of
judgment, you know that Christ died, but it's all just words. Is it nothing to you or ye that
pass by? When someone preaches Christ
to you, And you hear of his suffering. You hear of what he endured.
You hear of how he was hated. You hear his cries upon the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Whose sorrow is like unto my
sorrow? Do you hear of it? And is it
nothing to you? Do you pass by? This generation
of Noah's, they passed by. The gospel was there before them,
they had no excuse. And they passed by. Have you
heard the gospel? Have you heard it often? Do you
pass by each and every time you hear it? Or has God opened your heart
to see? What the nails did to his son. What the nails of your sin did
to his son. What the nails of your unbelief
did to his son. What the nails of your apathy
did to his son. The world passed by. Noah's sons were born when Noah
was 500 years old. Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. He went into the ark when he
was 600 years old. These sons, with their wives
in the future, grew up watching their father building this ark. Decade after decade, they watched
their father build an ark for the saving of his house. They watched this house built
before them. In figure, this is the people
of God, the children of God, beholding Christ building his
church through the gospel. They grow beholding Him. They hear Him preaching His gospel. They hear of Christ and His salvation. They see Him crucified. They see the church built from
wood and nails, pitched within and without with the blood of
the Son of God, Jesus Christ. They see the church. of which
we read in Ephesians that this church is built from all the
elect, taken from all nations, Jews and Gentiles, those who
are at enmity, one with another and with God. They are saved
and delivered and united and they are fitly framed together,
arrayed, built up together into a glorious church in which the
Son of God dwells. These sons saw the church built
through the gospel in figure. They also watched the world pass
by, and they saw the hatred, the scorn, the derision, and
the mockery of their father. They heard him preach righteousness. They saw him preach righteousness
in the building of the Ark. And they saw the world pass by.
And they too would have passed by. I'm sure as they grew up,
they laughed at what their father was doing. What are you doing?
Why do you build this? The world is laughing at us,
father. What are we doing here? But in time, they came to know
the same grace that God set upon Noah. for Noah and his house
were saved by grace. Yes, the world passed by, but
eight were saved. Eight were saved, Noah, his wife,
Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives, Noah and seven others. One man, Noah, and his house,
of seven. Again a picture of the church.
Christ and his perfect bride. Seven the number of perfection.
Christ pictured by Noah with his seven fold perfected church,
his bride and her offspring. They were taken and they were
placed in the ark. Also a picture of Christ. And
in Genesis 7-16 we read that God shut the door. God took Noah. God took his people. God wed
them together. God placed them in an ark to
the saving of their souls. When Noah was 600 years old. His sons were born at 500 years
old. He entered into the ark to go into eternal rest, delivered
through the wrath of God, brought forth into a new world at 600
years old. These numbers are not just passing
ages. The 500 years and the 600 years
are clear references to the days of creation. Six is the number
of man, because man was created on the sixth day. But it is also
the number of days it took God to create the world. And after
six days of labor, God rested from all that he had created,
all that he had done, and rested forever. Nowhere after working
all this time, at 600 years old, as it were after the sixth day
of labor, was taken and entered into rest. His labour was over. His labour of faith was over
and God brought him into his Sabbath rest. Note also that
the suns were born at 500 years, the ark was made by 600 years. This alludes to the days of creation,
the 5th and the 6th day of creation. On the 5th and the 6th days,
God created all the living creatures. He created the fowls of the air,
the creatures of the sea on the 5th day. Then on the 6th day,
he created all the living creatures upon the earth, and then he created
man, male and female. He created Adam and took his
bride from his sight and brought her to him. And so when God would
save his people, he comes and he takes the man and his wife,
the man and the seven, Christ and his church, he takes them
both together and he also brings all the living creatures into
the ark because all that God created, all that was in his
mind and his thoughts from the days of creation, from the fifth
and sixth day, he would deliver, he would save. and he would bring
through the storm to come. All the creatures were brought
into the ark, the bride was in the ark, as it were in a deep
sleep. Adam was put into a deep sleep
and the bride was taken out of his side and brought through
unto him. So in the ark they are brought
through the other side of the darkness and judgment of the
wrath of God. Noah, his wife, three sons, three
wives, brought through the judgment, brought through the dark skies
of the storm, brought through the thundering rain, the clapping
thunder, brought through the burning wrath of God, brought
through darkness, free sons and free wives, pointing in figure
to the free hours of darkness that Christ hung upon the cross. That ark of God, judged upon
the cross, his people within, bringing them safely into everlasting
rest. Oh what a storm. No one endured. But oh, what a storm Christ endured
for him. That ark was a picture of his
Saviour. His Saviour. He found grace in
the eyes of the Lord and the Lord put him in the ark. Put him in Christ. He didn't
choose to. The world passed by. He'd have
passed by. You'd pass by, I'd pass by, but
God showed him grace. And if God shows you and I grace,
he will take us and he will place us in his Son, Christ. He will
put us in that ark and he will shut the door. And we will be
surrounded by that wood, pitched within and without, covered in
the blood of the Son of God, brought through the wrath of
God, brought through death, brought through hell, in Christ, to the
other side, where there is life forevermore. Forevermore. As in the days of Noah, so today. It's the same gospel we preach
today that saved Noah. It's the same gospel of which
Noah was a preacher of righteousness. It's the same righteousness of
God by the faith of Jesus Christ which will bring us through the
storm of God's wrath. the very same and we need to
hear the very same we need to hear it every day and we need
to hear it in power by the Spirit of God as in Noah's day so today
so we preach this gospel Why do you keep preaching, Noah? Nobody's listening, because this
is the way God will save, and this is the way God has saved.
Why are you preaching this today in a world that doesn't care?
Because this is the way God will save. This is the only way, and
he does. Praise God. He's wrought a finished
salvation, a glorious salvation, a perfect salvation through His
Son. He's built a perfect ark to the
saving of His house, an ark that will save every one chosen of
God, that will bring everyone through the storm, through the
judgment, through the righteous judgment of God unto life in
Christ. alone. No one found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. Have you? We preach this gospel
incessantly, boldly, firmly, without compromise, because nothing
but the gospel of free and sovereign grace will save a sinner from
the roof to come. Oh, don't close your ears to
the gospel. You young people brought to church
by parents or friends, don't close your ears to the gospel
just because all around you laugh and scoff and knock. Just because
you go out into the world, into your school or your workplace
and they sneer and laugh. They did the same in Noah's day
and everyone perished. but Noah's sons heard their father
preach and God opened their hearts and they believe. Listen to the
gospel whenever it comes, wherever it comes. Hear and pray that
God would have mercy upon you, the sinner, who need salvation. Has God led you to this refuge,
to Christ? Has he shut you in his ark? Has
he placed you safely in his Son? Has he shown you grace, as in
the days of Noah? Thank you, Brother Ian. What a beautiful picture of how
we'll be brought through this wilderness, just like Noah, by
God's grace, by Christ working in his heart, thinking about