If you would turn with me tonight,
first of all, to the first book, the book of Genesis, called the book of beginnings. I want you to turn to chapter
6 for a few minutes tonight. Chapter 6. And I'll begin reading to you
in verse 5. 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 repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord." I call this message tonight,
The Fountainhead. The Fountainhead. Because the fountainhead is the
source. It's the beginning of a stream. And if we trace all the streams
of all the blessings of salvation, they all go back to one fountainhead. They all can be traced back to
God and His grace. His grace. And some people feel like that
God's grace is just a kind of available help. available grace. But as we read
in this chapter, just those few verses, the state and condition
of man as a sinner is such that if we're to be saved by grace,
God's grace has to be active. That's the only grace that the
Bible knows about active grace, eternal grace, and almighty grace,
omnipotent grace. And here in verse 8, it says
that Noah found grace. If you notice, It does not say
that God found grace in Noah. What this is actually saying
is that God's grace found Noah, singled him out, distinguished
him from all this world that was to be destroyed by God, justly
so, And Noah was like all his race. Let's don't forget that. He was
just as much a sinner as all of those that are described elsewhere
in these verses. He was a sinner by nature, a
sinner by Adam. He was dead in trespasses and
sin. He was hopeless in himself. So like me, the only way that
Noah could be saved was by grace. Grace was his only hope. Grace is our only hope. And grace, though it means so
much more, I know it means unmerited favor. I know it means something like
undeserved favor, but it also means unsolicited favor. Noah did not go looking for grace. Grace found Noah. God in grace showed favor, unmerited
favor, and unsolicited favor to Noah. And that was the same
case. If you look back here in Genesis
chapter 3, at our father and mother, Adam, All that God had
to do for Adam and his race to perish entirely was when Adam
sinned just to have left him alone. Just left him alone. He didn't have to do anything.
Just left him to himself. But if you notice here in verse
7, it says, and the eyes of them both were open, and they knew
that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and
made themselves aprons. The evidence of the state that
they were in More so than them being naked was the fact that
they sought to cover their nakedness by something that they made,
that they did. That showed they were double
dead. And all that had to happen was
for God to leave them in that state and leave them to thinking
that they had actually covered their nakedness before Him by
their own works. And they would have perished. But the next verse says, And
they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the
garden. That's enough to just make God
want to leave them alone, isn't it? Our actions toward God, they're
enough to make Him want to just leave us to ourselves. It suits Him. It fits Him if
He wants to be like that, but not grace. You see, the Lord spoke to them,
and the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art
thou? And he said, I heard thy voice
in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid
myself. God said, you eat that tree.
He wasn't looking for information there. But he was wanting to
bring Adam to face up to the reality of his disobedience and
his fall and his failure and sin. And of course, naturally,
Adam spoke up and he blamed his wife for it. That works sometimes, but not
many times. And he said, the woman that you
gave me, she made me to eat. And it all goes on and on to
say so many things. But here's the thing. God, in
grace, not only called him and spoke to him, but he revealed
to him the only way that God could forgive him for his sin,
and that was in a God-provided sacrifice. The Lord made him
tunics or coats, made them both tunics and coats of an innocent
animal that had been sacrificed, whose blood had been shed in
order to cover them in the sight of God. They didn't do one thing. to
deserve it. They did everything not to deserve
it. They did everything but the one
thing that could bring forgiveness of sin to them, and that's the
grace of God. The grace of God. And God showed mercy to Noah
and to Adam and to all his people, all his elect, based on a covenant
that he made, the everlasting covenant of grace that he made
in Christ long before they were. And we can trace every stream
of God's grace, every stream of blessing back to that covenant
of grace that he made with Christ as the mediator, as the surety,
and the savior, and he entrusted the salvation of all his people
into the hands of Christ. They didn't do anything. They
didn't feel anything. They weren't even born yet. And this brings us to exactly
what John says. If you'll turn over to I John,
I John chapter 4 and verse 9, listen to what John
says. Verse 9, he says, And this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. You see, it says with regard
to salvation, with regard to the salvation of all His people
through the Savior, the only one who could save, it says that
God sent Him. Jesus Christ was not sent for,
He was God sent. God sent Him into this world,
so He says in verse 10, herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us. The prophet was told that God had loved him with an
everlasting love. And because of that everlasting
love, He had in time with cords of love drawn him. here in His love. Not that we
love God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Actually, in the original there,
the 2B is not present. It says God sent His Son, the
propitiation for our sins. In other words, Christ has always
been the propitiation for our sins. And then he says in verse
19, even though this is the case that we none love him like we
ought to and like he deserves to be loved, nor can we love
him in such a way, we do love him, but it's because he first loved us. God sent him, God initiated,
God sent his son. It says, when the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law. He sent him. He sent him and
we didn't send for him. Look at this in Exodus. in the
book of Exodus in chapter 33. Because it was not only true
with Noah, and it's not only true with Adam and Eve, but look
here in Exodus 33 at what it says about Moses. Moses, being
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in that people that he redeemed
and delivered out of Egypt, that's what Christ does. But as an individual,
he's still a sinner. Look at this. Verse 12 says,
And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring
up this people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt
send with me, Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, thou hast
also found grace in my sight." He hadn't revealed all that he
would do with Moses, all that he would use him as, all that
he would be blessed with, but he had made known the fact. that God had determined to be
gracious. Gracious to Him. Look over in
Genesis chapter 19, where we find a man lot. Now, based on what Most people
think about righteousness, which is that it's merely clean living
or something like that, but based on what they think about righteousness,
Lot would not be labeled a righteous man. But you see, righteousness is
in the eyes of the Lord. And God had determined not only
to be gracious to Abraham, but to be gracious to his nephew
Lot. And so, Peter tells us that Lot
was a righteous man. I was preaching one night, I
remember, in Kelly, North Carolina. And I don't know how it was,
but some Methodist people, a Methodist lady came over to the service
on Sunday night, and I was preaching on that very thing. She came
to me after the service. She said, I don't see how you
can call Rot a righteous man. And I said, ma'am, I didn't simply
call him a righteous man. God did. God did. So when you come to Genesis chapter
19 and verse 16, Here is Lot lingering in Sodom,
lingering and procrastinating and doing everything else. And
it says, And while he lingered, the men, those angels that were
sent to deliver him, laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand
of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord
being merciful unto him. and they brought him forth and
set him without the city." How did he escape the judgment
of Sodom and the surrounding cities of the plain? How did he find himself delivered
from that? Here he is lingering and unbelieving
and everything else, but the Lord had determined to be merciful
to him. That's why. That's why he's alive. That's why he's a child of God. That's why he's counted righteous
before God in Christ. That's how everything came to
be. It's because the Lord Just determined
to be merciful to Him. We'll hear a lot about Mary. Turn over in Luke chapter 1. We'll hear a lot about Mary and
Joseph and such as that in these days, but what about Mary? Rather than being immaculate,
sinless, such as Men foolishly believe her to be, and count
her to be, and trust her to be as a mediator between them and
God. Look here in Luke chapter 1 and verse 30. Now she rejoiced in God her Savior. If you ain't a sinner, you don't
need a Savior. But look at this verse, And the angel said unto
her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour, thou hast
found grace with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
Jesus. He's gonna save His people from
their sins. And you found favor, not only
to give birth to the human body of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
you found grace as a sinner, favor in His sight. Look over in Ephesians chapter
two. Ephesians 2, look at what it
says here. Paul describes these believers
at Ephesus by telling them, reminding them exactly what they are by
nature and what they were by nature. He says in chapter 2,
and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Actually, in you, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past you walk
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as of us." This is what you were by nature. This
is what you were doing. This is who had the power over
you. This is what you wanted. This is what you were doing.
And you were by nature, so many people fail to distinguish this,
but you were by nature children of wrath even as others. But you were not a child of wrath. You were a child of grace. Because
he says next, but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love, wherewith he loved us with that everlasting love, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us up, quickened us together
with Christ by grace. Ye are saved. That's what you were. That's
what you were doing. That's what you were by nature.
But God, in His infinite mercy and grace and love, has saved
us. Saved us. Turn over to Titus chapter 3. Titus 3. Look at what he says here. Titus 3 and verse 4, But after
that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, which we have done in time. But according
to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost. which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. He saved us. Not by all our works
and anything done by us in time. It didn't begin even when you
believed. We believe because of what God
has done for us. We believe because He comes to
us and gives us faith. We don't initiate anything. We're saved because of his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ before the world began. Where did it begin? Began before
the world began. Began before we were ever born. Began before we can even imagine. Sometimes I get to thinking about
that word eternal. And I don't go very far before
I realize I'm talking about something that I really don't know anything
about. Because it only applies to God
and what comes from God. And we trace every blessing, material or spiritual. We trace every stream back to
the fountainhead, all in time to eternity. Today's grace to God's everlasting
love and every gift, every good and perfect gift comes down from
above, the Father of lights, from the Father of light, in
whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. but not only from the eternal
covenant of grace, not only from God sending his son, but also
to the revelation of that grace to us by the Spirit of God through
the gospel of God. We don't simply happen into the
gospel. We don't simply discover it on
our own or find out by searching, as the book of Job says. It's God who's the fountainhead
there. God the Spirit comes to us. in that appointed hour, and
through that appointed means, and he reveals to us the gospel
of grace. There's only two gospels. One of them is what Paul called
another gospel. And all the ways set forth Like
Christ says in Matthew 7, there's a way that seemeth right to a
man, the ways thereof. There are a lot of ways that
seem right to men. If you don't believe it, go out
tomorrow and ask them what they're basing their hope on. But He said all these ways are
simply one way, and it's the way of death. because you can't trace it back
to the fountain head. It's a man-made gospel. It's a man-appealing gospel. Paul says to the Galatians, he
said, I certify to you that the gospel that I preach was not
after man. It didn't come from man. It doesn't
please man. It doesn't save man. I got it from God. I got it from
God. And when we find out, when we
learn the gospel, I'm still learning the gospel. I'm still being taught of God. But what we learn at the first
is that the gospel that comes from God like everything else
that comes from God, comes by His free and sovereign grace. I didn't deserve it. I didn't even want it. I didn't even ask for it. Somebody wrote a book one time
called, Overcome by Grace. Overwhelmed by Grace. And I found out that God wasn't
gracious to everybody. He said, I'll be merciful, I'll
be gracious to whom I will. And we fight that by nature for
a long time sometimes. But when God shows us, it's the
only way. When God shows us the grace of
sovereign grace, that he chose us Christ died for us, and He
has sent His Son to reveal it to us, to make it known to us,
to make it a blessing to us. And we find out He's blessed
us in not imputing our sin to us. Really? God's not going to charge some
people with their sin. Yes, that's exactly right. David,
when he lay in the arms of Bathsheba, God's not gonna charge him with
that? Boy, David have a hard time today
in this climate. When he killed Uriah, he's not
gonna charge him with that? It's no wonder he said, blessed
is the man. to whom the Lord will not impute
sin. Blessed is the man that the Lord
imputes righteousness without works. When it gets down to that, that's
when men and women who are trusting in their own selves, trusting
in what they are, trusting in what they've done, trusting of
the life of religion, when it hits them, that salvation really
is all of grace. Start to finish, bottom to top. That's a little too much grace
for some people. It was a little too much grace
for a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus, because he set out in his religiosity
to put an end to that message. And there's one thing for sure,
on that road to Damascus, he wasn't looking for grace. But grace came looking for him.
He found that it had been flowing, that stream of grace to him from
old eternity. Came right from the throne. Came
right from God. Came right in Christ. Came right
to Him. He wasn't looking for grace.
And neither were you. Neither was I. I thought I knew
something about grace. I thought I preached grace. I
thought I was saved by grace. Because I had made a decision. But grace comes looking for us.
It flows down all the way until He brings forth that water of
life in our hearts. And it comes shocking, like you
feel like when you leap into the water sometimes. Oh, it's
cold, cold! But then it warms up and it's
so warm. Crystal clear. No ifs, ands, or buts. Paul said, the gospel that I
preach, the gospel of Christ, the gospel of grace, it's not
yea or nay, it's yea. Yes, in Christ Jesus. So God in Noah, to Adam, Abraham,
Isaac, Paul, those fishermen, Matthew
who sat at a seat of custom, the Ethiopian eunuch traveling
across the desert. God is the initiator and the sustainer. And that's why he gets all the
glory. When you look, trace the fountain
here, and we came with the Word, we see He's the source of it
all. The triune God had purpose to
save, and they initiated it and carried
it out. Well, if you notice, I'll just
say one more thing. If you notice, it says Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. I don't believe that I have found much grace in many
people's eyes. I know I don't look like what
some people call a Christian. I was in a restaurant today and there was a man talking so loud about the necessity
of having a personal relationship with Jesus, accepting Jesus as
your personal savior. And he just went on and on. And
the fellow I was eating with, he said, he's preaching. I said,
no, he's not. He's just talking. Just talking. I'm sure that that man, in his eyes, I'm probably anything. But His eyes don't count. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And so when God's eyes looked
on His people, He's loved them with an everlasting love. He
sent His Son to die for them. He sent His Spirit to reveal
it to them. Samson's mother told her husband,
God wouldn't have showed us all this. He wouldn't have taken,
received our sacrifice just to kill us. But God looks on his people in
Christ and he says those wonderful words I like. Thou art all Fair, my beloved. He says through John, and ye
are complete in Him. Complete. When something's complete,
you just can't add anything to it. You are complete in Him,
in Christ Jesus. And so we have to look back at
that old fountain head. We can't see with the natural
eye before the foundation of the world, but we can hear God
say how it was. And he brings it, that flowing
stream of mercy. And it finds us. We're out here
in a desert. We're trying to satisfy ourselves
and our souls with that which does not satisfy, most especially,
false religion. And the Lord puts the sweet stream
of His grace, of His gospel, of His Son, of His Spirit in
our hearts and says, drink. And you're going to keep drinking
for eternity. It comes from the fountainhead. Our Father, we thank you for
your mercy to us undeserved, unmerited, and certainly unsolicited. We thank you that you loved us
before we loved you. And that we love you now because
you loved us, first loved us. We thank you that you sent your
son. We didn't send for him. That
you came where we are. We didn't go where you are. That
you caused us to hear. Caused us to believe. The message of grace, saved us
by grace. So that Paul says, for by grace
are you being saved. We thank you for our Savior and for his blood and for his
righteousness shed in our place, given to us and we glorify your name. We
praise you for doing it all, for having mercy upon us. And we pray in Christ's name.
Amen. Amen.