Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to Hebrews 11. I'd like to read verse 7. Hebrews
11, 7. While you're turning there, let
me say I thank the Lord for the services that we had there in
Cape Girardeau, but I thank the Lord, Brother Neal, where the
service is here. Thank God for His blessing to
permit the gospel to be preached here. Hebrews 11, verse 7, the Scripture
says, 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." Let's pray together. Our Father, as we come before
You this evening, again, how wonderful it is as needy sinners
call upon Your name, and to know that by Your grace and Your compassion
and Your mercy, Lord, You have allowed us to meet here tonight.
I ask You, Lord, would You save sinners? Lord, have mercy. Lord, only You can speak, and
it is. I ask you to bless the Word tonight.
Bless it to the comfort of your people and the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ, for it is in His name we pray. Amen. The last time we were in the
book of Hebrews, we considered this truth. It is found in verse
6. The Scripture says, but without
faith. it is impossible to please Him. Therefore, we know this, Almighty
God must give faith that He might be pleased. Faith is given in regeneration. When the Spirit of God calls
a sinner out of darkness, spiritual darkness, unto the preaching
of the gospel, life is imparted. Faith is imparted. That's when a sinner believes
God, when God gives them faith. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God, Him. He that cometh, the Scripture
says, verse 6, he that cometh to God. A sinner comes to Christ initially
in regeneration. We know that. But I'll tell you
this, God's people, regenerated by the grace of God, they continually
are coming to Christ. They are coming to Him for mercy
continually, asking continually, Lord, have mercy. Lord, forgive
me. Lord, help me. Lord, right now
speak to me. Lord, make this Word effectual
to me. Lord, let me hear. I want to
hear. I don't want to leave. Lord willing,
we're not going to be here very long. I know that. Just a little while. But Lord,
if You're pleased, Lord, You can bless this. That's how a
believer is constantly, constantly asking. They come in regeneration. They come continually. Today
is the day of salvation. Finally, they're going to come
to Him in death, or at His second coming. He that cometh to God,
and only those regenerated by the grace of God come. No man
seeks after God unless the Lord gives him a heart to come. He
that cometh to God must believe that He is. As I said, Not that
He exists. We've looked at those Scriptures
many times. Demons believe He exists. There was a lot of people that
walked this earth that saw Him, believed that He exists. But
to believe that He is in character as He says He is, the Scripture
sets forth that the Lord Jesus Christ, the expressed image of
Almighty God, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, that He is
sovereign. That He is sovereign in creation
and providence and salvation. That He's holy. That He's just. That He's abounding in mercy
and compassion. toward poor sinners and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. They must believe that. They
must. He that cometh to God must believe
that He is as He says He is and that He is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him. I was looking over my notes a
minute ago and I jotted this down, that He's a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. Not those that think that they've
earned it. He is a rewarder. Not of those
that think that they approach Him on their own merit or works,
but is a rewarder according to His distinguishing grace and
mercy. Romans 4 verse 4 says, Now to
him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. If one believes that they are
rewarded of God because they did so and so, that's debt. He owed it. if you earned it,
if you think you earned it. But grace, unmerited, unmerited
favor, grace of God. There is a reward. The Lord of
glory, as the Lord said to Abraham, He said, Abraham, Abraham, I
am your exceeding and great reward. Those that diligently seek Him,
What a miracle of God's grace when the Scripture says man left
himself. No man seeks after God. Nobody
desires Him. Nobody hungers after Him. Nobody
thirsts after Him. He's a rewarder. Now, I know
that that last part, that He's a rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him, I know that to the carnal thinking there might seem
to be some confusion there. Reward? is graciously given,
but the Scripture says it is graciously given to them that
diligently seek Him. Now does that have a ring of
legalism to you? Well, not if you understand rightly
God's means of His grace. Let me ask you a couple of questions.
Does the Lord of glory require and demand that he be sought
by faith? Yes. The answer is yes. He absolutely
demands, but without faith it is impossible to please Him. Does he demand that he be sought
by faith? Yes. Therefore, he must give
faith. He is a rewarder. Those that
diligently seek Him, seek Him by grace. And He gives faith
by which they seek. Is He to be sought with all of
our heart? With a sincere heart. That's what it means. Sincerely.
I know this. There's not a person in this
congregation tonight that would say, I've sought the Lord as
I ought. No, we haven't. No, we haven't.
There's not a believer in this congregation tonight that doesn't
grieve over his lack of sincerity. He knows it. He's convinced of
it. But to diligently seek Him is
to seek Him sincerely. Lord, help me. Lord, I believe. Help mine unbelief. Does he demand
that he be sought with a sincere heart. Yes. Well, then, therefore,
he's got to give a new heart. What he demands, he gives. Faithful
is he who calleth you who shall also do it. As the Lord set forth that we
are to ask for forgiveness. Confess what we are by nature.
Yes. And He's faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What He demands, He supplies. He rewards those that diligently
seek Him. And He was the one that gave
them a heart. He gave them faith. He gave them a desire. The regenerated
sheep of God. Sinners called out of darkness.
They're not robots. I know what people say. They
say, well, what you're saying is that the Lord just makes a
man a robot. No, He makes him a living creature
that hungers and thirsts after Almighty God. He makes him willing
in the day of God's power to come. New creatures. living in an old body of flesh,
diligently seeking the Lord of glory and denying themselves
all the while. What do you mean by that, denying
themselves? I am what I am by the grace of
God. Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord,
but unto Thy name be honor and glory. Denying themselves. Lord, You are worthy. of all
honor and glory and praise, and there is no ground for boasting
in me. For man believes God, he believes
by grace, he seeks by grace, he loves by grace, he hungers
and thirsts by grace, and all the while he sees in Him, that
is, in His flesh, there dwells no good thing. Before we look at verse 7 for
a minute, I want you to take your Bibles and turn with me
to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. This is what
the scriptures has to say about. This is the account of the Holy
Scriptures of God has to say about that verse that we're going
to look at for just a few minutes. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. We'll read verse 5 through the
end of the chapter, 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 let me just stop right here.
This is the way that a man or woman left to themselves. This
is the way they are right here. They may say, well, you know,
I'm not that bad. The Scripture says that every
imagination, every imagination, every imagination of a thought
of his heart was only evil continually. There's no thought of God's honor. It's evil. It's evil. And it
repented the Lord He had made man on the earth. He had 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, the creeping thing, the fowls of the air, for it
repenteth Me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord." These are the generations of Noah.
Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations. And Noah
walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem,
Ham, Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence. And 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. Behold, I will destroy them with
the earth. an arc of gopher wood. Rooms
shalt thou make in the arc, and shalt pitch it within and without
the pitch. This is the fashion which thou
shalt make it of. The length of the arc shall be
300 cubits, about 450 feet long. The breadth of it, 50 cubits,
or about 75 feet. Height of it, 30 cubits, about
45 feet high. A window shalt thou make to the
ark, and in a 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. 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,
thy wife, 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, 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, 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." Now,
three things I want to look at. Number one, and all of these
three things are relevant for us tonight. Three things that
happened. God Almighty gave Noah a warning. Number two, Noah responded. And number three, God rewarded
him. Here is the first thing I want
to look at. God's warning. Hebrews 11, verse 7, By faith,
Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet. It was the Lord that saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth. God saw that. Now, no one might have seen some
of the effects, but it was Almighty God that saw that every imagination,
every thought of the imagination of man was evil continually. And the Lord said to Noah, I
will destroy man whom I have created. But Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. I can tell you for a fact, Noah
was going to be under God's wrath just like everybody else. But
there was going to be a tremendously large difference. Almighty God
was going to put him in the ark. God Himself determined to destroy
the wicked of this world by a flood. But by the grace of God, He acquainted
Noah with His purpose. This warning that was given Noah
exhibits the distinguishing grace of God toward all that He's everlastingly
loved. People say that they believe
that God's going to judge this world. You'll have to ask a person
something. Ask anybody. Do you believe there's
going to be a judgment? Oh, yes. Yes, I do. I really do. No, you don't. Because
if you truly believed that there was going to be the judgment
of Almighty God, you would not fail to ask, to seek, to knock. Tell me, how should a man be
just with God? Tell me one more time, tell me
how the Lord Have mercy. Tell me about the mercy of God. Tell me again about the grace
of God. God Almighty is going to judge
this world. He's going to judge all wickedness
in this world. Sirs, as the Philippian jailer
said, what must I do to be saved? Tell me about God's Christ. Tell
me about God's salvation. Tell me what the Word of God
has to say about salvation. I don't want to hear somebody's
opinion. I want to look at it. I want
to look at some writing. I want to see some words. And
tell me, as that Ethiopian eunuch, Philip, ask him, do you understand
what you're reading? How can I? Unless a man explain
it to me. How are they going to hear without
a preacher? This is how God calls out His sheep, His elect. His church, His bride, this is
how, under the preaching of the gospel, God warned him. He warned him. By the grace of
God, God's people know, God's going to end this. God's
going to send judgment on this world. If I'm to have any hope,
tell me of Christ. Let me ask you this. Is there
going to be a great white throne judgment? Yes, there is. Do all men know this in truth?
No. How does anybody know it? Romans
1.18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth. in unrighteousness. The Scripture
sets forth in Hebrews 11, 7, by faith. By faith. God-given faith. Noah being warned
of God, of things not seen yet. Warned of the Lord. The Lord
was going to send a flood, and it had never rained before. God
said, I'm going to send a flood. I'm going to cover this world.
And it had never rained. Genesis 2, 5. Every plant of
the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the
field before it grew, for the Lord God had not caused it to
rain upon the earth. And there was not a man to till
the ground, but there went up a mist from the earth and watered
the whole face of the ground. Because the Lord had purposed
that He would not destroy the order of man. You can go right
back to John 3.16 right here. For God so loved the world. God
so loved the arrangement. God loved the order of man. God
was going to destroy this earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Not because of Noah's works,
not because of Noah's actions. Noah was born in Adam just like
any other man. God Almighty purposed to show
mercy to that man. He purposed to show compassion
on him. God chose to show mercy. What
did Noah do to deserve the grace of God? Nothing. Nothing. God showed mercy. God warns. Here's the second
point. Noah's response. The Scripture
says back in Hebrews 11-7, Noah moved with fear and prepared
an ark. Noah, because by the grace of
God, he believed God, he moved with fear and respect. He had respect unto God's Word. You know those that respect God's
Word? They'll hear God's Word. I'll respect it. I'll respect
Him. Thus saith the Lord. What does
God have to say? Come here. Come here. Noah moved with fear. God told him, build an ark. Noah
had no experience in ship building. Never built an ark before. Can something like this float?
Will something like this stay for an indefinite time on the
water? It's never rained before. God warned Noah, and Noah moved
with fear, with respect, and he built an ark. Let me ask
you this. Have you ever seen the Day of
Judgment? Have you ever seen the wrath
of God poured out on mankind? But these Scriptures reveal.
God is going to send judgment. What does the Scripture say?
Noah prepared an ark which is a type, a picture of salvation
by Christ alone. Will that ark float? Will the Lord Jesus Christ Surely
forever keep all that come unto Him by faith. He said He would. He that cometh to Me, I will
in no wise cast out. Will He keep me for eternity?
In the day of judgment, when I stand before God Almighty and
I know I will, Paul says we're all going to appear before the
judgment, the judgment seat of Christ, the throne of God Himself. The Scripture says He'll separate
the sheep from the goats. Really? Yes, sir. How do you
know? God said it. By the grace of
God, I believe it. Noah moved with fear. with respect. But just as Noah,
by the grace of God, moved with fear, God's people, regenerated
by the grace of God, they do too. They do too. They believe Him. Let me ask
you this. Did the Lord purpose to save
Noah? The answer is yes. The Lord purposed
to save Noah. If Noah would not have built
an ark, would he have perished? Yes. Yes. Yes, he would. He would have
drowned just like anybody else. Well, then let me ask you this.
Was his salvation by his own works because he built an ark?
No. No. It was the Lord that had
prescribed the means of Noah's delivery. The farmer that goes
out and tills the ground and plants the seed and irrigates
and stuff, who gets the honor for the increase?
The Lord. The Lord. If a man doesn't go
out and plant corn, is corn going to come up? No. No. Almighty God. has set forth the
means of salvation. Christ is our ark. He is our ark. How do we come
to Him? By faith. Where do we get the
faith? God gives it. By grace. If we do not come to Christ,
will we be saved? No. We must come to Him. By faith, believe Him. Impossible
to please God without faith in Christ. If Noah had not built an ark,
he would have drowned. God provided the means. And God
blessed him in the building of that ark. There is no doubt about
it. But it was God that gave him that ark. Is the Lord going
to save His people? Yes. No doubt about it. Is it absolutely necessary that
His people sit under the gospel? Is it absolutely necessary that
His people, His elect, His chosen, is He going to save them? Yes,
He is. Do they have to be under the
gospel to be saved? Yes. Yes. Do they have to believe? Yes. Yes. Do they have to come
to Christ? Yes. Almighty God saves His people
by grace, and that which He demands, He gives. All of grace, He sets
forth the means. He provides salvation. All of
grace. He who purposes the end determines
the means to that end. If those means are not adhered
to, it only proves that Almighty God did not make those means
effectual to you. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Man does not determine the means
of God's grace. Almighty God does as He will
according to His purpose, according to His wisdom. This is why it
is so foolish for men to think that they can determine how a
man comes to Christ. No. No. If Almighty God would
have told Noah, you build an ark, and Noah did anything else
except build an ark, he's going to perish. He's going to perish. But God determined. God Almighty
gave him faith to believe. Almighty God put fear in his
heart. God gave him what God demanded. And the Lord blessed him. God's reward. 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 which he condemned
the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by
faith. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And God Himself, who is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him, made Noah in the day of God's
power willing, moved with fear, prepared an God gave faith. And Noah did exactly as God commanded. And the Lord blessed Noah's obedience. And Noah, till this day, will
sing forth as all of God's sheep, Lord, You're worthy. You're worthy. Had God left Noah to himself,
Noah would have died with everybody else. Faith without works, without
obedience is dead faith. But Noah and his family and those
animals that the Lord put in that ark were all preserved in
that temporary preservation. from the flood is a beautiful
picture of the eternal preservation of all found in our great ark,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Noah believed God. He preached
for 120 years. And all the while, while he was
building that ark by faith, while he labored, while he preached,
The Scripture says in verse 7, He condemned the world. What does that mean, He condemned
the world? He made their rebellion and their unbelief more obvious
and more awful. More obvious, you take by the
grace of God, Almighty God, God give a man or a woman a heart
to believe Him. to seek Him. And that's what
they do. They just continue to walk with
God. In agreement with God. Struggling
all the while. Seeing in themselves. Seeing
and knowing they're struggling. And they continue, and they continue,
and they continue condemning the world. Making rebellion to
be more obvious. And the Scripture says, condemning
the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by
faith." That word became right there. I had looked that up.
What does it mean? It became obvious. That's what
it means. It became in view. It was opened up. He became heir
of the righteousness which is by faith. His obedience proved. God's faithfulness. Noah had
no one to glory in save the Lord Himself. Noah didn't come to
the end of the 120 years bragging, man, look what a boat I've built. Good for me. No. Noah knew that it was by grace
that he was still there. 120 years later, been preaching
120 years, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their
wives and those animals that were in there and the whole world
outside of that ark perished. God Almighty warns His people. God warns His people. His people
move with respect. I'm telling you, He is not second
fiddle to anything else. He is not second fiddle to anything
else. Don't put anything else against
the hearing of the gospel of God's grace. Don't do it. Don't
do it. No excuses. No excuses. And God
rewards. God rewards. that which He gives. By the grace of God, we are what
we are, for Christ's sake. Amen.