Go with me if you would now to
Genesis chapter six. Genesis chapter six, we are going
to look at something this morning that we've looked at many times
before, but I believe it would do us
good to look at it again, and I pray the Lord will make this
to be a real blessing to us by reminding us of some of his truths
concerning grace. Our subject matter is grace. The title of this message is
grace. And our text is Genesis 6 verse
8. It says, but Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Oh, that's so good. But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We know the story of Noah
and the flood and the ark. Many of us have heard that story
from a child. We're not going to look at that
story. We're going to look at the subject of grace. But Genesis
six tells us the reason for the story. All right. Look at verse
one. It says, 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 in 120 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 bare children to them,
the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Verse five says, 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. God created mankind. By the fall of Adam into sin,
all of mankind became wicked and rebellious and vile. All
of mankind. Every imagination of man's heart
was only evil continually. It was full of lust. It was full
of hate. It was full of pride. And that's
how it still is today. That's how it still is to this
very day. The thoughts and imaginations
of every man and woman on this earth. They are all vile, wicked,
self-centered, self-motivated, self-glorifying thoughts. That's the thoughts of everybody.
And in Noah's day, God said he was going to destroy man. And in our day, God says the
same thing. He is the Lord. He changes not. How he was in Noah's day. That's
how he is in our day. People say I've heard it and
you've heard it. You ever heard a man stand in
the pulpit telling people that God has changed. Not so. God does not change how he was
in Noah's day. That's how he is in our day.
The Lord our God is destroying sinful men and women as I speak
throughout this world. right now. That one moment right
there of the flood, okay, this event, this account of the flood,
that one moment represents God's dealings with the entire human
race throughout all of time and all generations of people. God
Almighty is literally destroying this world because of its sin. He is right now destroying the
men and women of it. One day very soon when He returns,
He is going to physically destroy the planet itself. He is going
to destroy this planet. Right now, this actual world
and the other planets and the stars of the heavens, all of
that is being kept in store by the Word of His power. But 2 Peter 3 says, it is all
being reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition. And that means the destruction
of. Judgment and the destruction
of ungodly men. That flood was a picture of what
is coming to every ungodly soul because of his or her sin. Verse 8 says, but. Anybody mind if I get to that
part? Thank God. Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a sinner just like everybody
else. Have you ever read the story
of Noah? You know any of the details about Noah? It's in here. Noah was a sinner just like everybody
else. I am a sinner just like everybody
else. You are a sinner just like everybody
else. But there is grace with the Lord. There is mercy to be had through
grace. Verse eight says, but Noah found
grace. Grace is what we need. Grace, grace, God's grace. If we, like Noah, can find grace
in the eyes of the Lord, we, just like Noah, We will be spared
from the wrath of God that is owed to us from our sins. If
we can find grace like Noah did, we'll be spared like Noah was. And if we're really gonna enter
into God's grace this morning, that's what we need, God's grace.
If we're going to enter into it, we need to first enter into
the fact that we are sinners against God who do not deserve
his grace. We do not deserve his grace. Noah did not deserve his grace. Noah was a sinner who deserved
the same wrath as the rest of the world, the same wrath that
the rest of the world received. We don't deserve God's grace. No soul on this earth deserves
God's grace because no soul has earned it. The definition of the word grace
is gift. Gift. You ever given anybody a birthday
gift? Why'd you do that? Because they
earned it. Did they earn it by just breathing
God's air and staying on this earth for another year? No. Gift. It's a favor. It's a kindness. It is a graciousness. The definition is goodwill, liberality. Grace is a gift. And there's
not a soul on this earth who has done anything worthy of deserving
that gift from God. So what makes it a gift? It wasn't
earned, it wasn't owed. Grace is something that originates
in the heart of God and is according to his goodwill
and pleasure extended to, it's given to undeserving sinners
as he sees fit to give it. Grace is something that God has
shown because God was pleased to show it. And before we get into the details
of this, I want to make this very clear and very plain, okay?
Christ is the gift. Christ is the grace. He is the
grace of God. People talk about the grace of
God. People talk about all the time everywhere. People talk
about the grace of God, grace of God. People sing songs like amazing
grace. They claim the message of grace.
Oh yeah. We preach grace. What are we
talking about? What are we singing about? What
are we preaching about? Christ. The answer is Christ. For God so loved the world, he
gave Christ his only begotten son. Christ is the gift. Noah found Christ. You know, Nathanael ran to the
other brethren and said, we found him, we found the Messiah. No, you didn't find anybody. The Messiah found you. Christ
found you. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. It started with the Lord. It
started with the eyes of the Lord looking on Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord by way of the Lord providing Noah with an ark. You know everybody calls it Noah's
Ark. Somebody made this statement one time and it's so good. It's
not Noah's Ark, it's God's Ark that he put Noah in. Noah found grace by way of the
Lord providing Noah with an ark. That ark was Christ. That physical arc was a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many wonderful pictures
of Christ in the scripture, but that arc is one of the greatest
pictures of Christ in all of the Bible. I mean, it really
is. That picture involved the whole
world. The judgment of God reigned. literally rained down on everybody. It rained down on everybody. But while the judgment of God
rained down on Noah, all right, the judgment of God rained down
on Noah and his family, eight souls. They had the judgment
of God poured out on them. But while the judgment of God
rained down on Noah and his family, Noah found grace by being placed
inside an ark. That ark bore the judgment for
Noah and his family. That ark covered Noah and his
family. That ark stood in between Noah,
his family, and the judgment of God Almighty. That ark took
the beating, that ark endured that all-consuming flood for
Noah and his family. That ark rose above it all for
Noah and his family. Noah couldn't rise above it all.
He couldn't rise above it all. Well, couldn't Noah have just
built his own ship? Oh, I'm sure there were many
ships in that day. What happened to them? The judgment
of God beat them all to pieces. Everybody had their own little
hope. It didn't last. That ark was the gift of God. For God so loved the world, he
gave Christ. That was a picture of how it
is for every one of God's people today. That gift that God gave
to Noah, that is the gift that all of God's people have received
today. Christ, our ark, is God's grace to us. Every soul in Christ
You know, Noah was a preacher of righteousness for a hundred
years. And this is what he was telling people. If you want to
live, you must be inside this ark. That's what he was saying
to people. Judgment is coming. And the only way to live is inside
this ark. Every soul in Christ is safe. Every soul outside of Christ
is going to suffer the wrath and condemnation of God. We need
Christ. We need Christ. We need the gift
of God's grace. I plead this. You know, I was
a young person. I just told you in the Bible
study I'm young. Well, I was younger than I am
now once. And I had ambitions and I had
this idea of life and things that I wanted to do and I wanted
to get out there and be somebody and be my own person and these
are the things I want to accomplish and such on and so forth. And
everybody's like that. These children are like that
and you teenagers are like that and you young adults are like
that. And I'm pleading with everyone. We need Christ. I mean, I literally
am. I don't know how much longer
this world's gonna last. May not make it till this evening. We need the gift of God's grace,
which is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need Christ. When we talk about God's grace,
we're talking about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh,
amazing person. Amazing person, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. If we have Christ, we're safe,
we are saved. He that hath the Son hath life. If we find grace in the eyes
of the Lord by way of Him giving Christ to us, Christ our shelter,
Christ our covering, Christ our safety, then we will be spared
from the wrath that is coming. We will be spared. We need grace. We need Christ. Those two words
go hand in hand. And because it's so critical
that we receive God's grace in Christ, I want us to understand
these truths about God's grace in Christ, okay? I'm just gonna
study the word grace for a minute and then I'll be done. It's critical that we know this
and understand this concerning God's grace, all right? Turn
with me over to Exodus 33. Exodus 33, verse 18, it says, and he said, Moses said
to the Lord, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And the Lord
said, he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. The
first thing we need to know about God's grace is it is sovereign
grace. It is sovereign grace. If anybody hears about God's
sovereign grace and says, well, I don't like that, I don't like
that kind of grace, there's going to be a problem. Like it or not,
it's sovereign grace. Just like His mercy is sovereign
mercy, His grace is sovereign grace. What that means is He
gives the gift of Christ to whoever he's pleased to give the gift
of Christ to. He shows mercy through the blood
of Christ to whoever he is pleased to show mercy through the blood
of Christ to. He is sovereignly in control
of his own grace. It's his. It's the grace of God. Our brother just read it in our
scripture reading a moment ago. Now the God of all grace, it's
all his. And he has the right and he has
the ability to give it to whoever he's pleased to give it to. It's
in his hands. If any soul on this earth finds
grace, it's because the sovereign God of all grace chose to reveal
His grace to that soul. All right, that brings us to
the next truth we need to know about grace. Turn over to Romans
11. Romans 11 verse 1 says, I say
then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also
am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people,
which he foreknew. What ye not or know ye not that
the scripture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to
God against Israel saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets
and dig down thine altars and I'm left alone and they seek
my life. But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so
then at this present time also there is a remnant according
to the election of grace. God's grace is an electing grace. All of God's people were chosen
to it before the foundation of the world before anything was
even made. God had a remnant elected to
grace. Look at Romans 9, just a couple
of pages or one page back for me to Romans 9 verse 9. Verse 9 says, for this is the
word of promise at this time will I come and Sarah shall have
a son. Abraham and Sarah, they were
going to have a son, Isaac. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, she had
Jacob and Esau. For the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, But
of him that calleth, it was said unto her, the elder shall serve
the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. In the eternal foreknowledge
and purpose and will of God, he chose exactly who would receive
grace from him. He chose who would receive the
gift of Christ. Ephesians 1 verse 4 says, all
of God's people were chosen in him before the foundation of
the world. So God's grace is sovereign grace. God's grace is electing particular
grace. And turn back to Romans 11, verse
5 says, Even so then at this present
time also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. That
means it's free. Free grace. If by grace, then
it is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then it's no more grace. Otherwise work
is no more work. What he's saying is it's one
or the other. It's either works or grace. And it's not works,
it's grace. And all of God's people who have
received grace will love it to be so. Our Lord said, whosoever
will, let him come freely. All of God's people will. That's
the only way we can come, freely. In my hand, no price I bring. The gift of Christ to God's people,
that's a free gift to them. free to them. It cost Him everything. It cost them nothing. Romans
3 says God's people were justified freely by His grace, by His gift,
at His expense. Look with me at 2 Corinthians
8. 2nd Corinthians 8 verse 9, it
says, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you
through his poverty might be rich. It was a sacrificial gift
on his part, it cost him everything. You know, I've thought so many
times, why do men and women want to add their works to God's grace? Why would anybody want to add
their payment to God's payment? If somebody came to you and said,
here's the declaration to you today. Your mortgage is paid
free and clear. Why would anybody go, nope, I'm
writing a check too. It's free, it cost him everything.
Though he was rich, he made himself to be poor. That you, through
his poverty, might be rich. God's people are so rich. So
rich in the Lord Jesus Christ. It cost him everything. What
was the price? His blood. No, I'm gonna add
my blood to his blood. How about let's not? Where did he pay the price? On
the cross of Calvary. On that cross, this is what we
view. As we see the Lord Jesus Christ
hanging there, we view the sovereign, electing, free, saving grace
of God Almighty. That's what we see. God's grace
is saving grace. Turn over to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 verse 1, it says, wherein in time past you walked
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 others, but God who is rich in mercy. For his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. By grace, you are saved. The announcement is not, by grace,
you can be saved. By grace, you are saved. Thank God His grace is saving
grace. Verse 8 right here says, for
by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. Salvation is the gift of God. And it's a sovereign, particular,
free, sacrificial, saving gift. Salvation's of the Lord. It's
of the Lord. If God has given us this gift,
then we have been given everything we need. All right, now I'm closing
with this. If God has given us this gift,
we've been given everything we need. If we have Christ, we have
the riches of God's grace. If we have Christ, we have the
abundance of God's grace. If we have Christ, we have the
all-sufficiency of God's grace. If we have Christ, we have everything
we need. And if we have Christ, we will
see it to be that way. We'll see it to be that way.
If we have Christ, if we are among the ones who have him,
we will see it to be that way. I'm just a sinner, nothing at
all. Jesus Christ is my all in all, everything I need. 2 Thessalonians 2 says, if we
have Christ, we have the everlasting consolation and good hope through
grace. Hebrews 4 says, if we have Christ,
we can approach the throne, the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The Lord
God of heaven ended and this is so precious to me. All right,
turn over to Revelation 22. We'll close with this. This is
how the Lord God ended his entire book. Here's his very last verse. Final word to his people. Revelation 22 verse 21. Lord Jesus Christ said, the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. I pray so. I do, I pray so. I sincerely pray that God shed
his grace on thee. I really do. That's my deep desire. God shed his grace on thee. May all of us find grace in the
eyes of the Lord. Christ's sake. Amen.