Open your Bibles with me to the
book of Genesis. We're going to look at mostly
Genesis chapter 6 and part of Genesis chapter 7. This is Noah,
under the instruction of God, build an ark. God told Noah that
he was going to destroy the world, going to destroy all mankind.
And we read in Genesis 1 and verse 31, it said, And God saw
everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.
Now if you look in Genesis 6 and verse 5, something happened between
Genesis 1 and verse 31 when God proclaimed all things were good,
and Genesis 6 and verse 5, and God said that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination or
the thought of his heart was only evil continually. What happened
here? What happened here for this time
that God saw all things were great or all things were good
and then he looked and he saw this thing of sin entered into
the world. Sin had become exceeding sinful. Sin was come into a place in
the very sight of God and God said it's come to very evil continually,
the thought of man's heart. And that's a picture. That is
a picture of you and I left to ourselves. That's a picture of
every man born of Adam left to himself. Every thought, every
intent, every imagination that we have is only evil continually. He said, when I do this or I
do that in the sight of God, in the sight of God, Anything
less than absolute perfection is sin. That's the only thing
God can accept is absolute perfection. And we sin and come short of
the glory of God daily. Oh, that God may give us grace. So look at Genesis chapter 6,
and we'll start here in verse 1. It said, 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 wise for all
which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh. God saw us as we are. Flesh. Sinful flesh. Yet his
day shall be a hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the
earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of
God came unto the daughters of men, they bare children unto
them, and the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of
renown. And God saw, this same verse
here again, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth. That's what happened from Genesis
chapter 1 and verse 31 to Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. And it grieved him at his heart. I don't understand that. That's
one verse I just cannot understand, cannot picture. But in verse
5 it says, And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continuing. And because of this thing of
sin, because of this thing of sin, it repented the Lord. that he had made him, and it
grieved him at his heart. And he said, I will destroy man
whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and
beast, and every creeping things of the fowls of the air, and
it repented me that I have made him. We have a picture of man
left to himself outside of the grace of God. We have a picture
here of man in his own betrayed nature. of this thing of sin. It's only evil continually. Every
thought, every intent, every imagination that comes from here,
that comes from this flesh, is only evil continually. We cannot
paint a picture black enough to picture this thing of sin.
We cannot tell men clear enough who they are outside of Christ. Who they are, what they are,
and how they stand before God. But oh, look on down here in
verse 8. Here's the good news. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. As far as I understand, as far
as I can see, this is the first time that the word grace is used
in Scripture. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Though God would destroy him,
though he would destroy all man, and justly so for their evil
and their sin and their corruption. Yet, it pleased God. It pleased God to show mercy
unto the Son. It pleased God to show grace
unto this one called Noah. Noah was not saved because of
any goodness or merit in him. I know the Scripture says that
he's a perfect man, an upright man, but that was only after
God showed him grace. That's the only way that you
and I can come before God is in this thing of grace. that
He may give us the unmerited favor of God, that He may bestow
upon us His goodness and His love and His mercy, His grace
to us. God was gracious unto Him, but
He can only be gracious unto us in and through one person.
There must be something or someone to deal with our sins. Our sins
cannot go unpunished. Our sins cannot go unjustly condemned. And in Christ, and in Christ
alone, this is what we're going to try to look at. How does this
ark that Noah built, how does it picture our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ? Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Sin was all around. And I know
sin was in Noah and on Noah. Noah was not a perfect man outside
of the grace of God. Noah was only made perfect in
and through the righteousness of Christ when God imputed it
to him. But Noah left to himself would
no doubt be the same type man that all other men are, dead
in trespasses and sin. But it pleased God. It pleased
God. Verse 9 says, These are the generation
of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect
in his generation. And Noah walked with God. That's
what made Noah just. That's what made Noah perfect.
God showed mercy and grace unto him. Here we see the character
of Noah. He was a just man, a perfect
man in his generation. But this character was a result
of the grace of God bestowed upon him. Not the reason for
God's grace, but the result of God's grace. Paul said, but by
grace, by the grace of God, I am what I am. That's the only difference. You and I are different from
all other men around us. It's simply the grace of God.
We don't exalt ourselves and say, look what I've done or look
who I am. We only say, look to Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God. It's Him who taketh away my sin. It's Him who satisfied the justice
of God. It's Him who told us who we are
and teaches us who we are in Christ. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of
works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good work, that God had before ordained
that we should walk in them. See, these things are not of
ourselves. It is of God and God alone that
gives us this grace. Look on down in verse 10. We'll
read a few more verses here. And Noah begat three sons, Shem,
Ham, and Japheth. The earth was also corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked
upon the face of the earth, and behold, it was corrupt. For all
flesh, now look at this, all flesh, all flesh had corrupted
his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end
of all flesh, man and beast. The end of all flesh has 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. This was God's
command to Noah. Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Room shalt thou make in the ark,
and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. God commanded
Noah. Once God had shown him grace
and given him grace in his heart, God spoke to Noah and said, Noah,
build an ark. What did the man of God do? He built an ark. He built an
ark. When God says, come unto Me,
what do the sons of God do? They come unto Him. The preacher may stand and tell
men, come to Christ, come to Christ, come to Christ, and they
may never move. But when God speaks, when God
speaks to your heart, you will come. You will come. There's
nothing that will stop you or can stop you from coming. I must
come to Him. I must have Him. I must worship
Him. Thy people, thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. Years ago, we was in a false religion and
there was a man that came several times to our building and someone
told me later on that he stood in the back of the church and
he was gripping the seats and we had this thing of altar calls
and all this garbage. And later on the man said that
he was resisting God. His knuckles would turn white,
gripping the backs of the seat. I'm resisting God. Foolish. Foolish. When God says come, you will
come. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. As Noah prepared the ark, he
preached. He preached unto his generation. You can read that
in Genesis, or in 1 Peter chapter 3, I believe it is. But they
refused to come. No doubt Noah proclaimed God's
going to destroy the earth. God is going to judge sin. God
is going to condemn sin. Come into the ark. And they no
doubt laughed. Refused to come. Refused to come. Now look down in Genesis 7 in
verse 1. That by the grace of God, Noah
believed. And when the ark was finished, Before the first drop of rain
fell, Noah entered that ark and God shut the door. That's a picture
of Christ again. That's a picture of Christ. Genesis
7, verse 1. And the Lord said unto Noah,
Come thou and all thine house into the ark. For thee have I
seen righteous before me in this generation. of every clean beast
thou shalt take of thee seven, the male and his female, and
of the beasts that are not clean, by two, the male and his female,
of fowls of the air, by seven, and the male and his female,
to keep the seed alive upon the face of all the earth. And yet seven days, seven days,
and I will cause it to rain. Never before had rain fell on
the earth. Never before. This is something
that never happened before. Again, that's a picture of Christ.
Never before had rain fell from the earth. The scripture says
that there was a mist that came up out of the ground that watered
the earth, that supplied the water that was needed for the
vegetation. But this thing, this thing of
rain, It's going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights. And every
living substance, every living substance that I have made, I
will destroy from the face of the earth. And Noah did according
to all that God had commanded him. There is a decree of God
and an everlasting covenant of mercy made only in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is ordained. It is ordained
of God. for the salvation of a number
which no man can number. This thing of election is not
salvation. You are elect unto salvation. Salvation doesn't come. Oh, I'm
elect. I'm saved. You're elected to
salvation. You're elected to come to Christ.
You're chosen to believe on Christ. You're chosen to worship and
serve Christ. Our doing does not add to our
justification. Our doing is simply a response
of what God has done for us, not only in the head, but in
the heart. These, that number which no man
can number, our Lord calls Him, My sheep, My sheep hear My voice,
and they come unto Me. They are called the redeemed.
They have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. They
believe and they willingly come to Christ, which is the ark of
their safety. So how does this ark picture
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? A rough pile of logs, chewed
out. Now you imagine Noah building
this ark. What it took, what it took to
build an ark. You and I go out and build a
dog house with electric saws. Noah had none of these. No, I
had none of these tools. So I'm sure this ark was a rough
looking piece of wood, chewed out, logs tied together, and
it was a monstrous of an ark, a boat. This ark was the only
way of deliverance. The first way that this ark pictures
Christ. Look at Genesis chapter 7, verse
17. And the flood was 40 days upon the earth. And
the waters increased and bore up the ark, and it was lifted
above the earth. And the waters prevailed and
were increased greatly upon the earth. And the ark went upon
the face of the water, and the water prevailed exceedingly upon
the earth. And all the high hills that were
under, the whole heavens were covered. Fifteen cubic upwards
did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered, and all
flesh died that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle,
and of beasts, and of every creeping thing that creeped upon the earth,
and every man, all in whose nostrils was breathed
the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land died. This
water, this rain, You guys have had a lot of rain down here,
but you know you've not had one drop more than that was needed,
and you have not had one drop less than what it took. Our God's
in control. There was not a drop of rain
fell upon the earth at that time that was not needful. And as
far as I can calculate, if my measurements and these weights
and balances in the back of our Bible is correct, this water
was 22 and a half feet above every mountain, every tree, and
every hill. 22 and a half feet deep down
to the very point of the earth. No wonder everything died. And it was there for 40 days. Nothing can swim that long. No
animal can survive that long. No bird can stay in the air that
long. This was God bringing justice upon the earth because of sin. So the ark was the only refuge.
The only refuge was the ark that Noah built. And so it is. Christ is our only refuge. I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the
Father but by me. I and my Father are one. Come
unto me, he said. Come unto me, and I'll give you
peace and rest for your soul. Paul said in Acts 4, verse 10,
Be it none unto all you, and all the people of Israel, that
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you've crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand
here before you whole. This is the stone. which was
set at naught of you builders, which become the head of the
corner. Neither is our salvation. This ark was the only foundation,
the only refuge, the only safe place. So is Christ. Neither
is our salvation than any other, for there's none other name given
under heaven, whereby men must be saved. Come unto me, he said,
come unto me, and I'll give you rest. Come unto me. How was this
done? How was this done in the mind
and purpose of God? It was done by Jesus Christ coming
into the world and assuming our nature, our sin nature. How was he our only sacrifice,
our only acceptable sacrifice before God, and our only safe
dwelling in this thing of sin? It is that he was made sin for
us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That again, I don't understand. I don't understand how the Holy
Son of God can be made sin, but the scripture says He is. And
we must believe it as it is. And how am I made righteous?
To the same point that He is made sin, I am made righteous. I take upon myself, or He gives
unto me, His righteousness. And He takes upon Himself my
sin. And there we see that we were
made righteous before God in His suffering, His life, His
death, and His resurrection, ascension back unto the Father.
All this was possible. How? Because God showed grace
unto a people. And God was pleased to punish
their sin in a sacrifice, in a substitute. And behold, there
He is. Oh, we like sheep have gone astray.
We have every one turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid
on Him the iniquity of us all. John said in 1 John chapter 5,
He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in himself. That's you and I. That believe
upon the Son of God, God has put the witness within our hearts.
to testify one to another, to tell one another what great things
Christ has done for me. And that's what we attempt to
do. We stand before you and we tell you what great things Christ
has done for me. And we have this witness in ourselves.
He that believeth not God has made him a liar because he believes
not the record that God gave of his son. And this is the record.
This is the record that God has given of his son. That God has
given unto us eternal life and this life is in his son. He that
has the son, he that has the son has life. He that has not
the son has not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the son of God that you may
know that you may know, this is not a doubtful thing. This
is not something, oh, I hope I make it in, or I'm going to
wait until the last day to see if I make it. No, we know. The
Spirit of God takes abode in our hearts, and we know that
we are children of God. We know that the grace of God
has been shed upon us. We know that Christ has redeemed
us from our sins. We know that we are His, and
He is mine. We know it. We understand it
because God enlightens us and teaches us and gives us an understanding
that He is mine and He is all I need. The second way that this ark
pictures our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This ark was big
enough for all who came. All who came. This is the fashion in Genesis
chapter 6 and verse 15. This is the fashion which thou
will make it. The length of the ark shall be
300 cubic. And again, if our calculations
are right, it's some 400 foot long. The length of the ark shall
be 300 cubic, the breadth of it 50 cubic, and the height of
it 30 cubic. It was 400 foot long, 75 foot
wide, and 45 foot tall, if my calculations are right. Make
thee an ark of gopher wood, and room shall I make it, and pitch
it within without. This ark had enough room for
all of Noah's family. Now you think of this. How many
animals, how many fowls, how many creeping things came into
that ark, but yet it had enough room for all of Noah's family,
all the animals, all the birds, all the creeping things, and
all the supply that they needed for their journey. Even so, our Redeemer is sufficient. He
is sufficient to save to the uttermost all that come unto
God by Him. The old song says, I need no other argument. I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died
and that He died for me. It's enough. He is enough. Brother Henry said, if He's all
we have, He's enough. He's enough. The cross on which
Jesus died is a shelter in which we can hide, and its grace so
free is sufficient for me, and deep is its fountain as wide
as the sea. If we have Him, He's all we need. All we need. Truly, He's able. He's able. He's able to do all
that He's promised. He's able to save to the uttermost
all who come unto Him. Paul said, He's able to keep
that which I've committed unto Him. He's able to keep me from
falling. He's able to present me before
the very throne of God spotless, holy, and righteous in God's
own sight. How does this ark picture our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? He's a safe refuge, able to survive
the flood. That ark sat upon that water
for 40 days. It rained. And that ark, I'm
sure they wasn't bailing water out. There was no water in the
ark. It was pitched within and without,
which is a picture of Christ. We are covered with His blood
and righteousness. There's no harm there. Therefore,
no condemnation. No condemnation. Nothing can
accuse me before the very throne of God. I need not to stand there
in dread. Is God going to condemn me? No,
if I'm in Christ, He must accept me. He must accept me. Not because of who I am, but
because of my standing before Him. I stand in Christ, and He
must accept me. This ark was made of gopher wood,
and it was pitched within and without, meaning it was covered
with what they call, or what we call tar-like substance. Designed
by God, and provided by God. Is this not a picture of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? He was sent into the world to
save his people. Designed of God, sent of God,
and given of God. This ark pictured Christ, our
sure foundation, our safe refuge, a secure hiding place. He cannot
fail. He cannot fail. There was no
possible way that this ark was going to sink. God was in control
of it. and there's no possible way that
you and I can fall out of Christ. God has put us in Christ and
He will keep us there. This thing of backsliding and
this thing of falling away, it's abomination in the eyes of God.
Am I not able to do with my own what I will? Our Lord said in John 10, verse
27, My sheep, now goats may come, and join the congregation. And
goats will leave. But My sheep, My sheep, our Lord
said, they hear My voice. And I know them. And they follow
Me. And I give unto them eternal
life. What is that? What is that? That is the life of God that
He has given unto us. And they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand, My Father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Paul said, for I am persuaded,
I'm confident, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor thing present, nor thing to come, nor height,
nor depth, or any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Stand
fast in the liberty wherewith He has given us, made us free. And don't be entangled again
in this thing of yoke of bondage. Don't be entangled in this thing
of sin. Look to Christ and live and live forever. Know of safety. Noah's safety did not depend
upon his seamanship. That probably was the first time
that Noah was on a boat. There was no stern wheel on this
boat. There was no rudder to guide it in the back. God's hand
guided it. God's hand brought it to where
it was. And God protected it. And God caused it to float. So
it is with Christ. We don't have a stern wheel on
Christ. It's not, oh, I'm going to go this way and Christ is
going to go with me. No. No. We follow Him. We are led by Him. His Spirit
indwells within us and we cannot forsake Him and He will not forsake
us. Quickly, let me give you two
more points here. The ark had but one door and one window. Another picture of Christ. It
says, a window shall thou make, in Genesis chapter 6 and verse
16, a window shall thou make to the ark, and a cubic shall
thou finish it above, and the door of the ark shall be set
in the side thereof with lower, second, and third stories. Evidently,
this ark had three stories. And this door that was let down
had access to all three stories. There was but one door. with
a tall giraffe and a lowly snail. Even so, Christ is the door.
Our Lord said, I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. One door for the rich, for the
poor. One door for the old and the
young. One door for the Jew and the
Gentile. One door. I am the way. I am
the door. that any man cometh unto the
Father, he must come by me. The ark had one window. This
window was above in the ark. It was not in the side of the
ark where the people could sit down and look out the window
and see the destruction, see the great waves, see the water
rays, their friends and their family crying out to save them. Let me in the ark. This window
was above in the ark. It had one purpose. To give light. To give light. So what is with
Christ? He is the light of the world.
He is the window by which light comes to us. He is that one by
which all grace and mercy and truth comes to us. He is the
source by which God gives us faith in Him and Him alone. For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has
shined in our heart to give us the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And this art
brought them safely through the flood. It brought them safely
to their destination. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh unto me I
will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven Not
to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this
is the Father's will which He has sent me. Of all which He
has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise Him up again
to the last day." That art pictured Christ. Someone wrote, firm as
His throne, His gospel stands. My Lord, my hope, my trust. If
I am found in Jesus' hand, my soul can never be lost. His honor
is engaged to keep me. the weakest of his sheep, all
that his Heavenly Father gave, his hands securely keep. Nor
death nor hell shall ever remove his people from his breast, and
the dear bosom of his love, they shall forever rest. That's our
hope in Christ.