Genesis 7, verse 22 and 23, All
in whose nostrils was the breath of life, and all that was in
the dry land died, and every living substance was destroyed
which was upon the face of the ground. Both man and cattle and
creeping things and fowl of the heavens, they were destroyed
from the earth. And Noah only remained alive,
and they that were with him in the ark. As we said before, we are not trying to prove God's
Word. God doesn't prove himself. The
heavens declare his glory. The firmament showeth his handiwork.
Men are without excuse. But the fact is, God does reveal
Himself, reveal the truth to whom He will. He reveals Himself
to His people. He hides Himself from all others,
though He is clearly seen. Yet He hides Himself from the
wise and the prudent. And I don't want us to miss,
in studying this, I don't want us to miss the urgency of the
fact that we better be found in Christ, that the time is very
short, very near. As in the days of Noah, our Lord
said, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. And we are
either in Christ or we're not. And we just read where it says
if we're not, we're going to be destroyed. That's how serious
it is. This isn't just a Bible study.
It really is a matter of life or death. And each time I look at this,
I see a greater sense of urgency because I see the sign of the
times. The sky is very clear to read.
It's red and lowering. It says, Only those with Noah
in the ark were saved. All flesh died. All flesh died,
but everybody in the ark lived. It really is that simple. There are only two types of people
in the world. God looks at all mankind under
two distinctions. In Adam, dead. In Christ, alive. Outside the
ark, inside the ark. It doesn't matter who you are,
what you are, what you look like, what you know, what you've done,
what you own, what you can do, what you can't do. That doesn't
matter. All that matters is, are you
in Christ? Right? Isn't that the way it's
said? Those outside, die. Those in, live. That's the message. It really
is that simple, and that's what this whole book is about in Christ
and in the very beginning, in Adam, all died. But Christ came, our Noah, our
ark, and he came that we might have life and all those in him. Now, it's not just a sermon,
as I said, not just a study of doctrine, but a message of life
or death. Now, look with me here at what
it means. to be with Noah, that's the title
of it, with Noah in the ark. With Noah in the ark. Noah and
the ark represent Christ. Christ is all in and of. Noah is Christ. He's the one
who built the ark. He's the one that God found righteous. Look at chapter 7, verse 1. 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. There's none righteous, no, not
one. The Lord looked down from heaven
to see if there were any. He said there's none good, no,
not one, none righteous. Altogether become unprofitable. But the scripture says, the Lord
is well pleased for his righteousness, for Christ's righteousness. There
came a man, walked this earth 2,000 years ago. The Lord from
glory and God from heaven said, I am well pleased. This is my
beloved son. This is the one that I sent to
give life. This is the representative. This is the second Adam from
above. This is your ark. This is your
ark. Believe Him. Trust Him. Look
to Him. If you are found in Him, you I see righteous. You I see
righteous. If you're in Him, you'll be righteous
in Him. Christ, the Righteous One. He
came to this earth to keep alive. Verse 3. It says in verse 3,
"...the fowls of the air, seven, male and female, to keep seed
alive upon the face of all the earth." God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son. Why? That he that believeth
might not perish. Whosoever believes might not
only perish, but have eternal life, to keep a seed, a remnant
of mankind alive, like Noah and that ark. And God said that He
made Christ a body, like that ark, a body in which He condemned
sin in His own flesh. Look at those that were with
Noah in this ark. Who were they? Who were they?
How did they get here? Verse 2 and 3, clean beasts by
sevens, male and female. Verse 3, fowls of the air, sevens,
male and female. Well up in verse 8, it says clean
beasts and everything that creepeth on the earth, all sorts were
with Noah in that ark of every sort. Go with me to Revelation
chapter 7. And who is in Christ? Who did God choose? Well, look at Revelation 7. Verse 9, it says, After this
I beheld, and lo, a great multitude Like in that ark, there were
a lot of animals, weren't there? I don't know how many there were,
but there were a lot. Two of every unclean and seven
of every clean animal. There's a reason for that. Six for the service of man and
one for the service of God. When they got off that ark, Noah
sacrificed one, a male, firstborn of each clean animal. lambs,
goats and so forth unto the Lord. That's why, have you ever thought
of why there aren't herds of lions running around? Anybody
ever, can science explain that? Why there aren't herds of lions
and tigers and bears? Oh my! Why is that? Because two unclean went on that
ark. Why are there herds of antelope
and elk out west in Alaska, as far as the eye can see, millions
upon millions of herds of running out there. Wow, seven of those
went on the ark. That's just a footnote there.
At any rate, in Revelation it says, "...of great multitude,
which no man could number, of all nations and kindred and people
and tongues before the Lamb." God has a people out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, tongue, and people on the earth. He's
chosen a people out of male and female, out of every tribe. And look at chapter 5. Go back
to Revelation 5. Look at verse 9. Here's what
they all say. They sung a new song saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book Thou wast slain and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests,
and we shall reign on earth." They all know why they were there.
They all know why they are there, because Christ brought them there.
All those animals, if they had a mind, they knew that they were
there because Noah brought them there. God told Noah, you go find them. You go call them. You go bring
them. And God drew them to Noah in
the ark. And everyone that's in Christ
is there because God chose them, because the Holy Spirit calls
them, because the Father draws them, because Christ went as
the Great Shepherd and round them up, because the Holy Spirit
rounds them up. They all are there because of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they know it. They know it. That's
who is there, and that's why they're there. That's why. And in the Revelation, it also
says, they that are with him, those that are with him are the
called, the chosen, and faithful. Faithful to his glory. Faithful
to his honor. That's all they do in heaven.
That's all they do in the kingdom of God. is give Him all the glory
in the church. If this is His church, His body
in Christ, what are we doing? Well, we're going to do this
more. Who are we going to talk about? Why do we come? What am
I going to say? What's my message all about?
This is going to be about Him. If you're in Christ, if it's
a church, if they're the people of God in Christ, if they're
the true worshipers of God, they worship God and rejoice in Christ
Jesus. And that's who we're And that's what we're about.
Look back in our text, it says there's sons, verse 7, of every
kind of beast. Sons, though? Old Ham was a sorry son, wasn't
he? But in that ark, he's a son, isn't he? In that ark, he's just
as much a son as Shammah. Jacob did. My, my. In the ark. It can be a picture, too, of
the visible professing church, those that seem to be. But for
our purposes this morning, the point is everybody is equal and
everybody is the same and all are saved in the ark. Why? Because of them? The lion, was
he strong? Stronger than the lamb? Is that
why the lion was there? No. And they all lie down together,
lying on the land at the feet of Noah. They all know why they're
there. They're all there in peace, all
there in safety, because Noah brought them there, because God
commanded them. His wife, his wife doesn't say
much about Noah's wife in this story, does she? Noah had a wife.
Doesn't say much about her. Do you know anything about Noah's
wife? Do you? I don't either. Why? Because
she's really not important. It's important that she be there.
If she's Noah's wife, she's going to be saved. But she didn't have
anything to do with any of this. It never says she laid a hand
on that ark. It says Noah built it. It doesn't
say she brought anybody in. Noah did. But she's there. And she's his wife. And she's
one. And she's equal with Noah in the ark. Loved by God, saved
by God, with Noah. Seen righteous with Noah. You
see the key here? Very simple message, isn't it?
You're either in the ark, you're with Noah, he either brought
you, or you're not in. You're not in. Not in. One big family. They all went
in, and the reason they did was because God called them, brought
them. One big family. They all became
one in that ark, and all of God's people are one in Christ. No Jew, no Gentile, no male,
no female, no barbarian, no Scythian, no bond, no free, but in Christ
he is all and in all. No distinctions whatsoever, none
whatsoever. Now, in Christ, it doesn't matter
who you are, what you are, what you've done, what you own, what
you know, what you look like. The only thing that matters,
are you in Christ. The only thing that matters.
Alright? Life in the ark. Life in the ark. Do you reckon
that anybody in that ark, Noah's family, ever said, if you'd asked
them, that Ark was a big part of their life. What would they
say? This Ark sure is a big part of
my life. Sounds absurd, doesn't it, when
you think about it. You see, they lived and moved and had
their being in the Ark. Are you with me here? That ark wasn't a part of their
life, it was their life. It's what gave them life. They wouldn't be alive if they
weren't in the ark. Their whole life revolved around,
existed in and about and for and because of and in and through
and to and for and by and in the ark. Now, I can't explain it. But
it's so that if we're alive right now
with God accepted in His kingdom, His children saved, redeemed,
it's because we're in Christ. Right now we are in Jesus Christ. I can't explain that, but it's
so. You can't see Him. but you're
in Him. There may be times where you
can't feel Him, but you're in Him, in His hands. I can't think of a way to illustrate
this other than this. A man and I went on a cruise
one time. A couple paid our way on a... and that's a good illustration.
bought our passage and paid our way completely. It was very expensive,
very expensive to be on board this cruise ship at which everything
is provided. All the meals, everything. It's
that boat, that ship becomes your life. You get on board that
ship wherever you're going. If you get there, it's because
of that ship. If you eat anything, you want
to eat it in the ship. That ship is your life. It maintains
your life. We got on board that ship. Well,
it was so massive. It was so big. It was so overwhelming. It was like a city. It had how
many stories? Seven or eight stories high.
Eight stories high. A ship on the water. Well, after
a while, we were on board that ship. And I forgot it was on
a ship. I thought I was on dry land. I thought I was just in
town somewhere. It was so massive. But I was. We were in that ship. Is that
a good illustration? I don't know. Noah and his family
were on board that ark for a long time. A long time. They could have lost sight of
the fact of what had happened and where they were and what
was going on. And every now and then, we were on that ship, you know,
I remember lying in bed about the second night or whatever. My bed moves. I thought, I'm
on a ship. I'm out in the ocean. I'm floating. I'm not on dry land. That ship
was my life, our life. Did we make it? Well, we're here,
aren't we? Why? It's a captain. It's a ship.
Did we eat? Oh, we fared sumptuously. Did
we have good fellowship? Oh, did we. Bob and Jeanette. That was our life. Christ is
a believer's life, not a part of their life. That ark was Noah
and his family's life. They couldn't eat, they couldn't
drink, they couldn't sleep without thinking about that ark. They
were alive because of it and their life was in it. Though
there were times they may have lost sight of that, Their life
was that ark. Now what did they do while they
were on board that ark? They were on there a year. They
were on board this ship for a year. And I was on a little sailing
vessel one time. Really a better illustration.
There were just a few of us. I was one of six men on board
this 41-foot ship when I got on it. At first, it seemed very
big, very stable and all that. But when we headed out to sea,
I had never been out to sea per se. I had been on a paid fishing,
a three-hour cruise, a three-hour tour. But then the weather started
getting rough. We went out on this sailing ship
and the winds began to be contrary. The ship heeled over 45 degrees
and we were in 8 foot seas. That means we were 8 feet high. I knew I was on a ship then. I knew I was in deep waters then.
We were 150 miles out on the ocean. I couldn't see land anywhere
for days. I knew if I make it, that captain is going to
have to get me back to dry land. But the ship, if I make it, because
of a good captain and a good ship, maybe that's a better illustration. But life on board that ship,
life on board the Ark was all about the Ark. The Ark didn't
need mending. They weren't repairing the Ark.
Noah and his family. It was complete. There was nothing
to add to the ark. It was complete before they got
on it. Is that a good illustration? It was so. He said, Come thou. It's done, Noah. Come, thou and
thy family. When all the animals and all
the family of Noah came into the ark, all they had to do was
come in and two things. Just rest. Come in. All things are prepared. All
things are finished. Christ finished the work. He
said it's finished. We come to Christ not to help save ourselves,
but we come to Him because He's finished the work. To rest in
Him. But secondly, there is something
to do. There's a lot of animals on board and they all need to
eat. They all need feeding. That's pretty much what life
on board the Ark was all about, feeding the animals. And what
our Lord said to Peter that day, Peter, you love me, feed my sheep. He says the same thing to all
of his people. That's what we're doing, serving
one another. The ship, Christ doesn't need
anything. He said, if I were hungry, I wouldn't ask Him. He
doesn't need anything. We don't add to His work or Him
But His people did. Those in Christ need encouragement. Encouragement. They were all
in this together. And as I said, they were on this
ship, this ark, for one year. And you know, the first several
days, or even weeks perhaps, it was exciting, though fearful. exciting, wonderful, and amazing. And yet after time went by, they'd
start getting depressed. You reckon? They'd start getting
discouraged, didn't they? They'd start getting fearful. They're in the ark. They're safe. But they thought, Maybe this
ship won't get to dry land. Maybe it's going to go on forever.
No. That's why you're in the ark.
But they became discouraged. And so they needed to encourage
one another. I'm sure one day Japheth would
be discouraged. Fellas, how long? How long? How long do you reckon
this is going on? Noah? Dad? How long? You reckon
they did? You know they did, don't we?
How long is this going to go on? Lord, how long? That's what Psalm
13 says. How long, O Lord? How long? And we have to encourage one
another. It won't be long now. The Lord said He's going to bring
us to a safe haven. It won't be long now. And we
don't know how long. They didn't know. God did not
tell them how long they were going to be on that ship. He
did not tell them when that ship was going to land. He did not
tell them. He just said, come. And you just wait. You just be
patient. I'm going to send you through
some deep waters. I'm going to send you through
some troubled seas, the storms of life. But you all go through
it together. They all went through the same
things together. They all had the same troubles.
They all had the same trials. They all had the same fears.
They all had the same death. You reckon Noah ever got discouraged?
You know he did. He's a man. He's just a man.
How did he encourage himself? The same way that we did. He encouraged himself in the
promises of God. In the Word of God. It won't
be long now. It won't be long now. It won't
be long now. What did they do on board the
ark? What do they talk about? You have time to read this? You
should have. I gave you time. This has been
written for two weeks, this bulletin. What do they talk about? I know
what they talk about. That's what we talk about, God's
electing grace. Noah, I know every day, he and
Shem and Ham and Japheth and their wives and their sons and
daughters, they talk about, why us? Why are we on this ark when millions
just like us, our friends, our neighbors, our cousins, our uncles,
our aunts, our grandparents, they're not all in this ark. Why are we here? The sovereign
electing grace of God. That's it. That's it. That's
what they talked about. That's what we talk about, isn't
it? They talked about God revealing the truth to them. Why did we
believe God? Noah thought, why did I believe
God? Because God spoke to me. God warned me. Why did I move? Why did I prepare this ark? Why
did I do this when the world scoffed and mucked? Because God
made me willing, David's power. What they talked about was the
fear of the Lord. As the thunder rolled and the
lightning crashed and that boat tossed to and fro, they thought,
God is holy. They heard that rain pounding
against that ark. Really now? Really? Rain pounding,
pounding. They heard for a while the cries,
the shrieks and the horror of the people outside. They heard
that. No hope of mercy anymore. And they thought, God is holy. That's the God who is God. Holy. Why do we believe that?
And they didn't. Sovereign mercy. Sovereign revealing
grace. They talked about the depravity
of man. They thought we ought to be out there too. There's
none righteous. No, not one. Shem, Ham, Japheth,
Noah said, I'm a sinner just like they are. I'm no better
than any of them. I ought to be out there damned like them. The
gravity of man. They talked about the wisdom
of God and the ark as that storm raged on that ark. It was a primitive
vessel. A primitive vessel. A very plain vessel, wasn't it? Oh, what a vessel. They had this
treasure, an earthen vessel. Not one drop of rain came in. They didn't feel one breath of
wind. That ark was safe and sound and
secure. They could feel it, but they
didn't experience any of the wrath of God. They just marveled
at the wisdom of the One that made that ark. My, my, to withstand
that. They talked about their common
troubles, their common doubts, their common fears. They talked
about this too. I wonder what that new earth
is going to be like. I wonder what it's going to be
like. The old one's passed away. Life as we knew it is gone. It
is no more. What's it going to be like? You know they did. They had a
lot of time to talk about it. What's it going to be like? And we look forward to that,
don't we? And look at this in closing. This is a wonderful,
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, I'll say it again, wonderful
picture of Him whose name is wonderful. Tammy, when you comment
on this, I expect you to say, that's wonderful. Alright? Look at it. It says, verse 17,
The flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased,
and bare up The higher those waters got, the
higher that ark got. And that ark was lifted up. Where? Above the earth. Christ said, if I be lifted up
to see the floodwaters of sin, Lord, I'm going down. I'm drowning
over my head, David said in Psalm 38. No, not if you're in ark. Your head is always above water. Well, look at this. It says water
has prevailed and we're increased and sin has prevailed, people.
This world is getting increasingly worse and worse until, like the
Lord said, that's it. I want to destroy man. It's over.
Violence. The whole earth corrupted his
way. Well, the waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the
earth, and the ark went upon the face of the water. The ark
went upon the face of the water. Above it, floated above it all.
Christ said, I have overcome this world. Read on. And the
waters prevailed exceedingly, verse 19, upon the earth. On
the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains
were covered. The waters kept rising, and people
probably went to the highest ground they could find. You know
they did. Started climbing trees where they drowned. And they
went to a mountain and climbed up that mountain. Hood in Washington
or Mount, wherever it is, they went up that mountain where the
waters went over that mountain. And if anybody could climb Everest,
you know, you can brag about that all you will, but it doesn't
matter because the water is going to cover that mountain as high
as you can possibly get. Someone pointed out one time,
maybe people got on board some ships and started sailing. You
can sail all you want to, but that ship is going down. Everything. until the waters covered everything
on planet earth. Are you with me? The waters covered
every single thing on planet earth to the highest of the high
until only one thing was seen above all else. There was one thing. When everything
had died, all flesh died, all glory. All boasting, all saviors. I'm hollering yes, because I'm
opening doors after it's all over. One thing was seen above
it all. Look! Yark. Look, right there's life in them,
just like God said so. And it's all over when this whole
universe is gone. When all flesh dies, one person, one
will be seen seated high and lifted up on his throne. To all
flesh will say, look, he really is all. And God's people are
going to be saying, oh, thank you, Lord, for putting me in
the ark. I see. I see. I see. And that's why we lift it up.
You know, if we're in Him, we rise above it, don't we? They rose above it. They didn't
drown. They're in Him. They're in the
ark. The waters, the flood, the wrath, spent itself on the ark,
and the ark rose above it. And when it's all over, and this
is the next chapter, the Lord is going to open the door and
bring them all out, open the windows, let them say some things,
send out a dove, and so forth. Okay, cool.