It's been such a joy. I have enjoyed myself so much
with the sweet fellowship that you're in this place, the presence
of the Lord. I appreciate your pastor inviting
me. I appreciate the health and strength
the Lord gave me to be here. Thank you, ladies, for the fine
food, for your labors in this community. I appreciate your
pastor and his dear wife and their children. How the Lord
has blessed them. Some people have told me that
they have difficulty understanding some of my words. And I always say, well, you know
what I meant. There is no such thing as plumb. being used for finished. That's
it. I went downstairs and looked
in the dictionary. But we knew exactly what Cody
meant, didn't we? And that's what I keep telling
people. Do you understand what I meant? I was preaching at Todd Maverick's
one time, and I'm saying, I don't make these things up. I use words that no one has ever
heard of. And I thought perseverance was pronounced perseverance. Hey, say that word, Paul. I can't
even say it. Preservation, perseverance, preservation. Perseverance of the saints. And
one of the fellows there, one of the educated fellows asked
Paul, he said, he said, now I've looked and there's no such word. And Paul said, Bruce knows that. He's come up with a word that
includes perseverance and preservation. So, the next time I went back
down there, I said, in my ignorance, I know more than you fellas do
in all your wisdom. I long to be plumb saved. In Genesis chapter 8 and beginning
in verse 1. Genesis chapter 8 and verse 1. And God remembered Noah. And that's my subject today.
And every living thing and all the cattle that was with him
in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the
waters subsided, swathed. The fountains also of the deep
and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven
was restrained. And the waters returned from
off the earth continually, and after the end of the hundred
and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in
the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon a mountain
of Ariadne." God remembers Noah. These great fountains of the
deep had been broken up. And only our imagination can begin to enter into the violence
of that, gushing to the surface of the earth, splitting into
our mountains. All the moisture that was in
the atmosphere was gathered together in the heavens, and gates were
opened as windows. and it had poured out upon this
earth. The dark clouds had come overhead,
and it rained for forty days and forty nights. The Scripture tells us that the
highest hills in all of this earth are Great Rockies, the
Swiss Alps, Mount Nebo, Lebanon with her mighty cedars were all
underwater. And all that could be seen in
all of this world was this solitary ark riding upon the face of these
waters, a boundless ocean of death and destruction. And I've often wondered what
the attitude of these were that were in that ark. Beneath them
lay a dead and buried world. All that were kept alive was
Noah and his family and those animals that were in this ark.
Everything else had been taken away, had been destroyed. And
I've often wondered if Noah, in his heart of hearts, did not
think, why me? Why am I left when everyone else
is taken away? Why have I been secured when
everything else has been given over to this awful flood? Why
me? I imagine he thought himself
to be the most unworthy man in all of this world. the most unprofitable,
the chief of sinners. Why me? Why should I be left?"
And the answer always came back, and it was always the same. Even
so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. Wrath has its vessels,
and mercy has its vessels. The justice of God will have
its vengeance. But the grace of God shall bring
it salvation. And here was this man shut up
in this ark. Who was he? He was a man who
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. That's where we trace it
all back to. That's where he traced his back
to. And because of grace, he believed God, and he built an
ark. And he became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith. And God called him into this
ark and shut him in the ark. But the same God who called him
and shut him in never forgot about him. God remembered Noah
when all of these floodwaters was upon the earth and all the
mountains could not be seen. In the time of this awful wrath,
God remembers mercy. Oh, Habakkuk said, I've heard
you speak. I've heard you speak. I've heard your voice, and it
made me tremble. Oh, revive your work in the midst
of the years. In the midst of the years, make
known. Make what known? Mercy. In the time of wrath, remember God never put Noah in this ark
just so he could exist in misery. He put him in this ark to preserve
him. He put him in this ark to hide
him from the awful wrath that came upon the world of the ungodly. And he put him in this ark to
bring him into a new world, a world that had been cleansed by the
awful judgment of God. And brothers and sisters, God
does not put a man in Christ and forget about him. God don't put a man in Christ
and put him on probation to see if he can make it to heaven.
God puts a man in Christ to hide him from the awful indignation
that's coming upon this world, to punish the inhabitants of
it. But God will remember that man. And he'll bring him out
into a new world, a new heavens and a new earth
where he will dwell in righteousness. God remembered Noah. Let me give you four things right
quickly that you and I want the Lord to remember us for. Here's
what I want the Lord to remember. I want you to turn with me to
Job chapter 14. The old chapter 14. I want the Lord and you want
the Lord to remember you. Lord, remember me. God remembers people. God remembers
everybody. He don't forget anybody. He remembers the wicked to punish
them for their sin. God remembered Amalek and had
him hewed to pieces. I want God to remember me in
mercy. According to your mercies, Lord,
remember me for thy goodness sake. And look here what Job
said. In Job chapter 14, look in beginning
in verse 7. There's hope of a tree. if it
be cut down, it'll sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof
will not cease. Though through the root thereof
wax old in the earth, and the stalk thereof die in the ground,
yet through the scent of water it'll bud. It'll bring forth
bulbs like a plant, but man doth, and he wastes away. Yea, man
giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from
the sea, and the flood decayeth and dryeth up, so man lieth down,
and he riseth not, till the heavens be no more. They shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep. Oh, that thou wouldst hide me,
hide my soul in Christ, hide my body in the grave, that thou
wouldst keep me in secret until thy wrath be passed, that thou
wouldst appoint me a said time, and remember me." Remember me. Oh, he said, if a man dies, shall
he live again? Oh, yeah, he'll live again. It's
appointed unto men once to die, but that's not the finality.
After this, the judgment. Oh, by appointed that time, will
I wait? till my change come, and thou
shalt call, and I will answer thee. Thou wilt have a desire
to the work of thy hand." Oh, God, remember me. When the storms
of life are raging, remember me. When I'm tried and I'm tested
and my heart's so heavy I can hardly breathe, remember me.
In family trials, remember me. When death, cold dew, lies upon
my brow, Lord, remember me. When I stand before you in judgment,
and all humanity has been assigned their long home, the righteous
to life eternal, and the wicked to everlasting ruin, remember
me." Oh, God, remember me. What if God had forgotten Noah?
No, he'd have stuck in that prison. just existent, but, oh, brothers
and sisters, it will never happen. God doesn't put man in Christ
to forget about Him. Lord, remember me. Look thou upon me and be merciful
unto me, and do unto me as thou used to do to them that love
thy name. He remembered no one. He'll remember
me. He'll remember you. That's a
good plea, ain't it? Do to me as what he used to do
to them that left. He remembers them. He remembers
them. Secondly is this. I want the
Lord to remember what I am. I want him to remember my utter,
utter weakness. My helplessness. my uselessness,
my unprofitableness. Isn't that scripture? Should
we talk like this? Is it just a lack of self-esteem
that we're so down on ourselves? There was a time in my life and
probably a time in your life where you tried your best to
impress God. I'll show him what I know, I'll
show him what I can do. Oh, I can do great things for
God. Until he took in hand to teach
us of ourselves, that we're nothing, that we're less than nothing,
that in our best state we're nothing but altogether vanity.
If a man thinks himself to be something when he's nothing,
he's nothing. He deceives himself. And God
has so fairly taught us this, we're scared to death that he's
going to forget it. There was a time when we didn't
want him to know us. It scared us. It scared us. He
knows me. Oh, he knows me. Oh, but now
we're scared to death he's going to forget what we are. As far as the East is from the
West, So far have I removed your iniquities from you. Like as
a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear
him. He knoweth our frame, and he
never forgets it. He remembers that we are dust. That's all. Don't that make you
happy? He don't put any confidence in
you. His confidence is in another. What if he had said to Noah,
I've got you above the flood, got you through the worst of
it, you're going to have to get the rest of the way by yourself.
I've left this for you to do. This is what I'm requiring of
you. What would that have left Noah?
Here he sat in that prison, that narrow prison, and all he could
do was hope. and trust and wait. He couldn't
even do that apart from God's grace. But that's all he could
do. I heard Brother Mahan, your dad,
say one time, he said, If God got us within ten foot of the
gates of heaven, instead you'd come the rest of the way yourself.
He said, we'd never make it in. Why? That's just what we are. And God remembers. And thirdly
is this, and I imagine this was up on Noah's mind, Lord, remember
the covenant. Look here with me in the sixth
chapter of Genesis. Lord, remember the covenant.
Look here in the sixth chapter in verse 17. This is the first time the word
covenant is mentioned. And look here at what is concerning
in verse 17 of Genesis chapter 6. Here's what the Lord said
to Noah. 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. will I establish my covenant,
and thou shalt come into the ark." Here's the covenant. Thou
shalt come into the ark. Thou, thy sons, thy wife, and
thy son's wife 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.
But that was the covenant that God made with Noah. And can you
imagine, as Noah set in that ark? What do you think? You know,
sometimes we think of these things and we don't think rightly. We
don't use our imagination. What do you think it was like
in that ark? We get the idea that they just laid around and
talked and chatted. and petted the animals. Can you imagine what it was like
being in that little narrow prison? When those mighty gates of heaven
turned loose upon the earth, it beat upon the ark. That violence
from underneath, how that ark stood on its end
and then on its other, felt like it was going to roll over. Have any of you ever took a cruise
and got caught in a storm? You see pictures of these old
World War II documentaries, and sometimes they'll show those
fellows hanging over the side of the ship. Can you imagine
what it was like being in that ark for those first 40 days in
1949? They were in there for over a
year. Can you imagine the smell? I don't think it was that easy.
I think probably they had to hold on just to keep them dashing
about in that place. You think this man and his family
ever had any doubts and fears and apprehensions of what was
going on outside that ark? There are some people that promote
this ideal of being a Christian. It's just fun and happiness and
carefree. Oh, I know we have peace. Oh,
do we ever have peace? But believers know something
about trouble, too, don't they? Think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial, fierce trial, which is to try you as though
some strange thing happened And yet, in spite of us reading that
and knowing that, what do we think when we fall into these
five trials? This is strange. This is strange. Lord, when my heart's overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that's higher than I am. What was it that comforted
David during his trouble? Remember the word unto thy servant. That's what Noah wanted the Lord
to remember. Remember the covenant. Remember
the oath. This is what the old timers used
to ask the Lord. And the scripture says he remembered
for them his covenant. And he had mercy upon them. You go sometime and read the
89th Psalm, says so much of the covenant God made with his son. Read that, read that chapter,
89th Psalm. I found David with my holy oil, have I anointed
him. My covenant shall stand fast with him. If his children
sin against me, I'll visit their transgressions with a rod, their
iniquities with strife. He chastens those whom he loves."
But he said, nevertheless, my mercy will not take from him.
The covenant is between God and His Son. And we're always saying,
Oh, God, remember the covenant. And sometimes you see it as a
covenant. Other times you see it as a promise in the scripture.
It goes under all kinds of different names. Let me tell you one place
that you're very familiar with. All that the Father giveth me.
That's the covenant. That's the covenant. What's the
Father's part? All that he's given me. God given
him a great host. And what does he say? Invincible
grace, irresistible grace, they shall come to me. All which he's
given me, I should lose nothing. That's his part of the covenant.
This is a covenant of a triune God. The God the Father gave
them to the Son. He accepted them, became responsible
for them, and the Holy Spirit secures their coming. There's
the covenant, and you find it all the way through the Scripture.
And boy, I tell you, when our poor vessel stands on its end,
and our hearts are overwhelmed, what's our plea? Remember the
grace. Remember the word unto thy servant. His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in. When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and my stay. Fourthly is this. I want the Lord to remember this,
how short my time is. Psalms 89 and verse 47. Lord, remember how short my time
is. I was two days ago. Martha Richardson
died, and I went over to the funeral. I've got to spend some
time alone with Scott. I've got to talk to him and tell
him how much I appreciate his preaching, and how men all across
this country, and even places in the world, God has used that
man to bless his people. And you know what he told me?
He said, It's over with now. My course is finished, he said.
All I'm doing now is waiting. Whatever I did, he said, it's
done. He can hardly cook enough to
eat and survive. He can hardly get to church.
It's over with. His course is finished. And boy,
I begin to think about that. Lord, remember how short my time
is. If you and I, brothers and sisters,
are going to do anything, we better do it now. If you're going
to preach, you better do it now. If you're going to teach, you
better do it now. If you've got a track, you better
hand it out. If you've got a CD message on
it, you better do it now. A couple of weeks ago, we'd been
trying to get internet and cable TV in our area. They finally
called us, and they came out a couple of weeks ago and put
it in. I've got that high-speed internet. Don't know how to use
it. I've got unlimited phone service. I can talk all I want
to now. It don't cost me any more. And
I've got cable channels. What cables can I possibly watch?
And as I tried to get on there and run through some places,
I found out that what I needed to hear and wanted to see was
so full of clutter, I couldn't hardly find it. You know, brothers and sisters,
we have a lot of liberty to do a lot of things. But do we have
time? Our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed. The night is far spent. Our time
is shortened. Lord, give me a heart to believe. Give me a will to surrender.
Give me understanding to go out and to come in. Give me a will
to work and to go and do for your glory. Because I ain't got
much time. Remember that. Oh, Christ Jesus
has a fame that needs to be spread abroad, and we ain't got much
time to do it. This community needs to know we ain't got much
time. There's prayers to be prayed. There's Bibles to be read. There's
lost that need prayer. Oh, our time is short. Lord,
remember that. The second thing I wanted you
to see this morning is this. God remembered Noah. Was there
any way that Noah could have known that God remembered him?
I want him to remember me. Was there any way that he could
have known? He did remember Noah. I just don't want him to remember
me. I want to know him. I just don't want to know him.
I want to know I know him, don't you? I just don't want to be
saved. I want to know it. I want to
live in the assurance of it. Is there any way that Noah could
have known? Yes, God has remembered. I'm
not talking about now when he got out of the ark on dry land
and built the altar. Anybody could have known it then.
Anybody could perceive it. Oh, God's not forgot about us.
He's remembered. I'm talking about what was still
upon those waters. while the floods had still covered
the mountains. Is there any way he could have
known then that God was in the place? Do you know how he could
have known it? All of this noise that had been
going on, the waters gushing up from beneath Those tsunamis
falling in the giant waves, rocking and rolling that arc, all the
popping under the strain of those timbers, wondering, is it going
to hold? Is it going to endure the storm?
All the water pouring from those windows of heaven. And those
thunderclaps all vibrating that arc. Well, you know something? Suddenly there was a calm. Suddenly the fountains from beneath
were stopped and the windows of heaven were shut up. And there
was quietness indeed. You say, Bruce, what are you
saying? I'm just saying this. How could Noah know that God
had remembered him because of what just took place? And all Noah would have to say
is this. Did this ark endure the storm? If it did, then I have too, because
I'm in the ark. How is it with the ark? Well,
it's quiet. It's quiet. It's peaceful. I can tell it. I can tell it. And then that ark came to rest
upon that high, lofty mountain. Not in the mud. weight, guilt,
and sway upon that high and lofty and strong rock," Dirk said. God remembered me. How do you
know? Because He remembered the ark,
and I'm in the ark. You see that? See what I'm saying?
It's because of what He perceived was happening with this ark that
He was in. If the intentions of the Holy
Spirit was by this art to represent to us the Lord Jesus Christ and
that salvation that's in Him and by Him, then you who are in Christ by
faith this morning, you can perceive that God hath
remembered you because He hath remembered your Savior. How is it with the Lord Jesus
Christ this morning? I'm not saying how is it with
you? How is it with your feelings? How is it with him? The waters that fell upon the
old world and destroyed them never fell upon Noah and his
They fell upon the ark instead. So how is it with the ark? Well,
it's quiet. It's endured the storm. It's
come to rest upon this high mountain. Now, brothers and sisters, Jesus
Christ is not a private person. He didn't come into this world
and take our humanity to do anything for Himself. He's a representative. And he took our awful load in
his own body, and the wrath and anger of God was poured out upon
him without measure, and he suffered unto death. But how is it with
him now? Scurgeon used to say, you may
be in a great battle in yourself. Things may not be going well
with you personally, but if you have a dear friend that you love,
And you know that everything is well with him, then that makes
you happy. Well, how is it with your dear
brother that sticketh closer, dear friend that sticketh closer
than a brother? How is it with the Lord Jesus
Christ? It's well. He's at rest. He sat down on the right hand
of the Father in heaven. It's not very well, to be honest
with you, with my children this morning, a couple of them anyway.
It's well with Anna and Gabe. And that just fills me to death.
I don't have the assurance of being saved that I'd love to
have. But I tell you, I tell you what gives me assurance.
I know that Christ is saved in my spirit. He went to there,
he went there to the garden. Oh, I love this. I loved to begin
there at the garden and follow him through the judgment hall
and the cross. He went there at the garden of Gethsemane,
and oh, he saw what was coming. He knew those waterspouts of
heaven. Oh, they began to crack already, and he felt the earth
churning underneath him. He knew what was coming. He comprehended
that, and he began to sweat drops of blood on the coal mine, and
he said, If there's any way I can save
my people without drinking this cup, let it pass from me. You know what that cup is? Oh,
you take your sins and put them in a cup, and you take the justice
of God and put them in there with your sins. That's that cup. What is that? It's wrath. It's
indignation. Ye who pass by, he said, behold
and see if there's any sorrow like unto my sorrow. wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger,
his wrath. Deep calleth unto deep that the
noise of thy waters spout, all thy waves and thy billows have
gone over me." He stood in our room. He stood in our stead. The wrath that is coming soon
upon this world to punish the wicked fell upon Jesus Christ. And it cannot fall upon us who
are in Christ. God cannot pay me twice demand. First and last at my bleeding
surety's hands. You mean he was a surety? Yes.
And oh my, how he trembled. of those waters coming into his
soul were tremendous, wave after wave after wave, until finally
he said, it's finished. It's done. What's finished? What's
finished? Everything that you owe to sin,
everything you owe to justice, everything you owe to the demands
of God's law, it's been paid. It's finished. Look at those
floodgates. They're still open, but there's nothing coming out
of them. Heaven's dry. Where's the sin? It was upon
Him. Where's it at now? It's gone.
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And how is it with Him now, brother?
All that's over with. There's quietness. Can you not
perceive in your heart by faith this evening and enter into a
measure of His rest? It's not something you work up
in yourself. It's his rest. He's obtained
it. He's entered in. And we sit down
with him and rest with his rest. My peace I leave with you. What
peace? That peace I've obtained through the blood of my Father.
That's the peace we have. It's his. It's well with him. It's well. He's at rest. There
in that place where he'll never be disturbed. An old illustration I've used
for years, and I love it. A fellow told me years ago that
he had read this illustration of back in when they were leaving
the eastern United States and going out west, and there was
a wagon train out in the plains states. The grass had grown thick,
and it got high and dry. And they were out in the middle
of that grass going west. And they saw the smoke coming.
They realized there was a fire. They had no way to get out of
it. They were going to consume them. Some of the men lit a fire in
the grass and burned down a huge area. And they pulled their wagons
in a circle in that burned out area. And all of them sat down
there and watched the fire and the smoke. And there was a man
and his little boy standing in there with one of the wagons
looking out. The little boy tugged on his dad's breeches leg and
said, Daddy, are we going to be burned up? He said, No, son,
we're not going to be burned up. And then a minute he tugged on
his breeches leg again. He said, But Daddy, I see the
fire. I see the smoke rising up in
the air. You sure we're not going to be
burned up? No, son, we're not going to be burned up. And the
minute he tugged again, he said, Daddy, how do you know? How do
you know we ain't going to be burned up? He said, Son, listen
to me. We're standing where the fire
has already been. That's what I'm saying, brothers
and sisters. How is it with the Lord Jesus Christ as it is with
him? So it is with you who are in
him. He's already born the wrath of
God. He's already been cursed. He'll never bear it again. There
is no more. Can I enter into that this evening?
You that are in Christ, God, for Christ's sake, will never
touch you again with His wrath. Some people are telling us today
we ought to deal more with practical things. We ought to get beyond
this gospel. We need to preach on the family,
being good citizens. You know how to make a good husband
out of a man. You know how to make a man love
his wife and put her on a pedestal and adore her. You know how to
make a tender wife and a good mother. You know what to make
a good neighbor and a good citizen. Preach the gospel to them. Preach
the gospel. You know what our problem is?
We just keep forgetting. And it's when we forget it that
we cease to be a good husband. And we cease to be a good wife.
And we cease to love our neighbor. Preach the gospel and everything
else will take its proper place. Thank you so much. Thank you,
dear pastor. Thank you precious God bless you. It's been good. Amen. Let the redeemed of the
Lord say so. All right, we're going to sing
a closing hymn, number 187, 187. We'll sing about what we've been
doing, what has brought us together this week, this tie, this tie
that binds us, this gospel. It's so great salvation that
it made us members of the family. You did preach on family. To
the family. Let's be the time. I'm a 187
and as we sing this, the ladies can go down and be getting ready
and preparing the food. 187, let's stand as we sing.