And he was on his way to go back
to heaven. The disciples once again asked
him, when would the kingdom be restored to Israel? There was
still confusion about the kingdom of God. And so here in Luke chapter
17, The Pharisees, they come to him and they demand an answer
about the kingdom of God. Now, they expected a literal
kingdom. They expected an earthly kingdom,
as I said, in which Israel would be the dominant country over
all the countries of the earth. Look at chapter 17, verse 20
again. And when he was demanded of the
Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered
them, and this is what he said, the kingdom of God cometh not
with observation. And if you have a center margin
or a center notes in the middle of your Bible there, it says,
or without some kind of visible demonstration, without any kind
of any kind of pageantry, without any kind of ritualism. That's
not how the Kingdom of God is going to come. And what he is
teaching these men was, though they look for a the kingdom that
was outward, the kingdom of God was actually inward. And it is
still inward. It isn't a physical thing. The
kingdom of God is not a physical thing. The kingdom of God is
a spiritual thing. It's a spiritual kingdom. And
that's what He begins to set before His disciples. It doesn't
come with observation. It doesn't come with an outward
view. It doesn't come with much pageantry. It doesn't come with
outward changes, although the Kingdom of God in the heart of
a man will bring about outward changes in that individual. But
the Kingdom of God is not outward, it's inward. He then goes on
to say in verse 21, neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there. There's the kingdom. Over there's
the kingdom. He says, for behold, the kingdom
of God is within you. It's not external, it's internal. And then he begins to speak to
these men who were his disciples. You'll notice in the 22nd verse,
there's a very clear difference of hearers. He's not speaking
to the Pharisees anymore in verse 22. He said then unto his disciples. Now he's still talking about
the kingdom of God. And by the way, hold your place
here and go to Romans chapter 14. Let me just show you something
about the Kingdom of God. Romans chapter 14. And I'll just
take a quick look at this because this isn't the theme of the message,
but it is necessary. Romans chapter 14. And look at
verse 17. Now, the issue is the Kingdom
of God. And here we find, by divine inspiration,
what the Kingdom of God consists of. Chapter 14, verse 17. For the Kingdom of God is not
meat and drink. It's not something outward. In
fact, entering into the Kingdom of God is not determined by what
you do, by what you eat, or by what you drink. And entering
into the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with what you don't do,
or what you don't eat, or what you don't drink. None of those
things enter into the Kingdom of God. He says, for the Kingdom
of God is not meat and drink, but here's what it is. Righteousness,
and peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost, righteousness that was
established by the Lord Jesus by His death upon the cross of
Calvary, and peace. This is peace with God through
our Lord Jesus. He made peace with God by the
blood of His cross, and then joy in the Holy Ghost. The Spirit
of God causes us to rejoice in Christ Jesus that He has finished
the work of redemption and that He is the one who teaches us
about the Kingdom of God in our hearts. The Kingdom of God necessarily
means you've got to have a King. And the King is the Son of God. Now, He's always been King. He's
King of creation. He's King of all things because
He's God. But as the Son of Man, He has
earned the right to rule. He has earned the right to be
the King. He has authority over all things. That's what the Father told Him
in His high priestly prayer. As Thou has given Him, or that's
what the Savior said in His high priestly prayer. As Thou has
given Him authority or power over all things that He should
give eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him.
And so he's the king. And this king has a kingdom.
And it's a spiritual kingdom. It's a spiritual kingdom. And
most people don't understand the kingdom of God. In fact,
most people today, even many religious people, they're still
expecting a kingdom in Israel. The kingdom of God is not without,
it's within. It's when the Lord Jesus establishes
His rule in His heart. He sets His very throne of grace
up within us. He stakes a rightful claim to
us because He has redeemed us and He reigns over us as King
and as the Lord. And we enter into His kingdom.
And the only way you can understand the Kingdom of God is to be born
again. In fact, that's exactly what
the Savior said to Nicodemus. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see, he cannot perceive, he cannot understand the Kingdom
of God. Well, the Kingdom of God then
is not literal, it is not tangible. It doesn't have anything to do
with things Invisible. It has to do with things that
are spiritual. Now, notice that He continues. He says in verse 22, He says
unto His disciples, the days will come when ye shall desire
to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not
see it. What are the days of the Son
of Man? Let me just camp out right there
and then I'm going to get to the days of Noah. We've been
talking about Noah and the ark for several services and I'm
going to go back to that here in just a little bit because
he mentions down here in verse 26 the days of Noah. But before
he mentions the days of Noah, he mentions the days of the Son
of Man. In fact, he mentions that immediately
after the days of Noah, so it shall be in the days of the Son
of Man. Well, what are the days of the
Son of Man? If I were to ask you, we know
who the Son of Man is, right? That's the Lord Jesus. He is
the Son of God. He's the Son of God forever.
And He's the Son of Man by virtue of His union The union of His
deity with our humanity. He's the Son of Man. And He loved
to refer to Himself as being the Son of Man, and He did so
many, many times throughout the Gospel narratives. The Son of
Man. In fact, I read to you from Luke
19 verse 11, If you backed up one verse, our Lord is speaking
to many people who are in opposition to Him, going to the house of
Zacchaeus. And He says, for the Son of Man,
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Well, so we know who the Son of Man is, but what are the days
of the Son of Man? What would you say are the days
of the Son of Man? I would say the days of the Son
of Man would not be one specific 24-hour day, but it's any day
when the Lord Jesus makes Himself known. It's any day, any time
when the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, reveals
Himself. Or when He enters into a sphere,
like when He entered into this world. That was one of the days
of the Son of Man. And men didn't recognize that.
When He was born in a manger, there was nobody there but Joseph
and Mary. And the cattle or whatever else
was in the manger. And then a little bit later,
the shepherds came in. But there was no recognition
of Him as being the Son of Man. But that was the day of the Son
of Man because that's when He was revealed. That's when God
was revealed in the flesh. Therefore we read, and the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten Father, full of grace and truth.
We could say that the days of the Son of Man would include
the days of His public ministry, when He went about healing and
performing all kinds of miracles. We could say that the days of
the Son of Man would be those days when He was a preacher of
the Gospel, because He came forth preaching. We could say that
the days of the Son of Man would include those days when He was
arrested, when He was convicted on charges that were false. The days of the Son of Man would
include when He died, when He gave Himself a ransom for His
people. The days of the Son of Man include
when He was resurrected, The days of the Son of Man included
when He ascended. The days of the Son of Man go
on even now when He reveals Himself to a sinner. When He comes to
you and He makes Himself known to you, He shows you who God
is. He shows you something of your
own sinfulness. And then He reveals Himself.
He pours grace into your heart. And He makes you to know Him
and to rejoice in Him. That's another day of the Son
of God. The days of the Son of God continue. The days of the Son of Man, rather,
they continue. Whenever He reveals Himself to
a sinner, it would be wonderful if today
was the day of the Son of Man. If He would make Himself known
to you. Here we are gathered together.
Folks are watching gathered around their computer screen or their
TV or whatever. And they're watching or maybe
they're listening to this message even later on. Maybe this will
be one of the days of the Son of Man. When He comes in mighty
grace. When He reveals Himself. These
are the days of the Son of Man. Now indeed, the day of the Lord
is yet to come. The day. And you'll notice that
he mentions that toward the end of the chapter. The day. There is a one final day of the
Lord when He's going to come. But we're still living in the
days of the Lord. The days of the Lord. The days
of the Son of Man. And then we get to, and look
at verse 26. The days of Noah. The days of
Noah. What about the days of Noah?
We've been, I've been preaching several messages from Genesis
six and seven and eight and nine. What are the days of Noah? What
were people doing in the days of Noah? What occupied their
time? Well, the Savior says here, look
in verse 27. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, They were given in marriage until the day that
Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed
them all." Now let me ask you this. Is there anything wrong
with eating? Anything wrong with drinking?
Anything wrong with marriage? While marriage is honorable by
God, He's honored God, it's honoring to Him. What the Savior is saying is,
in the days of Noah, people were going about the usual, customary
thing that people do. Living their lives. But living their lives with no
regard for God. living their lives with no concern
about eternity, because they have other things to occupy their
time. And I may be speaking to one
or two or maybe a few in here or out there, that you're living
like in the days of Noah. In fact, the Savior says, and
as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be in the days of
the Son of Man. Even though the Lord Jesus may
reveal Himself to one or two or several people this morning,
there are people around us Your days of life are just like the
days of Noah's day. You live without any fear of
God. You live as if you're going to
live forever. You live for your family. Well,
family's important. You live for your job. Your job's
important. You live for these things, but
there is no real regard for God. And listen, the worship of God
is the most important thing in the world. And if you don't worship
God, why, you're just living like the folks in Noah's day.
Like the days of Noah. Got other things to attend to.
And you know, God sent Noah forth as a preacher. We read that he
was a preacher of righteousness. But people didn't pay any mind
to him. They didn't pay any attention
to him. What was the reason for that? Because they had too much
other things going on. Preacher, you just don't know.
I'm a busy person. Yeah, I know. That's probably
what they said to Noah. I'm a busy person. I've got a
lot on my plate. Well, if you don't have time
for God, and you don't have time for Christ Jesus, you don't have
time to seek that salvation that is found only in the Savior,
my friend, you are way yonder too busy. You're way yonder too
busy. That's like it was in the days
of Noah. See, there is nothing wrong with
these things. It's just they made these things
a priority. And I'll tell you the difference
between the people of God and the people of the world. With
the people of God, the priority with us is the worship of God through
Christ Jesus the Lord. That's what's important. And
listen, when you get down to the end of life's way, somebody
said this, judge the importance of everything by what it will
mean in that day when you breathe your last breath and you go out
into eternity to meet God. Judge the importance of all things
in light of that day. Oh, that puts it... gives us a good idea of how we
ought to be thinking. The days of Noah. The days of
Noah. They were just occupied with
things. But you know what happened? The
flood came and destroyed them all. Go back to Genesis with me, chapter
6. Genesis chapter 6. See, our Lord Jesus there in
Luke chapter 17, He is teaching His disciples
about the natural depravity of all men at any given time during
the history of the world. the natural depravity of man
at any time in the history of the world. As it was in the days
of Noah, he says, it's no different now. That's what he said. No different now. As it was in
the days of Noah, so it shall be in the days of the Son of
Man. You say, but men are more wicked now. Not true. That's not true. Because man's
inward being, his heart, has always been alienated from God. And the heart is no worse now
than it was in the days of Noah. Now the results of our inward
fall may reveal more corruption. But that corruption, it's always
been bad. Man's always been sinful. Look with me in Genesis chapter
6 and verse 5. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5.
And God saw... You know, the Bible, it accommodates
our inability to understand the person of God by speaking in
language that we can relate to. There's no way you can understand
the person of God There's no way you can understand His infinite
being or His understanding. For me to see all of you, I've
got to look like this. And I'm not focused on any one
person. God's not like that. Because
God focuses on each one of us individually as if there was
no other person in the world. And we can't comprehend that.
And so therefore, the Word of God accommodates our limited
understanding by saying, and God saw. Or as it says in verse
12, and God looked. Go back to verse five. And God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Now,
that is His outward deeds. The outward deeds. God saw. And as God sees things, that's
how they are. Now, lots of these people in
the days of Noah, and in the days of the Son of Man, lots
of them had a veneer of religion. And so they kind of covered over
that outward wickedness, right? The Pharisees did, the Sadducees,
the scribes and so forth. Now there were a lot of people
who were openly wicked without any veneer. They didn't care about their
actions. They didn't care who saw it. They didn't care who
got hurt by their actions. It was just outwardly wicked.
And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days
of the Son of Man. And it's always this way. There
are always people who don't care how they live. They don't care
who they hurt. They don't care who they offend.
They're just outwardly profane and wicked. But, there are other
people who cover over that wickedness and they don't show it. And they
cover it over perhaps with a veneer of morality. Or, in our Lord's
day, and indeed some of these people, a covenant over the veneer
of religion. So that you don't see that bad
stuff. Well, this is not such a bad
day we live in after all. Folks are law-abiding, most people
are doing pretty good. But wait! Our Lord not only mentions
here, God not only saw the wickedness of man was great, that's the
outward, But then he goes inward, and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now there
is no hiding of that, not from God. You see, the Lord, He perceives,
He understands the very root of the matter. All evil proceeds
from the heart. And you may, and lots of other
people say, well, I'll tell you, this is the most ungodly error
that humanity's ever had. Well, I would take issue with
that. The days of Sodom and Gomorrah are pretty bad. But as far as the iniquity within,
it is no different, wasn't any different from the days of Noah.
than it is in the days of the Son of Man, or in our days. Because you see, the nature of
man is alienated from God, it's set against God, and God alone
knows the fullness of our own depravity. There is no goodness
in any of us. There is no soundness in any
of us. There never has been and there
never will be. Well, that's just your word.
No, God saw this. God saw, look at it again, that
every imagination of the thoughts of His heart, every last one
of them, was only evil continually. You in your heart and me in my
heart by nature, there is only evil continually. That's God's
assessment of the situation. And you can say what you want
to. You can say, I think we're really a pretty good people.
But God takes issue with that. Look at Psalm 14. Psalm 14. You see, here's the
thing. As it was in the days of Noah,
it always has been. It always has been. People are
living for themselves. They're living without any regard
for God. They're living without any fear
of the Lord. Many are living in open wickedness
and open ungodliness, but within, within the heart. Remember our
Lord Jesus, He spoke about the heart. He said from within, from
the heart proceed evil thoughts and wickedness and abominations
and murders and all of these sorts of things. Look here in
Psalm 14 verse 1. Psalm 14 verse 1, the fool hath
said in his heart, There is no God. Literally, no God for me.
You can have your God, but I don't want God. Okay? They are corrupt. The word corrupt means ruined.
They have done abominable works. Everything they do is bad. There
is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men. to see if there were any that
did understand and seek God. The Lord looked. He sees everything. And this is His conclusion. They're all gone aside. They're
all together become filthy. That is stinking. My Bible has
a center column that says filthy means stinking. There is none
that doeth good, no, not one. This is what God said as He was
in the days of Noah. Utter disregard for God. Old
people got religion because the lineage of Seth had blended in with the lineage
of Cain. True religious Belief, the gospel,
had been adulterated by the error of the son, the daughters of
Cain. And they mixed together. And
that's bad. That's bad. And then God says every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually. And
God says this, and if you'll go back to chapter 6 of Genesis
and verse 12, And God looked upon the earth. It's the same
God who found all men guilty. There's none good. Back to Genesis
chapter 6 and verse 12. And God looked upon the earth
and behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted His
way. All flesh had corrupted His way
upon the earth. God sees not only the outward
things that you do, and we need to be aware of that, and those
of us who are the people of God, we need to be careful of our
outward deeds. There's no question about that,
and we want to live for the glory of God, but where does sin originate? See, this is what people forget.
If you got bad habits, you got wrong habits, evil habits, you
need to stop them. There's no question about that.
I drink too much. Well, stop. I'm using illegal
drugs. Well, stop. I use profanity. I know I do. Well, stop. But while you can,
to a degree, clean up the outside, there's nothing you can do about
the thoughts and imaginations of your heart. This is the problem. This is the real issue. The only one who can give you
a new heart is the God of grace. He's the only one who can do
something within. Otherwise, we'll just continue
like those did in the days of Noah. In the days of Noah. The Savior said, And I'll read
again from Luke 17. You don't have to go back there.
And as it was in the days of Noah, socially it also be in
the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives. They were given in marriage until
the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and
destroyed them all. Okay. One thing to talk about
the folks in the days of Noah, and it's another thing to talk
about the folks in the days of the Son of Man. Let me ask you about your condition, about your
standing before God. Is the worship of God, be honest, Obviously, you're not answering
me. You're only answering yourself. I'll ask the question. You answer
it in your own mind. Are the things of the Lord Jesus,
the things of God, the things that really count? What really
counts, preacher? Salvation counts. The glory of
God, that counts. This being right with God, that
counts. magnifying the Lord, thinking
about the Lord, worshiping God, gathering together with the people
of God. These things are of vital importance. Now here's what I'm asking you.
Are they vitally important to you? See, it's got to be personal. It's got to be personal. Well, this was the situation.
in the days of Noah. Well, what did God do? What did God do? Well, he said
he was going to destroy the earth with water, but he wouldn't do
it for 120 years. He wouldn't do it for 120 years. And during that time, God raised
up a preacher. He had a voice in that day. A man who had found grace in
his sight. And a man who was a preacher
of righteousness. And he preached and he built
and he preached and he built the ark. God told Noah in verse 14, make
thee an ark of gopher wood. You mean there's hope? You mean there isn't going to
be destruction for everybody? You've already set forth outward
wickedness and inward rottenness. In the days of Noah and in the
days of the Son of Man. Back in those days pre-flood
and in all the days post-flood. But you mean there's a way of
escape? You mean there's a way of salvation? You mean there's a way of refuge
for those who have dilly-dallied around about the things of God?
Yes, there is! There's an ark. There's an ark. And you would have thought that
would be good news for all of these people. God has seen our
open wickedness. And moreover, God has seen our
inward rottenness and corruption. You see, you're as vile inwardly
as you can be. And so am I. And God says, 120 years. Well, during that 120 years,
you mean we can make ourselves better? No. You can't do that. You mean during that 120 years
we can go back to the days of the pristine innocence of the
earth before sin entered in? No, that's an impossibility.
Well, what hope is there for a sinner like me? An ark. An ark. And that's the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the ark of God's provision. And that ark was built in such
a way that it withstood all the fury, all the hell, all the wrath
of a holy God. And Noah and all the other occupants
within the ark, they were safe. But here were these, all of these
millions and millions of people outside the ark. What happened to them, preacher?
I thought God's a God of love. I thought God's a God of mercy.
Oh, He loves. He is love. He is gracious. but he loves and he's gracious
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you come into the ark? Will
you come to Christ Jesus? Let me tell you something. If
he leaves you to yourself, you never will. And you'll just go
on eating and drinking and marrying and giving and marriage. until the flood comes and takes
you away. I don't know about you, but as
for this, this fallen son of Adam, I'm going to do like Noah. He moved with fear. I have utmost respect for God. I'm not going to ignore His worship.
And I'm going to believe His Son by the grace of God. And
I want Him to deal with me in grace through the Lord Jesus. And I want Him, and I believe
He already has, to say to me what He said to Noah, Come thou
into the ark. And I'll tell you this morning,
I'm coming all over again. I'm coming, Lord. Here I come. I don't want to be washed away
in your wrath. I want to know the only Savior. I want safety. Well, God will have to do it
for me. I'm going to go right back to this tonight. I've got
at least two more messages that I want to bring you here from
the book of Genesis, but we'll go back tonight. I want to talk
to you about some specific things about the ark. And in setting
forth the ark, I'll be setting forth Christ Jesus the Savior. I bid you come to Him.