Coming back to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. I don't ever remember preaching
from this particular chapter. I've made reference to the ark
in messages. I don't think I've ever really
brought a message from this chapter. It was a blessing studying it,
thinking about it for a few days. Noah and the Ark. You know, when God created the
heavens and the earth, over there in Genesis chapter 1, He looked at everything He created.
He saw that it was good. Very, very good. God never created anything bad.
Everything he created was good. And we know the story well of
Adam. Adam disobeying God. Adam rebelling
against God. Adam hiding. Him and his wife,
hiding from the presence of God. And from that point, it went
downhill. Some can teach evolution, but
I tell you what it did, it devoluted. It didn't evolute, it devoluted.
Exactly what happened. And it didn't take long, after
the fall of Adam, for the consequence of that fall
and the death of wickedness to show up. It became very bad, very evil
in a very short period of time. It became so bad that God Almighty
said it's enough. God said it's enough. He said,
I'm going to destroy. I'm going to destroy man that
I've made. I'm going to destroy everything
on this earth. It says it repented, it grieved
him that he had made man. Now he's speaking in language
that you and I can understand. We have to understand this. God
is speaking in language that you and I can comprehend and
understand. God's of one mind and who can
change it? We know that. But he speaks here
in language we can understand, and he's saying that it grieved
him that he had made man on the earth. We know throughout the
Scripture that he takes no pleasure in the wicked. None whatsoever. God is not pleased with sinful
men and women. I don't care. It doesn't matter
what a man may do in his life. Outside of Christ, not one time
has God ever pleased with him. Not one time. Not one time can
a man do anything outside of Christ that God is pleased with. You see, you and I can see the
outwardness of sin, sins, the acts of it. God sees the heart. We have never, ever seen the
depravity of the heart that God sees. I don't believe we can. God sees it. God sees men and
women for who they are. He calls them wicked. That's
what God calls them. Evil. And the Scripture says
God hated the workers of iniquity. And God saw not who would believe. Look in verse 12. God looked
upon the earth. He didn't see faith. Behold,
it was corrupt, for all flesh hath corrupted his way upon the
earth. He saw that the imagination of the thought, you see, God
looked beyond the action. We see the action. But here he
speaks of the imagination. He speaks of the thought. Right
in the beginning of the thought. That's what God sees. And he
said every thought of man is wicked. His imagination, he said
his imagination is wicked. Continually, he says, continually,
you look over your margin, it says every day. Every day. Even his dreams are wicked. Then
when he gets up in the morning, his imagination is wicked. And
every day there's not a break. This is what God sees. And this
is tough on human flesh, isn't it? Men don't want to hear this.
They want to hear how good they are. How much improvement they
are making. This is what God sees. And I'm
telling you the truth. Human nature has never changed.
This human race hasn't changed. We haven't grown better. It has
not grown better at all. This is a true description of
the human race. True description. It was wicked. He said violence filled the earth. Sounds like our day, doesn't
it? Violence filled the earth. Men hated God. They were religious. Here's what happened. The descendants
of Seth, that line was the line through which the promised seed
would come, and the descendants of Cain came together. That's what it says there in
these first one, two, three verses. It came to pass when Men began
to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born
unto them. These are the descendants, I
believe, of Cain. That the sons of God, the descendants of Seth,
saw the daughters of men, the descendants of Cain, and they
married them. Trouble. It begat trouble. All this wickedness began. All
this violence. The earth, he said, was corrupt.
But no one He liked the buts here. But Noah. I thought that when I read that,
the first thing I thought of was Ephesians 2. But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were sinners, even when we hated God, Christ died for
us. There's not a difference between
me by nature than anybody else on this earth. The only thing
that makes a difference is the grace of God. Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Now, who was Noah? Noah was the
ninth generation from Adam. His father, Noah's father, was
only 56 years old when Adam died. And Noah's great-grandfather
was Enoch. who walked with God. That was
his great-grandfather. But you know what the best thing
that can be said of Noah? He found grace. Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Just as many of you have found
grace. He did not earn it. He did not
inherit it. Even though he's in that lineage,
he did not inherit grace. He did not purchase it. It was
given to him in Christ before the world was. Just as it's given
to every one of God's children in Christ before the world was. And it says here, Noah was a
just man. Now don't mistake and think That's
why he found grace. No, that's not why he found grace. No, not at all. He found grace
in the eyes of the Lord and God justified him in Christ and that's
why he's a just man. Grace made him a just man. Grace
justified him. You know that. You know that.
Paul said this, I am what I am. Am I a just man? Am I justified? Am I righteous? Am I holy and
clean in Christ? Yes. Paul said, I am what I am
by the grace of God. If I am these things, it's by
the grace of God. And then Noah built an ark. He built an ark. God told Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord, and God told Noah to build an ark. And you know,
Noah built it just as God said. He didn't put any input into
it. He didn't say, well, I think
it needs a few more rooms. No, he just built the ark as
God commanded him. Nothing like obedience. Nothing
like obedience. He built the ark as God told
him to build it. He was a man of faith. He believed
God. Noah believed God. Look over
in Hebrews 11. He's mentioned in the Hall of
Fame of Faith. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse
7. By faith, Noah being warned to
God of things not seen as yet. What God revealed to Noah had
never been seen. No one had ever seen a flood.
No one had ever seen, I don't even know that it even rained.
They'd never seen it. But he believed God. He moved
with fear. And he prepared an ark to the
saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became
heir of the righteousness, which is by faith." Which means this also, that Noah
was a preacher of righteousness. The righteousness that he became
heir of, he became a preacher of. Noah didn't just go through town
saying, it's going to flood, it's going to flood. He preached
the gospel. Noah preached the gospel. He
preached the righteousness of God. He preached the demand for
that righteousness. And he preached that that righteousness
has to come from outside of ourselves. We can't produce it. Noah preached
the gospel to those people. I believe that. And Noah preached
to those people. He said, God told me to build
this ark. And the only safe place is on
the ark. The only safe place is in Christ.
There is no safety outside of Christ from the wrath of God.
Outside of Him, there is no safety. He is our ark. He is our place
of refuge. Christ is our safety. Noah preached
that. He didn't just go through town
and say the British are coming. He was like Paul Revere. He preached
the gospel. And he preached to his generation. He preached there's judgment
coming, but there's a place of safety,
there's a refuge. There are. And not one person, other than
his immediate family, not one person believed him. Faith is a gift of God. You believe
God, You truly, now, I mean you truly believe God. You take the
Word of God and what is written here in the Word of God. You
believe it. With all your heart you believe it. You don't put
question marks on it, even though you don't understand most of
it. You believe God. Faith is a gift of God, but no
one here believed God. No one here believed Noah. They
didn't believe God. They didn't believe the message.
They had never seen what Noah was speaking of. They'd never
seen a flood. They'd never seen that kind of
weather. Not that kind of judgment. Noah, what are you talking about?
What are you talking about? They just couldn't comprehend.
Just as today, people cannot comprehend that there'll be a
day that this earth won't be here. That it'll be burned up. And really there's a lot of people
thinking, you're a nut. No, you're just a nut. Believe that. There'll be a day
that this universe will be wiped out by the brightness of His
coming. And the only refuge is in the Ark. Is that too simple? Is that too
simple? The only refuge is in the Ark. I'm sure some of them mocked
Noah, some of them probably mocked him. Some of them, I would say
some of them took him seriously, because they knew him, they knew
what kind of man he was, they knew he was a just man, a godly
man, they knew that, and they probably took him seriously,
but they didn't believe him. They never believed him. They
didn't believe it was really going to happen. Oh, it's really
not going to happen. And the long-suffering, I thought
of this last night, the long-suffering of God fooled them. It took 120
years to build that ark. It took 120 years. And for 120
years, Noah was faithful to preach. For 120 years, Noah preached
to his generation. For 120 years, he preached the
gospel to them. And he never changed his message.
And he never lost heart. He did not quit working on the
ark and say, well, that's 70 years has gone by. No, he kept
every day. I have no doubt every day his
job was to work on that ark and build that ark, as God told him. But the long suffering of God
fooled a lot of them. They thought, well, this is not
going to happen. Noah, 70 years has gone by, 80 years has gone
by, 100 years has gone by. I tell you this, they were a
people preached to. God sent the gospel to them.
He sent the gospel to them. Noah preached the gospel to them.
Every week he'd preach to them while he built the ark. I wouldn't
doubt that some of them probably even helped him. Some of them
probably helped him even work on the ark. I wouldn't doubt
that. I wouldn't doubt that. And he probably talked to them
about it. But there's no salvation Working on the art. It's in it.
There's no salvation built in the art. Salvation's in the art.
Salvation's in Christ. Salvation's not in religion.
It's not in the things we do. It's in Him. It's being in Him. That's what it is. Now as time drew near, drew near, things didn't and prove anything. People were still just as wicked,
just as violent. The old priest told them they
didn't believe him and they were just as bad. But after Noah finished, after
120 years, and he finished putting the last
touches on the ark, and after he pitched it within and without,
and everything was ready, The animals began to come in.
I thought us Gentiles. That's the first thing I thought
of. I thought, here comes the Gentiles. You dogs, here they
come. Here comes the animals. The Jews
had all those types and pictures. They had all that stuff that
pointed to Christ. And when He came, He's own what?
Received Him not. Then He turned to the Gentiles.
Here come these animals. That's the first thing I thought. Here comes the animals. They
began to come to the ark. Willingly. These wild animals. But they're not wild now. They began to come to the ark
and they began to go into the ark. They didn't go stand around
the ark. Those animals, obediently, willingly,
my people shall be willing, willingly, they walked up, that door's laying
down, and those animals walked into the ark. Noah didn't have
to take a whip. He did not beg one animal. He didn't beg a fly or a mosquito
or anything to get in the ark. He preached to the people. And
they just thought, you're nuts, Noah, you've lived too long.
It was 500-something years when he did this. 600 years after
he came off from them. After he stepped off the ark. But he didn't have to beg one
animal to get on that ark. God Almighty took hold of those
animals. Just like he's going to have to take hold of me and
you. If we're going to be saved, God's going to have to do it.
If we are going to be in the ark of God, what's it say in
1 Corinthians? Of God are you in, Christ Jesus. He put you in the ark. What a
miracle. I thought, what a miracle is
happening here. I'm sure the people all around saw some of
this going on. You know, this wasn't done in
a corner. This wasn't hid in the woods.
This is in the open. And they saw these animals coming
and walking and going into the ark. Animals that had been wild,
they've become wild now. Violence filled the earth. He
said all flesh had corrupted itself. Lions killed the lambs.
I mean, it was violence. But all of a sudden, here's a
lamb and a lion coming up there, walking into heaven. Animals that had been wild were
now tamed and willing to go in. Isn't that a picture of salvation?
Isn't that a picture of God Almighty giving a new heart and making
you willing to bow at the feet of Christ and willing to kiss
the Son? Listen. I thought of this last
night. I'm sure some of those animals
I know are building the ark. I'm sure some of those animals
started a year, two years, whatever. They already started the journey.
They didn't know where they were going. They didn't know why.
They were just heading toward the ark. They didn't know that.
No more than you knew it before God saved you and revealed Christ
to you. You didn't realize that all that was going on 10 years
ago or 20 or 30 years ago were bringing you to the ark. Here
they are migrating to the ark. They didn't know that. Not while
they were doing it. Not at the time. No more than
I knew it. But God's hand is in it. God's
hand is in bringing them into the ark. Just as His hand from
the day you're born is involved in bringing you to Christ. I tell you, sinners whom the
Lord saved don't realize that their steps are ordered by the
Lord. All of them. Every one of them. Before they even realize what's
happening. Moving toward the ark. And this is also a great picture
of the effectual call of grace. Animals. Animals. Noah did not have that kind of
power over animals. And he did not have that range
in his voice. Noah couldn't stand where he
was at and holler for the animals here in this part of the world.
He didn't have that kind of range or power. But God did. I don't have power. I probably
have enough power to make you feel bad, but I don't have the
power to transform you. I do not have the power to create
you new, but God does. God does. Here's an effectual
call. God called those animals from all parts of the earth.
I mean, 120 years went by. I don't know how long the animals
lived. They lived a lot longer than what they live now, I'm
sure. People then were living 800, 900 years. Some of those
animals probably traveled, they probably traveled 50, well it's
hard to tell, probably traveled 50, 60 years. Walking across
this earth to that ark. You think that's absurd. Well
it's no more absurd than the flood. God flooded this world. I want you to note the willingness
of these animals. They came two by two. I was just taken up with
these animals. When I got to studying this,
the animals impressed me because I could see myself in these animals
more than I could see myself in anything else. They were willing
to come to the ark, two by two. God paired them up, matched them
up. I'll tell you this, God chose the animals that would be on
that ark. God chose the animals that He was going to save. He
put on that ark. He chose. He chose every animal
that was going to be on it. How silly. How silly would it
be to think that God left that choice up to the animals, who's
going to get on the ark? Which of you animals? You elephants.
Two of you. Do you want to get on the ark?
Not one animal would have got on that ark. It's not in the
nature of an animal. You can't even get them in the
barn. It's not their nature. They don't like to go into something
dark or something that's, you know, covering. They don't like
that. It's just as silly. It is just
as silly to think that God leaves salvation into the hands of natural
men who are called brute beasts. God said you're like brute beasts.
God chose every animal, particular animal, That's going to be on
that ark. Just like he did Noah and his family. Do you know how
many million people were living at that time? I don't know, but
I know it was in the millions because they lived to be, you
know, a husband and wife could have had four or five hundred
kids. That's a lot. You'd be ready to die, wouldn't
you? I'm telling you, you'd be saying,
geez. Sometimes you can't die fast enough. You can't have that
many kids. That would be awful. But anyway, I tell you, God didn't leave it into our
hands. Those animals were chosen. Just as Noah, his wife and his
three sons and their wives were chosen to be on that ark. And
the ark, the ark was big enough to take in all that came. It
was big enough to take in all that came. You didn't have this
line of animals coming. And then they say, whoop, we
got to stop here. We don't have no more room. There was exactly enough room
for all who came. Exactly. And I'm sure, this is
what baffles scientists. They try to disprove the flood.
If they can disprove that, they can disprove judgment. They can
disprove the rest of the Bible. But they've looked at that ark.
I'm sure scientists look at the ark and they look at the variety
of all that lives on this earth. Look at all the species. Look
at all that we have. And I know you're going to think,
I've thought before, how did they get all that on the ark?
It was just a little bigger than a football field. How in the
world did all those species fit on that ark? That little ark. And it would look like a big
boat to them, but when you consider what it's saving, it looks kind
of little, doesn't it? That's what the Jews thought
when Christ came. How can this man How can this man save so
many? This one man. Not a man and a
host. This one man. Who is this that
cometh out of Eden? This one lone man. When they
looked at him, and I'm sure he was not an impressive figure.
No beauty that we should desire in him. And I think, how? How come one
man? And when we stand in glory, when
we stand in his presence, and we look at the myriads and myriads
and myriads of sinners saved by this one man, we're going
to be amazed. We are going to be absolutely
amazed by this one man. Now I'm sure that the day that the flood came,
God brought Noah into the ark, all the animals into the ark. And God shut the door. And the
day that the flood came and the rain began, the clouds, the sky
grew dark. They'd never seen that before.
The sky grew dark and it began to storm. I have no doubt people
began to run to that ark. Those people let us in. I just,
I know it happened. You know they began to run to
the ark. And they began to knock on the
door. They began to knock on that ark. Noah, open up! Noah, let us in! But you know
what? Noah didn't have that power.
God shut the door. Here's the sobering thought of
this whole thing. Here's the sobering thought.
God shut the door. And when God shut the door, He
shut the world out. He shut the world out. He shut
Noah in. He shut those whom He saves in. Just like He shut us up in Christ.
But when that day comes, He shut them out. Mercy was clean
gone. It was over with. There may have
been some who helped Noah, but they didn't believe his message. I'm sure there were plenty of
religious people then as well as now. But salvation is not being religious.
being in Christ. I told a man that one time. In
fact, years ago, some years ago. And he said, what do you mean
religious, all religious people are not saved? He just believed
anybody that was religious automatically believed God or believed the
truth or automatically was saved. I told him, I said, being religious,
everybody's religious. But few there are that be saved.
Few there are that are in the ark. That's the truth. That is
the sobering truth. Few there are in him. God shut Noah and his family
in. He shut them in to safety. He
shut them in to life. There was life in that ark. And
everything outside that ark died. Everything. There is a day when
God will shut the door of mercy on men. There's a day. I can't
tell you when, and I can't tell you even on individuals, even
before the last day comes, when God wipes this all out. There
is a time when God shuts the door of mercy, and it's clean
gone. And that person will never even
know it. until it's too late. Let me show you this over in
Matthew. Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24, look in verse
37. This is sobering. And it needs
to be sobering. But as the days, in verse 37,
as the days of Noah were, So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. For as in the days that were
before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage. You know, and what he's saying
there is life was just, everyday activity was going on. The sun
was shining. Everything was just normal. They
were marrying, giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered
the ark. And God shut the door of mercy,
and knew not until the flood came and took them all away,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. He said, just
like wake up is what He's saying, it'll be the same way when the
Son of Man comes. And when God sent that flood, there was no place to hide from
the flood except in the ark. That's the only place. You know
that the waters rose above the highest mountain, 27 feet. 27 feet above the highest mountain.
God made sure that there was no refuge, no hiding place left
except one, the ark. The one that God built. He had
nowhere to build that one, but he built it. Christ the Devil
has prepared me a body. He built him. He's our ark. God wiped away every false hope
and every false refuge except one, the ark. Everyone in that ark, they were
the only ones preserved. Scripture says in Jude 1.1, we
are preserved in Christ Jesus. God has preserved a multitude
of sinners in His Son. Noah and his family and those
animals were saved in the ark from the wrath of God. And Noah,
now listen, While Noah was in that ark, he didn't steer the
ark. That's all I'm saying. Noah didn't steer the ark. You
know what he did? He rested. He rested in the ark. While the storm was going on,
Noah was at rest. He didn't see the wrath of God.
When he went in the ark, the sun was shining. When he stepped
off the ark, the sun was shining. He never tasted the wrath of
God. No one in Christ will see God's wrath. Will not taste any
of it. Will not taste any of the wrath
of God. I know this. I put a note here last night.
That ark took the wrath of God that everyone inside the ark
deserved. Noah, his family, and all those
animals deserved the wrath of God like everyone else. But God
put them in the ark. God saw the ark. God looked upon
the ark. And I cannot think of a worse
place to drown than beside the boat. Those people who were right there
that Noah preached to while he built the ark and they walked
by and they saw that ark for 120 years. He was the only preacher
they had for 120 years. And only eight of them were saved.
Isn't that something? That's a sobering thought. And when Noah, when Noah He stepped out of that ark. He actually stepped into a new
world, didn't he? This is only time. We don't want
to go so far with it. But when he stepped out of that
ark, all that violence, all that wickedness and all that was gone.
God had killed it all. And when he stepped out of that
ark, the sun was shining, earth was budding, Everything was green. Everything looked new. And someday,
someday, we are going to be delivered into his presence in a new world. There will be a new heaven. There
will be a new earth. And it won't be in this wickedness.
God's going to wipe it all away.