Just having that stool there
is a comfort. I want to say it's an honor and
a privilege to be here. I'm grateful that Pastor Don
asked me to come. I spoke with him earlier in the
week and told him I was having some back trouble, pain, shooting,
numbness, and I said, would it be okay to if I had to, to sit
in a stool. He said, oh, yeah, I've had to
do it before. I said, was it kind of awkward?
And he said, no, I kind of liked it. So I told the folks at home
Wednesday night I had a stool and didn't have to use it, thankful
for that. But I told them that if I liked
it too much, I may bring a recliner to preach it. Recently, upon finding out I
was a pastor, a man asked me what my church believed and taught. And I gave him the best answer
that I knew to give him, one that I knew more than likely
wouldn't bring about a doctrinal debate. I told him that we believed God's
Word. I told him that we taught what
the Bible, God's Word, teaches. What does the Bible teach? Not
many seem to know. How many folks do you know outside
of your church family believes what this divine book teaches. It's quite alarming. Turn with me to the gospel of
Moses. I love to call it that, the book
of Genesis, and that's what it is. It's the gospel according
to Moses, chapter six. I want to endeavor to show you
five wondrous truths that God's Word plainly and clearly teaches. Genesis chapter 6, let's begin
reading in verse 5. that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth. It was great in the earth and
it was great in the man. And that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The first wondrous truth that
many men and women never come to know is that man is totally
depraved. The Bible very clearly teaches
that human nature is thoroughly corrupt as a result of Adam's
fall. Look down at verse 11. The earth
also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth
and behold it was corrupt for all flesh. Now these words mean
something. All flesh had corrupted his way
upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end
of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled. There's that word again with
violence through them. Notice that word, those words
through them and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Man's depravity is total. It's total in number because
God says all flesh, every man and woman born of Adam, all flesh
is corrupt. The earth is filled with violence
because man is filled with sin and depravity. God says the earth
is filled with violence through them, Through who? All flesh. You and
I and all who are born of Adam. And as the result of Adam's fall,
the total and entire human race, all humanity, all humanity, spiritually
speaking, is dead in trespasses and sin. And totally dead. Not just half dead. You can't
be half dead, can you? You're either dead or alive.
And God says you and I are totally dead. Not just wounded, but totally
incapable and totally unwilling. That's what being dead is. Totally
incapable. Have you ever seen a dead man
or woman do anything? Totally unwilling. A dead man
has no will. Men are corrupt before God because
they have all corrupted themselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves. For all had corrupted His way
upon the earth, verse 12. Now this balance is the outward
result of the sin found within men and women. Can any sinner
truly Any dead sinner truly deny their total depravity when they
consider Paul's words found in Romans chapter 3. You know them
well as it is written. There is none righteous. How many? None. No, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no not one. Their throat, it's an open sepulcher,
an open grave, an open tomb. With their tongues, they've used
deceit, deception. And the poison of asp is under
their lips. Whose mouth is what? Fool. of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction, violence, and misery
are in their ways. In the way of peace they have
not known. There's no fear of God before their eyes. Now, that's
the real problem with man, right there. No fear of God before
his eyes. And what's God gonna do about
man's sin and disobedience? Look at verse six. And it repented
the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him
in his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and
the creeping thing and the fowls of the air for it repenteth me
that I have made them. Now, dear sinner, listen to me.
This is your dilemma. This is my dilemma. The wages
of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. That's what God said, and that's
what this holy book teaches. Just knowing something about
your depravity, even knowing that it's total, will profit
you nothing if it doesn't show you your need of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I cannot produce life in me.
I can't. Incapable. I'm dead. And I'll
never have life in me if God doesn't choose to give me life. And as Lindsay so ably said earlier,
God gets all the glory in the gospel of his beloved son. Oh, friends, why do folks refuse
to believe that? I'll tell you why. Because it
takes away their free will in the matter of salvation. The
Bible very clearly teaches that God, before time ever was, chose
to save and chose to redeem certain men and women. And that brings
me to the second thing that I want to tell you. Unconditional election. God's sovereign choice to save
certain men and women. Look at verse eight. But Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The election of God and
the saving of undeserving sinners can be clearly seen in the Bible
by two words, but God, but God. It's God who makes one to differ
from another. But Noah found grace because
none but God can give grace. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, you're
very familiar with verse 3, among whom also we all, there's that
word again. Now aren't the scriptures so
clear about our condition before God? We all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children
of wrath even as others, but God. Aren't you glad that he
didn't just stop right there? He says, but God, but God, who
is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us even
when we were dead in sin. That's my hope. He's quickened
us together with Christ by grace, are you saying? Now God sovereignly
chose and elected the people whom he'd saved before the world
was ever made. And it wasn't because of anything
good in them or anything good done by them. A lot of folks
hadn't figured that out yet, have they? He simply saves according to
his own will, his own purpose, and his own good pleasure. And
men and women can say, I have decided to follow Jesus, but
that's not so. Men and women can say, I made
Jesus my Lord, but God beat him to the punch. And men can say,
I let go and I let God save me. Is that what the scriptures teach? Is that what men and women, if
that's what men and women think, they'd better dust their Bible
off and start reading it. Our Lord plainly said, and I
don't see how anyone in the world could misconstrue this statement. He said, you have not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. Is there anything hard to understand
about that? You've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth
fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall
ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you. Paul in
the book of Romans says, for the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him
that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Ephesians, according as he hath
chosen us and him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having
predestinated, predetermined, predestinated us into the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself. according to the good
pleasure of His will. It sounds to me like this book
teaches that salvation is of the Lord. We call this blessed truth unconditional
election. Why? Because it's just that.
It's without condition. It has no conditions. God did not choose men and women
because He looked ahead in time and saw that they'd choose Him.
God did not elect or choose you because He foresaw anything good
in you. Perish the thought. That would
make your election conditional. and make it conditional on something
you did. God's unconditional election
has nothing to do with you and I and everything to do with the
Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what this book teaches.
How so? We just read it. According as
He hath chosen us and Him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. God
is not not going to share His glory with another. God said,
I am the Lord, that's my name, and my glory I will not give
to another. And if a sinner believes that
they can somehow purchase salvation, then they must think that they
possess something good within themselves to barter with God. That'd make our election conditional. And it's unconditional. If sinners
can somehow earn salvation, then they must believe that there's
a work that they can do that will in some way obligate God
to save them. You can't obligate God, and that
would make election conditional. And if sinners can somehow deserve
salvation, then There must be something in them or done by
them that would merit their acceptance with God, making their redemption
subject to something in them. But our election unto salvation
is unconditional. And if any of these things be
so, you can write it down, folks. Man has every right and reason
to glory in himself. And God is obligated to share
His glory with them, but it's not so. The Bible teaches that
we're saved by grace through faith. And that's not of ourselves,
it's the gift of God. What is our salvation? It's the
gift of God. The gift of God. Whose gift is
it? It's God's gift. Who does He
give it to? To those whom He's chosen. Now
hear me, grace, faith, and salvation is not of yourselves. If you possess it, it's the gift
of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. And one says,
well, I purchased salvation. Then it's not a gift. Another
says, I worked and earned it. That sounds like boasting. Others
claim to deserve it. Then it ceases to be undeserved.
Salvation is not of yourself. It's God's free, unconditional,
and sovereign gift to sinners, chosen sinners. And that's what
this book teaches. The third thing is this. Salvation
is particular. Salvation is limited, not in
measure, but to who it is given. Limited atonement, in particular
redemption, teaches that God determined as a result of His
unconditional election to save only the certain and particular
ones that He chose and elected. And this atonement, oh, blessed,
atonement, the payment of sin provided by God in the Lord Jesus
Christ. That costly, costly payment for
sin is limited to a particular people. And this makes folks
mad. Only those whom God has elected
and Christ has died for will be saved. How limited is the
statement, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Did
anyone else in Noah's day find grace in the eyes of the Lord?
We go on to find that God saved Noah and saved his wife, his
three sons and their wives, eight people out of the multitudes
that resided on earth. That's pretty particular. That's
pretty limited, is it not? And Peter makes reference to
this limited number in the second epistle, his second epistle. Speaking of God's long-suffering,
Peter wrote, the long-suffering of God waited in the days of
Noah while the ark was a preparing wherein few, few. Few is a limited number, isn't
it? That is eight souls. Eight is a particular number
were saved from water. We believe according to the scriptures
that the Lord Jesus Christ died for and redeemed only those whom
he purposed and chose to have mercy on. Now did Christ die
for those who perish under the justice and wrath of God? If
He did, then He died in vain. If Christ died for every sin
of everybody, then all will be saved. And if Christ died for
some of the sin of everybody, then none will be saved. But
if Christ died for all the sin of some, then some will be saved. God's mercy and grace is limited
and it's particular to his people. And that's the best news that
God's people have ever heard. The best news I ever heard. That's why I love the election
of God. It removes all doubt about who
did the saving. Christ said, I'm the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives his life for who? His sheep. Particular. Our Lord said, I pray for who?
For them. I pray not for the world, but
for them that thou has given me for they are thine. It's particular. Christ shed his blood for limited,
limited not meaning a few, for there'll be a multitude in heaven
which no man can number, but limited meaning not everyone. And the benefits of Christ's
atonement are limited in particular to the elect of God. And every
one of them, every single one of them will be saved. Oh, he's
faithful, that promised. And totally depraved men and
women will always, always will claim that God is unfair. Do men dare charge God with being
unfair by saving some when all deserve to die? God is not unfair, he's good,
he's gracious, and he's merciful to save any. And isn't it not
an amazing, isn't it not an amazing thing that God would save anyone? Where is God's limited atonement
and particular redemption found here in our text? Verse 13 says,
and God said to Noah, God communicated and He fellowshiped with one
man. God spoke to Noah because only
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Look at verse 17,
And 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. But with Thee will I establish
my covenant. But with Thee. That's pretty limited. That's
pretty particular. Beloved, hear me on this. If
you do not see that Christ is your covenant, Christ is God's
promise and pledge of salvation to you in Him. The doctrine of
particular redemption will be no value to you. And the fourth thing is this.
The Bible teaches these things. God's irresistible grace or effectual
calling. Again, verse 18. But with thee
will I establish my covenant and thou shalt come into the
ark. thou, and thy sons, and thy wife,
and thy sons' wives with thee." You see, for everyone whom God
elected and everyone that Christ died for, God draws them to Himself
by irresistible and effectual grace. His people who were once
unable and unwilling to come to Him are now made able and
willing to come. And with God's effectual call,
the power to come is always given. Lazarus come forth. And the scriptures say, he that
was dead came forth. Oh, with the command, the power
is given. What a God. When God effectually
calls in power, men and women will respond. Child of God, is
it not so? Is it not so? In verse 18, God
said, Thou shalt come into the ark. Those whom God elected,
those for whom Christ died, God will in grace create faith in
their hearts. All who are called by the Holy
Spirit will come to Christ, the ark in faith. David said, blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and causes. God not only chooses, but he
causes. What a God. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. God makes the unwilling
willing. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, the Lord Jesus said. And him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. All that God gave to Christ shall
come to him. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. And the Lord Jesus said, another
sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Oh, do you see this? And they
shall hear my voice. Certainty. And there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. Christ is the good shepherd,
must, must, must bring the sheep who are not yet of his fold.
And God's sheep shall hear his voice and follow him into his
fold. Now, God told Noah in verse 13
that the end of all flesh had come before him. And God said
that the people had corrupted themselves. And He said, I'm
going to destroy it. I'm going to destroy the whole
shooting match. Why? Because God's justice was
offended. God's judgment against sin was
going to fall. But the voice of God's irresistible
grace says in verse 14, make thee an ark of gopher wood. Grace moved upon Noah, and Noah
was moved by grace. That's just the way it works,
isn't it? That's exactly what we're told in Hebrews 11, verse
7, by faith in Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as
yet. excuse me, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the
world and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Now look at verse 22 here. Thus did Noah, according to all
that God commanded him, so did he. Now listen, I know most of
you have figured this out by now, but no one can resist the
power of God. No one can resist the power of
God. God doeth according to His will
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest thou?
God's going to have His way. And men and women can call Him
unfair, but His people call Him sovereign. Oh, I'm telling you. Never ever forget, God loves
us in Christ. He chose us in Christ. He calls
us in Christ. And if there was no irresistible
Christ, there would be no irresistible call. And lastly, brothers and
sisters, God keeps us in Christ. You know, other than The wondrous
grace of God saving us, what a wondrous thought that we're
kept by the power of God. The Lord Jesus Christ said, no
man can pluck his people from his hand. And you can't jump
out either. Oh, I'm telling you, God keeps
us in Christ. And this is the preservation
of the saints. The child of God is chosen by
God, made perfect in Christ. The chosen sinner is effectually
called by God's irresistible grace. So we have to acknowledge,
do we not? Is it not what the scriptures
teach? We have to acknowledge that salvation is of the Lord.
from start to finish. And equally true, the same chosen
sinner who did nothing to gain God's redemption can do absolutely
nothing to lose it. Lord, help me to really believe
that. I can't do anything to save myself
and I can't do anything to lose my salvation. Peter wrote concerning
the elect of God and said they are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation. 1 Peter 1. What a wondrous word,
kept. Kept. You know the rest of the
story here. The reign of God's wrath began
to fall upon the earth. With each drop of God's justice
and judgment that fell, the earth was swallowed up and consumed
by the rain of God's wrath. And through it all, Noah and
his family were kept by the power of God. How? They came into the
ark and God shut the door. What a picture of our salvation.
Christ is the ark of safety. May God enable us to get into
the ark. Get into the ark, whatever it
takes. You know, I was thinking this
morning that Noah had some faith in that ark too, didn't he? He
had faith that it wouldn't leak. He had faith that it wouldn't
sink. He had faith that the Ark would keep him from all harm.
Everything that he needed for redemption was found in that
Ark. Friends, you can put your trust
in the Crucified One. He is faithfully promised. You
see, that's what the Bible teaches. May God enable you and I to believe
God in His Word. I appreciate your attention.
Brother Lindsey.