It is a joy, and I say that with
all honesty and sincerity. It's a joy to be with you this
morning. I'm sort of anxious to share the scriptures that
Brother Lindsey kindly read to us over in Genesis chapter 6
and Genesis chapter 7. If you would turn back over there
to that passage with me. I'm interested in this this morning.
We have been there at home. where I pastor, we've been going
through the book of Genesis. And this is history. It's ancient history. We know
the Bible is not a history book, but it does contain history.
And what is so appealing to me this morning in this passage,
it gives us a beautiful example of the way God saves people. I'm always interested in that.
because I need to be saved. You and I must be saved. And
what makes this so appealing to me is that this really happened. It's not only a beautiful picture
of salvation, but it's salvation itself. The Lord looked upon
the wickedness of man and his heart was corrupt and his thoughts
were sinful. And He had put those thoughts
into practice. And when thoughts, sinful thoughts,
and the corruptions of our nature isn't restrained, and that's
put into practice, it always leads to violence. And that's
what had happened in the old world. God looked upon the old
world and it was filled with violence. And He told Noah, I'm
going to bring a flood upon the world. I'm going to destroy all
flesh. And the only means of salvation
was this ark that God had instructed Noah to build. And as I read
this passage to you here this morning, I want to reread verse
23 of chapter 7. I just want to remind you of
this passage this morning and the importance of this ark in
verse 23 of chapter 7. And every living substance was
destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man
and cattle, and creeping things, and the fowls of the heaven.
And they were destroyed from the earth, and Noah only remained
alive, and they that were with him in the ark." That's the thing
that the Spirit seemingly kept emphasizing, this ark, the ark. The only means that God had of
saving Noah and his family was this ark. Now, I use my imagination
sometimes as I read the scriptures, and you've probably done this
yourself. As we saw the fountains of the
deep, as you imagine that happening, breaking up and the windows of
heaven pouring all the water down and the water beginning
to rise, you can see these people, some, getting on top of houses
some rushing to the high pinnacles of those mountains, and some
maybe getting boards together and pinning them together. And
I can almost imagine some healthy, strong, athletic fellow getting
some timbers together and laying on those timbers and holding
out and holding on. Maybe because of his strength,
he may have hung on for a few days. But the Scripture says
the waters prevailed. The violence of it all, the longevity
of it all, finally tore the man loose from his wrath. And down
he sank in that dark waters of destruction. There was only one
means of salvation, and that was this ark. That was this ark. And as you and I think of that
this morning, the only means of salvation Doesn't our hearts
drift to the Lord Jesus Christ? Almost automatically, we go to
the New Testament and our minds begin to think upon those passages
that tell us such things as this, I am the door of the sheep. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. And he tells us again that I
am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father
but by me. Jesus Christ is God's only way
of saving any sinner from the awful judgment that's coming
upon this world. Even the judgment that's upon
unbelievers now. And when Peter began to preach
that great message there in Acts chapter 2, we all know it so
well. And he accused those Jews of
crucifying the Lord of glory. And they were humble and they
cried out, men and brothers, what shall we do? And Peter began
to tell them, there was only one, there was only one. The
one that they'd crucified must be the one that may now turn
to, to be saved. There's no other name under heaven. And Peter said it like this,
this is the stone which was set at naught of you builders. Neither
is there salvation in any other. There's no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. He's our ark, isn't
it? He's God's ark. He's the only
place of refuge. And you and I look around us
in this day, and it's been this way throughout all generations.
There are men who are giving a lot of thought to how to be
saved. There are men who are exerting
a lot of effort, a lot of works, in an attempt to save themselves. But at last, it'll be said of
them, what was said of those in Noah's day. They knew not
until the flood came and took them all away. There was only
one place to be saved, and that was this ark, the ark. But as
we read these, especially as we read in the context here,
verse 23, we have to get more specific than just the ark. The ark was the only means of
being saved from this awful judgment. But it was specifically said
this, only those who were saved were saved because they were
in the ark. There's a difference, ain't there?
It's not just the ark, but they were saved because they were
in the ark. The old Puritans used to say
they were saved by virtue of being in that ark. You couldn't
be on the ark. You couldn't be near the ark,
but you had to be in the ark. There's where salvation is. As
I read this passage and studied on it, one of the things that
I noticed, that we're never told in all this passage what Noah
and his family did when they were in that ark. The Holy Spirit
is absent. We know they had duties to do.
They had to feed the animals and water. I'm sure there were
repairs to be made. You don't put an elephant in
an ark without making some repairs when he steps on things. There
was worship, I know that. There was singing, there was
reading. But you know the Holy Scripture
says nothing about what they were doing in that ark. And by
emphasizing this one thing, The fact that they were in that ark
tells us that all that was important was to be in that ark. Isn't that wonderful just to
think about? Sometimes I've thought, you know, especially in my troubles
and my trials, when we face heartaches in this world and dark valleys
we go through, what is it that's important for us to do in times
like that? You know what's important. to
give us assurance and to comfort us, just to narrow salvation
right down to what it really is. What is it that will determine
if I'm finally saved at last? And it's just this, that I'm
in Christ. That I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ. So many other things matter,
I realize that. As Christians, so many things
matter. But I tell you, when it comes
down to where the rubber meets the road, this is what's vital. that we are in the Lord Jesus
Christ. They were kept alive. They were
saved who were with Noah in that ark. And when you and I come
to the New Testament, how often do we find that little phrase,
in Christ. In Christ. We're chosen in Christ. In whom we have redemption through
His blood. In Him we have redemption. How
are you and I accepted before a holy God? In Christ, in the
Beloved. And when you and I peel our dying
heads, and somebody takes our body back to bury us and sticks
us in the ground, this is our hope. In Adam all die, but in
Christ shall all be made alive. And that's one of the most comforting
things, brothers and sisters, I know of. Just to find ourselves
in Christ in Christ. We never read in this whole passage
that anything that was in that ark, man or beast, was lost. Everything was saved. And it
seems like the Holy Spirit emphasizes this, not only man, but even
the creeping things were saved. Nothing was lost because they
were in the ark. A little spider hiding in a crack
of that ark. It was saved at last because
it was in the ark. And sometimes I feel like a spider,
don't you? But if you're in the ark, if
you're in the ark, brothers and sisters, the waters of God's
awful judgment will never touch you. It will have you safe on
the other side in a new world. Rejoice in it. in the ark. Some things I want to bring out
about how they got in this ark and was interested to me as I
study this. They were saved in the ark and
my first point here is in regard to them coming into the ark,
Noah and his family, is this. When did Noah come into this
ark? And this is so important. When
did he? And I'm interested in this and
I'm emphasizing this this morning because this is emphasized here
in the text. It seems like the Holy Spirit
emphasizes these particular points of Noah coming to the ark. And
my first point on it is this. When did he come into this ark? And we have it here in the text
that Brother Lindsey read to us in chapter 7 and verse 1.
Look at this. And the Lord said unto Noah,
Come thou and all thy house into the ark. When did Noah come into
the ark? When the Lord called him into
it. When the Lord called him into
it. Now this is speculation on my part, but I think the whole
scripture would bear this out. That no one was forbidden to
come into this ark. Up until now, the plank was down,
the ramp was down, and the door was wide open. As far as I know,
everyone had permission, anyone had permission, to enter that
door into that ark. But not a single person entered,
not even Noah, until he was called to come in. God said unto Noah,
Come thou. Some may have thought about it.
I can almost see some people out of curiosity or some reason
going there to the bottom of the ramp and they're gazing up
into the ark to see what they can see. But nobody entered. Nobody wanted to enter. Nobody
felt a need to enter that ark. And there are some today, no
doubt, who would acknowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ is
the only way of salvation. If you confronted them with that,
they would acknowledge that if I'm ever to be saved, I know
that I must be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. I have children,
I have relatives, just as you do. And you said, and talk with
them and they will acknowledge that if they're ever saved, they
must be saved by Jesus Christ. They know you can't be saved
by any other means. But they never come to Him. They
never seek Him. They never seek to enter Him.
And they never will. Until God calls them. Just as
He did Noah. Now that's what we see here.
As far as I know, Every man and woman and boy and girl in this
world has permission to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. I know
of no man that God keeps away from Jesus Christ, that He forbids
to come. We have scripture that sets forth
the freeness to all men to come to Christ. I know anybody here
this morning under the sound of my voice God through His preachers,
God through their teacher this morning, gives men permission
to come to Christ. I sometimes read Isaiah chapter
55 and I'm amazed at what the Lord said there concerning the
wicked and the ungodly. And He said, Seek ye the Lord
while he may be found. And then He tells us who He's
speaking to. Let the wicked forsake his way. And the ungodly man
is thought, and let him return unto the Lord, and he'll have
mercy upon him. Find the most ungodly man that
you can find, and he has permission to come to the Lord to be saved
and to be forgiven. But you know, brothers and sisters,
it takes more than permission. It takes more than permission.
It takes a call. It takes more than a chance.
It takes a call of God's Holy Spirit to a man's conscience,
to a man's heart. Noah, no doubt, knew that he
must enter this ark to be saved. But yet he did not enter until
the Lord spoke to him and said, Come thou into the ark. And that's the thing about the
Christian religion, isn't it? That's the thing about the gospel.
You and I face this all the time. In our congregation, we face
it in our children, we face it with our neighbors. When we approach
men with the gospel and being saved, we're always conscious
of this, that it takes more than just our trying to persuade somebody. It takes more than just our preaching
and teaching the gospel to men. The Holy Spirit must give a call
for a man to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we
see in this. The necessity of being called. All the elect whose names were
in the Lamb's book of life. All of those whom the Lord Jesus
bore their sins. and obtained eternal redemption
for them, they yet must be called. They must be called. You and
I come over to the New Testament, and one of the whole concepts
that we see there about a man coming to Christ to be saved,
and coming to God by Him, is what the Scripture speaks of
being called. Again, I go back to that great
message that Peter preached in Acts chapter 2. when he instructed
those men to repent, he made this wonderful statement to them.
He said, for the promise is to you and to your children and
those who be aforeall. And then he qualified that and
he says this, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. It's so necessary, isn't it?
Call. The Lord Jesus spoke of it like
this. He said no man can come to me. except my Father which
sent me call him. He draws him. And it's not an
audible thing. You don't hear God's voice as
you hear my voice this morning. But he speaks to our spirit,
to our conscience, makes us know our need, our need of Christ
and salvation by him. He calls us. But something else
here about this, not only the necessity there in verse 1 of
the Lord calling, and Noah never came until the Lord did call
him, but there's something else here found in chapter 7 and verse
7. Look at this. There's something
else about Noah entering this ark. And Noah went in. Now there's effectual calling,
isn't it? There it is. You see that? And
the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, and Noah went in. That's what we call effectual
calling, isn't it? People want to know, who do you guys get
this effectual calling? Well, effectual calling simply
means that it has power to gain the end's desire. God desired
Noah to come into the ark. So what does he do? He calls
him. And what happens? Noah comes in. But notice in
the last portion of verse 7, he said this, and his sons went
in, and his wife, and his son's wife went with him into the ark
because of the waters of the flood. Here we have another reason
for Noah coming in. God called him, yes, but look
at this, because of the waters. Why did Noah go into that ark? He was scared not to. He was scared to death not to
enter that ark. We find this over in Hebrews
chapter 11. The scripture said, Noah being warned of God, of
things not seen as yet, moved with fear. Noah thought to himself,
if I'm not in that ark, I'm going to perish. God will not respect
me. He won't look upon me and say,
well, there's Noah. He's a fine fella. There's no
way he stands out in this generation. I think I'll spare him. Noah
knew better than that. Noah said, my only hope of escaping
the judgment of God is to get in that ark. And he scared to
death until he got in there. Ain't that the way a man comes
to Christ? We don't come to Christ blowing our bubble gum and smiling,
do we? We come out of necessity. God
has made us to know, if you're not in my Son, my wrath will
fall upon you. We come out of necessity. We
flee to Him as Noah fled into that ark. God won't spare me
if I'm not in Christ. We know better, don't we? Who
am I to think such a thing? God will not spare me. Noah believed
the only safe place from the fearful judgment of God was inside
that ark, and that was why he went in. There's two reasons
people don't come to Christ, and it all has to do with unbelief.
Number one is this. They don't believe God is holy.
They don't believe God is just. They do not believe that God
will punish their sins. I don't know why they believe
that. Maybe it's just because it's natural. But until a man
believes that God is holy and God is just, he'll never be concerned
about his soul and being saved from his sin. And secondly, a
man does not come to Christ because he doesn't believe God concerning
Christ. That Christ is an all-sufficient Savior, a hiding place from the
judgment of God. If he believed that, he'd flee
to Christ. You'll not hear so much today,
and we've heard this phrase now for probably the last 40 years
or so, make a decision for Christ. We've heard that so often. It's
almost ground into our generation. And the whole concept of that
is wrong. Make a decision for Christ. And
that's why I wanted to look at this point with you this morning.
Noah went in because of the waters of the flood. Can you see Noah
standing there at the end of that ramp? And he looks up in
the ark, and then he looks around him, and he does that a few times,
and someone notices Noah doing that. And they come up to him
and said, Noah, what are you doing? I've noticed you're standing
here. And Noah says, I'm trying to
decide if I want to go into the ark and be saved or if I want
to stay out here. Can you imagine that happening?
That would have only happened if Noah did not fear God. That would have only happened
if Noah did not believe God. But because Noah believed God,
he knew what was coming, the fearful judgment of God, and
he knew that ark. was the only means of securing
his soul. So what did he do? Oh, he made
haste up that ramp. He got in that ark. You know
what the Scriptures, how the Scriptures tells us when it speaks
of our coming to Christ. You know how sometimes it defines
that. It defines our coming to Christ as a fleeing. A fleeing. To whom you have fled for refuge. to lay hold upon the hope set
before us. And we all remember the cities
of refuge, and that's what Hebrews 6 is referring to. Fleeing to
refuge. They had three cities of refuge
set on the east side of the Jordan for the children of Israel to
flee to, and three on the Canaan side of Jordan. If you were working
with your neighbor, and you were chopping wood, and the axe head
came off and split his head and killed him, And someone saw that
happen. They go back and tell that dead
man's relative, oh so-and-so Bob just killed old Larry. You know what they said? Bob's
a dead man. We're going to kill old Bob.
And in the heat of passion they got their weapons and they took
off after Bob. Where's Bob's only safe place?
Where's his only place of refuge? That's that city of refuge. And
boy, he fled there. And he kept looking back and
he saw those avengers of blood on his trail. And he never felt
safe until he entered the doors of that city and cast himself
down before that high priest. That was his only place of safety.
And there's the way we come to Christ. We flee to Him and we
lay hold upon Him. We don't decide for Christ. We
flee to Christ. We flee to Him. Noah went in
because of the waters of the flood. And then something else
in regard to his entering there, and I want you to notice this,
and I think Brother Lindsey emphasized this in his reading. Verse 16,
notice this. And they that went in, went in,
male and female, of all flesh, as God had commanded him, And
the Lord shut him in. I like that, don't you? The Lord shut him in. I can almost see that. When Noah,
the last animal, went up that ramp, I can almost see that ramp
and the door. And sealed him in. Shut him up. Shut him up. What does that mean? Well, I'll tell you what it meant
for those outside that hour. It was something dreadful. It
meant nobody else was getting in. Nobody else could get in
because God had shut the door. I've changed my mind. It doesn't
matter. God has shut the door. There
may be something to this. It might start raining after.
It's too late. The door is shut. No man, no
beast, no fowl, no creeping thing entered that ark when God shut
that door. You know, brothers and sisters,
if men won't come to Christ now, God may fix it where men cannot
come to Christ. If men won't believe His gospel
now, He may fix it where men cannot believe His gospel, when
He shut the door. You remember that story the Lord
told us about the foolish and the wise virgins. The foolish
had no oil in their lamps and the wise had oil. And they went
out to meet the bridegroom at midnight. They were slumbering
and sleeping. And a cry was made, the bridegroom
comes, go you out to meet him. And the foolish said, our lamps
are gone out. Give us some oil. And the wise
said, we don't have oil for you and us. You'll have to go get
it on your own. And while they went to get oil,
the Lord came and the wise virgins went in with him. And you remember
what the very next word says, the door was shut. And the foolish
came back and they knocked, let us in. And the Lord said, I have
no idea who you are. And almost the same message is
portrayed by our Lord Jesus in Luke 13, where someone asked
Him, are there few that be saved? He said, strive to enter in at
the straight gate, for many will seek to enter in and shall not
be able. When once the Master has risen up and shut the door,
then it's too late. It was an awful thing for those
outside this ark, because there was no one else entering. this
place accepted. But what did it mean for Noah
and his family? It meant their salvation was
secure. It was sealed. Oh, it's a wonderful thing, brothers
and sisters. Not only when God puts a man
in Christ, but when He seals him there. No, nobody else is getting in,
but thank God nobody's getting out. Look over here, and I made
reference to this. Look in chapter 8, and I like
this because everything that went into that ark came out into
this new land. In verse 15, look at this. And
God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou thy
wife, and thy son's wife, and thy son's wife with thee. Bring
forth with thee everything that is with thee of all flesh, both
a thousand of cattle and of every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth." Everything went into that ark, came out on the
other side. That's a wonderful thing to think
about. And everybody that's in the Lord Jesus Christ is sealed
in Christ. Lord Jones made a wonderful statement,
just a short statement, It really got a hold of my heart and I
thought how wonderful that is. And this is a statement that
he made. He says, if you are a child of God, your ultimate
destination is absolutely sure. Isn't that wonderful? God puts
a man in Christ and He don't put him there to put him on probation.
He puts him there and seals him in there to keep him alive. and
give him life, and finally in Christ to bring him to a new
world, even heaven itself. And that's what the children
of God are waiting on now, for everything that's in Christ to
be gathered together, and these bodies that's redeemed to be
made new. We're waiting for that, aren't
we? We're waiting for that. And one last thing is this. concerning
the Lord's calling Noah and his family into this ark. And it's
found here in verse 18 of chapter 6. This is an amazing thing because
everything that you and I have been considering this morning,
the Lord calling Noah into this ark, and his building the ark
and getting in it and being saved by it. All of that was already
purposed before it ever took place. And that's what verse
16 tells us. Look at this. The Lord was telling
Noah he's going to bring a flood and destroy all flesh. But with
thee will I establish my covenant and thou shalt come unto the
ark. Thou and thy sons and thy wife
and thy son's wife with thee. Now here shows us something.
They were saved by God's will. By God's will and God's purpose.
Verse 18 was told to us before Noah ever picked up a hammer
or a saw. Before the ark was ever made.
This is what the Lord said. I purpose Noah to save you. and your family and all the others.
I will and therefore thou shalt. Look over here with me in Jeremiah
chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31. It's a wonderful thing when you
and I think that the Lord has saved us. And I'd love to live in the assurance
of that every day. But I'll be honest with you,
I have my doubts and fears, just like maybe some of you do. But
sometimes, occasionally, it seemed like it dawns upon me The assurance
of it all. You know what I'm talking about?
It's not just saying, I'm in Christ. But the assurance of
that sometimes. The Lord has saved me. I'm His. And the assurance of that will
dawn upon me suddenly. It's just like you're caught
up in the heaven. You've had that happen to you, haven't you?
But it's just for a moment. And you think, oh, if I could
just live in this amazing assurance. The glory of it. Being in Christ. Aren't you amazed when you think
you're saved? I've often asked people this. Don't it amaze you
that you're saved? Aren't you even surprised that
you're saved? When you think of what it is
to be saved and who is it that saves people, and when you think,
oh, I'm saved, oh, you just caught it with an amazement and surprise.
And then you go one step further and you begin to realize this.
I'm not only saved by the Lord, but I'm saved because He purposed
to save me. Oh, and that adds to the amazement
of it all, doesn't it? He just didn't start to love
me when He saved me, but He's always loved me. Back in eternity,
when the triune God dwelt alone, He says, I loved you with an
everlasting love. Me? He loved me? I'm amazed with
that. We're saved this morning. Because
God purposed to save us. It's His will to save us. And that's why we're saved. Because
of His will. I will establish my covenant
with you and you shall come into the ark. None of it had happened
yet. But the Lord speaks with such
certainty. I will and you shall. And can't you look back on your
conversion? You were going along in your life. You were dead in
trespasses and sins. You had heard about Jesus Christ.
You had no interest in Him. No true heart knowledge of Him
as the Savior. But the Lord made you so anxious.
And you come to Him and found yourself in Him. Why did you
do that? when others made their wretched
choice and rather die than to come to Him. Why did you come?
And you and I trace it back to this one thing, I will and you
shall. That's the covenant blessings
ain't it? That's the way the covenant runs. I will and because
I will, you shall. And look how he says it here
to Jeremiah in chapter 31 of Jeremiah. Let me just begin reading
here in verse 2. Thus saith the Lord, the people
which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness,
even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared
of old unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, I will,
and thou shalt be built, O Virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be
adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances
of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon
the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant and
shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day that
the watchman upon Mount Ephraim shall rise, shall cry, Arise
ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus
saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the
chief of the nations, publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord,
save thy people. He has a people. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. Christ is the Savior of
his people. Who are his people? The remnant,
the sheep, the chosen vessels of mercy, the remnant of Israel.
And look what he says in verse 8, Behold, I will bring them
from the north country. Look what he says. Did you just
notice what I read? Someone says here, the Lord says
unto us, say, O Lord, save thy people. And look what he says
in verse 8, I will. I love it when the Lord answers our prayer
that quickly, don't you? Say unto the Lord, save thy people.
I will. I will bring them from the north
country and gather them from the coast of the earth. And with
them, the blind and the lame, the women with child, and her
that treveleth with child together, a great company shall return
hither, and they shall come with weeping and supplication. Will
I lead them? He says in verse 8, I will bring
them. In verse 9, they shall come. That's why we've come,
isn't it? That's why we find ourselves
in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning. It's all our salvation,
our hope. Because God said, come. He said
it to you. It wasn't a general influence
that went out, and you just happened to get a hold of it. No, He spoke
to your conscience and said, Larry, come. And He came. He came. God bless His Word. All gracious
Father. Merciful, merciful Father in
Heaven. Holy Father. high and lifted
up, the God and Father of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory. We bow our hearts this morning
before you in your presence, standing in awe of your greatness,
so high that you humble yourself to behold the things that's in
heaven and to think that you'd be mindful of such as we are.
so mindful of us that you had purpose to save us from your
awful judgment and wrath. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving
yourself, for purchasing our souls and our bodies at a great
price to yourself, even burying our sins and endearing the awful
judgment upon them. Thank you for grace. Thank you
for your eternal love. Thank you for the way that you've
ordained to bring a man to yourself by this foolishness of preaching.
Taking such vessels, empty vessels, cracked and broken vessels, and
putting this treasure within them. Speaking these simple words
that your spirit is pleased to use to break and to heal, to
tear down and to build up. Thank you for this, dear people.
Please bless your word to their hearts this morning. For Christ's
sake, amen.