Brother Paul Mahan from Central
Grace Church. And that's all you need to know
about him. His name is Paul Mahan. He's going to come and preach
the Gospel to us. Come on, Brother Paul. Take all the time you need
with no hurry. That was a blessing, Brother
Bruce. Thank the Lord, Brother Mike, for that message and for you. I thank the Lord for
your pastor. I've known him for quite some
time now, I guess. I don't know how long. It's been
a while. This is Mindy and I, our first
visit here to this building. We're happy to be here. It's
an honor. Anytime a man asks me to preach,
it's quite an honor, isn't it? It is. We don't just let anybody
preach, do we, Fred? No, sir. Very jealously, zealously guard
the pulpit, we do, don't we? So it's quite an honor, and I
would not betray that trust for anything. And like Paul said,
woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. I thank the Lord,
though, for your pastor. I listen to preaching for my
own benefit, my own profit. Don't we? We need to be fed too,
don't we? And I quite often go to your
pastor first. I really do. And Brother Mike.
I listen to him a lot. And there's a fellow named Mayhem,
another preacher I listen to. That's my pastor. That's how
you know a man's your pastor. That's who you want to hear preach.
Right? That's the man that the Lord used you to, used him to
reveal the gospel to you. And that's your pastor. And he
still is. That's who I listen to mostly. But I sure am blessed by Brother
Bruce and Brother Mike. Thank the Lord for them. Brother Mike brought a message
just now from the Old Testament, and I'm going to too. I'm going
to try it. Probably bring another one on
Sunday from the Old Testament. A lot of people call it the old
Bible, don't they? It's just one Bible, old and
new. It's all the same story. The
Old Testament says someone's coming. That's the whole Old
Testament from Genesis to Malachi says someone's coming. It speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospels say He's here. He's
here. And the epistles and revelations
say He's coming again. It's all about Him. Why do we
preach the Old Testament? Well, number one, it's God's
Word. That's why. Number two is because it's the
Bible that the prophets preached from. It's the Bible that the
apostles preached from. It's the Bible that our Lord
Jesus Christ preached from. That's what He preached from,
didn't He? He opened the books of Moses and the Law and the
Prophets and expanded unto them what? The things concerning Himself. All Scripture testifies of Christ. To Him give all the Prophets
witness, don't they? Our Lord said that. He said,
they are they which testify of Me. In the volume of the book,
it is written of Me, Christ said. Lo, I come to do Thy will. All of the Old Testament. And
the Old Testament, these types and pictures and symbols of the
Lord Jesus Christ who was to come, prove Him to be the Christ. When He came, He's the only one
that fulfilled those, wasn't it? Clearly. They prove Him to
be the Christ. Exact details, everything concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, exact details and prophecies in the
Old Testament that pictured the Christ who was to come. And when
He came, That's him. It's got to be him. The only
one that fits all the types. We have a couple that have been
coming for a few years now and they both just confessed the
Lord in baptism. And I was preaching and kept
saying something about the types, the types, the types. And afterward,
Brother Fred, he came up to me and said, what are types? You
take it for granted. People know what that is, don't
you? is a representation of something, a picture of the real thing. Okay? And these types of Christ
prove Him to be the Christ when He came. But the Lord must reveal
these things to us, mustn't He? He must reveal Himself to us.
The Old Testament is like a book of parables, if you will. It's all hidden. It's all hidden. But when the Lord reveals Christ
to you in these things, it's a revelation then. When you see
all these, like the brazen serpent, the woman seed, the smitten rock,
the kinsman redeemer. See, God only reveals these things
to His people. He hides these things from the
wise and prudent. People all over think it is just
an old book of Jewish fables and stories about faithful men
and women. No, it is about Jesus Christ. Go with me to Genesis chapter
6. We are going to look at an old, old story, one that everybody
thinks they know. Noah and his Ark. Everybody thinks
they know this story. It's all about how the Lord,
Noah, saved the animals. Right? Well, there's no clearer
type or there's no more wonderful and glorious type in all the
Word of God of Christ than Noah and his Ark. Noah himself represents
the Lord Jesus Christ, and that ark represents the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nothing more clearly if he reveals
it to you. I love that Proverbs 8, I believe
it's verse 8, says it's all plain to him to understand it. When he gives you eyes to see.
This story of Noah and his ark is a true story. I know it's
so. How do you know God said it?
It's not a cunningly devised fable. It's not some old allegory
like people say. And I'm not going to argue with
pot shirts. I'm not going to do it. It's
true. We're not called to prove God. The heavens declare His glory.
The firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day others speak. Everything
declares God is. You don't need to argue with
blind men. That's futile. We don't stand
up here and try to prove God. We declare Him. We preach Him,
don't we? Preach the truth. This is a true
story. Noah and his Ark. Okay? And this
story clearly testifies of Christ and Him crucified. I'll make
this as plain as I can. I hope the Lord will make it
plain. This story represents, it shows that there is salvation
only in Jesus Christ. Let me make this very clear.
Like this ark. Outside of Christ, you'll perish. In Christ, there's life. In Adam, all die. In Christ,
all made alive. Right? In this story of the ark,
everyone outside of the ark perished, didn't they? Who lived. Only
those in the ark. Now that's the gospel. That's
the gospel. Now all have heard this story.
A few people believe it. A few people believe it's a true
story. Even fewer people know the meaning
or even care. But as I said, very simply, all
in the ark were saved. All outside the ark perished. I know you hear your pastor preach
all the time of being in God, in Christ. Do you know how many
times in the Scriptures it talks about being in Christ, in Christ,
in Christ? Listen to that. Here is a verse
in Ephesians that tells us the story of Noah and the In the dispensations of the fullness
of time, He's going to gather together in one all things in
Christ. Yeah, even in Him. Like Noah
gathered all those animals and everyone was saved only in that
heart. In Christ. In Christ. Genesis
6. Couldn't be simpler, couldn't
be plainer. Noah and his ark. Noah and the ark represent the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 5. God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth. And every imagination
of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. Psalm
14 says, God looked down upon the children of men to see if
there were any that didn't understand. If there were any that seek after
God. He says, none. They all together
become filthy, stinking, rotten. There's none good, no, not one.
There's none righteous, no, not one. Isn't that what the Lord
said? That's how God beholds this planet and the people in
it. Verse 6 says, it repented the
Lord that He made man on the earth. It grieved Him at His
heart. Now, the Lord is speaking in a language we can understand.
God is not a man that He should repent or turn. But what He's
saying is in a language we can understand. You know, we would
say something like, I wish I'd have never made you. to show
His utter detestation and abhorrence. It says the whole earth had corrupted
His way, didn't it? The whole earth had corrupted
His way and was full of violence. You know, our Lord Jesus Christ
spoke of Noah, didn't He? When people scoff and mock at
the truth, they're mocking the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe
everything He said. He spoke of Noah and the ark,
didn't He? He said, As in the days of Noah, so shall the coming
of the Son of Man be. Didn't He? Peter spoke of it in both of
his letters. Hebrews speaks of it. It's a
dire warning and yet a wonderful promise. Our Lord spoke of Noah and his
ark. Seventh says, the Lord said,
I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the
earth, both man and beast and creeping thing and the fowls
of the air. It repented me that I have made them. And that is
what Peter said. He said the same earth that was
destroyed by flood is kept in store, reserved unto fire. People scoff at that. Don't tell
me preachers. Are you preaching fire and brimstone? You know who said that, Byron
Brimstow? Jesus Christ. Not some wild maniac standing
on the street corner holding a sign. The Lord Jesus Christ
said that. It's serious. This message is
serious. You're either in Jesus Christ
or you're not. It's that serious. We need to know. Give diligence
to make your calling and election true. Am I in Christ or am I
not? He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son
hath not life. People talk all the time about
a fellow, he's living the good life. Meaning he's got a good
job and got a house and got a 4x4 with a 12-inch lift or something. Living the good life. If he doesn't
have Christ, he doesn't have life at all. He's a dead man.
He's dead while he lives. Who said that? God did. Christ
did. In Christ or out of Christ? Which
is? The Lord said, I will destroy
man whom I created from the face of the earth. But Noah, verse 8, found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Now Noah, he represents every
sinner saved by grace, doesn't he? But I'm looking at him right
now as the Lord Jesus Christ. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Noah is going to be a savior,
as it were, of the animals and his family and all that. But
Jesus Christ is the grace of God. He is the grace of God. Noah, his name means rest. His name means rest. What did
our Lord say? Come unto Me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Well, our Lord Jesus Christ is
the grace of God. The Lord is well pleased for
His Son's righteousness sake, Scripture says, Isaiah 42. Well pleased for His righteousness
sake. The Lord looked down to see if there were any. He said,
there's none but one. And the Lord said, that's My
well beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. You better hear
Him. You better come when He calls because you're only going
to be saved through Him. When He calls you, you better
come to Him. He's the one that you're going
to be accepted in. He's the Savior, like Noah. Look at this. It says, Noah was a just man
and perfect. That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
The only just man who ever lived. Walked with God. Our Lord not
only walked with God, He is God. God walked this earth as a man. The whole earth was corrupt,
God said. Noah was just and perfect though. And God said to Noah in verse
13 and 14, God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh has come
before me. The earth is filled with violence
through them, through the flesh. Behold, I will destroy them with
the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Make an ark. God told Noah to
make an ark. Well, in a council, in a covenant
before the world began, eternal covenant, with His Son, God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, made a covenant. And what God said to Christ was,
you're going to be the ark. You're going to be the ark. I'm
going to make you to be the ark. I'm going to make you to be sin. I'm going to make you to be the
curse. I'm going to make you to be the sin offering. You're
going to be the ark. Not only make it, but be it.
Make an ark, look at verse 14, with rooms, it says, of gopher
wood. Gopher wood, we don't have, I
don't think we have that around here, do we? Gopher wood, none
in Virginia, anyway. But we have locusts. That's pretty
similar, I believe. It's impervious to decay. It
just won't rot, will it? Insects can't hardly bother it. It lives a long time in a locust
tree. And this gopher wood was like
that. Well, this represents our Lord's
sinless humanity. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh, but without sin, impervious to sin and decay. He's sinless. Make an ark. You're going to be made flesh,
our God says to His Son. You're going to be made flesh,
sinless flesh, like unto His people, but without Rooms, look
at verse 14. Rooms shalt thou make in the
ark. Brother Mike, does your center reference say, what does
it say about rooms? Mine says nests. Nests! Where are they? In Him. In the ark. Our Lord said, I
go to prepare a place for you in my Father's house or many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. He is our nesting place,
our resting place. Rooms. Rooms. And read on. It says in verse
14, Thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. If there
is a key verse, this is it. Pitch. I know you men, if you
have ever built a house, that you've taken that black tar and
coated the foundation of it, haven't you? And maybe some of
you women. But that's what pitch is. It waterproofs your house, doesn't
it? And what pitch comes from is
a tree, like pine tar. That's the base substance of
it. In other words, you've got to wound a tree, an evergreen
tree. planted by the rivers of water.
You've got to wound a tree and that sap, that substance, you
know that's what myrrh is? That's what the balm of Gilead
is. It's the sap of a tree that's wounded. They don't cut it down,
they just wound it. And out of that wound comes myrrh, the balm
of Gilead. Well, this pitch, this tar substance
that's going to cover this boat inside and out so that the wrath
of God, the rain is not going to touch those in it, That represents
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't it? And the Lord told
Noah, you pitch it. You pitch it, Noah. You put that
blood all over that ark, on the outside and the inside. People
were saved by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, His
own precious blood which He shed for the remission of our sin.
And it's not only on the outside, but it's on the inside. It's
on the inside. You know, they were like the
children of Israel were in the homes in Egypt, and that blood
was applied on the doorpost and lintel, and they couldn't see
it, could they? Well, God said, you don't need to see it. When
I see the blood, I'll pass over you dead. But, you know, You
know, I want to see the blood, don't you? I want to see the
blood. And the Lord pitched this ark
on the outside and the inside. Is it pitched? Will it cover?
Will it hold? Pitch it on the outside. Pitch
it on the inside. Pitch it good, Noah. Pitch it
good. One drop of water can't fall
on my people. And brethren, the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ actually put away the sins of His people,
the blood of Jesus Christ. God's sin covers us. There's
not one sin going to be held to our account, not one sin. We're not going to be charged
with one sin. It says that He laid down His
life, He made a propitiation for us. That word propitiation
in the New Testament is actually the same word as pitch here.
Covering. Covering. Pitch. Look at verse,
that's the blood of Christ, verse 15. This is the fashion of it.
It had a pattern to it. This is the way you're going
to have to make it. The arch will be this, the breadth of
the arch, the height of the arch. What did Paul say about it? Oh,
that we might know the length, the height, the breadth, the
depth of the love of Christ with the passage of time. This arch
was glorious, wasn't it? Not to the human eyes. Kind of
like that tabernacle in the wilderness, wasn't it? That old brown tent? covered with badger skin, the
hibats, the hittites, and the parasites. All those ites would
go by and they'd see that Brown's Ark out there and the people
all gathered around it and they'd all say, what are they seeing
that? Well, look at our temple over here in Persia. Look at this. What are they seeing
that? We had to go on inside to see
the beauty of it. Our Lord was made flesh and it
says there was no beauty that we should desire in it. He had
no form or comeless. This boat wasn't beautiful to
look at. Noah and his family thought it
was the most beautiful boat they'd ever been on. Oh my, it was their salvation. Make it out of gopher wood and
pitch it and here's the pattern of it. Verse 16 says, A window. One window. One source of light. One source of light. A window. Not many. One window. Didn't
Christ say, I am the light of the world? If you're not in Christ, you
don't know Christ, you don't have light. You're in darkness
even in the sun. I am the light. Don't you imagine
that Sham, Ham, Japheth, their wives and everybody, when that
rain started falling, that they all ran up and when they felt
that boat moving, don't you know they all went up and ran to look
out that window? You reckon? There was one window
in that ark. And they all went up there to
look out that window. There was only one place that they could go
to look out on the world and see it for what it really is. What? What did they see when
looking out that window of the ark? How did they see the world? Perishing. Right? In Christ. That's what our Lord said. He
said, I didn't come to condemn the world. I came to save it.
But He's coming back to destroy it. He is. That's no fable. That's fact. And in Christ who
is our wisdom and our light, we see this world for what it
is, a perishing world. And we must be in Christ like
Noah and his family were in the ark. We must be in that ark.
Because He's coming. He said, I'm at the door. Look at this, verse 16, and a
door, the door. How many doors was it? One door. What Christ said, I am the door. By me. There is only one way
in this ark. What if somebody tried to climb
up? Kick them out. There is only
one way in. One way in. Christ is the door.
He said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the light, and no
man cometh unto the Father but by me. Look at verse 16. It says,
you'll set it in the side thereof with lower, second, and third
stories. How many stories were in that
ark? Three stories, one ark. Three stories, one ark. God, hear O Israel, our God is
one God. He's got the Father. He's got
the Son. He's got the Holy Spirit in it.
He's one in Christ. One God. The only God we'll ever
see, the only God we'll ever know is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Three in one. Three stories. Look at verse 17 and 18. It says, 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 the heaven. And everything
that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish
my covenant, Noah, and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy
sons and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. I'm going to
destroy the world, but you're going to live, and those with
you are going to live. That's the gospel. The Scripture
says, He that hath the Son hath life. In Christ is life and only
in Christ is there life. Christ and Him crucified. Now
look at chapter 7. Look at verse 11. It says, Now
in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month,
the seventeenth day of the month, Same day, all the fountains of
the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were
opened. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. It was
an exact time that God had purposed before the world began for this
rain to start falling. An exact time. And in the fullness
of time, that's when it happened. And in the fullness of time,
God sent forth His Son, made of wood, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, to be made a curse for
them, The law was a curse, and Christ came to be made a curse
for them. This boat, this ark, was the
safety of and the salvation of all those in it. God's wrath was going to fall.
You know, Scripture says in Romans 1 that the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth, hold down, suppress. Peter said, in mentioning the
ark, he said they're willingly ignorant. They suppress the truth
in spite of the clearest evidences, clear things that prove. They
suppress it, that they're willingly ignorant of creation and that
there was a great flood in old Perry. There was no ice age people. It was a flood though. It was a flood, right? But Peter
said they're willingly ignorant of that. Willingly ignorant. But God made a covenant with
His Son, that He would come to this earth and be the ark and
be the salvation of His people to be made sin for them, He who
knew no sin, that they might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. That He would bear the wrath of God that was due
to us, He would bear it in His body, bear our sins in His body
on the tree, on the cross. Christ and Him crucified. This
ark represents Christ and Him crucified. When the wrath of
God fell, the rain fell and destroyed all flesh, not one drop fell
on those in the ark. Why? Because the ark took it
off. All the rain fell on the ark.
That pitch kept that rain from coming in on them. That's the
blood of Christ. Christ and Him crucified. It's
not just Christ. It's Christ crucified. He came
to be made sin. He came to die. He said, for
this cause came I into the world. Because this world is dead and
dying, I came to give them life. How did He come to give them
life? By laying down His life. By dying for them. And so that rain fell. Look at
verse 17. Oh, I loved it. And we can't
even, you know, I won't even touch the hem of this whole garment. There's so much here. Verse 17,
the flood was 40 days on the earth and the waters increased
and bear up the ark and it was lifted up above the ark. I love this picture. Picture
this with your mind's eye. The rain fell, 40 days and 49. And everything was covered. The
hills started being covered, the mountains, Mount Everest,
everything was finally covered. The whole earth was covered with
water. There's one thing that's above
it all. One thing rose above it all,
lifted up. I lifted up for every eye to
see. We're the only ones that saw
it. That's Christ and Him crucified.
He said, if I be lifted up, the Son of Man must be lifted up.
He must be crucify, to bear his people's wrath, to bear the sin
of God's people. Christ crucified. In Adam all
died. They died, didn't they? All flesh
died. Everything that had breath in
it died. But not one person in that hour
died. Not one. In Christ will all be made alive.
But there's a problem. But there's a problem. The salvation
of God's people, the gospel of Christ, like that ark, was all
pre-designed and pre-determined before the world began. It was
ordered in all things and sure, the length, the breadth, the
height, the depth of it, the number of rooms in it, the animals
were numbered. God declared the end from the
beginning. Now who was in that ark? Look at verse 18 of chapter
6. Who was in that ark? God said
to Noah, with thee will I establish my covenant, and thou shalt come
into the ark, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons. Why? In other words, it was his
family, Noah's people. There were no strangers in that
ark. Doesn't the Scripture say, for the transgression of my people
was he stricken? Call his name Jesus, for he shall
save who? His people from their sin. God said this. God determined
this. God determined who would be in
that ark, didn't He? Who? Noah's family. Noah's family. His wife. She's going to be there. Well, she doesn't want to come. She's going to be there. She's
going to be there. His sons. All his sons are going
to be there. Not one of them is going to be missing. They
were there. Didn't Christ say that? All that the Father giveth
me shall come unto me. No, I won't be there. Not one
of them is missing. He said, all that you've given me, I've
kept. Not one of them is missing. They all came. Why did they come
in? Why did the sons of Noah and
his wife and their wives come into that ark? Why? Because God
told them to. God said, come thou. Come in
that ark. God said so, and look at this. These animals, all these animals,
we'll look at them a little bit here. These animals, why were
they in there? Look at verse 19, it says, "...of
every living thing, of all flesh, two of every sort." He's talking
to Noah now. This is all between God and Noah.
He's not consulting anybody. He's not asking Noah's sons. He's not asking Noah's wife.
It's all between God and Noah, isn't it? This is what you're
going to do and this is what's going to happen. And God gave this command. They're
coming in. And this covenant was made between the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit concerning His people. We weren't around
when that covenant was made. It's ordered in all things and
sure, aren't you glad? And look at verse 19, "...of every living
thing, of all flesh, two of every sort," He is talking to Noah,
"...shalt thou bring into the ark." Noah, you are going to
bring them all into it. If they are going to get into this ark,
you are going to bring them. Why? To keep them alive. Verse
20, "...fowl of every kind, cattle of every kind, creepy things
of every kind, two of every sort, shall come unto thee." They shall.
Why? To keep them alive. That's what
you're here for, Noah, to keep them alive. Not to offer them
life, to keep them alive. Not to invite them to come in.
Noah didn't go out and invite any animal. He brought them in. Isaiah 43, that same chapter
that he read, it says, I will say unto the north, bring my
sons. Are they coming? God will work, and who will let
it? I will say, who was in that hour? Shem, Ham,
and Japheth. Who do they represent? Every
single tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue of heaven. God has a people out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue of heaven, doesn't He? All of
them, where are they? They're in Christ. He doesn't
have one son outside of Christ. They're all in Christ. All in
Christ. And like those animals out of
every kind, like those that came out of Egypt, it says there's
a mixed multitude. They had all one thing in common. They were
in Christ. They were in that ark. A mixed
multitude. But in that ark, all these animals
had this one thing in common. They were in that ark. Ark, it
didn't matter if they were big, it didn't matter if they were
little, it didn't matter if they were male, it didn't matter if they were
female, it didn't matter if they were this or that or the other,
if they were a snail, if they were an elephant, it didn't matter,
it didn't matter. They're all the same, aren't they? They're in that
ark. And in Christ there's no Jew,
no Gentile, no male, no female, no rich, no poor, all the same,
aren't they? The sinner is saved by grace. The sinner is saved
by grace. There's no distinction. You know
the story of the Titanic. And, you know, there were all
sorts of people on that boat, on that ship. By the way, the
owners, the makers of that boat, the architects said it can't
sink. No way. Didn't it? Cannot sink. I think the owner,
the architect was on that ship. I think he was. I think he perished.
Can't sink. Don't you know they said about
that Noah's Ark can't float? No way. Ain't no way that boat
would float. Well, they said about the Ark,
you can't sink. Well, there was everybody. Everybody was clamoring to get
on that ship, you know. The who's who in society, the
rich, the famous were on that ship. Doctors, politicians, you
know, royalty were on that ship. Wise, mighty, and noble, as well
as the galley workers, the cooks, the poor. There was lots of people
on that ship, okay? But when it was all over and
that ship went down, they posted on a board, and they
had two categories. It didn't list what they owned.
It didn't list what they knew. It didn't list what they obtained.
It didn't list anything about those people. All it said was
saved, lost, in Christ or out of Christ. That's it. You see, if these animals could
talk, every one of those animals would say, I'm here because He called me. I'm here because He chose me. No one went out and chose whom
he would to put in that ark. Well, preacher, you've got to
give an invitation. No, you don't. This is the message. This is what God uses. This is
what God uses to bring them in. It's a mystery, isn't it? Just
declare it and He'll bring them in. Declare who He is. Don't you have to offer Him salvation?
No! Every one of those animals would
say, I'm here because Noah chose me. Noah went out there and he
saw a herd of elk, okay? He didn't say, which one of you
elks want to get on the ark? Did he? Taking applications. And he had Shem, Ham, you reckon
he had them helping him some? Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God has
His preachers. He uses His preachers to go out
to preach this gospel. He doesn't tell them, go out
and invite sinners. He says, you just preach the gospel. I'll
bring them in. Watch them come. Watch them come. And Noah said, Shem, get that
one. Japheth, you see that little scrawny one, that ugly one, that
weak one? Get that one. Make sure you get that one. And
that one, and that one, and that one, and that one. Bring them! Bring them here. Every one of
those animals would say, the reason I'm in this ark is because
Noah chose me, called me, and brought me. And every single
person saved by the grace of God says that very thing, doesn't
he? There's no room for boasting
in that ark. No room for boasting. The lion
couldn't say, I got here because I'm strong. You got there because
Noah brought you. How many lions were there? He
chose the one he was. No horse, no noble steed could
say, I'm faster, I'm swifter. No, it's not to the swift. Look
and see that old donkey over there? See that old mule? He
ain't no better than him. He's chosen to. No owl could
say, I'm wiser than the rest of them. I knew better, so I
came in. No, you didn't. You're here because Noah brought
you. Right? None were there by their free
will, and all were there by free grace. None were there by their
choice, all were there by Noah's choice, weren't they? And so
it is with God's people that are in Christ. You know no wild
animal would have come on that ark with his own free will? A
lion? Would you imagine Noah? Would
you like, Mr. Lion, would you like to come
on this ark? He had to be made willing, didn't
he? He had to be made willing. He had to be tamed. He had to
be brought down, didn't he? When you think of Simon Peter,
when I think of Simon Peter, I think of an old, rough, gruff,
longshoreman, fisherman, don't you? Think of a fellow that just
as soon fights you as he looks at you, don't you? Cussing and
rip-roaring and snorting, and when he'd get out on leave, he'd
get in port after fishing, he'd go for a few mugs of grog, you
know, and just fight, just clean house, wouldn't he? He did that
in the garden. And it wasn't right after the
Lord left that he started cussing and reverting, didn't he? You
think of Peter like that? Rough, rough fella. Big, strong,
rough, rough fella. One day, a Jewish rabbi came
by. And there were a bunch of boats
out in that harbor. In that sea of Galilee. A bunch of boats.
A bunch of fishermen. Just like old Simon Peter. And this Jewish
rabbi walked up and said, follow me. He walked off. And Simon Peter. Nobody tells
him what to do. Simon Peter. Something came over
him. Someone came over him. And buddy, he dropped everything.
And he followed Christ. Wow, man. Our Lord is able to
save the uttermost. He's able to save the wild man.
You wouldn't. You wouldn't believe me. You
wouldn't believe me if you'd seen me. You're looking at a wild man.
You're looking at the particle sun. You're looking at the gathering
demoniac here. I'm telling you the truth. Well,
in that ark, for those animals to dwell together, there had
to be a great change. You know that? For the wolf to
lie down with the lamb, for the lion not to eat the bullock. There has to be a great change,
doesn't it? Every one of those animals had to have a new nature
to dwell peaceably in that ark. Because there were no chains. There were no cages. There were
nests. They were free. There was no
bondage in that ark. Nobody in that ark was under
bondage. Well, what's going to keep them from going at each
other? Grace, power, change. Scripture says if any man be
in Christ, he's what? A new creature. A new creature. They all dwelled together peaceably.
They were all glad to be there. They were all grateful to be
there, weren't they? You reckon that, you know, dogs
and cats just don't hardly get along, do they? You reckon that
if one of those dogs kind of grabbed one of those cats, what
do you reckon Noah would have done? Yeah? Could have happened. Noah would have told him, the
only reason you're here is because I chose you. You see the rest
of those dogs out there? Who do you think you are? You're
here by free grace, sovereign grace. You get along. You get along. They all dwelled
in peace and safety. There was not one death in that
ark. Not one animal died in that ark. Can't do it. Can't do it. Christ said, He that liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. Can't do it. In Christ all alive. All those animals were shut in.
It says, Lord, shut him in. They were all shut in. They were
all sealed with that pitch. They couldn't get out if they
wanted to. Don't you like that? They couldn't get out. You know,
they were on that boat for a year? Did you know that? You didn't
know that, did you? They were on there for a year!
Don't you know after a while, it's just going to be over? I
want out! No. Nothing out there for you. You'll get out when we all go
out into a new world, and you'll be glad you stayed. There was
no bondage. Like I said, they all ate the
same food. They all ate the same food. What? Straw? Straw? Yeah, the lion ate straw like
an ox. He loved it. He loved it. I thought it was
the best food he ever ate. Listen to me now. There was a time before the Lord
revealed Himself to me, and I couldn't stand this gospel. Bringing me
to hear preaching was like pulling teeth. I'd rather do anything
than this. But now, look here, look at me.
I'm preaching it. Like Paul, that Saul of Tarsus
said, he that destroyed the faith now preaches it. What happened? Well, it sure
wasn't me. A change came, a new nature. It causes a wild man to love
what he once hated and hated what he once loved. The love
this gospel has. You know, our children, by nature,
they don't want to come to church. It's the worst thing. On earth,
it's like tormenting. I'm a preacher's kid. You know
what to say about a preacher's kid. It was torment to me. But God. And I'm telling you
the truth, there's nothing I'd rather do. I kind of drove, we
drove long ways to come here. On Friday night, of all night. And Saturday, we're going to
do a Saturday. Are you crazy? I'm serious. Seriously. That line. I love this straw. I've never had this before. This
gospel. You really love that? Yeah. And you can't make somebody love
it, do you? The Lord's got to give them a taste for it. A taste
of the Lord's grace. To love it doesn't endow them.
And when he does, there's nothing you'd rather eat. They all ate
the same food and loved it. I guess Noah ate straw too. But what's the food of God's
people? What is the food of God's people? Noah was the one that
provided. He said, Oh, if you're going to take the food and you're
going to bring it and whatever you give them, that's what they're
going to eat. What did Christ say? Take, eat, this is my body
broken for you. Christ and Him crucified. You
want to preach that again, preacher? Yes! And His sheep are going
to go, yes! Aren't they? Yes! Sheep only
eat one thing. Grass! Grass! He makes all His people to lie
down in tender pasture and eat grass and they just love it,
can't get enough of it. I used to have an old whore, a draft
whore, Molly. About 1,600, 1,700 pounds. And
she'd eat that grass. These elephants, you know, ain't
strong. They've got fat. And the horse
would eat that grass, wouldn't you know, eat that grass. And
she got so big until she'd just fall over on the ground. And then she'd lay there and
eat some more. I'm telling you. And people think, is that it?
Is that all you all do? Isn't it wonderful? How many
times have you heard this story? No one has ever. This is how
you know the gospel is gospel to you. It's still new. It's still good. You never get
tired of it. Gospel is good news. It never
gets old to you. How many stories can you tell
over and over again? I won't ask my wife. I tell the same
old jokes and same old stories. She's getting tired of them.
She's getting tired of them. But not this gospel, huh? Not
this gospel. It's the same gospel we've been
hearing from a child and it never grows old. He gets sweeter. And
so lions and oxen, they were saying, after 360 days, got any
more that's strong? Seriously. Seriously. Food that Noah provided. Let
me close with this. I've got to quit. They all walked
out of that ark one day into a new world. In the fullness
of time, they all walked out of that ark into a new world. God said in Isaiah 65, Behold,
I make all things new. When that flood covered this
world, there was no more man's glory, man's works. It all was
gone. There was nothing to be seen.
Nothing of man to be seen. Only that ark lifted up above
it all. And in glory, Christ is going
to get all the honor and all the glory. Everybody there is
going to be singing about Him. But now, He has made us a new
heaven and a new earth prepared for His people. And it's a wonderful
thing, a glorious... Can you imagine all those...
No, Shem, Hamel, and Japheth, after all that time, walking
out of that house. And the bright sun's out. We
can't even enter in there. Boy, it must have been light.
Can't you see it? It's all ours. This whole place. Listen to what the Lord said
in the last book. Now, we've just looked at the
first book. And here's what he says in the last book. He said,
I make all things new. He said, behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men. What's that? That's Christ. He'll
dwell with them. He'll be with His people. God Himself shall be with them
and be their God. That's Christ. God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death.
Neither sorrow nor cry, neither shall there be any more pain.
The former things are passed away." And Isaiah said, they
won't even be remembered or come to mind. For the beauty, for
the glory of that new heaven and earth. And he said, you write
this down. Write it down. It's true. He
said, Alpha and Omega, I'm the beginning and I'm the end. And
I'll give to him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely. Christ said, I live. And because
I live, you shall live also. In Christ, out of Christ. In the ark, out of the ark. Which are you? Which are you? I pray you're in the ark. May
the Lord bless you.