1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,900 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,900 --> 00:00:21,100 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,100 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,500 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:40,600 for the life we're searching for. So glad that you're with us this morning. What a thrill 6 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,840 to be able to open the Bible with you together. Genesis chapter 6 today, the title of the 7 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:49,840 message is, Finding Grace in Chaos. How many of you believe that we sometimes see chaos 8 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,960 in our world? Would you raise your hand? It's all over, it's all over the time, all the 9 00:00:54,960 --> 00:01:01,200 time it seems like. Genesis chapter 6 shows us a time of incredible chaos that we need 10 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,200 to be aware of. Genesis chapter 6, this is our message series through the book of Genesis 11 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:11,280 and the next few weeks we will continue to focus on this passage. Before you stand, let 12 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:16,200 me just tell you a story I came across this past week, pretty interesting story. Before 13 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:23,120 I say the story, I want to tell you, don't miss the boat. Don't miss the boat. Recently, 14 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,280 I read of a 65 year old woman who was on a cruise with her husband and passengers when 15 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:33,160 they stopped at a certain island were allowed off the boat so long as they got back on when 16 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,840 the boat resumed its journey. Well, in this particular case, the woman and her wife fell 17 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:45,120 into an argument and they separated. They were both angry, she ended up alone and confused 18 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:50,040 and she missed the call to reboard. The warning sounds went off, she just missed the call 19 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,680 to reboard. And in her confusion, walking down the street not far from the dock, she 20 00:01:54,680 --> 00:02:00,920 saw the boat, by now it's dark, moving out into the harbor and moving out towards the 21 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:07,200 sea. And so in an attempt to catch it, she dives off the end of the wharf and swims towards 22 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:14,160 the boat. She's 65 years old, the water is very cold and for the next 500 meters she 23 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:20,040 works her best to get to that boat. Four hours later, fishermen find her barely conscious 24 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:27,700 floating on the surface of the water. She was rescued, she did take an airplane home. 25 00:02:27,700 --> 00:02:33,080 Don't miss the boat. You know, the leaving of a boat, the departing of a boat is a pretty 26 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:38,360 important thing, especially in the book of Genesis when we look at a large boat called 27 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:43,200 the Ark. Would you stand with me as we read God's word today? And as we read Genesis 28 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,120 chapter 6, I want to warn you about something. I want to warn you that this text that we'll 29 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:53,680 read is an expose on the human heart. It will expose the human heart apart from God. This 30 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:58,960 is what our hearts look like without God. It's also a window opening for us to look 31 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:07,400 into the mind of and the heart of Almighty God when mankind rebels against Him. So I 32 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,880 want you to be warned because you're going to see some things in this passage we don't 33 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:16,800 often see. And at the same time, you're going to see a commentary on the grace of God right 34 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,280 in the midst of that chaos. Genesis chapter 6 beginning in verse 1. 35 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,440 Now it came about when men began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were 36 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,720 born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they 37 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:35,040 took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not strive 38 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:41,880 with men forever because he also is flesh. Nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years. 39 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:46,640 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterwards when the sons of God came 40 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:51,920 into the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were 41 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:58,080 of old, men every now. Now I need you to know that although those phrases for those mighty 42 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:04,920 men seem noble, they are not. Verse 5. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man 43 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:11,920 was great on the earth and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 44 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:18,120 The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart. 45 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:23,320 And the Lord said, I will blot out man from whom I've created on the face of the land 46 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:28,040 from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky for I am sorry that I 47 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:32,040 have made them. Now we'll reserve verse 8 for just a moment. Would you jump down to 48 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,080 verse 11 for more details? Then the earth was corrupt in the sight of God and the earth 49 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:42,440 was filled with violence. God looked on the earth and behold it was corrupt for all flesh 50 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:49,440 has corrupted their way upon the earth. Not a beautiful picture, but reality. Let's pray 51 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:55,080 together. Father today my prayer is that you'll let us see both your justice and your grace 52 00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:00,800 in the same text, the same story. And for us also Lord to hear the warning that you 53 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,920 give not only then but now. Father today let your Holy Spirit speak through this text in 54 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:12,920 Jesus name I pray and all God's people again said amen. Please be seated. 55 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:20,920 Alright first some facts. This text is written about 1600 years after creation. 1600 years. 56 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:27,720 In 1600 years men and women have been living astronomical lengths of time and they're having 57 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:33,400 a lot of children. They did multiply and replenish the earth. Most historians look back and they 58 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:40,360 estimate the world's population at the writing of Genesis 6 to be between 4 and 10 billion 59 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:45,320 people. Now someone says wait a minute don't we only have almost 8 billion people on the 60 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:50,800 earth today? And my answer is yes. It's hard to imagine but between 4 and 10 billion people 61 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,880 were on the earth in that day and time. And it's not going well. It's not going well 62 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:02,040 because according to the description that we have here the evil in men's heart was 63 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:10,080 continual and unbroken. There was wickedness, murderous intent, all the bad things that 64 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:15,240 you can happen because you can imagine happening all happening at the same time. It's not going 65 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:21,280 well at all. In fact I watched the movie called The Ark not too many not too many time days 66 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:27,440 ago and I saw what Hollywood tried to depict about the violence and the bloodshed and not 67 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,640 even Hollywood could come up with a good picture of how wicked that period is. When we read 68 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,000 Genesis chapter 6 we're going to find the answer to a couple of questions and one of 69 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,040 those answers is what does God do when mankind attempts to hijack the earth? What does God 70 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:49,160 do? What does God do and how does he respond when those he created with such potential 71 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:54,240 turn their back on him? So as we dive into the sex today there are some things that come 72 00:06:54,240 --> 00:07:00,040 to the surface very quickly. The first one is the grief of God. The grief of God. You 73 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,160 caught that in verse 6 didn't you? As we read through the account of Genesis chapter 74 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:09,360 6 you saw what I saw in verse 6 and that first part of that phrase is so incredibly important. 75 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:17,280 The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart. 76 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:22,640 What an interesting phrase. At a time when we don't talk much about the grief of God 77 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:27,400 we're looking at a window into God's soul for just a moment and reading Genesis chapter 78 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:34,680 6. God was grieved. God was pained. He was sorrowful that man had become corrupt. Now 79 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,200 I'm one of those people that love to emphasize the grace of God and the love of God. How 80 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,860 many of you like to hear about the grace of God and the love of God? And I like to say 81 00:07:42,860 --> 00:07:48,760 it because it's true. I love to say it because we need it. And even in this text we're going 82 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:55,080 to see some of the grace of God being displayed through the man named Noah. But we also need 83 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:59,840 to see the other side of the coin of God's character. God is a loving, merciful God but 84 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:04,800 he's also a just judge who by no means let the guilty go unpunished. If he is not just 85 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:10,200 he can't be God. And because he's God he's just but he's also merciful and loving at 86 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:15,720 the same time. But this is that other side of the coin. God is sorry that he has made 87 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:22,160 man. Now when you read into that text just keep in mind that God is not saying that mankind 88 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:28,600 was a mistake. God was not saying I was wrong to create Adam and Eve. Creation is not a 89 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:33,960 mistake. He's not showing weakness. He's not showing the inability to control mankind. 90 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:40,960 He has in fact given free will. And it's because of that free will that mankind has chosen 91 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:47,200 the things that he or she has chosen. He's simply vocalizing his heart when sin destroys 92 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:54,200 the creation. He grieves the damage that's done through the free will of mankind. Now 93 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,800 how many of you in the room know that you have free will? Would you raise your hand 94 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,920 if you know you have free will? And how many of you know that when you have children they 95 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:07,760 have free will too? Would you raise your hand? And sometimes you wish you had not given them 96 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:13,480 free will. Would you raise your hand? But nonetheless you have given them free will. 97 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:20,220 And they choose sometimes things you would not want them to do. I want you to imagine 98 00:09:20,220 --> 00:09:25,240 God as Father which he is the Father of all. And I want you to imagine for a moment the 99 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:32,240 perspective of a God who created you even to this day with potential. The ability to 100 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,680 flourish. The ability to know him and walk with him and be empowered by him to do the 101 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:42,440 things that he would ideally want you to do and for us as mankind to turn our back on 102 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:48,640 God. That's what we have the picture of here. My wife and I are friends from many, many 103 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:55,640 years back who were godly people, godly parents and who had children that were exactly the 104 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:02,160 opposite of these parents. They chose all the wrong directions, all the wrong paths, 105 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:08,840 they all met untimely deaths. It's an incredible story and even though we cannot imagine the 106 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:13,680 grief and the depth of sadness and sorrow that those parents must have felt as that 107 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:19,160 was unfolding, it's still hard for us to imagine those parents ever saying, I'm sorry we ever 108 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:26,160 had these children. And yet here God is articulating a level and a depth of sadness and grief that 109 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:33,420 you and I struggle to understand. Where he's reached the limits of his mercy and says no 110 00:10:33,420 --> 00:10:39,240 more this is not going to keep on happening. Now obviously the question is what has mankind 111 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,320 done and Genesis chapter 6 helps us with that just a bit. There's a couple things I'll 112 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,040 point out from this text. First of all the grief of God came about because marriage was 113 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:54,280 corrupted. If you look in verse 2 you'll see a scenario unfolding. The sons of God took 114 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:59,680 wives for themselves. Now this is subject to interpretation by a number of different 115 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:04,200 angles and you can go and study that in your free time. Some say the sons of God refer 116 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:10,520 to rulers who were taking wives among those who were more of the servant class. Some say 117 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:15,320 that these were sons of righteous Seth who were marrying the daughters of Cain. Others 118 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:22,320 say these were sons of God that were fallen angels who had intended to corrupt mankind's 119 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:28,520 line. And I fall into that category. I believe these were the fallen angels who corrupted 120 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:35,520 mankind and the results of that were the corruption of the line of mankind. Since the results 121 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:41,520 of this kind of marriage catastrophe brings God to the point where he says enough this 122 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,800 is catastrophic. This is not small in any way. But however you interpret it marriage 123 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:52,520 and offspring are corrupted. The specific plan that God had to populate the earth was 124 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:58,560 negated. I can't help it but you can't read the Bible and see what it says about marriage 125 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:02,460 and things that God just doesn't care about marriage. That God says well just whatever 126 00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:07,220 you want to do with marriage go ahead and do. That's not the God of the Bible. And here 127 00:12:07,220 --> 00:12:14,220 in Genesis chapter 6 we see the corruption of marriage, the corruption of how to reproduce 128 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:20,760 and you realize it was a catalyst to move God to judgment. So in the first place we 129 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:25,360 find this picture of marriage being corrupted. Secondly wickedness was great. Look at verse 130 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:31,920 5. It says the wickedness of man was great. I put emphasis on the phrase the Bible emphasizes 131 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:38,360 there's great and continual wickedness. It has exceeded the bounds of nature and decency 132 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:43,720 on creation itself. So much that the creator said that's enough. No more. I'm not going 133 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:48,720 to continue to tolerate this. God actually makes statements like this through the Bible 134 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:53,680 and this is the first time he does it in Genesis chapter 6. I think it would be helpful for 135 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:59,560 me to remind you that God sometimes says this about individuals. Sometimes he says this 136 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:06,560 about nations and he said it here about the whole world. Remember a man named King Saul 137 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:13,320 in the Old Testament? So prideful, so boastful about his position that God eventually said 138 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:19,400 about him in 1 Samuel 15. I regret that I've made Saul king for he has turned back from 139 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:25,400 fattening me and he's not carried out my commands. At times it's an individual. At times it's 140 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:30,120 a city. Go back and read about Sodom and Gomorrah and you're going to see God drawing a line 141 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:37,120 and saying no more. At times an entire nation grieved God. David's Psalm 78 talks about 142 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:43,520 Israel. He said how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the 143 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:50,040 desert. So God draws lines and this time he drew a line for all of creation. The entire 144 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:57,040 globe grieved his heart. God's actually saying here in the scripture that is enough. No more. 145 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,960 I'm going to blot mankind off the face of the earth. I know the questions that will 146 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:06,680 come in when we begin to talk about a text like this or a God who acts in such a way 147 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:13,680 is this question. How is God a just God when he destroys mankind? And we aggravate that 148 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:18,640 question when we remind you that there were between 4 and 10 billion people on the earth 149 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:24,360 at the time. That's massive. That's catastrophic. That's huge. It's almost unimaginable. So 150 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:30,000 how is God a just God? Some are offended that God would destroy anyone at all believing 151 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:35,360 that God to just live and let live whatever someone wants to do. And they insinuate that 152 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:41,880 maybe God is cruel or maybe God and his power is kind of a bully by nature. People don't 153 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,200 define justice very well. I think you know that. The reason you can know that is when 154 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:51,080 I ask the question, do you think we're doing a good job of justice today? And the answer 155 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:56,600 would be we don't do a very good job of justice or mercy for that matter. We don't define 156 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:01,360 justice well because we define justice according to what we want. What we feel is right and 157 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:07,800 we're sinful human beings. But God's just reasoning is just because God is just and 158 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:14,800 defines justice. Now think about Noah's day for a moment. Mankind was violent and perpetually 159 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:21,800 wicked. That's unjust. Wickedness alone was the thought of every man's heart. That's unjust. 160 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:27,360 Marriage was intentionally corrupted and offspring were affected. That's unjust. Sin and evil 161 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:34,360 created so many victims. And that's unjust. Then mankind perverted God's own creation. 162 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:45,120 That's unjust. Man is unjust, not God. The flood is God's justice on unjust mankind. 163 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:49,120 So when you ask yourself the question, is God just? And you look at the wickedness and 164 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:54,680 injustice on the earth at that time. You can say, yes, God is just and has every reason 165 00:15:54,680 --> 00:16:00,600 for blotting out mankind. Now God doesn't need me to defend him at all. God is able 166 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:05,800 to defend himself, but from the perspective of Bible theology, God is just in what he 167 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:10,480 has done. We may not understand it all, but we can see that God has his reasons for the 168 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:16,000 flood. Now let me ask you a question in the midst of this, and that is what do we learn 169 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,400 from this side of God and sin? We hear so much about the mercy of God, don't we, and 170 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,400 the love of God. What do we learn about the justice of God and how we should approach 171 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:30,800 him? And here's what I would learn. I would learn that sin always grieves God. I would 172 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:36,080 learn that sin is personal because he takes you personal and he loves you in a personal 173 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,600 way, and he gave you a personal salvation if you came to faith in Jesus. But sin puts 174 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:45,440 you at odds with God, and it causes you to turn your back on God, whether you're aware 175 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,840 of it or not. Sin is never your friend. Rebellion never ends well at all. We should learn these 176 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:57,240 things from the people in Genesis chapter 6. So the grief of God. But there's also the 177 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,800 man of God in this story, and you know his name, his name is Noah. I love verse 8, we 178 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,000 jumped over that when we read through the text, but we're coming back to it now because 179 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:11,680 it deserves a moment on its own here. Look at this verse 8 for a second. It says, but 180 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:22,440 Noah found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord. I love the word, but be you, T. I love 181 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:27,400 it in scripture because every time you find the word, but in scripture, you find all kinds 182 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,080 of change taking place. The wickedness of the world, but Noah found grace in the eyes 183 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,040 of God. You see it throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament as well, but what's 184 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:41,320 going to happen here is Noah found favor. Therefore he found grace in a chaotic, messed 185 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:47,320 up and judged world. And I read that and I think what an encouragement to me today. What 186 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:51,980 encouragement to you today. We live in a chaotic world. It's messed up. It's ultimately going 187 00:17:51,980 --> 00:17:57,040 to be judged, but there is grace in this world when you turn to God. There is mercy in this 188 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:02,040 world when you come to God. Noah found grace in the eyes of God, and I would be so bold 189 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:07,680 as to say to you today, you can find grace in the eyes of God. You can find favor before 190 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:14,440 him as well. Now Noah obviously was a unique individual in a unique time. And what we see 191 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:20,220 is this divine action by an incredibly loving and merciful and just God who searched and 192 00:18:20,220 --> 00:18:25,880 found a man who would be faithful. He reached into this wicked world. He tapped Noah on 193 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:32,880 the shoulder. I've got to tell you, Noah wasn't perfect. No man was. He wasn't sinless. He 194 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:39,880 wasn't a complete person at all, but he found grace. You know in the hall of faith in the 195 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:45,000 New Testament Noah is mentioned. That's in Hebrews chapter 11. And it says so much to 196 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,160 us about the life of Noah. We have to read it. And I want you to notice what it says 197 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:56,160 about Noah on the screen. By faith Noah being warned by God. God spoke to him about things 198 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:03,160 not yet seen. In reverence, prepared and art, he obeyed God for the salvation of his household 199 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:10,160 by which he condemned the world and became an error. He received something of the righteousness 200 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:16,160 which is according to faith. He did all this by faith, not on his own. So here's what God 201 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:21,160 did. God spirit mankind through Noah. And as devastating as the flood was going to be, 202 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:28,160 and as devastating as it was, God warned mankind through Noah. He saved mankind through Noah. 203 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:33,160 And the verse answers a really big question of how do we find God in a chaotic world? 204 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:38,160 Well here's the answer. You listen for him to speak to you. And when you hear him you 205 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:44,160 obey what he tells you to do. And in the end you believe him for whatever he says that 206 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:49,160 you are to do. God is not going to ask you to build an ark like he did. No other world 207 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:55,160 will ever be flooded again. What a big ass God made of Noah. Build this big boat, nobody's 208 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,160 ever really built a boat. It's going to rain, it's never really rained before. You're going 209 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,160 to have all the animals and the birds and everything else come onto the boat. How am 210 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:08,160 I going to do that? That's a really big ass that God makes of Noah. If you and I will 211 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:13,160 obey God in the small things God tells us to do, then we're going to find what it means 212 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:18,160 to walk in his favor. He gives us favor by grace, but I can tell you when you walk in 213 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:23,160 obedience he blesses your life in incredible ways. You can find God in a chaotic world 214 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:32,160 just like Noah did. You can bet on that. But the third thing this text tells us, it tells 215 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:39,160 us something about the redemption of God. The redemption of God. Verse 13 and 14, 216 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,160 Then God said to Noah, Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. You shall make the ark with 217 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:51,160 rooms and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. So the big thing we're talking about 218 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:57,160 is the ark. And the ark has so many things to say to us today, so many ways for us to 219 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,160 understand what God is doing with his ark. And I'm just going to limit myself to three 220 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:08,160 of them today just for a few moments. First of all, the ark tells us God has a way. God 221 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:15,160 has a way. How do you save just a few people who are faithful when the entire globe seems 222 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:20,160 to be against God? How is God going to do that? God had a way, it was an unpredictable 223 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,160 way, it was a way no one else could have possibly thought of, but what an unusual way to save 224 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:30,160 the world. It's an incredible strategy. I'm going to have this man who's never built a 225 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:35,160 boat build a boat. And we're going to populate that boat with everything that's going to 226 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:40,160 be a part of this new world and this new life. And I've got a rain and this boat will lift 227 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:45,160 them up and preserve them and save them through the flood. You know, whenever you read the 228 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:50,160 story of the ark, and then you go back and read the story of the New Testament and Christ, 229 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:56,160 you can see how the ark is a type of Christ. It's almost like a forewarning of how God 230 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,160 will save us through Christ later on down the road in human history. Let me make some 231 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:06,160 of those comparisons. Just as the ark was planned by God, so was Christ's plan from 232 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:11,160 before the foundation of the world. Just as the ark was provided by God, it wasn't 233 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:16,160 no one alone who built that ark, so is Christ. Just as the ark was a place of safety, so 234 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:22,160 is Christ a place of safety. Just as the ark was a place of trust that one could enter 235 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:27,160 into and know that they would be protected, Christ is the person of trust that one enters 236 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:33,160 into for safety. Just as the ark had one door that God opened and then closed for Noah, 237 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:40,160 so is Christ the door to enter into for salvation and the only way to eternal life. I mean, 238 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:45,160 there's some great comparisons between the ark and Christ. To read the story of the ark 239 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:50,160 is to read that God always has a plan for mankind and that there's always hope, even 240 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:57,160 in judgment, God has a way. Now, the ark reminds me that you can find grace in the chaos of 241 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:03,160 the demonic world, even in a world that is rushing headlong toward judgment, grace is 242 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:09,160 available in Christ and only in Christ. You don't want to miss the boat. You don't want 243 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:20,160 to miss Christ. God has a way. The scripture also says that God has patience. God has patience. 244 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:25,160 When we read verse three, you saw something that might have gotten your attention. Verse 245 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,160 three says, my spirit, this is God speaking, my spirit will not strive with man forever 246 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:37,160 because he is also flesh. Nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years. Now, often we read 247 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:42,160 this verse and say, oh, God means that from that moment forward, man can only live a maximum 248 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:51,160 of 120 years. And I'm thinking, who wants to live 120 years? The reality is even after 249 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:57,160 God made that statement, men live for hundreds of years beyond that timeframe. But here's 250 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:05,160 what God is saying. God is saying you still have time to repent, but not long. I will 251 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:12,160 not strive with mankind beyond this 120 year mark. And do you know that it took about 120 252 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:19,160 years for Noah to build that ark? You know, God never sends judgment without warning. 253 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:24,160 Have you ever noticed that about God? How many of you have ever been warned by God about 254 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,160 something you needed to avoid? Would you raise your hands if that's happened to your life? 255 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,160 I remember being warned by God several times in my life, and each time I knew it was a 256 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,160 serious moment where the Holy Spirit was speaking to me in a powerful way and telling me to 257 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:42,160 turn from something or to turn towards something. And I remember thinking, if I don't listen 258 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:48,160 to him, I'm going to miss it in a big way. Before God judges, God warns. I remember as 259 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:54,160 a young man, I remember vividly at the age of about 21, God bringing a warning into my 260 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:59,160 life and telling me if I did not turn from a certain sin, that I would not be useful 261 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,160 to him in ministry in the days ahead. And I knew he was serious, and I turned from sin 262 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:08,160 at that moment and never turned back. Because God warns us before he judges us. What an 263 00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:12,160 important moment for you and I to know that God does that individually. It's not just 264 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,160 through men like Noah. It's not just through what you would call biblical heroes, but 265 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:24,160 it's in a personal way. God has patience and God gives warnings. Now the building of 266 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:30,160 an ark during that time is fascinating to me, even though we don't have all the details. 267 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:35,160 Some say that Noah began planting the trees that would be used for the ark at that point. 268 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,160 And he let them grow for 30, 40, 50 years. All the time he was letting those trees grow, 269 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:46,160 he would be preaching righteousness and repentance to the people who needed to turn to God during 270 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:51,160 that time. Now that's a long time, but it takes time for trees to grow. I mean I'm not 271 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,160 very old at all, but I've planted trees that have grown to full maturity. I know what that 272 00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:00,160 looks like. I know what that may be like. It could be that Noah planted those trees 273 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:05,160 early on, but whatever he did all during the time of the preparation in the building of 274 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:10,160 the ark, we find that this man was a preacher of righteousness. He was warning people. He 275 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:15,160 was telling them God has patience, but it's not as long as you think. There is a day when 276 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:21,160 he will stop having patience. You know what I believe? I believe that God is withholding 277 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:27,160 his final judgment now. I believe there's nothing that prevents God from coming back 278 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:33,160 in power and glory in Jesus Christ, but he's waiting and he's patient and he's willing 279 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:39,160 to wait for people to come to faith in Jesus. In reality, we're really not punished by his 280 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:45,160 justice, but our stubbornness, our refusal to turn to him when he's making a patient 281 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:52,160 way for us to come to him. God gives us time, but we don't know how long that it is. How 282 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:57,160 long will we put off the God of the universe who asks us to come? So my statement to you 283 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:06,160 today is while there is time, repent today. Come to him today. So the patience of God. 284 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:11,160 In 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 20, here's a verse that talks about in the New Testament what 285 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:15,160 was happening in the Old Testament. It says, the patience of God kept waiting in the days 286 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:20,160 of Noah during the construction of the ark in which a few, that is eight persons were 287 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:26,160 brought safely through the water. I am so glad God is a patient God, and I'm so glad 288 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,160 God's been patient with me. I'm so glad God has been patient with you. But this third 289 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:39,160 thing you need to hear clearly, God has a deadline. God has a deadline. You see, at 290 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:45,160 some point God says, that's enough. He did this with the ark. He's done this with others. 291 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:50,160 In chapter 6 verse 17, God says, behold, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the 292 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:54,160 earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven. Everything 293 00:27:54,160 --> 00:28:01,160 that is on the earth shall perish. There's a tendency when we read about Noah and the 294 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:07,160 ark for people to discredit the whole story because of how uncomfortable it makes people 295 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:13,160 feel. If I'm not in friendly cooperation with God, and if I'm not in the ark of salvation 296 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:17,160 myself, and if I've not entered into life with Christ, then I'm going to be disturbed 297 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,160 by this picture of a God who draws a line and says, I'm going to say enough someday 298 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:29,160 about your life. I'm going to say enough someday about creation itself. But the fact 299 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:34,160 that the creator God can act and wipe out all of civilization reveals that we're very 300 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:40,160 small in this world and that we have no control at all. We like to control our life, but I 301 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,160 want to remind you, you can't control your past, you can't control your present, you 302 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,160 can't control your future. You have no control at all about what happens to your life. And 303 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:54,160 you can't control those who might intersect with your life, collide with your life, affect 304 00:28:54,160 --> 00:29:00,160 your life, infiltrate your life. You have no control at all. So I'm glad, even though 305 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:05,160 it seems that God does things in a drastic way, I'm glad somebody's in control and that 306 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,160 somebody is God. And it means that I want to be in friendly cooperation with this God 307 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:16,160 who is in control since everything else is out of control. So it's important today that 308 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:21,160 you look, that God has a deadline and says there will be a day when all the other options 309 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:27,160 are gone. This is so real. Let me tell you why this is real. This is so real that the 310 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:35,160 gospel writers thousands of years after Noah and the ark actually took place, write with 311 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:41,160 these words, Matthew chapter 24, for the coming of the son of man will be just like the days 312 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:46,160 of Noah. You remember reading this? Just like the days of Noah, for as it is on those days 313 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:51,160 before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the 314 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:56,160 day Noah entered the ark and they did not understand until the flood came and took them 315 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:03,160 all away. So will the coming of the son of man be. So here we are 2,000 years on the 316 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:11,160 other side of that incredibly prophetic statement made in the gospels. Well, let me ask you, 317 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:17,160 you look at God's past judgment, you look at the statements about future judgment and 318 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:23,160 you read the connection between the past and the future. Does it make you today want to 319 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:29,160 quit arguing with God and turn away from everything else in order to embrace this God who is in 320 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,160 control? Put yourself in the shoes of the man that was watching Noah build the ark. 321 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:38,160 You hear the message of repentance he's preaching. You see the evidence that this is of God. 322 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:44,160 All of a sudden the ark rises out of the ground with Noah's building it. You see the animals 323 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,160 coming from near and far, the birds flying in. You see evidence that this is of God. 324 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:53,160 So do you stand there and rail your fist at God and shout about his injustice or do you 325 00:30:53,160 --> 00:31:00,160 reach out for the hand that says, come join me in the ark where there's safety? I think 326 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:07,160 you know the answer to that question. You don't want to miss the boat of grace. You 327 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:14,160 don't want to miss the boat. You know the very fact that this story is here and that 328 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:21,160 fact that we're reading it today tells us that God wasn't through with mankind then. 329 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:26,160 And the very fact that we're here today says he's not through with mankind today. The 330 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,160 very fact that you are in this building today listening to this message means God's not 331 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:34,160 through with you yet either. He's got a plan for you, maybe a warning for you, maybe a 332 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,160 deadline for you. I don't know what God is saying to you but I can tell you that he's 333 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:44,160 still here and you're still here and he still calls you to the same call to put your faith 334 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:50,160 and trust in him, to obey him and follow him. Come into the ark, come into Christ and allow 335 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:54,160 him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. God isn't through with you. He invites you 336 00:31:54,160 --> 00:32:03,160 to come to him. I don't know if you have it come to him yet. Come to him today. Come 337 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:12,160 to him today. You know we end our services with three invitations that I will give you 338 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:20,160 today. And those three invitations are first of all to come by our decision station to 339 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:26,160 talk to someone about the decision you need to make today. We're at the back of our building. 340 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:32,160 We place them there so that you can conveniently find them on your way out. And I want to invite 341 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:37,160 you to stop and talk to someone about your salvation. Have you put your faith and trust 342 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:42,160 in Christ? Are you sure you've been forgiven? Are you sure you're following him? Maybe it's 343 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,160 some item in your life God is speaking to you about. We're more than happy to pray with 344 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,160 you and talk with you about that. That's the first invitation. The second invitation is 345 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:55,160 to come to a guest reception room just outside the center exit doors across the hallway. 346 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:59,160 I'd love to meet you if you're a guest. I'd love to talk to you about our church for a 347 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:04,160 second. And the third invite, the third invitation is for you to come back next week with somebody 348 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:10,160 with you who needs to hear the message that God is giving us here in this church. Those 349 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:15,160 three invitations I want to give to you. God is moving, God is working, God is speaking 350 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:20,160 to us. We don't want to miss that. Father today in Jesus' name I am so very grateful 351 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:25,160 to be in this place today. Thankful for every person in this room. Thankful for the decisions 352 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:30,160 that we're making today with student ministry which will impact us for years ahead. Thank 353 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:36,160 you Father for providing through Greg Garcia. Lord I pray today that this message will not 354 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:42,160 be easily forgotten Lord that the story of this man named Noah in the ark will be a story 355 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:49,160 that all of us sense conviction from. Father in a day of chaos remind us constantly that 356 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:55,160 we can find grace in you. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.