Interlocked Lesson 5 part 3

The Flood

God:

Gives Grace before judgment

Makes clear Whom would be saved and whom would be judged

provides only one way for salvation

clarifies how to be saved: by faith (Eph. 2:8-9)

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Let’s talk about Faith for a moment.

By Faith:

Noah, was saved by Faith.

Hebrews 11:7 “7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”

Noah didn’t add to God’s plan or try to change it.

Noah simply trust God and obeyed Him.

I’m sure that was terrifying even being in the boat hearing the roar of the storm outside.

I’m sure Noah and his family questioned if they themselves would be saved.

But the ark proved enough.

Why?

Because God said it would be enough.

It was God’s provision to Man’s problem.

God’s provision is always enough.

In God’s plan, we can be relaxed or freaking out, but either way we are safe.

*Show graphic on page 9*

I’m sure some on the boat experienced extreme anxiety.

I’m sure some were relaxed and trusting.

God met both of those needs on the boat.

For the faithful and the doubter… God was faithful to His promise to save those on the boat.

The flood is a beautiful metaphor for how God judges and saves through the finished work of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t leave us in our sin without providing a means of salvation.

Yet, worldviews that oppose Christ try to come up with new ways to save themselves.

But it all comes down to two opposing worldviews.

Salvation is through Christ alone.

or

2. We can save ourselves.

What a wonderful reminder this morning.

Regardless of our posture, God provides all that we need for the times that we live in.

We may emotionally freak out.

Or we may be calm.

But either way, God is doing all the work.

Are we responding to Him in faithfulness.

Faithfulness. It’s what He desires.

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For the rest of our time this morning I want to shift gears and ask, Did a worldwide flood really happen from the observable evidence we have?

Lots of different cultures have “flood” stories, where did those come from?

Why are most of them different form the biblical account?

Here’s 4 points to consider when looking at the Biblical flood:

The Bible is the earliest account

There are other pagan stories of the flood, but Noah predates them all.

Do not buy lies from anyone who tries to tell you otherwise.

Noah is an eyewitness to the event.

What a blessing that God said, “here’s why i destroyed the earth with a flood, and here’s the eyewitness to it.”

So how, then did we get these myths about a flood?

From Gen. 9 to Gen 11, mankind goes from being saved through Noah to now building the tower of babel to glorify themselves.

We see in the short span of 2 chapters that man is evil once again in only a few generations.

No doubt Noah family passed down stories of the flood, but their descendents corrupted those stories that led to some of the pagan narratives we have today in other cultures.

We need to hang on to Genesis 9 being the earliest and Noah being the eyewitness.

Another thing to consider when looking at the biblical flood is:

2. How deep the flood actually was.

Did God actually flood the whole earth or just a localized part of the earth?

Genesis 7:19 “19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.”

The whole earth! the phrase “under the entire heavens...” Also was a hebrew phrase that indicates a massive area, not just a localized one.

in addition to that, the verse explicitly says that all the mountains on the earth were covered.

Genesis 7:11 “11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.”

Genesis 8:13 “13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.”

Notice between these two verses… How did Noah’s age change?

How long was Noah’s family on the boat?

We know it rained 40 days and 40 nights, but then it took over a year for the waters to recede! The flood was massive!

They were on the boat a long time! The flood waters were deep and covered the whole earth.

3. The design and size of the ark had a purpose.

Pagan stories tell of rafts, perfect cubes, and other vessels that when you stop and think about it, don’t make sense to survive a worldwide flood.

However, the Bible provides an incredibly accurate description of the ark.

Modern physicists have tested the measurements of the ark and deemed it would float and would not capsize.

God gave them a boat to preserve life. incredible!

The size of the ark also provided room for about 522 railway cars.

Some have argued that they couldn’t have fit the animals onto the boat even at the size.

However, scientists have also measured this and actually found that they could have fit all the animals onto less of the ark than we would think. They could fit all the animals onto about 200 rail cars.

Also, fun trivia question, how many animals did God say to take on the ark?

Genesis 7:2 “2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,”

Genesis 7:3 “3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.”

What if the extra space on the ark really was for people?

Noah had plenty of room on the ark… plenty of room for God’s grace to spare anyone who wanted to be on the boat.

What a sad day that man rejected the grace and mercy provided by God.

4. The New Testament supports the flood.

2 Peter 3:3-7 “3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Sin was judged in Genesis with a worldwide flood.

Future sin will be judged with fire.

Peter also is not talking about a localized area, but the entire earth which supports earlier arguments that the whole earth was flooded.

So yes, for the evidence presented, it seems a worldwide flood did occur.

Finally this morning, a word of encouragement.

The Bible is not a science book, but it never contradicts science either…

This is important we understand this.

Many scientists, many college professors, do not have a biblical worldview and they will do everything they can to sway your thinking and win your mind away from a biblical worldview.

We need to be smart Christians.

We need to always trust God’s Word and push back against those with secular worldviews.

Not that we are looking for a fight or seeking one out.

But we must be ready to defend what we say we believe if needed.

1 Peter 3:15 “15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

Here is two more pieces of evidence to support the Biblical flood:

Genesis 1:6-8 “6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.”

*Show graphic page 17*

Genesis 7:11-12 “11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.”

Such a shock on the earth would have caused quite the environmental changes.

Psalm 104:6-9 “6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.”

It seems mountains may be higher and valleys may be lowers as a result of the flood.

There have been fossils of marine life found high up on mountains before too.

*Come back with evidence of this*

Today, do we see God working?

Do you understand that God has placed you hear to share Him with others?

Do you understand that your identity is in Christ more than anything else.

IF you are the worlds biggest success, God loves you more than the worlds praise.

IF you are the world’s biggest failure, God loves you deeper than the pain of failure.

How do I know?

Because of the second piece of evidence.

2. Genesis 9:12-16 “12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.””

Each rainbow we see is a good gift from God

From the highest point to the lowest point, God is there.

Especially this month during “pride month”

Don’t let a symbol of God’s salvation be stripped of its meaning by celebrating a symbol of man’s sin.

God offered salvation to everyone on earth through Noah and the ark.

God now has offered salvation to everyone through Christ.

Will we show them the grace of Christ?