Come into the Ark
Introduction Gen 7:1-7
Introduction to the series: Bible Invitations
Not party Invitations
God invites people to Himself
God invites change, not for changes sake, but that things might be better
Your situation, your relationship with the Lord, your freedom to live for Him
His invitations are found throughout the Bible
God’s invitations: calls of love
God calls us to Him out of love for us
He could leave us where we are but He loves us too much for that
The first invitation in the Bible
The flood was about to begin
“Go into the ark, you and your whole family”
An invitation to survive the Flood
Noah lived in a wicked generation (6:5)
They were wicked in their thoughts
They were Corrupt in their moral decisions
There was Violence in their dealings with each other
Sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it?
6:6 says “The Lord was grieved, His heart was filled with pain”
That’s how much our sin affects our God
That is way there is a consequence to sin – Someone has to pay a price
Judgment that follows wickedness (6:7)
Destruction is the fate of the wicked Rom 6:23
Because the people were so wicked God had enough
He had been longsuffering and patient, but now was the time to say no more
But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Destruction, judgment is not the only option
All the way through History God has offered two choices Dt 30:19-20
The grace that Noah found in the eyes of the Lord (6.8)
Grace was offered to man facing judgment
Grace is still offered to sinful people
Grace is the undeserved favour of God
An invitation to take a step of faith
Noah is invited to come into the ark (v.1)
This demanded a step of faith
Noah built the ark by faith Heb 11:7
And now he has to enter it to be saved from the flood
I’m sure he felt stupid as he made it
There had never been any rain before the flood
People must have thought that he was stupid
They probably talked about him and made fun of him
When we live for God there will be people who think we are stupid
There will be people who don’t understand
Because we do things differently, our goals are not the same
We chase after different thing than the world does
Noah’s salvation was by grace through faith
Noah was declared righteous by God because of His faith
Anything we do that is pleasing to God is by faith Heb 11:6
Noah believed God and acted differently because of it
Faith must always have a practical, observable outworking
Beacause what we believe affects what we do and how we live
Our salvation is by grace through faith Eph 2:8-9
Noah was saved from the wrath of God in the flood
We are saved from the wrath of God in Christ Jn 3:36
An invitation to Noah’s whole family
God said “You and your whole family”
God wanted the whole of Noah’s family safe inside the ark
The same with Lot when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed Gen 19:12-13
God wanted all of Lot’s family to be saved
God wants whole families to be saved Acts 16:30-31
He wants that most basic unit of society and the church to be unbroken
God’s faithfulness is to all generations Psa 119:90
God wants to encourage us with our families
Encourage us not to give up, but to continue praying for them
Continue taking the opportunities to speak with them about the Lord
Our most important task is to lead our families to the Lord
Surly the great commission starts with our own families Mt 28:19-20
I know this can be difficult
God will give us wisdom and power to do it
You may not think it’s possible but He loves your family far more than You do
He wants your family to know Him far more than you do
He wants you to persevere with them Lk 18:1-8
Notice Jesus told that story to show that we should not give up praying
The Judge didn’t care about what the widow wanted
But in the end he gave her what she was asking for just to keep her quiet
Jesus finishes by saying that if this judge who didn’t care helped the widow
It is certain that God will help his people
Let us keep praying for our loved ones
Let us draw them into the ark
Conclusion
How will we respond to this invitation?
1. Will we accept God’s invitation to come to Him in faith ourselves?
2. What are we doing to ensure that our families are saved?
The storm is coming
Are all of your loved ones in the ark?
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death
Dt 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family
Heb 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast
Jn 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him
Gen 19:12-13 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
Acts 16:30-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Mt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
Lk 18:1-8 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly