Without A Paddle

Good Morning Church!!!

Starting a new series today!!!!

Going to spend the summer in school!

How many of you went to Sunday School when you were a kid???

You often learned about bible stories…

maybe you colored a picture of the parting of the red sea...

Or heard your teacher tell of how Jonah was swallowed up by a whale…

Or how Jesus fed 5000 people with a handful of fish and a few loaves of bread

But some of us didn’t grow up hearing these stories…

So we are going to spend the summer diving into a few bible stories in this series we are calling …

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Now whether you have heard these stories or not…

You will find a richness and a gospel centric message that will have you worshipping the Lord …

Thats what the telling of these historical events was designed for…

Through all these bible stories…

The Lord reveals His plan to justify, sustain, sanctify, and ultimately bring into glory with Him an undeserving people…

And we are going to see that tstarting today as we open up our first story…

THE STORY OF NOAH’S ARK!

So if you would….

Open up your proffered bible translations to Genesis 6…

And we will jump into the text together!

If you didn’t bring a bible with you…you can find a copy of God’s word underneath the seat in front of you…

Open us to Genesis (first book of the bible) flip to chapter 6

And its there in verse 1 we will begin

READ 6:1-7

Just over 1000 years after creation…the status of man is…WICKED

Man’s Wickedness (6:1-7)

Sons of God lay with daughters of man…

They were having babies…Giants the bible calls them…

And we see that this displeased God greatly…

God calls out the state of man…

Great wickedness

Every imagination, every thought of his heart…evil continually

Then the Lord makes this statement…

“it repents me that I have made man”

it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth…

We see 2 definitions for the english word “repent” in the bible (the Hebrew word NAHAM here )(In the Greek met-an-o-eh'-o)

change of mind

Deep Sorrow

Here we see that the Lord is “grieved at His heart” for man’s actions…

When He looks upon the sinfulness of His creation he is full of sorrow…

Man’s sin grieves the Lord

God is Just…

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: For all his ways are judgment: A God of truth and without iniquity, Just and right is he.”

God being just should terrify man…

Because we are sinful!!!

And He being Just and Right…He must punish us accordingly…

As He looks upon the people here in chapter 6…The Lord says that He will deal out a just punishment…

DESTRUCTION (v7)

He will destroy everything….

Everything is sinful…everything gets destroyed…

If it has sin on it…its gone

Why…because the just payment for sin is death…

That should be the end of this story right???

BUT its not…

God’s Grace (6:8-19)

V8 READ!!!

Who is Noah…

Just…perfect…a Godly man..who walked with God

In a world where everyone is Godless…Noah was the only one who walked with the Lord…

All in all this is what the Lord wants most…

To dwell with a people who desire to dwell with Him…

The people of the world during this time were content NOT walking with God…

How sorrowful would you be if your children didn’t care to be around you…

Didn’t recognize you or honor you as their parent…

Didn’t strive to please you…make you proud…

In fact wanted nothing to do with you…

This is where the sorrow of the Lord comes from…

BUT one man…does desire to walk with His Father…

Strives to be like His Father…Honor his Father…

That man is Noah…

And the Lord tells us that He has grace for Noah…

He instructs Noah to build and Ark…

He gives him the plans to do it (tells him exactly how to build it…

Then in verse 17 the Lord tells Noah why…

READ V17

God reveals how He will justly judge man for its sinfulness…Destruction by FLOOD

BUT ….READ V18

A promise of a covenant God makes with Noah…

When you come into the ark…I will save you…You will live through this flood…

You and your wife…your 3 sons and their wives…

Oh and btw all the animals as well…life on earth will be also preserved on this ark…

Load up on the ark and I will preserve all things on it!!!!

That is the covenant promise God says we will fulfill…

SO how does Noah respond???

Obediently …READ V22

God says build an ark…Noah does it…

WHY THOUGH???

Here we see man’s faith!!!

Man’s Faith (6:22)

This is a picture perfect illustration of Noah’s faith in the Lord…

He trusts the word of God and is obedient to it…Because of His faith….

How can we confirm that this obedience was led by faith???

The best commentary for the bible is….THE BIBLE

Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

And through Noah’s faith…he and his family were saved!!!

But we need to direct our eyes to where this salvation came from…

Did it come from Noah???

Did it come from the ark???

NO…it came through Noah…it came through the ark…

These were instruments of salvation…but not the source…

Where does salvation come from???

Jonah 2:9 “…Salvation is of the Lord.”

God’s Salvation (7-8)

7:1- Get in the ark…a welcome invitation to salvation….

And Noah and his family and all the animals went in…

And the fountains of the deep broken up…the windows of heaven opened…

All at once in a mighty roar of rain and rushing waters…

THE EARTH WAS FLOODED….

BUT God promised a covenant with Noah…

I will keep you alive…

Genesis 7:16 “…and the Lord shut him in.”

Salvation is the Lords work (AMEN)

In V16 we see God working to save….

AND HE DOES!!!!

READ 7:22-8:3

How many people on earth pre flood…we aren't sure exactly but there were many we know…

NOW though we know…Earths population 150 days post flood…8 people…

And the waters reseeded…

And when it was safe to come out of the ark…

God told them to go and be fruitful…multiply…

You have been saved…Now multiply…

Repopulate the earth…

And not only does He command them to do so he also blesses them as they did it…

Man’s Blessing (9:1)

READ 9:1

I put you at the top of the food chain…

Every living thing shall be meat for you…

I will bless you abundantly…

And not only that…

We see in the form of a rainbow…

God’s Faithfulness (9:8-17)

READ 9:8-17

Here is what the Lord just said…

I AM FAITHFUL…Behold…you are saved!!! Just as I said you would be…

V11 I will establish this covenant even deeper…I will never again destroy the earth with a flood

3. I will give you a token…a rainbow in the sky

When rain clouds come over the earth…don’t fear…see the rainbow and know I am faithful and will not destroy all flesh by flood ever again…

Hear this…the rainbow has been hijacked today as a trademark of alot of different types of “love”…

BUT DON’T GET IT TWISTED….

The bow belongs to the LORD…

As a sign to HIS people…of the love and grace and mercy He has for them…

A sign of His faithfulness…

It is a token that represents the only love that can save and sustain…

A faithfulness through a covenant…

That comes from the Lord…

CHURCH THAT IS THE STORY OF NOAH...

That is the true historical account of the great flood…

Now, lets put all of this together…

What does this flood event show us???

That God is Righteous and Just…(gives sin what it deserves)

And also Merciful and full of grace…

How can He be both???

How can just righteous wrath…and loving grace coexist???

When we look upon Noah and the Ark…we see the marrying of the 2 right??

God’s Justice and His Grace…right?

Through Noah…Through the Ark

NOW…NOAH WAS JUST AND PERFECT…BUT HE WASN’T WITHOUT SIN…WE SEE NOAH SIN LATER IN CHAPTER 9…

But through Noahs faith God provided him a way of salvation…and through Noah…his family was provided a way of salvation….

See this…From Noah’s 3 sons (Shem, Ham, Japheth) all the people of the world are born…

We know little about their faithfulness to the Lord pre flood…

But what we know is that they belonged to Noah…they were His blood…that got them on the Ark…

CHURCH ALL OF THIS SHOULD SOUND VERY FAMILIAR TO YOU…

I hope the entire time we have been walking through this text you see the Gospel of Jesus Christ being played out in front of you…

LET ME HELP YOU SEE IT:

We saw mans wickedness…ain’t nothing new under the sun there (MAN IS STILL WICKED (we stopped in 9:17 today…by 9:20 man is sinning again…) God looked down again and see’s man just as he was pre flood…sinful, wicked…God is still just…sin still deserves death!!! Like those who were on the earth pre flood, covered in sin…their destruction is coming….the penalty to be paid…IN DESPERATE NEED OF AN ARK

Matthew 24:37–39 “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

2. BUT GOD HAS GRACE- God came down in the flesh…to tell the world though you are wicked and sick…I am here to heal you…To make you sinless and righteous…to forgive you of your sins…you have done nothing to deserve it…BUT HERE I AM!!!! READY TO SAVE YOU!!!

3. So Jesus came and said put your faith in me!!!! Here my words and obey them!!! And I will form a covenant with you!! I WILLL SAVE YOU!!!! THROUGH FAITH YOU CAN BE SAVED!!!! I WILL GIVE YOU GRACE THROUGH FAITH JUST AS I DID NOAH!!!

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

4. And as He carried His own cross to Golgatha…and was nailed to it…taking on the death meant for us…taking on our punishment…HE CRIED OUT THESE WORDS “IT IS FINISHED?” I have justified sinful man…I have taken on there death…I HAVE SAVED THEM!!! SALVATION IS THE LORD’S!!! And he resurrected on the 3rd day to defeat death on our behalf..so that we could live forever walking with Him!!!

5. And then He blessed us…Just as He said to Noah and his boys…GO AND MULTIPLY!!! And I will give you the Holy Spirit to be with you…I WILL BE WITH YOU FOREVER AND EVER AMEN!!!!

6. AND THROUGH ALL OF THAT WE SEE GOD’S FAITHFULNESS!!!! He said He would…and He did!!!!

Church when you read Genesis 6-9 you see Noah, and the Ark, and the flood, and the rainbow and you see a union between wrath Justice and Grace…Wrath and Mercy…

2 things that don’t go together…

THIS STORY OF NOAH’S ARK IS TO POINT YOU TOWARD JESUS!!!

JUST AS WE LOOK TO THE ARK TO SEE THIS UNION…

BIG IDEA: When we look upon the cross of Christ we should see the conditional, just, and righteous judgment of sin in union with the unconditional, loving, and forgiving grace of God.

THIS IS WHY WE WORSHIP HIM!!!!

All the way back in the first writings of God’s word we see His plan to save an unworthy people...We see His Grace!!!

Christ followers in the room…let this remind you that this is God’s Character…this was His plan...this story should lead you to worship!!!

And if your in the room and don’t know Jesus…

HEAR THIS A FLOOD IS COMING!!!!

All man is sinful…You have committed a crime…

And GOD IS JUST...THE MOST JUST OF ALL…and the punishment (just sentence)for sin is death…destruction of those who are sinful….

BUT GOD has sent you a savior…AN ARK!!!

Jesus who took on your sin and died for your sins…

And He has welcomed you on it…”Come in the Ark he told Noah”

Jesus says “COME TO ME!”

I WILL SAVE YOU!!!

GET ON THE ARK!!!

PLACE YOUR FAITH IN THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS TODAY!!!

PRAY!!!