Not a Fairy Tale

(DEEP and WIDE song, with ark photos)

ISSUE: If we let the world convince us that the Flood is just a “story”- then we’ll teach our kids to only trust the parts of the Bible that “make sense” to them

Much easier to show them a cartoon, feel good, and smile, and move on

Then they’ll grow up and feel good about that pretty picture of Jesus with long brushed hair and blue eyes and never really know Him.

ILLUST: Building storm bunkers, or shelters in Cold War - Emergency food

Perhaps real threats, never materialized

People debate if Jesus is real, if Flood real…judgment…Jesus used truth of Flood to illustrate truth of His return/judgment

The Ark and the Flood -Noah’s Faith (Jesus and NT say true)

2 Peter 3:6 and Matthew 24:38

1) Answering Questions

QUESTION 1 - Why do you believe the ark account is true? (for starters, trust the Bible)

But science....millions of years....fossils....rock layers....millions of years (arbitrary date assignment)

Elem. school books state MYA as fact - College texts are more honest (scientists “believe”)

But hey, want science? Let’s talk science!

Best Evidences for Worldwide Flood (Not local) - IF this occurred, what would we see

FOSSILS - one of the best evidences of global flood

High Mountains - marine fossils not found on the sea floor, but in sedimentary rocks, many in high mountains - marine creatures were catastrophically destroyed and buried in sediment, raised up into mountains after the Flood

Fossil graveyards around the world - “BILLIONS of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth” Redwall Limestone at Grand Canyon (10,500 square miles) - need 24 cubic miles of of lime sand and silt, flowing at 16 feet per second, to overwhelm these creatures - only viable explanation is Global Flood

Wonderfully preserved - would have to be buried in less than a day - rapid burial

ROCK LAYERS - sedimentary layers

Across continents - Grand Canyon rock layers, not unique, similar to layers in parts of Canada, Greenland, north Africa, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia...

Features - (explain uniformitarianism ) slow processes seen today, so people calculate millions of years, but discount catastrophic event - no sign of millions of years in between various layers, all laid down rapidly

Folded/Bent layers - when hard rock is “folded” it breaks under stress; as wet layers of rocks, sand, etc. dry,the chemicals that were in the water forms a type of cement, and hardens into bent/curved layers

CANYONS, WATER GAPS, MT. St. HELENS (rocks 20 years old tested-dating techniques flawed)- catastrophe from just one volcano

QUESTION 2 - Who are these sons of God, daughters of men, Nephilim

Options

Angels/demons has sex with women and gave offspring (Matt.22 disagrees)

Powerful human rulers were in play - “mighty men of renown”

Godly generations eventually became morally corrupt (other places “sons of God = angels)

Possibly possessed, a twist on the first view

My view - angels influenced godly generations, who followed the world, till only Noah’s family was following

Nephilim - NOT the offspring of angels and women, they were already there (Nephilim also present after Flood, Numbers 13, so it seems that the Flood was not to wipe THEM out, but that the word refers to a type of person, people…)

Marrying recklessly is not the only issue - rampant sin, immorality, wickedness, refusing to acknowledge God

POINT - Noah preached to an ungodly, wicked world, for 120 years, and ALL had the opportunity to repent, and all but 8 chose not to.

8 people refused to go the way of the world!

2) What’s in an Ark?

“Tebah”- also seen in Exodus 2:3 - basket = tebah

Exodus 2:3 NASB95

But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

Noah and his family (like Moses later) needed a box/basket to float in and stay safe

He didn’t build a boat, or a ship, and it didn’t need to make sense to him

Needed to save land and air animals (we’ll discuss next week)

Anything INSIDE was saved (HUGE implications)

Noah is to have faith, and prepare for the judgment promised

All he has to do is follow God’s direction to be saved/spared - GOD’S WAY!

The ark is the best “type” of Christ in the Old Testament

3) Standing Out for the Lord - God’s Fool

1 Peter 1:16 and Romans 1:24

750 million people, and 8 people stand out - wasn’t easy

Who is to blame for this? Parents? Grandparents? Friends? Neighbors?

How about Satan? James 1 would disagree - EACH HAD CHOICE

Gen 2 - divine marriage formula

Gen 3 - sin enters world, affects marriage, struggle

Gen 4 - Cain’s descendants- polygamous

Gen 5 - 6 - moral degeneracy - How bad did it have to get to upset God?

8 people follow God’s ideal

POINT - Satan’s attack on God’s Word, followed by humans to doubt God, affected the family

The first divine institution has been struggling and crumbling ever since

Along the way, some faithful have followed God, and refuse to give in to this attack

Look around, most only use marriage, family, etc. as some word, and really, many today don’t even care to use the term or attempt to follow God’s divine plan

People live together, enjoy the pleasures of marriage without the commitment

People embrace any immoral deviation from God’s plan- “to each His own”

(that didn’t play out well in the book of Judges - doing what’s right in own eyes)

How bad does it have to get for God’s patience to end?

And He IS patient - see 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 NASB95

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

God demands a faith that stands out!

“You shall enter the place of protection”

For us, this is the GOSPEL - See Mark 1:15

Mark 1:15 NASB95

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

God gave Noah 120 years to preach righteousness, patiently waiting

Noah followed, trusting, asking others to “see and follow”

Church/Believers- God is asking, demanding that you follow, trusting, telling others to follow

So they will watch, interact, ask you questions, see how you answer, and they’ll decide

Their choice - influenced by you

We are not asked to build a monstrous floating ark

We are commanded to be distinct, to stand out, to “be Christ” to people

You may be the only Bible someone ever reads

THE FLOOD- very real, don’t let it be “cartooned”

THE ARK - very real - who cares if it’s never found

JESUS - very real - and the church, believers are to be, safe, saved, “found in Christ” as in Phil 3:9

Philippians 3:9 NASB95

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Noah isn’t exactly sure how this judgment will come about, only that it will flood the world

We, today, spend so much time and mental energy trying to be absolutely certain about every aspect of the end times - and we ignore the truth in Genesis

When you understand the truth of Noah, the Flood, the Ark, then Jesus and His offer for eternal protection is so much clearer.

So, are YOU in Christ?

No? - you need to come inside

Yes? - let’s tell the world