For our Scripture reading tonight, we turn to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis 6. As we read about the introduction to and the announcement of the flood. The text for our consideration tonight will be verse 22, the last verse of chapter 6. as we now give our attention to the reading of the Word of God. When men began to increase in number on the earth, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, My spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal. His days will be a hundred and twenty years. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, I will wipe mankind whom I have created from the face of the earth, men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air. For I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it. The ark is to be 450 feet long. 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle, and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens. Every creature that has breath of life in it, everything on earth, will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you and you will enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them. Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I stand before you tonight as a servant of God and a minister of His Word to preach what might be considered my inauguration sermon with you here at the Escondido United Reformed Church. But it would be wrong for me to stand here tonight and make all kinds of promises to you that I cannot keep. Like telling you that I will be there every time the phone rings or every time you knock on my door. To tell you that I will always have the appropriate word of encouragement or comfort for you when you need it. Or to tell you that I will always have the answer for you from Scripture ready exactly when you need it. I could tell you all kinds of these things. And by God's grace, I hoped that I could carry some of these things out. But the truth is, if I made those kinds of promises, I'm afraid it wouldn't take very long and you would soon be disappointed. No, instead of telling you what I would like to do for you as your pastor, I desire tonight to be used of God to direct your attention to our responsibility before God as believers because of what He has done for us. One of the greatest challenges we face as professing Christians, I believe, is how to live as Christians in a non-Christian or an un-Christian world. How to live godly in an ungodly world. How we are to be holy even as God is holy in an unholy world. And we know that this is difficult at any age, whether as children or young people or young adults or middle-aged or elderly. It is difficult at any age. The situations may vary, of course, but it is still difficult. Yet the answer to this challenge of how to live as a Christian in an unchristian world can be found only when we understand by God's grace how we are to live before the face of God, period. The biblical account of Noah building the ark and the flood that consumed the whole earth is literally beyond the ability of some to believe. They just cannot believe that this could be true, that it really happened. But this true story, this historical episode, reveals to us both the justice and the mercy of God. And God has given to us in Noah an example of how we are to live Coram Deo. That is before the face of God. And it's for that reason that I want to consider with you tonight verse 22 of chapter 6. Noah did everything just as God commanded him. I preached to you this Word of God regarding Noah's obedient response to God's call. We want to consider three things. They're listed on the back of your order tonight. First of all, the cause of Noah's obedience. Secondly, the content of Noah's obedience. And finally, the character of Noah's obedience. Now, Genesis chapter 6 is really a fascinating story filled with many different fascinating details. Being told, first of all, what the condition was like on earth. What God chose to do about it. Coming to Noah to tell him his plan. And then as well, giving Noah the command that he gave to him. But it's not our purpose tonight to analyze everything that we read together in this chapter. But God gives Noah a command. That's what we want to consider. God gives Noah a command. And it's clear that he was obedient to that command. That's what the text tells us. It's not a question of whether or not Noah obeyed. That's not in question. He obeyed. But first of all, why he obeyed? What was the cause of Noah's obedience? And that question then becomes even more interesting when we stop to consider the day and age in which Noah lived. The Bible makes it clear that the situation and the condition surrounding the whole earth at that time was not a pretty sight. Let's back up just a little bit in our Bible history to understand this. I trust you remember what happened between Cain and Abel, the first two children born in this life. The boys and girls know what happened. Cain killed Abel. And then verse 16 of chapter 4 says, So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain went out. And then we know that God gives Adam and Eve another son in a sense to take Abel's place. Seth, in verse 26 of chapter 4, it says, Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time, men began to call on the name of the Lord. Cain goes out from the presence of the Lord, but then after Seth, in his line, men begin to call on the name of the Lord. And then in Genesis chapter 5, we find a list of the descendants of Seth all the way to Noah. And the idea that we get here when we read this from Cain and Seth is that the seed of the serpent finds its way through Cain while the seed of the woman finds its way through the line of Seth. But then what happened? We read about it together in the first two verses of chapter 6. The two lines get all tangled together. When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married any of them they chose. And what was the result? Verse 5 says, the Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. Now, as just an aside for a moment, young people and those of you who are in the dating years of your life, what we just read here is the result when you disobey God's Word, which we clearly find recorded in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And the way Paul asks those questions, he expects, he demands the answer, nothing! They have nothing to do with each other. And therefore, Paul then goes on to quote from Isaiah 52 when he adds, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. Noah lived in a world, literally a whole world that had completely turned its back on God. A world that followed the desire of its own flesh. A world that wanted to follow their own way instead of following the way of the Lord. Every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart It was only evil all the time. The idea here is that man had destroyed his way. And that's what sin does. When your life is godless, you destroy that life. And verse 13 then tells us the result as it points again to that destructive nature. For the earth is filled with violence because of them. When man turned his back on God, he also then turned his back on his fellow man. and included in that violence was the fact that man had degenerated morally. There was the shedding of blood. There was sexual perversion. There was oppression and fraud and injury and injustice. In many respects, it was no different than the animal world where we find the survival of the fittest. Look out for good old number one, me. And in the midst of this, beloved, there was one man, only one man, who was righteous and blameless. Noah. How could that be? How was that possible? I mean, look at us today. We have our church families. Many of us have been blessed to grow up in a Christian family. We have our Christian friends to support and to encourage us to keep on running the race of faith, especially when times get tough. We know how important it is to surround ourselves with Christian support. And some of us, even myself, I'm ashamed to say by experience, can testify to what happens when we are not surrounded by Christian support, but instead we are surrounded by un-Christian support, maybe in the workplace. Our language tends to drift toward the language of the world. Our actions might even tend to drift toward the actions of the world. but even surrounded by Christian support, we need to confess that we are tempted on every side. We do fall into sin at times, and there is rarely a time, if ever, that we can be described as righteous and blameless. For Noah, when the pressure to conform to the world must have been greater than you or I, I hope, will ever have to imagine, how in the world could he remain righteous or be righteous and blameless? Well, the only way that any of us is righteous at all. Verse 8 says, but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Some Bible versions say Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And we're talking about the same thing. By the grace of God, we understand God's voluntary, unrestrained, unmerited favor toward guilty sinners. And of course, some would say that Noah found favor or grace with God because he was righteous and blameless. But that's not true. He was righteous and blameless because God favored him. Now, it's true that we can also speak of God's favor in another way, I believe. It's true to say that those who are righteous and blameless by God's grace and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, they enjoy the blessings. They enjoy the favor of God. But the truth is one's life can only be found pleasing to God and one can only be righteous and blameless when that life is founded upon the grace of God. Only then. And they then enjoy the favor, the blessing of God's protection and preservation unto eternal life. God poured out His grace upon Noah. In 1 Corinthians 15.10, Paul as well gives God and His grace the credit for who Paul is and what he has done. He says, Congregation, the cause of Noah's obedience was not what he had done for the Lord, but that which the Lord had done for him and in him. You see, Noah stood in direct opposition to the rest of the world. And boys and girls and young people, sometimes you might feel the pressure of being so different from the rest of the world. Maybe you feel that when it comes to some of your neighborhood friends. And you might feel that all because you go to church or you're raised in a Christian home or because you go to a Christian school, yet you have all those blessings, you see. But think about this. Noah was alone righteous. He didn't have the support of Christian friends to encourage him. The hearts of those around him were unrighteous and evil toward God continually and they were violent and they turned against their fellow men. But Noah's heart was righteous toward God and blameless toward his neighbors. Blameless. You see, no one could accuse Noah of injustice. He had not wronged anyone. Now, the word for blameless here is the same word that is used many times when God commands His people to offer unblemished animals in their sacrifices. And it is also thought that our English word contaminated comes from the Hebrew word tamim, which is translated here blameless. And therefore, Noah was righteous in his heart and unblemished or uncontaminated in his conduct. He was not contaminated by God's grace. by the evil around him. But notice here, your heart and your hands go together. How you feel about God in your heart will be reflected in how you act toward your neighbor. It's interesting that here already in Genesis chapter 6, Noah demonstrates obedience to the two great commandments long before God gave His law on Sinai. Noah was a righteous and a blameless man and by the grace of God he cultivated that righteousness and that blamelessness by walking with God, as verse 9 says. He lived in close spiritual communion with God. He regarded God more than man. He formed his life, his thoughts, his words, his actions according to the law that God had written upon his heart. He fixed his eyes completely upon the Lord. Do you know what? It wasn't the opinion of others. that governed his life. It wasn't what others thought and felt about him that directed his every movement in his life. But it was the law of God that governed his life. How does all of this mean that Noah was sinless? Of course not. He too was conceived and born in sin just like every one of us, but he was an exception to the rule of his day. He loved and trusted God and he lived his life in submission before the face of God. And by the grace of God, he was obedient. Congregation, God promised the Redeemer, the Messiah, when He said that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent. But that time had not yet fully come. And now at this particular point in history, in Genesis chapter 6, a point of the history in the world when it looked like Satan had already won and when it looked like the church had been utterly defeated, God chose one man and looked on him with favor. Psalm 25, verse 14 says, The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him and He will make them know His covenant. God told Noah His secret, His plan, just as He told Abraham years later. In verses 17 and 18 we read, I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens. Every creature that has the breath of life in it, Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish My covenant with you and you will enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. Once again, Noah was the only man on earth at that time that found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Think about that. The only man. I believe that if there had been others, God would have saved them too. You see, we sit here today in the assembly of believers. We sit here comfortably surrounded by our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. But Noah was alone, humanly speaking. And therefore, God's justice was going to be revealed in His judgment against everything that breeds, man and animals, except for Noah and his family. But that at the same time, God's mercy would be clearly revealed in His preserving the human race and the line to Jesus Christ through Noah. The account of Noah, the ark, and the flood was a foretaste of the cross. Noah was a type of Christ because it was through him that God would save and continue the human race on this earth. And as a type of Christ, he pointed forward to Jesus Christ who would preserve His people from spiritual death and give them eternal life. Beloved, apart from the grace of God, no one can obey His call because we are totally depraved as Noah's contemporaries clearly demonstrated. By the grace of God, Noah responded to God's call and he produced fruit. What was it? What was the content of Noah's obedience? The text says again, Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Notice it says very simply, Noah did. He did. Such a small word which means so much here. In Hebrews chapter 11, we have a record of those who are considered heroes of faith. And that list includes Noah. We read in verse 7, By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. You see, in that verse alone, we have a wonderful discussion of the character of true faith and how it is to be carried out. But that verse affirms that Noah did what God commanded him to do. God told Noah of his plans to destroy all flesh except for Noah and his family, but then He gives Noah a task to be carried out. You see, congregation, faith is not lazy. True faith is not unproductive. There is responsibility that comes along with the gift of faith. And when you stop to consider what kind of task it was that God gave to Noah, it's clear that he could only carry out this task by faith. Again, God was going to save Noah, but He gives Noah the responsibility to build the vessel that he would be saved in. He gives him the responsibility to demonstrate his faith. He will destroy everything, you see? But Noah must get to work and build this massive boat and he gives Noah the specifications. But think about it. First, there was probably no body of water large enough on which to float this boat. Second, the thought of enough water to fill the earth to make this boat float must have been unimaginable. And third, it was no surprise that this would be no overnight project. Noah had to start from scratch. But he did it. He obeyed the Word of the Lord. Why? Because he had faith in the promises of God. Because he took God at His Word. That God's Word is truth. You see, beloved Noah shows us how to live before the face of God. To believe the Word of God and to be obedient to the Word of God, even and especially when it may not make sense to us and when it seems to be against the natural order of things. Building this ark must have seemed way out of the ordinary and somewhat absurd, don't you think? But Noah obeyed. And from the silence of Scripture, I believe that it was no backtalk or no questions asked obedience. We know that there are many things in God's Word that He tells us to do as His people, things that don't always make sense to us. Jesus said, take up your cross. Your cross. And follow Me. Now that's strange. We wish health and prosperity upon each other. But this means to be willing and ready to suffer and be persecuted for the name of Jesus Christ. And what about whoever loses his life will gain it? Or the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. See, that makes no sense to fortune seekers and those who are striving to climb the corporate ladder. We think of the beautiful Beatitudes, and along with the rest of these sayings, they just don't make sense unless you are a child of God. And sometimes we wonder why God's demands and expectations of and for His people are so stringent or difficult or even hurt at times. But the truth is, he uses those times to draw his people closer to himself. Those times are like a refining fire in which God prepares his people for heaven to live with him there. But as Noah's generation shows us, to live and walk contrary to the will of God brings one face to face with God's judgment. You may recall that God compared the days of Noah to how things will be when he comes again to judge the living and the dead. He talks about that in Matthew 24 where He talks about eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage just as in the days of Noah. In other words, when our Lord comes again for the world, it will seem like life as usual. There's nothing out of the ordinary because they won't even expect it. They're not looking for it. You see, when Jesus comes again, those who reject and ignore Him will not even realize that judgment is coming. But beloved, what is so important about obeying God and doing His will? In the first place, that in itself is a confession that He is our sovereign God. That He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. That He is the God of our salvation. And that He alone deserves our obedience because His Word is truth. But you see, the believer's obedience is one of the means God uses by His grace to identify His people in the world. Jesus said, Who is My mother and who are My brothers? The Scripture tells us, stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers, for whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother. Noah obeyed the voice of God and he did what He commanded of him. He put his trust in the salvation plan of the Lord. But then the content of his obedience necessarily reflects, in the third place, the character of his obedience. The text says that Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Not only did he do what God commanded him, but he did everything. Sometimes even in our families, children, they're told by parents to do something. They might do most of what mom or dad says. They might do some of what mom or dad says, but there are times when they don't do all that mom or dad says. Even for us as adults, there are times when we don't obey earthly authority the way we are supposed to. We don't do all that we are supposed to do, all that is commanded, but Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Noah's assurance of survival was the covenant faithfulness of God and therefore, he didn't leave out even one little detail. Now, he didn't obey God perfectly. We know that. But he obeyed God fully, completely, and specifically. You see, he could not improve on God's plan. And you know what? Neither can you. Neither can I. We cannot improve on God's plan. And this account is even more awe-inspiring when once again we consider what He did. The ark was the perfect floating vessel to save those whom God chose to save. Noah didn't say, well, you know, I think 400 feet is adequate. He didn't say, well, I think it needs a bigger door or no window or anything like that. But also think about the size of that ark. Boys and girls, Noah didn't have any of our modern day construction equipment or tools or hydraulic scaffolding or cranes or electricity or power wrenches or saws or anything like that to make his work lighter or easier. He even had to go out and cut the trees down and then cut the lumber just right out of those trees. And think about the labor involved. No doubt it took over a hundred years to build this boat. And there are many other physical details we could stop to consider, but also don't forget the taunting from the neighbors. Now, the Bible doesn't tell us directly that the neighbors picked on and made fun of Noah. Yet, I believe it is inconceivable that while Noah was doing something so completely foolish and absurd in the eyes of the world, and after all, he wasn't building an apartment complex, was he? He was building a boat. It's inconceivable to me that they left him alone. And we know from Scripture, from the very testimony of Scripture, that he had contact with his neighbors because the Bible calls Noah a preacher of righteousness. And I believe that Noah preached of the coming judgment and he called sinners to repentance much to no avail, of course. Beloved, Noah's obedience identified him as a child of God. But his obedience also condemned the world of her disobedience. As a Christian, your obedience does the same thing. It condemns unbelievers when you do that which is right according to the law of God. according to what He requires, that illuminates the wrong that is done against the law of God that unbelievers carry out. But also, your obedience to God is a means to identify you in the world. And therefore, I must ask you this question. As you consider your life, are you identifiable as a Christian in the world? Are you? How about as a church? Are we identifiable in this community as being distinctively Christian in obedience to God? In obedience to Him with regard to how we live our lives? In obedience to Him in coming together to worship? In obedience to Him in bringing His Word to our neighbors and to the ends of the world? Beloved, we know the story here very well. God spared Noah and his family and the human race so that in the fullness of time He sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfectly and completely obedient to His Father's call, ever more so than even Noah. And just as God used Noah to be a Savior for the human race so that life on this earth would continue, Jesus Christ is our Savior who brings forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life to those who believe on Him and obey His call. You see, Jesus Christ is the perfect and only vessel of salvation. Congregation, obedience is not an option for the child of God. There are so many today who have cut up the Bible so that it looks like Swiss cheese, really. Taking what they like. Discarding what they don't like. But obedience is not an option for the child of God. It is not something you do if you feel like it. Obedience is the fruit of the gift of true faith. Obedience is the desire of the believer. Christ's obedience earns salvation for you and me and our obedience in turn is a response of thanksgiving for that salvation. We may fall short every day in so many ways, yet the true believer strives in the strength of the Holy Spirit to do all that God commands. You see, His Word is not a manual of options from which we may pick and choose to do only the things that suit us. We cannot improve on God's Word. We cannot improve on that which God says is necessary for our lives. We cannot improve on that which He says is for our best interest. All men are called to obey God, but only those who enjoy the saving grace of God are able to obey Him out of true faith because Jesus Christ earned for us regeneration, justification, and the right of sanctification. Our Lord's active obedience to the law of God and His passive obedience all the way to the cross to bear our punishment earned for those who believe full forgiveness of all of our sins and favor and fellowship with God forever. He earned for us dead sinners new life. A life of obedience in Him. Now, what does this have to do with you and me as congregation and pastor? Together we are called to respond obediently to His call. And that means we must take Him in the first place. We must take Him at His Word, just as Noah did. We must believe His Word. The Word of God tells us that those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will perish forever in hell. That's what God's Word says. Do you believe it? The Word of God says that there is salvation only in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the Father. That's what the Bible says. Do you believe it? The Word of God says that His will is right for my life and your life, not our particular desires and wills. Do you believe it? You see, God has called me here to be your pastor. I believe that wholeheartedly. I may not fully understand it. I may not understand why, but I believe it. And I am called to shepherd you by God's grace and only with His help. And I promise with God's help to pray for you. And boys and girls and young people, that includes you. And I pray that God will bless you through me even if only in some small way, however many weeks and months and years He gives us together. But most of all, as I have been called to preach the Word and only the Word of God to you, Every Lord's Day, morning and evening, I promise with God's help to bring to you only the Word of God. Not my Word. Not what we may want to hear. As we heard this morning, not that which might please you, but that which we need to hear. And I pray that God will faithfully feed you from week to week through this weak vessel. And you are called to be obedient to His Word and to the Word preached that He comes to you with. But that means, first of all, that you must desire to hear the preaching of His Word whenever He places His spiritual food on the table before you. As well, you must pray for the faithful preaching of your Word. But I beg of you, please pray for Me. Every day, please pray for Me. Pray for the faithful preaching of the Word of God, expecting that when you gather together here in the assembly of the saints with fellow believers, that it is God Himself that is going to speak to you. And together as pastor and congregation may it be our desire to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and to live in obedience together to the Word of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And may we remember that we are not here, first of all, to please each other. I am not here in this pulpit to please you, but we are here to please one, and that is our God. God saved Noah from the flood by keeping him safe in the ark. That was his instrument of salvation which pointed to Jesus Christ who used the instrument called the cross to satisfy the payment for the sins of his people and give us and save us from eternal destruction. God's promises of salvation are sure. They are a guarantee for those who believe and obey. But do you know what? As we said a moment ago, God's promise of condemnation and destruction is just as sure for those who do not believe and who do not obey, but instead reject Him. Noah's generation is proof that those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will perish in that flood which the Bible calls the eternal lake of fire. That's what God says. Do you believe it? But what comfort for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. They will rest in the arms of the Father by that sea of crystal. That too is what God says. Beloved, take Him at His word and enjoy the only true salvation. May God be pleased to bless us as we labor together in obedience to Him. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, You have given to each and every one of Your people Your call to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to be obedient, to live lives worthy of that calling, to live as obedient children of the Heavenly Father in obedience to that law which is a reflection of the holiness of God. Father, we pray that we would be equipped and strengthened even in this evening hour by Your Holy Spirit and prepared to go forth into this coming week of work. We pray, Father, that at the end of each day we might be able to look back and say, by the grace of God, that we each have striven for obedience to live according to the way that You would have us to live. O Lord, grant Your blessing upon us as we leave in this evening hour, as we go forward in this week. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.