if you're visiting this morning we're working through the book of genesis and this morning we come to the flood event in chapter 7 and it's a hard section in terms of a sad because the lord is flooding and destroying the world that then was but you also can look at this very positively in that the lord had to do this to rescue his people and to put an end to just how wicked things God on the face of the earth. And so Genesis chapter 7 helps us so much with our time, and I pray that we will see that this morning. So let's consider together the entirety of the chapter. Then the Lord said to Noah, go into the ark, you and your household, for I've seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, and the male and his mate. The seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth and noah and his sons his wife and his son's wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood of clean animals and of animals that are not clean of birds and of everything that creeps on the ground two and two male and female went into the ark with noah as god had commanded noah after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth In the 600th year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the 17th day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened, and rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his son Shem, Ham, Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons, with them entered the ark. They and every beast according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh, in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them 15 cubits deep, and all flesh died that moved on the earth. Birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth and all mankind. Everything on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of life, died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days. And notice 8 verse 1. But God remembered Noah. And there ends the reading of God's word. I was talking with some of you last Sunday after the sermon. And it was amazing how the experience that you've had, I have had growing up. That you said that your parents used to think that the end would come in their lifetime. And then they said, well, their parents thought the same thing. And I remember sitting around my grandmother's table saying, oh my, I can't imagine. You'll see it. You'll see it, Chris. You'll see it. You ever stopped and wondered what it will be like when Jesus comes again? One of the generations is going to get it right, and one of the generations is going to see it. And have you ever just paused and reflected upon exactly what that is going to be like? What you can expect. What's going to happen, boys and girls, do you think? What is going to happen? I don't quite understand all of that. Well, Genesis 7 this morning really helps us with that. And Jesus drew a lot of comparisons with this, even when he said in Matthew 24, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will not give its light. Remember he said that? And the moon will not give its light. The sun will be darkened and the stars will fall from the heavens and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. There will be. He will be coming with all the clouds in great glory and every eye will see Him. What a day that will be. What's it going to be like? That's what I want to explore a little bit today. What can we expect? In our study of Genesis, this has really been helpful to draw the comparisons between these two things because that is what Peter and the authors of the New Testament, this is what they were showing us. And that's important because remember what Peter had said that I read this morning, that we can understand, and I've repeatedly said this so we get this framework, we can understand what is going to happen in the world that now is because he divides the existence into these two realms of the world that then was and the world that now is. And he says you can learn a lot by looking at the world that then was. And this is important for us because as we go on with time, we forget as Christians that this world is not our home and that things are not going to continue on here indefinitely. We live that way. We think that way. We don't get up in the morning really thinking, could this be the last day? It's the farthest thought from our minds, isn't it? And the Lord is using this to remind us, it could. It could. Things are not going to go on indefinitely. God has appointed a day known to Him in which He's going to come, and He's going to judge this world in righteousness. Now, most of us believe this. I mean, all of the Christians believe this. But the sad world does not. And Peter said this as we looked at, that people willfully forget. This is not something that they just forget irresponsibly. They willfully forget. They willfully make the choice to not think about this. And he said, the word of God, said Peter, said, The heavens were of old, the earth standing out of water and in the water. By the world that then existed, it perished, being flooded with water. And then he draws the comparison. But the heavens and the earth, which now are, are preserved by the same word. They're reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Well, that's where we are in our study of Genesis. We've arrived to that day. We got there. We come to judgment day of the world that then was. The judgment day. and we get to see what it looked like we get to see what happened to God's people we get to see how it all played out and to study it so that we would be encouraged to know that all of God's people are going to be brought safely into the kingdom they're going to be brought safely into Christ and they're not going to face wrath and that's meant to really encourage us that he will not forget us that's why i read um genesis 8 1 so what's described here is how god rescued noah and his family and how he judged the world that then was and the lord is telling all of us this so that we would not be in darkness about it oh he does not want us in darkness about this remember it's always been a sign of friendship when god comes and he tells us about these things and he gives you the ears to hear and the minds to accept it. When you hear that, that is evidence that he's treating you as friends. Remember what God said to Abraham, should I tell Abraham what I'm about to do to Sodom? And he did. Jesus said in John 15, you're my friends. I've told you everything that you need to know from my father, that my father has told me. But servants or slaves don't get to know this. So I want you to think about that right now. How many thousands of people are sitting all around this church and don't get to hear this. It's heavy on me. And he's telling you you're blessed. You're friends. That's why I'm speaking intimately to you like this. I'm telling you about what is about to take place so that this day would not overtake you, that you would not be in darkness, that you would not be scared about this. And I love that because how much in a bookstore, when you go down a family Christian bookstore, is there that scares you. Not the best bookstore. So let's look at this this morning and what is said to us that we would see how the Lord is comforting his people. Well, last week we considered the last days before the flood, what they look like. And essentially, you had one of the last periods that the Lord had declared of that world that was a fixed period of grace. In other words, you had 120 years until the flood in the time in which Noah constructed the ark. Things had gotten so bad on the face of the earth. Remember what God said? The thoughts of man are only evil. Thoughts and intents of the heart are only evil continually. This is what it's come to. It's just gotten that bad that this is the progression into sin and I've decided it's done. I've decided it's time. I've given 120 years and it's over. Judgment comes. But there was Noah and his family. And that was given to encourage us that in the darkest hour of history, at the very end of the first world, if you will, God preserved them. God covered them. This was imputed righteousness as we talked about last time. Romans 4. this is hebrews says noah was an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith same language as abraham this was god's covenant of grace showing itself and so notice what god does he gives instructions to noah in the last part of chapter 6 i want you to go and build this ark noah make for yourself verse 14 of chapter 6 an ark of gopher wood make rooms in the ark cover it inside and outside with pitch and then he gives the dimensions which if you were to figure this out the dimensions are 450 feet long 75 feet wide and 45 feet high almost two football fields that's an ark it has a window it has a massive door i want you to think about that for a minute What size door would have to be made for an ark that's almost two football fields? A massive door and three decks. What is this? Well, the boys and girls songs that they sing kind of depict it as a nice boat ride. It's not really right. This was a house. The word for room is fascinating. It can mean nests. in this ark were many nests if you will in other words what the the text is telling us is that this was a place of lodging this was a place of being lodged it was a three-roomed house massive house and it was a house that was being prepared to save god's people from the wrath to come. Now, Moses would use the same word, remember, to describe that little ark that he rode through in the Nile, and he was delivered from death. But you'll remember here, when Moses was later given the instructions of the tabernacle, you had a very similar kind of thing described, where God would come and dwell among them, remember? And that tabernacle was a three-room thing. It had the most holy place and the holy place and in the courtyard. And the most holy place is where God was said to have dwelt symbolically. Have you ever wondered what all of these building plans and instructions were telling us? Psalm 91 is beautiful. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the almighty i will say to the lord my refuge and my fortress my god in whom i trust for he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence he will cover you with his pinions under his wings you will find refuge his faithfulness is a shield and buckler you will not fear you're going to be lodged under his shadow all over the place in the psalms One of the most beautiful things that Hebrews says about Noah is that he prepared this ark for the saving of his household. Have you ever reflected on that? Who is Noah ultimately showing us? The work of Christ. Think about it. Remember what Christ said when he was with us? John said in John 1 that he had come to tabernacle with us. He had come to dwell with us. And everyone was distressed when he left. And remember what he said right before he left in John 14? He said, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. What Jesus was saying is when he returns in all of his glory, he had come to tabernacle with us. He is coming back and he is going to bring us to the shelter that he has prepared for us in which God himself will dwell with his people forever. And that's why Jesus all along the way in his ministry was giving these calls. Enter, enter by me. There's no other door. There's no other way. There's no other way that anyone can enter the kingdom except by me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. There's no other way. I am, remember what he said in John 10, on the door of the sheep if anyone enters that door he will be saved this language is everywhere isn't it and what we're seeing here in genesis chapter 7 is that this whole ark is a visual if you will of the person in the work of christ this ark tells us about him and noah is the builder and it also tells us about what is going to happen notice here that when christ comes he's prepared this place for us he will call us to be with him he will take us into his arms into this kingdom we will always be with the lord and what will happen we will have entered using the language of revelation into the gates of the city but on the outside will be all of those who have been terribly destructive and hated the Lord and harmed you. That's how Revelation presents it. Who harmed you. And so now what is shown to us here is the judgment day. How does the Old Testament portray the flood? The Old Testament portrays the flood as the day of judgment of that world. And that's why I quoted Psalm, and we sang out Psalm 29 this morning, the Lord sat enthroned at the flood. The Lord sits as king forever. Isaiah would pick this up and Isaiah would say, I love Isaiah. He describes the words of the flood. He uses the very flood event and he says, come my people, enter your chambers. Notice that. Shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself as it were for just a little moment until the indignation is passed. For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sin. Psalm 18. You ever cried out over the wickedness and the things that are happening now and you're grieved? We've looked at this in the past weeks. You know how the Lord pictures his coming? The Lord heard my voice. I cried out to the Lord. The Lord heard my voice from his temple. My cry came before him even to his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, devouring fire from his mouth. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens and came down with darkness under his feet. He rode upon a cherub and flew. He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place. His canopy around him was waters, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. The Lord thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice. The channels of the sea were seen. Notice that. The foundations of the world were uncovered at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He sent from above. He took me, and he drew me out of many waters. He pulled me out. That's what the flood is picturing. On the day of judgment, Enoch prophesied about it in the little book of Jude that the Lord was coming. I want everyone to look now after all of that at chapter 7, verse 1. The covenant name of the Lord is used. Then the Lord said to Noah, and I'd rather use some of the older translations, the word here, Come, come into the ark, you and all your household. For I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. I want you, the imagery that we get here, if we see this as we should, is the Lord had come down and he's standing at the ark door and he's saying, come, enter, enter the ark. enter your rest now listen to matthew 25 when the son of man comes and the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory and all the nations will be gathered before him and then he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats and he will say come you blessed of my father enter the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Enter it. It's yours. I've prepared it. Genesis 7 shows us this. Come. Enter my house. Enter my kingdom. It's the language of revelation when on that day he speaks to his people and what does he say? Come out of her, my people. Come out of Babylon, lest you share in her plagues. Come. And now you understand, if you will, How wonderful our mission is here for the time being. When Noah was building that ark, think about this just for a moment. When Noah was building that ark, that door sat open, didn't it? A massive door to this massive structure. For 120 years, that door sat wide open. And it's interesting that the New Testament picks this up and it calls Noah a preacher of righteousness his whole building project was a call his whole preaching and building of the ark was a call to come you know there's nothing different about our message today there is absolutely nothing different unless if you're properly giving the message nothing different my whole goal in preaching it has a single goal that that people would see their sin, feel their shame, feel very clearly their emptiness without the Lord, and that they would hear Christ and the power of his call. And what was Christ's call to the multitudes when he was walking through and he was going through the villages? Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. You'll enter my rest. Come. He was saying this everywhere. I won't cast you out. I won't leave you out there. Come. Noah was saying the same thing. How many that day and those years scoffed? How many said, ah, come on, what are you doing? Look at this nutball building, an ark, two football fields long. What is that? Can you imagine the ridicule? Imagine how foolish the project looked to the world. Imagine how goofy the whole project looked. You know, a few years ago, there was the movie Evan Almighty. Remember that? Morgan Freeman. No fear plays the role of God the Father. And in a very casual, lighthearted mindset, they recast the biblical flood as a comedy. The end message being that all can be changed if people would just start doing one act of random kindness arc. Sad, isn't it? Who takes it seriously today? Well, Genesis 7 says, it came. It came. Verse 15. God told Noah, enter. And they went into the ark, two by two, of all flesh, and which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female, of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And we read, if you look back at verse 4, In seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth, forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. Seven more days. Now, I want you to picture this in your minds, if you will. You're there, and Noah and his family, two by two, they enter the door of the ark, and they go in. And the door is wide open. The door is just wide open. It's sunny. And I think the real power of this is to make us see that while God is so long-suffering, so long-suffering, this is the message of the Bible, so long-suffering, announcing to the ends of the earth, come, the door's open, come, come. there's an end to grace and we have not been used to ever hearing that there's an end to this and so at the end of verse 16 comes i think the most one of the most powerful statements in the narrative so those that entered male and female of all flesh went in as god commanded him and the Lord shut him in. That's a highlight there. That's something you just don't pass over quickly. I can't imagine that. The ark that Noah created, this door to the ark, there's no way that Noah could have shut the door. Can you imagine the sheer weight of a door like that? And if you can picture this, they've all gathered into the ark And all of a sudden, it was sunny, it was shining, and in an amazing act of God, this massive wooden tar-pitched door lifts off the ground and shuts. Perfect stillness. Can you feel it? Can you feel the stillness that must have went over Noah and the family at that moment? it was over it was done jesus said at the end of the parable the ten virgins five were wise and five were foolish five five came when jesus came they went out to meet him but five went in to buy and the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut it's at moments like these that i i like to think about you know what what must have went through the mind of noah what what what's going through his mind at this point there's a statement i've often wondered about in revelation that on that day god will have to wipe away every tear from our eyes and you know there will be no more death no more sorrow no more pain suffering crying all that's gone. It's done. The former things will have passed away. It must have been a hard moment for Noah that on the one hand, such joy that God had spared him and his family, joy that he was saved and it was over, the burdens, the sorrows that he carried, you feel that it's done but then also the tears of sorrow that must have filled him you know the moment he sees that the mighty door rise up and shut and he knew of what was about to happen to that world that then was sorrow because the day was over how did it get like this How could it have gotten this bad? We're in Genesis 7. And I think God took his giant hand of mercy and he wiped every tear. He took the burden away. And the former things were not remembered. And you see, this is the beautiful truth, if you will, that the Scriptures is showing us. You know, you ever thought about why we're here? The door, the ark door is just wide open right now. And, you know, what we're doing as God's people and as we witness and as we tell others and what the goal of the pulpit here is, is to say, come enter this ark. The Lord is so merciful. The Lord is so long. He's so gracious. And there has to be an urgency in that call, doesn't there? When pastors aren't giving the urgency of the call, it's pastoral abuse to people. Because we're preaching for a reason. We want all of you to enter the ark. You know, we want everyone who comes in off the streets to the Escondido URC, enter Christ, be saved from the wrath to come. Knowing the terror of God, said Paul, we persuade men. And there are those whom Jesus talked about all the time, say, ah, come on, I'm going to go build my barns, and I'm going to do well, and I'm going to make a lot of money. You fool, this night, you could die. Your soul could be required of you. Then what does all that matter? And then he says, strive to enter through the narrow gate. For many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able when once the master of the house has risen up and shut the door. And you begin to stand outside and knock, saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. You will answer, I don't know you. Where are you from? And these were calls for people to ask the single great question, have I entered by Jesus? Have I come to Jesus? Have I believed in Christ and received all of his benefits by faith? And if you have done that, you've entered, you're secure, you're safe. That's the beautiful message of the gospel. Well, the doors shut and in verse 17, now the flood was on the earth 40 days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the ark and the ark moved about the surface of the waters and the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. the waters prevailed 15 cubits upward and the mountains were covered and what you essentially have here is remember creation he had created an expanse that we get to enjoy and the expanse was overturned and the waters came together and you had a massive decreation event if you will and the fountains of the deep were broken up the windows of heaven were open the waters came together and Peter describes that here as the way that the world that then was perished all flesh died that moved on the earth birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth and every man all in whose nostrils was the breath of life spirit of life and that was on dry land they died so he destroyed all the living things that were on the face of the ground both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. It's interesting in the Jewish writings that if you were to go through and to look at how the Jewish writings depict this in some of the apocryphal books, they're not inspired, but we do treat them as history. Let me read one of the Jewish apocryphal books' description of the flood. And on that day, the Lord caused the whole earth to shake and the sun darkened and the fountains of the world raged and the whole earth violently moved and the lightning flashed and the thunder roared and all the fountains of the earth were broken up such as was not known to the inhabitants ever before. And Noah and his household and all the living creatures that were with him came into the ark on account of the waters of the flood and the Lord shut him in. And all the sons of men that were left upon the earth because were exhausted through evil on account of the rain for the waters were coming more violently upon the earth and the animals and the beasts still surrounded the ark and the sons of men assembled together around 700,000 men and women and they came unto the ark and they called to Noah saying open for us that we may come into the ark and wherefore we shall die and Noah with a loud voice answered from the ark saying have you not all rebelled against the Lord and said that he does not exist and therefore the Lord brought this evil upon you to destroy and cut you off from the face of the earth? Is not this thing that I spoke to you of 120 years back that you would not hearken to the voice of the Lord? And do you desire to live upon the earth? And they said to Noah, we're ready to return to the Lord. Only open for us that we may live and not die. And Noah answered them saying, behold now that you see the trouble of your souls, you wish to return to the Lord. Why did you not return these 120 years which the Lord is granted as the determined period. Now also the Lord will not listen to you, neither will he give ear to you. And now all that to say of what the New Testament says is once the door's shut, it's shut. Now, I'm not going to leave you there because the Lord did not mean this to scare his sheep. The greatest encouragement is at the end of this. Look at verse 23. Noah and those who were with him in the ark, I love this, remained alive. Isn't that beautiful? In verse 1 of chapter 8, and you just stop after this, and God remembered Noah. You know, that's a covenantal word saying God did not forget his promises to Noah. Right after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, do you know what the first thing is you read? and God remembered Abraham. Same thing. Do you ever wonder on Judgment Day with billions of people, billions upon billions that have ever existed, will God remember you? I've had that thought. I've often wondered, how will God... And then I get around my table with my family, and I say, Lord, remember me and my family. I've prayed that. Will God remember you? What did the thief on the cross say to Jesus? He hadn't done one work. His hands are tied behind his back. In the last moment of his life, after a wicked life of rebellion, he believes. And what's the one thing he said to Jesus? Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. What did Jesus say? Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. that's what you have pictured. I'm not forgetting you. I won't forget you. On that day, all who have believed in Christ and trusted the gospel promise and repented and turned from them and looked to the Savior, guess what? You have laid up for you a crown of righteousness, which is for you, says Paul, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award on that day, not only to me, but all to all of those who have loved his appearing. It's not scary. The Lord wants you to be able to say today, and I know because I've struggled with this myself, wants you to be able to pray in confidence and assurance today, Lord, come quickly. And to not fear in saying that. That's the kind of boldness he wants for you. That's the kind of assurance he has that we may have, 1 John, boldness on the day of judgment. And the Lord has assured us today that all who believe will enter and receive this kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. You'll enter a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell and you will always be with the Lord. And you have no idea how glorious this is going to be. No eye has seen nor ear heard nor entered in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him. Do you love the Lord? That's yours. And so the Lord, when he says all these times in scripture, come what he's saying is believe in me trust me dear saints are you standing outside today the lord has a message for you anyone standing outside today who's come in here come come come my people enter your chamber shut your doors behind you hide yourself as it were just for a little moment until the indignation has passed i'll preserve you the ark is for those who for to jesus for refuge have fled i leave you with the words of jesus today and may you go out of here being really encouraged that he will not lose one and every last one who comes to him he will by no means cast out that's what jesus said i am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and he will go in and out and find pasture let's pray oh lord our god we thank you for showing us your gospel here in genesis chapter 7 and that you have filled us with such joy in christ and peace that we don't have to fear this great day but looking to christ trusting in your promises, resting in him alone, not trying to obtain this ourselves, entering by him, we have absolute full assurance that we will be sheltered from whatever is to come. The pitch even that covered the ark, telling us that not any of your wrath will ever touch your servants. And so today, O Lord, may we as heads of homes prepare our households. May we, Lord, all of us, us and our children trust your promises and may this church the escondido urc be full of every last one who has entered that ark door by jesus and is saved thank you for hearing us today and for caring to instruct us in this and for lord blessing us and treating us as friends to give us light about this so that we're not in darkness we pray for your mercy to the sad world since the ark door is still open that you would graft in a whole bunch more and that you would use us to tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.