[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word.
[0:14] Amen. I'm glad we get to study and learn and worship about this Lord that is worthy tonight. One of my favorite psalms is Psalm chapter number 96, verse 8. It says, Give unto the Lord the glory that is due unto His name.
[0:27] And that's what I believe they were doing as they were singing. They were giving glory that is due unto His name. We're looking at the flood tonight. If you will please join me in Genesis chapter number 7. And we'll look at the majority of verses there in Genesis 7 tonight as we talk about the flood.
[0:43] And more importantly, the ark that was prepared by the Lord. I'm glad we don't have a story of the flood without an ark. And I'm glad we don't have a Romans 1, 2, and 3 that we've been in without hearing the story of a Redeemer.
[0:55] I'm glad we don't have the story of a fall without the story of a promise that God had made to save us from the sin that we had fallen into. And I'm so thankful for that.
[1:06] Because Genesis 7 would be absolutely unbearable if we didn't know there was a way of escape for those people that believe. I'm glad to see the Carpenter family here today.
[1:17] That's Victoria's parents. And we're so thankful that they're here with us. Been friends with our pastor for a long time. And we're glad to see them tonight. Cole's getting audited.
[1:28] Seems like we've had a lot of that here lately. A lot of family visiting. And so checking up on Cole. And we're glad that they are here. And I'm glad that Victoria wanted to bring her family to see her church.
[1:38] She was excited about the service tonight. She told us we were coming. Every time my mom comes to visit, She always enjoys being here. And she's thankful that I'm in a church like this. And I'm thankful too.
[1:49] I'm thankful that we're a place that we are loved and cared for. And I really love the church. I have, since I was a young boy, I just really had a love for the church. And I love this church.
[2:01] But I'm thankful that the ark that I'm in and my salvation is found in Jesus. Because the church is made up of people that are placed in Jesus. This is a group of baptized believers who are voluntarily united.
[2:14] For the cause of the Great Commission. But I'm glad today that I'm in Jesus. And the flood that's coming, I am protected from because my life now is in Christ. And that's exciting.
[2:24] Some years ago, Zach and I went to a Greek Orthodox church. We were just looking around. You know, thought we'd try out a different faith for a while. Things were getting boring. And now we went on a Saturday.
[2:34] And we had some Greek food. And we saw the place. And then we brought a group of college students later. And in talking to the guy there, and when we went, we were planning a trip to take college students later because we were doing that in the summer, seeing it.
[2:47] And I was talking to the guy, he said, it seems like you put a lot of detail into all of what you do around here. And he said, it's so important because this is the ark. And he began to explain to me how you had to be on their church membership if you wanted to be protected and make it into heaven.
[3:03] And I just, my heart broke because he missed it. Jesus was there on the wall. But they really thought that they were preparing this haven for people from the wrath of God. And we see it tonight.
[3:14] We will see the ark in Genesis chapter number seven. It was funny in the news. It said, two to eight inches of rain have already fallen on parts of north and central Georgia, prompting concerns of flash flooding and extensive street flooding and isolated significant flooding according to the National Weather Service.
[3:29] That's not funny. I said it was, but it's really not funny. But there's always something in the news that grabs your attention. You know, they're always trying to get us, please pay attention to us just a little bit longer. But as I was studying, and Pastor said it the other day, we can't tell exactly how much rain came down in the flood because it said that water came from underneath the ground that is broken up so these springs come up.
[3:50] And so we can't say, if all the water came from the sky, then that's six inches a minute. We're talking about eight inches in a week, and they're talking about six inches in a minute if all the water is needed to make that possible.
[4:02] And it's just more, you shouldn't even think of rain. You should think of water being poured on you as in a bucket. And that's what we're looking at as we look at this. Noah's flood teaches us two things.
[4:13] He is angry with sin and he will punish it one day. And that he, secondly, and it always comes together, that he loves us and sends us the way of salvation if we will only repent and turn to him.
[4:24] You know, we've been in a gloomy part of scripture in Romans so far than in Genesis here. And we're looking at a dark day in Genesis where we're at now where people were just living a very vile life.
[4:36] And Noah is preaching. And as Noah is preaching, preaching righteousness, and people aren't responding. His eight get into the boat and others are given an opportunity.
[4:47] And it's a very gloomy time as if the clouds are over. I was tempted to skip chapter seven and I wanted to run straight to the covenant that God would make there with the promise there and let pastor come back and talk more about the gloomy things, right?
[5:02] But we're looking here that there's an arc in the story and that changes everything. So let me show you a couple of funny slides before I read. I know my introduction has been longer than normal. But let me show you here.
[5:12] When most people think about the arc and there's a Christian comedian he talks a lot about how there's certain things we don't put in our story Bible. You know, we don't show the precious moments don't have Cain and Abel, you know, one brother killing another one.
[5:26] And he said that he thinks it's funny that we always paint on the walls of our nursery Noah's Ark. And we make it look so pretty when it's a very graphic thing that would be happening. You know, we don't ever say can we have you come in and draw a very realistic picture of Noah's Ark?
[5:41] Could you show people drowning in a flood and put that in our nursery? I imagine we would get in some trouble if we had images like that painted on the wall. So almost every time you think about the Ark you think of something comical.
[5:52] I found these couple pictures when I was doing some very deep research earlier when I was playing around. Have you ever seen this before? The two dinosaurs? People always want to talk about the dinosaurs. And they say, was that today?
[6:03] They didn't make it to... They didn't make it to... That's one theory that Daniel's been presenting to me about the flood. And then here's another one that I thought I'd never seen before. And there's one more theory is that the other animals shot cannons at the boat with the dinosaurs on it.
[6:19] And that's it. And please take that off because people... I can't compete with a cartoon. But when you talk to the people about the Ark and we're going to look at Genesis 7 people automatically go to...
[6:29] They want to talk about dinosaurs and they want to talk about those things. And I think it's great nurseries have those things painted on the wall. But they always go to that. This week we were in Mableton and the guys were going door to door and they were tagging doors and they were going.
[6:43] And I don't like to walk as much. I always try to find somebody that will talk to me for a very long time. And so I found this guy named Jimmy and I said, Jimmy... And we were talking and I just couldn't get the guy to really pay much attention.
[6:54] And I said, Jimmy, do you know the Noah's Ark story? You know, there in Genesis. Do you know it? And he just like lit up. He's like, oh yeah, all the animals came. I'm like, you must not know the same story.
[7:04] I know, Jimmy. Let me tell you what happens. Everybody in the world dies but eight people. And you could just see his face like, whoa, dude. Like, what's that about it?
[7:15] I was like such a... I just killed the party there for a moment. And you know, we tell the story age appropriately. We tell it when they're younger but when they get older. Can I tell you now in your cubicle at work, it's okay to take the real version of Noah's Ark and tell it to your friends and to your coworkers.
[7:32] And that it is a horrific story. And they gotta love the Ark in the story. They gotta love God's provision in it. And we need to remember that this is an actual event in history. It's not just something that we draw on a wall but it's real.
[7:46] So Sunday night, pastor told us we had about a hundred years that this Ark was being built and people were ridiculing them until it begins the rain and it's too late. The door had been shut.
[7:57] So Genesis chapter 7 verses 1 through 5, we're gonna look at the summons from God. Verse number 1, And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house and the ark for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation of every clean beast that thou shalt take to thee by sevens the male and the female and the beasts that are not clean by two and the male and his female of fowls also of the air by sevens and the male and the female that keeps seed alive upon the face of all the earth for yet seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth and Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded.
[8:39] That's a wonderful verse in there because God had made provision for what he's going to do. So there's a summons there. You're familiar with this passage and growing up in church you've probably been struck with the Bible trivia how many animals did he bring and you say two of every kind and they say wrong answer then you find out that of the clean animals that seven were brought of them and provision was made there for a sacrifice and they're there.
[9:01] I thought it would be great for a couple's retreat that we had a Noah's Ark theme and we called it two by two and the pastor didn't go for it okay and aren't you glad I had a lot of great plans of decorations and masks that I would hand you when you came in but here are these people come two by two and God brings them there some commentaries brother Frick I couldn't believe it one said that Noah had an advanced trapping system so while he was building an ark and preaching righteousness he had the job of trapping two of every animal in the world but creation is obedient to our God and they went as he told them to go there but I want you to take notice here in the very beginning verse number one it said the Lord said Noah come thou and all thy house into the ark there's a summons here that's the first time this word is used as a directive in the Bible a command to come it's the first time but it's not the last time I know Stephen you study the Bible quite often you ever get so excited about one word I get excited about this one word come because in Isaiah chapter 1 verse number 18 it says come let us reason together though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow also in Matthew 11 28 this is Christ himself saying come unto me all you that labor in our heavy lane
[10:16] I will give you rest and then the last call in Revelation 22 17 and the spirit and the bride say come and let him that hear us say come and let him that is to thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely this word is so wonderful when he summons into the ark because he is told to come and not to go and that is so exciting that we are invited to him where he is at now if you came over to my house and I wasn't in there I wouldn't tell you to come in the house if I'm standing outside as you know I struggle with the English language it is not my first language growing up in Kentucky but my wife and I always have debates about bring and take you know will you take this upstairs well I'm not going upstairs well will you go upstairs and bring it with you you know just basically get up off the seat that's what she's trying to tell me tell me but bring and take but he says come in there and that's wonderful that he is inviting us where is he he's there inviting them in there when the Philippian jailer is told he says come thou in all thy house a summons to salvation so first of all we see come that God is saying come to me he's not sending there to be lonely and on his own he doesn't say go but he bids him to come there's a compassion from the Lord here come and grace are always tied together
[11:39] Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and the Lord said come and bring in your whole family you know getting on an ark is a scary thing getting in there and the door will be shut and they'll sit there for seven days and we'll talk about this in a minute he doesn't hear from the Lord for over 300 days but he's invited to come to God let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace so we see a compassion there we also find the companionship of the Lord one of my favorite Bible stories is in John chapter number one it's where we take for the come and see banner over there it's that invitation it's where Jesus says to the people that were following John the Baptist or following after John the Baptist Jesus passes by and John says behold the Lamb of God which take away the sins of the world and the disciples come to them and they say are you really the Messiah are you who we're waiting for and his invitation is come and see and he says come abide with me and he invites them in and they get to spend two days with the creator of the universe it's just one verse we don't know what happens but just the fact that he would invite them is so exciting this verse proves that God was on the inside of the boat that God was on the inside of the ark and every storm the child of God enters
[12:54] God doesn't say go in there but he says come on in because he's already in the boat where was it Peter was going that day on that stormy water he was going to Jesus he wasn't told to go anywhere on his own and any storm and any flood anything in life he always bids us to come to him which is the safest place we could be Psalms 23 verse number 4 you know this it says yea though I walk through the valley of shadow death I will fear no evil for what reason for thou art with me it's the cause and effect why aren't we nervous as we walk through the valley of the shadow death because we are going to him God didn't need the boat to survive the flood but he knows we need him in the ark with us for us to survive the storm and so we think about all the animals coming but the most important thing is that it was God then we also find in this passage we find a cautioning from the Lord come thou all in thy house in verse number 1 in verse number 4 it says for yet seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth we have a stated deadline of when this is going to happen he says in seven days it's going to rain and he creates a sense of urgency there he lets them know what's going to happen 2 Corinthians 6 behold now is accepted day time behold now is the day of salvation how many of you know that story you know that verse you know that now is accepted time how many of you when you're talking to somebody about the gospel you make sure they know that there's a clock on the wall and that there's a sense of urgency and they will go in there and they will not hear his voice again until Genesis chapter number 8 and verse number 15 he's going to say speak to them they're going to go in and after seven days
[14:44] God shuts the door for them and they ride that and they'll hear from him again and over 300 days from now and they got on there that's what I would do I was asking some of the students today when you have a long trip do you plan for it how many of you if you have a long trip you plan for it and you're packed and you got everything a week in advance anybody like that nobody like that a few days in advance how many of you are packing if you're leaving in the morning you're packing the night before or you're getting up early for it alright that was most of the students in the training center I'm that way too and I'm not even packing then I'm just asking my wife why didn't we start packing sooner you know because she's going to pack for me but I was asking that but I tell you when God says in seven days the flood's coming I'm on the boat right then I'm not going to take a quick trip to Walmart I'm not going anywhere I'm sitting there for seven days with Noah and his family because my belief will be shown in my action there I believe that it's coming and if he says it I'm not waiting seven days you know so many times when people put off they say I'm going to make that decision when I get older and we think about teenagers
[15:49] I'll serve the Lord when I'm older I'll accept them when I'm older it's not a matter of time it's a matter of belief they just simply don't believe what it is because when you fully believe what you're talking about you would never want to put that off so then we go on and we continue it says for seven days I will cause it to rain look at the severity of God's actions he said for yet seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights and every living substance I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth I know this is quite obvious but I want to state it he caused the rain and he made it and he destroyed it this wasn't God's backup plan for a flood that he saw he wasn't a meteorologist saying that rain was coming and then making provision for his people he brought the rain he had planned it he knew that his iniquity had been full to this earth and he was coming and he caused the rain and let me remind you here before you think God is cruel upon creation that God is the creator and he is the owner of what he is destroying here he has full rights to do as he would want today upstairs at the training center we kind of look like a bunch of accountants getting ready for taxes we were running all kinds of numbers and I was really wanting to try to give an estimation of how many people were alive during Noah's day and it's a very difficult thing to do because you know when the children of Israel go in to Egypt there are 70 going to Egypt 400 years later 1.2 million of them come out that's a tremendous growth rate if that was to happen from the beginning of the earth all the way to Noah there would have been trillions of people and so Lord blessed in that time if it grew at a 5% rate it's just astronomical the amount of people that were on the earth that they and I can't give you any numbers but if you think of it like this since the time of Noah some 4500 years ago roughly there's now 7 billion people so from the time of Noah the now is rounded to 4,000 it's easier we've went from 8 people to 7 billion so going from creation
[17:49] Adam and Eve to Noah we almost go 2,000 years you can't double it because that isn't how math works when you're working exponentially but it's a lot of people there on the earth there are millions and millions if not billions of people on the earth that day sorry to disappoint you those that thought I had a number for you but I don't and so no one will survive but Noah and his family I know that number there's 8 of them and we see this we must tell the story age appropriately we've got to let people know that they've got to know that the world was destroyed and that they've got to know that their only safety is found in the ark you find those stories in the New Testament of a person who believed but who was not obedient to get in the ark you don't find that because those that had saving faith were people that were obedient to do what God said and they got in the ark then we get Genesis chapter 6 and 7 chapter 7 verses 6 and 7 and Noah was 600 years old when the flood of the waters was upon the earth and Noah went in and his sons and his wife and his sons wives with him in the ark because of the waters of the flood and then so we see the submission and Noah went in verse 22 thus Noah according to all that God commanded him so did he then Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him it was not his skill in building an ark that saved him it was simply his submission to the Lord
[19:12] God laid it all out this is what God told him to do he could have saved him millions of different ways if he wanted to but he was obedient we find his submission Noah was in submission so this isn't so much a story about a flood as it is about a story of about a man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord Noah is mentioned some 400 times in scripture and even in these passages some 80 times Hebrews 11 tells us about this faithful man and a faithless generation by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as of yet moved with fear prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world and become heir of the righteousness which is by faith he went into the ark before it was raining he built the ark even being ridiculed he gave his life to it his kids grew up around this he preached righteousness and it was something not seen it hadn't rained people that study creationism tell us that there might have been a mist at that time they hadn't seen this rain but we're told that he's doing this simply by faith in God and it seemed illogical to everybody else but it seemed completely logical to Noah based upon his faith there these animals were in submission
[20:27] Isaiah 6-1 tells us that the ox knows his owner and the ass his master's crib but Israel does not know my people do not consider that creation was in submission to God but the people here were stubborn and they would not submit to God in the message that Noah had been preaching here so we look at we see there in 7-1-5 we find there we find the severity of it we find that God summons him and he calls him in and we find Noah calling and preaching the people you know if you do a study in the Bible and we got a couple Ed's got a communication degree and Alicia as well if you study in the Bible word gets out in the Bible you think well they don't have the same ways of media for things to get out can I tell you that the Egyptians knew what happened to their army at the Red Sea and they knew that Israel was followed by a cloud during the day and a flame of fire at night and when they got to where they were going Rahab heard what was going on word carried word carried in this day about a crazy man that was building a boat who was preaching righteousness but they couldn't see what they saw because they wouldn't submit themselves can you imagine the frustration that Noah was feeling knowing confidently that the rain was coming and that he wanted to get on the boat and isn't it a wonderful and gracious thing that God did by shutting that door one he made sure it was secure any of you men ever go downstairs and check the lock on your door or in your house you're like you sure you locked it you just kind of do it out of habit and sometimes you got to go and check it maybe some of you aren't as scared as I am okay but you go and check it because you're not sure isn't it good that Noah wasn't left to shut that door and they wondered if he got it right but also that God said the time's over the people have been given a chance
[22:15] Noah you have preached the faithful message and it's over you know we don't shut the door on people we preach the gospel we share the gospel and God will decide when their day's over but can I tell you that you ought to know the frustration of Noah we are people that live in the same time it says that they were eating and drinking and they were given over this horrible living all the way up to the day of the rain now we're told in prophecy that the Lord's going to return and the party's not going to stop people are going to continue the party all the way through the tribulation and it's not going to wake them up and they're going to be like that and it should break their heart we should not it shouldn't be a foreign thought to us what Noah's feeling we should be dealing with that we ought to be inviting people to come and see to come spend time with Jesus to put their faith in Jesus because that's where the only protection is is found in the ark and what an incredible contrast between the ark and the flood that's going on verses 7 through 15 and Noah went in and his sons and his wives and his sons wives with him in the ark because of the waters of the flood of clean beasts and of the beasts that are not clean and of the fowls and everything that creep upon the earth there went in two and two unto Noah and to the ark the male and the female as God had commanded Noah and it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth and in the 600th year of Noah's life in the second month the 17th day of the month the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up and the windows of heaven were opened and the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights and in the selfsame day entered Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth and the sons of Noah and Noah's wife and the three wives of the sons with them into the ark and they and every beast after his kind and all the cattle after their kind and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind and every fowl after his kind and every bird of every sort and they went in unto Noah into the ark two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life
[24:13] I found that ironic today as I've been studying this week about this ark with all those animals that my wife was at home with eight kids at the house I probably should have studied for this in the middle of all of that and I might have had a deeper appreciation and you know when we make jokes about what's going on inside that ark and would it smell and Peyton really wants to know why Noah didn't kill those two mosquitoes as they were flying around and he's such a deep theologian asking questions like that but can I tell you that there was a serenity in that ark that the God who had brought those animals brought a serenity inside of that ark that day as they are in there with them and the Scopes Monkey Trial which is a famous case one of the men that was in it who represented the side of believing in creation he was dumbfounded by question because the guy said how did the fish drown and the Christian wasn't prepared to give an answer and he couldn't answer how the fish drowned if you put me on a stand I probably wouldn't have been able to answer that either but as we read through this it says the animals that creep on the ground those that are on the earth that have breath that the fish weren't brought in in aquariums there that the fish lived and we still have the type of fish that we'd have the day but we find that there but he wasn't able to answer that question and isn't that what people always want to do when we talk about the ark have you ever noticed they would really like to talk about the smelliness of the ark but they don't want to talk about the people that are dying outside of it the plan shouldn't have worked but it was God's plan so it worked the idea
[25:46] I mean you're building that ark we never know of Noah's wife's name but where are the animals going to come from when is it going to happen it should have never worked but it does have you seen this in your life the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus Philippians 4 7 when you're doing God's will following God's word the work of righteousness shall be peace and the faith the righteousness quietness and assurance forever and my people shall dwell in peaceable habitation Isaiah 32 but people that don't follow God Isaiah 48 there is no peace saith the Lord unto the wicked but the fruit of the spirit is love joy and peace but those in rebellion to God will be biting and devouring each other in flesh Galatians 5 15 Bible doesn't tell us about the conditions inside of the ark but can I tell you under natural conditions you could not put that bark that put those animals side by side but God intervened and there was a peace among them and we believe it because we are believers he flooded the earth and he brought the animals and he made it possible and can I remind you there's a serenity there in the ark and that's important for us to think about because we're people today that live in that ark not only is there a serenity but we find a security in Genesis 7 16 and they went in and went in male and female all of all flesh and God had commanded him the Lord shut him in
[27:05] God opens and closes doors we're told in Revelation 3 7 the doors he shuts no man can open it wasn't Noah shutting in and holding in and hoping for the best but God shut him in he shuts the door not just so after a set time a specific time others can't get in but he also shuts the door so that we can't get out the security of that ark which is a beautiful thing and the flood it was trusted Noah didn't trust in his plan is this thing going to float I've never seen a boat like this nobody had seen one he didn't have to worry because it wasn't his plan he was just simply obedient in the faith and God shut that door John 10 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my father which gave them me is greater than all no man is able to pluck them out my father's hand don't you love the security of the ark that we're in aren't you so thankful for God's plan and we just simply believe in faith that he is providing for us and that he is giving us protection from the judgment to come and there's wonderful security and serenity found in the ark then in the verse that we find here we find a silence maybe not of the animals but of God
[28:23] God is silent God gave him his word early on and spoke audibly to Noah but now for some days and weeks and months no voice from God 150 days pass no word 190 days and there's still silence for a total of 377 days from the time he goes in the ark and he waits the door's shut and there's no word it's raining and there's no word it stops and there's no word but then it comes don't you think sometimes that that second silence in many ways could be worse than the first because God speaks and tells him that it's coming and he tells him to build the ark but he stays busy building the ark during that time and he acts upon it but now he's just sitting in the ark and he's waiting there's nothing for him to do you can only fish so much off the side of an ark before you're just tired of being there and he waits you ever go through storms in life winds whipping and waves pounding and your boat is tossing and you don't feel like you're seeing God work and you're just there waiting God speaks to us through his word and we have encouragement
[29:24] Psalms 4610 be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the heathen I will be exalted in the earth limitations 3 26 it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord I never really thought much about it until I began to look at the timeline and I'm just wondering why so much time is needed you know why so much time where they need to build the ark they're preaching righteousness and that's good and then we think why so long for him to do that I can see maybe 40 days of rain because that's how God chose to do it but God you do miracles and we see it why do you leave him there for so long can I remind you that when he got on the ark he was invited to come that those eight people are going to start humanity again and out of those eight people we would come could you imagine the condition of the world today if God would have not in his mercy and grace gave man an opportunity and when they said no flooded the earth and started over with these eight people those people were not alone and they were not just wasting time but they were there and God was maturing their faith and they're in there so as I tell you here the means of conclusion to the Christian can I remind you here there's no shortcuts in our spiritual maturity we get at chapter number 8 and God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the cattle that was with him in the ark and God made a wind that passed over the earth and the waters aswagged and the fountains also the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped and the rain from heaven was restrained and the waters returned from off the earth continually and at the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters abated and the ark rested on the seventh month and on the seventh day upon the mountains of Ararat and the waters decreased continually upon the tenth month and the tenth month on the first day of the month where the tops of the mountains seemed after all that he was going through he comes out higher than he ever been we see here in the ark that we're going through this that God brings us through this and we have spent time with him and we find ourselves more mature because of it that God was doing the work in Noah's day not only was he saving mankind not only was he saving him from the flood but he invited him to come in and what a wonderful way to spend your day on a boat there with the Lord and can I tell you in here concerning the lost that there's an urgency to the message that you hear that you're in here today and if you don't believe that if you knew the day that there was an ark and if you really believed that there was a flood coming would you not go to the ark would you not go in there and find security and it's going to happen again because we have a promise that he won't flood the earth again and destroy it but he tells us that he won't ever destroy the earth by flooding it because he does tell us that there's going to come a time and he's going to rule and reign and all those that have not put their faith and trusted him who are not in Christ will be destroyed it's a surety and we see it and can I tell you in here
[32:20] Christians when it comes to our evangelism and sharing our faith we need to look more like Noah we need to be more tenacious about it we need to realize that the clock is ticking we got to work at what he's given us to do and we're not people working for salvation we're preaching a message he has provided it all for us as he provided for Noah to put that together told him how to do it we're just people that put simple faith in him and that's how Noah was saved we find the Hebrews anybody in the Bible is they're saved through their faith but we must not believe that people have forever I would hate to ask in here but all of you know of people the family member or the friend that you wanted to talk to and it just seemed like you never got around to it and time ran out on them can I tell you time's going to run out on people the flood is coming the days are dark we find ourselves at a time like this and we're people with a simple message get on the ark come to Jesus put your faith and can we invite them to the same thing he invites us to come come to us and so as we invite people to us and in discipleship foundations through gospel presentations we let them know that something is coming because when I was talking to Jimmy he thought Noah's ark was just a great story he also thought that he had more time to make any decision he wanted because he didn't know that a flood really destroyed people and he didn't know that there is another destruction that is coming to those that are not hid in Jesus can I challenge you
[33:49] Christians would you make a decision tonight that would you make the time clock part of your evangelism would you feel the urgency when you share the gospel and would you also help people feel the urgency when you share the gospel with them if you're lost in here today would you not believe that you're going to leave here and have another day we have no promise of tomorrow but it is coming a day and it will be too late and Christian in here and you're going through things in your life and the ark is where we want to live their life and he's growing us and he's maturing us and that in this Christian life we didn't just find escape from hell but we found a place that we get to abide and be with him let's pray Heavenly Father I thank you for this passage of scripture I pray that you'll help Lord tonight if there's an unbeliever in here Lord I pray that tonight will be the night that they decide that they must recognize that they do not have forever to make this decision and tonight they'll put their faith and trust in you and they'll be found in the ark they'll be found in Jesus Lord I pray for every Christian in here that is going through things in life
[34:51] Lord that they will know that they are people that live in the ark and that your presence is there among them and Lord I pray that you'll help them see a sense of urgency Father I ask that you would place the names of people upon the hearts of the believers in this room right now they would find a place here at the altar as the beginning of the player begins to play I pray that they'll find a place here at the altar Lord and they will pray that they can once again sense the urgency in their evangelism and as they share their faith Lord they'll help this unbelieving generation sense the urgency in our message this message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings