1. "The more familiar we are with something, the more comfortable we are with it."

2. "It's a true account about the worst storm in human history, a storm that came as God's judgment on the world. A storm that teaches us about God's coming judgment on the world and how we can escape it."

3. "Humanity's morality is fallen and falling. Mankind is using God's good creation however he wants."

4. "This morning you get to hear the heart of God. You may have come thinking God is cold, distant, aloof, a big meanie. But could it be that He knows more about Himself than you do?"

5. "You don't make God love you. You don't earn his love. Love is not something God feels every now and then. It's who he is. Who he always is through and through."

6. "We obey even when obedience doesn't make sense. Even when we don't know what all God is doing."

7. "I love that the Lord had Noah build this ark in such a way that only God could shut the door."

8. "On the cross, Jesus was flooded so that you and I don't have to drown."

9. "The terror of our passage is that if you don't trust in Christ, you will not be able to escape God's wrath. The wonder of our passage though is that if you trust in Christ, you will not be able to escape God's grace. Because the Lord has shut you in to Christ."

10. "You don't have to worry about being good enough on the last day or strong enough to make it there. The Lord has shut you in. You don't even have to build an ark. You just got to come to Jesus by faith."

Observation Questions

1. According to Genesis 6:5, what did the Lord see regarding the wickedness of man, and how comprehensive was the corruption of human hearts described in this verse?

2. In Genesis 6:8-9, what four characteristics are used to describe Noah, and how did he stand apart from his generation?

3. What specific instructions did God give Noah in Genesis 6:14-16 regarding the construction of the ark, including its materials and dimensions?

4. According to Genesis 6:17-18, what did God say He would bring upon the earth, and what promise did He make to Noah in the midst of this announcement of judgment?

5. What refrain is repeated in Genesis 6:22, 7:5, and 7:9 about Noah's response to God's commands?

6. In Genesis 7:16, after Noah, his family, and the animals entered the ark, who shut them in, and what happened to all flesh outside the ark according to verses 21-23?

Interpretation Questions

1. How does the description of humanity's sin in Genesis 6:5 ("every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually") help us understand the doctrine of total depravity, and why did this condition necessitate God's judgment?

2. What is the significance of the phrase "the Lord shut him in" (Genesis 7:16), and what does this reveal about God's role in salvation versus human effort?

3. The sermon draws parallels between Noah and Adam (walking with God, authority over animals, a world remade through water). How does understanding Noah as a "new Adam" help us see God's purpose in the flood as not merely destruction but re-creation?

4. How does the sermon's explanation of God's "regret" in Genesis 6:6 (through the doctrine of impassibility) help us understand that God's relationship to man changed because man changed, not because God made a mistake or experienced emotional instability?

5. The sermon connects the flood waters to baptism and the Israelites passing through the Red Sea. What common theme about God's judgment and salvation runs through these events, and how do they all point forward to Christ?

Application Questions

1. The sons of God in Genesis 6:2 married unbelieving women, following a pattern of "saw, attracted, took" that mirrors the fall. If you are single, how does this passage shape your approach to dating and marriage? If you are married, how might you encourage single believers in your community to trust God in this area?

2. Noah obeyed God's commands without recorded questions or complaints, even when building an enormous ark over many years seemed unreasonable. What is one area of your life where God has clearly spoken through His Word, but you have been slow to obey or have been "grumbling, kicking and screaming"? What would quick, cheerful obedience look like this week?

3. The sermon emphasized that God's coming judgment in Christ's return is as certain as the flood was in Noah's day. How does the reality of Christ's certain return affect the way you spend your time, pursue relationships, or make decisions about your priorities?

4. The doctrine of impassibility teaches that God is not dependent on us for His happiness or well-being. How might truly believing this free you from the pressure of trying to "earn" God's love or worrying about which "version" of God you will encounter each day?

5. The sermon concluded by saying that in Christ, "the Lord has shut you in" and you cannot escape God's grace. How does this assurance of God's keeping power give you confidence as you face ongoing struggles with sin, health challenges, or uncertainty about the future? How might you share this hope with someone who is anxious about their standing before God?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Genesis 3:1-7 — This passage shows the original fall into sin with the pattern of "saw, attractive, took" that is echoed in Genesis 6:2, helping us understand the continuity of human rebellion.

2. Matthew 24:36-44 — Jesus directly references the days of Noah to warn about the sudden and unexpected nature of His second coming, reinforcing the sermon's call to be ready.

3. 1 Peter 3:18-22 — Peter explicitly connects the flood and Noah's ark to baptism and salvation through Christ, showing how passing through the waters of judgment pictures our deliverance in Jesus.

4. 2 Peter 3:1-13 — This passage addresses scoffers who doubt Christ's return, reminds readers of the flood as past judgment, and warns of coming judgment by fire, directly supporting the sermon's application.

5. Hebrews 11:7 — This verse summarizes Noah's faith and obedience, showing that he acted "in reverent fear" on God's warning about unseen events, providing a model for how we should respond to God's warnings today.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Coming Storm: God's Judgment on a Sinful World

II. Listen to God's Warning (Genesis 6:1-13)

III. Obey God's Word (Genesis 6:14-7:9)

IV. Rely on God's Work (Genesis 7:10-24)

V. Finding Safety in Christ Before the Final Judgment

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Detailed Sermon Outline

Chances are you probably haven't thought much about it since it happened. That big storm that rolled through town this past Monday evening.

Of course some tree branches broke, sheets of rain came down and thunder crashed. And if the storm did damage your property, I'm sorry for that. But I trust for many of us, we simply watch the storm from the safety of our homes. I trust we watch the storm with some wonder, maybe even some enjoyment, or at least some familiarity.

After all, summer storms are something we're familiar with. And the more familiar we are with something, the more comfortable we are with it. Right, so Avit, my four-year-old daughter, is not that familiar with summer storms. And so this past Monday when that thunder clapped outside her bedroom, she was really scared. Matter of fact, when the thunder rumbled, she hopped out of bed.

She ran downstairs to tell me her opinion about the storm. She said, Dad, I don't like the rain. End quote.

Kids, if you were scared of that storm, I understand. The grown-ups are laughing because on some level, we're a bit more comfortable with storms. We've weathered a few of them. We know summer storms like the rain this morning come and go. But, my fellow grown-ups, I wonder if you were a bit more uncomfortable, uneasy, when this past week, not just a tornado, or a few weeks ago, not just a tornado watch, but a tornado warning was given in the middle of the night.

And maybe you went to your basement or a room without windows, feeling a bit more nervous about the potential storm. Friends, in our sermon passage today, we're looking at an account many of us may be familiar with.

But it's not one we should grow comfortable with. It's not a fictional story that's been given to us primarily for the purposes of cute flannel graphs in Sunday school.

No, it's a true account about the worst storm in human history, a storm that came as God's judgment on the world. A storm that teaches us about God's coming judgment on the world and how we can escape it. Friends, in a world that's full of sin, a world that God will soon judge, what should we do?

Turn to Genesis 6. Turn to Genesis chapter 6. It's on page five of those red Bibles around you.

We're picking up Genesis with the account of Noah. We met Noah at the end of our passage last week. You can see at the end of chapter 5, Noah was this son born in the line of Seth. That is the line of godly people. So each week in this sermon series through Genesis, we've been thinking about that crucial promise given in Genesis 3:15, that the serpent would have an offspring that would battle against the godly offspring of Eve.

We saw that with the line of Cain and the line of Seth last week. And we saw how last week, going from Cain to wicked and violent Lamech, how humanity in many senses went from bad to worse. There was a glimmer of hope with Enoch who walked with God and this son Noah being born. And maybe Noah would be the one to bring relief to the people.

But overall, things seem to be getting really bad in the world.

And because he is righteous, God would decide to judge the world. Noah shows us how to live in the midst of that judgment and how to escape it.

Brothers and sisters, if you're taking notes, here is the question to write down. It's a question Genesis 6 and 7 put before us. What should you do in a world that God will judge?

What should you do in a world that God will judge? We'll have three answers this morning, and here is the first. Listen to God's warning. What should you do in a world that God will judge? Point number one, listen to God's warning.

This point will be my longest and it'll cover chapters 6:1-13. Follow along as I read.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive, and they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh. His days shall be 120 years. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them.

These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.

Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.

Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

At the end of this section, God gives Noah a clear warning. Did you hear it? Did you see it? Look at the end of verse 13. I will, friends, hear the certainty.

I will destroy them with the earth. The question is, who is this them that God is talking about? Well, it's all flesh, all people, as he had said earlier in verse 13. Why would God do this? He says in verse 13, Because the earth is filled with violence.

And the earth is filled with violence, because the earth is filled with sinners. Look at chapter 6, verse 5. And there we see a depressing summary of what God sees regarding mankind. Chapter 6, verse 5, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Friends, this is one of the clearest summaries of total depravity.

It's not that we are as bad as we could be, but rather that in our natural state, our entire selves, our every thought, our every intention is tainted by sin and inclined toward evil.

Like the evil we see at the beginning of the chapter. So right there at the beginning of chapter six, man is multiplying on the face of the earth. Verse two, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive and they took as their wives any they chose.

There's been question about who these sons of God are and Christians can happily disagree about this. I think that in the context of the passage it makes the most sense for these sons to be the sons of Seth. Now, those ones we learned about in chapter 5, the godly offspring of Eve. Now, they're not sons of the serpent, they're sons of God. I think these daughters of men are unbelieving women, women from the line of Cain.

And what do the sons of God do? They marry them. Which is wrong. The wording of verse 2 is striking. Did you notice it?

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive and they took.

Beloved, that sequence mirrors what happened in the garden at the fall. Let's just flip back to chapter three, verse six. Chapter three, verse six.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was, watch this, A delight to the eyes, or in other words, attractive, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took, saw, attracted, took.

Beloved, let it be clear, the problem was not that the sons of God married, but that they married unbelievers. And as a pastor of a church with a lot of single people in it, let me say how encouraged I am by those of you who are single longing for marriage, you're being asked out by nonbelievers, and you're saying no. You're trusting God because you know, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, that God says we should marry only in the Lord. That Christians should only marry other Christians. And if you wouldn't marry someone who isn't a Christian, you know it doesn't make much sense to date them.

Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you. For some of you, singleness may be hard, but God sees your faith, your patience, and it is not wasted.

He's given you the gift of singleness, and I'm thankful you're trusting him with it. Friends, there's much to say just from verse 2. We talked about Lamech, who married two wives, but did you see how now the sons of God took as their wives any as they chose? Humanity's morality is fallen and falling. Mankind is using God's good creation however he wants.

And so the Lord goes on in verse 3 to shorten the length of life to 120 years.

It's interesting, Deuteronomy 34 tells us that 120 years is exactly how long Moses lived. You can find a few exceptions to this 120-year limit, like Abraham and Isaac, but I think there are exceptions to the rule, the limitation that God is now placing on people's lives. And if you want more on ages in the Bible, you can revisit our sermon from last week. After all, the shiny object in our passage this week that could distract us are these Nephilim in verse 4.

You may have a footnote that says this term could mean giants. Giants are spoken of because in the book of Numbers when the Hebrew spies go out to spy the land they talk of seeing Nephilim. But we're actually not sure whether this means giants or mighty warriors or fallen ones. That said, the text just doesn't say much more about them because the text is not primarily about them.

I think we're told about them because in people's eyes, these Nephilim are the mighty men, as the text says. But in fact, they contribute to the violence that plagues the earth, the violence that so characterizes depraved people who fill the earth.

We saw God's summary statement in verse 5 how wicked people have become, how the thoughts of their hearts were only evil continually. And what happens next, I think, is one of the most depressing verses in the Bible.

Having seen all this evil, verse six, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart.

Beloved, is this not striking? This morning you get to hear the heart of God.

You may have come thinking God is cold, distant, aloof, a big meanie. But could it be that He knows more about Himself than you do?

Here we hear his heart and we see that God regretted making mankind. So unlike Genesis 1 where God created and saw that it was good, now he regrets.

To be clear, when it says he regretted, I think it simply means that God laments the sin of mankind. And notice the contrast between the two hearts. The heart of man loves sin, verse 5. The heart of God laments it, verse 6. That said, this language about regretting can still be confusing.

Typically, when we regret something, it's because we've made a mistake. Verse 7 even says God was sorry that he made people. Typically, We're sorry when we do wrong. So what's going on? Did God make a mistake in making people?

No, beloved. His plan is perfect and good. And God is all wise and all knowing. He wasn't caught by surprise by man's sin. So how do we explain this language about regret and sorrow?

Well friends, this teaches us something about God. So you've come this morning to learn about God, and I've come to learn with you, and to teach you. And this morning I want us to learn about the impassibility of God. The impassibility of God. I am P-A-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y.

And I want to teach you about it because this is what Christians have believed throughout the ages, and you'll better understand God if you better understand this doctrine.

When I'm talking about impassibility, I'm not talking about being able, unable to pass God. Like we'll say a road is impassable if a tree falls in the middle of it. That's impassable with an A in the middle. I'm talking about impassable with an I in the middle. Think of that word passion.

Okay? And I bring up passion because just as God is immortal, he is not subject to mortality, he is impassible. He is not subject to passions. Let me explain and give you a fuller definition. When we talk about God's impassibility, we mean that God does not experience emotional changes either from within or affected by his relationship to creation.

God does not experience emotional changes either from within or affected by his relationship to creation. In other words, because God doesn't change, he is not subject to mood swings because of what something outside of himself does. So kids, what this means is that God is the happiest being in the universe. How he is doing is not controlled by how you respond to him. He is sufficient in himself, happy in himself.

He is not controlled by anything else. So when people don't love God, he's not throwing a heavenly pity party like, oh, man, they don't love me. And beloved, you don't want a God like that because that would make God dependent on us fickle. Old, us. Beloved, you don't want a God who can wake up in the morning on the wrong side of the bed?

Like, is God mad at me today? Is he happy with me? Did I do a good enough job for him yesterday? No, brothers and sisters, the doctrine of impassibility is such a delight because regardless of what is happening, God is always the best. So there's no need to worry about which version of him we'll get tomorrow morning.

Friends, praise be to Him. God is not just a bigger version of our unreliable temperamental selves. No, He is the best, always. So, when we see language like Genesis 6:6 in the Bible about God's emotions, it is describing something true about God, here that He hates sin, but it's doing so metaphorically, In language we humans can understand. One scholar put it like this, while Scripture in some places does seem to attribute emotions to God, we must look past the human language to the perfections they signify.

For example, love is in God as an eternal perfection, not as a passion brought about by an encounter with the creature. In other words, friends, you don't make God love you. You don't earn his love. Love is not something God feels every now and then. It's who he is.

Who he always is through and through. Friends, God is love. And so he will always love his people despite their sin. So am I telling you to ignore the Bible's plain teaching? No, I'm simply instructing you to read the Bible in all its context.

And the Bible Numbers 23, 1 Samuel 15, James 1 says that God and his plans don't change. And the Bible 1 John 4 says God is love. Brothers and sisters, God doesn't make mistakes. He didn't make a mistake in creating you. His regret is not exactly the same as our regret.

What Genesis is talking about is not what God has done wrong, but what we have done wrong. Praise God, His love for us isn't dependent on us given how sinful we are. And that depravity is what we see in Genesis. And we see the results of it. Because man has changed, not because God's mind has changed, God's relationship to man has changed.

And no longer would God bless mankind. Rather, because He is always holy and mankind has changed, they've gone from sinless to sinful, to really sinful, God would destroy them.

He would blot them out, verse 7 says.

Except one.

Noah. There's one who verse 8 says, found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Friends, do you see how our passage has given us God's perspective on the world, on mankind? It's his perspective that matters. From God's perspective, we see that Noah was a righteous man.

We heard earlier from Hebrews that he pleased God by faith. He walked with God, verse nine says. And there we hear an echo of Enoch. And what is the first thing that God does to this man who found his favor?

He speaks to him. Pastor Jonathan Kiesling pointed this out to me. God speaks and God warns. God says in chapter 6 verse 13, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Beloved, this truth, this speech about man's depravity, the situation is the same today. Sinful people still fill the earth, and God will judge the earth again.

Are you listening to the warning?

In my introduction, I spoke about that tornado warning that came a few weeks ago. I don't know whether you heard it, maybe you slept through it. If you did hear it, I don't know how the warning reached you. For me, my phone beeped and blared really loudly. And it's interesting, when we hear of a coming storm in that moment, we have some decisions to make.

Do we ignore the warning or do we respond to it? We may hear the warning, but will we heed the warning?

Friends, I don't know how you responded to that tornado warning, but I do know that we are all here hearing the warning of God's Word. Jesus is coming again to judge the entire world. Whatever you heard in the news this past week that is the main headline. Jesus coming, just like God's coming judgment, will be fast and unexpected. In Matthew 24, Jesus himself said, for as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark. Oh, friends, if you're asleep, wake up. If you're partying, partying, put down your drink. If you're disregarding the warning, pay attention. Jesus is coming back.

Listen to God's warning.

That's what we heard Noah did in Hebrews 11. Gio read it for us earlier. Noah being warned. By God, concerning events as yet unseen and reverent fear constructed an ark. Matthew 24 that I mentioned a moment ago, Jesus mentioned the ark, and that's where our passage turns and prepares us for our second point.

God warns Noah, Noah listens, and God commands Noah, and Noah obeys, which leads us to our second point. What should you do in a world that God will judge? Point number two, obey God's word. What should you do in a world that God will judge? Point number two, obey God's word.

This point will cover chapter 6, verse 14 through chapter 7, verse 9. Follow along as I read. The Lord said to Noah, Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.

Make a roof for the ark, finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with the lower second and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die, but I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you, and of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female of the birds according to their kinds and of the animals according to their kinds of every creeping thing on the ground according to its kind two of every sort shall come into you to keep them alive.

Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them. Noah did this. He did all that God commanded him. Then the Lord said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and 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 40 days and 40 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 flood of the waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wives and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

Of clean animals and of animals that are not clean and 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 beloved notice the refrain in our passage chapter 6 verse 22 Noah did this he did all that God commanded him chapter 7 verse 5 Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him chapter 7 verse 9 two and two male and female went into the ark with Noah as God God had commanded him.

Brothers and sisters, in a world that's headed for judgment, Noah obeyed God's word.

Now, what did he specifically do? In chapter 6, verse 14, God tells Noah to make an ark. One interesting note about this, the only other place in the Bible we see this Hebrew word for ark is in reference to the basket that Moses was put into when he was a baby. His mother also covered that basket with pitch. So immediately we see a theme of God's people being carried through the waters, and we'll come back to this.

God goes on to reveal to Moses how to build this ark. You'll see the different measurements in verses 15 and 16. And because you guys are you guys, I will go ahead and tell you how big the ark was in our modern measurements. Okay, here we go. It would have been somewhere around 450 feet long, which is about a football field and a half, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high, which is higher than a modern four-story house, able to carry about 43,000 tons and have a total deck area of 96,000 square feet.

Imagine that bad boy on Zillow.

But beloved, we're not given these measurements so we can build a replica of the ark, but rather so that we can replicate Noah's obedience and his trust in God. Friends, and seeing how large the ark was, how many supplies Noah needed to build it, we see that Noah had to trust God to provide for him. Are you trusting God to provide what you need as you obey him? And seeing how large the ark was, how long it would take to build, we see that Noah had to wait on God as he built the ark.

Are you waiting on God patiently, cheerfully, as you obey Him? Or are you grumbling, kicking and screaming, throwing a spiritual hissy fit? Do you see the kind of quickness summarized in Noah's obedience? Noah did this. No questions, no complaints, with a happy heart.

He did this. Does that describe your obedience?

Brothers and sisters, I know it's hard to wait on God. Some of you are waiting for the day when you won't have to struggle with a certain sin. Some of you are waiting on the day that redeemed body, you're waiting for that redeemed body that will no longer get sick or break down. A lot of us are just waiting on Jesus to come back. Like, please, any day, Lord.

And it's hard to keep obeying as we wait. It's always been hard for Christians to wait on God and obey in the meantime. So if it's hard for you, don't panic. All that means is you're a normal Christian, which is why I think you'll be encouraged by Peter's words in 2 Peter. There Peter writes to Christians reminding them that Jesus really is going to come back.

So he says, keep obeying the command of our Lord. Peter says some scoffers will come and he goes on to say this about them in 2 Peter 3. Some scoffers will come and they will say, where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. But Peter says, the scoffers deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens existed long ago and that the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire being kept until the day of judgment and and destruction of the ungodly. Beloved, keep waiting. Keep obeying. Jesus is coming back.

Next time when he's coming back, he's not coming with water, but with fire. That coming is in the future. In the present we have these verses before us and we have water.

In verse 17, God tells Noah, the flood is coming. And in verse 19, in the following verses, God tells Noah about who and what will accompany him on this big boat. Noah will have his family. I'm sure he was relieved about that. And Noah will have two kinds of every animal.

And I'm sure he was perplexed by that.

But beloved, we obey even when obedience doesn't make sense. Even when we don't know what all God is doing.

Yet unlike Noah, you and I have the luxury of seeing what God is doing in this passage. Friends, God wasn't building a zoo.

He was preparing to recreate the world.

Noah would be a new kind of Adam. So as Adam walked with God in the garden, so Noah walked with God. As Adam had authority over the animals to name them, so Noah would have authority to save them. As Adam's world was made out of watery chaos, so would Noah's world be made. Flip back to Genesis 1.

Genesis 1.

Look at verse 1. I want us to see See how God and Noah is doing a repeat of creation. Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of The waters.

Friends, in the Bible, water is important. In our account and afterwards, water really becomes a sign of God's judgment. Just as we had heard from Peter earlier, through water the world was created and through water the world perished. In our account soon, we'll see how water envelopes the world And remember, Moses, who himself passed through the water, is writing this account to people delivered from Egypt. People who weren't swallowed by the waters but passed through the waters.

The judgment parted so that they could make it through.

Oh, what must Moses' audience thought when they heard this account about the flood? What must it have been like when they realized that they didn't get swallowed by the waters like the world, like the Egyptians. Brothers and sisters, I bet realizing that would have led them to praise. That's what we see in Exodus 15, that chapter right after the Exodus. We see worship and we see the seeds of worship even in our account.

Did you see in chapter 7, verse 2, how God tells Noah to bring clean animals? It's because God is getting Noah ready to praise him with sacrifices after he brings Noah through the flood waters of his judgment. Just like the Israelites praise God after making it through the flood of his judgment. Friends, making it through the waters is not a Baptist invention.

Someone once asked me, why do Christians baptize with water? It's a good question. It's because water is kind of our family element.

Passing through it by God's grace is what has marked people from the days of Noah. Brothers and sisters, I know this point is about obedience, but don't forget that this passage is primarily about God's grace. It's not primarily about why God sent a flood, but why he saved Noah.

Grace.

Isn't this grace what we see pictured when someone is baptized? Them coming under God's judgment and coming up as new creations in Christ. If you're here and you're a Christian, have you obeyed God's command to be baptized? We'd love to talk to you if you haven't. Do you see what a privilege being baptized is?

Peter would liken baptism to what happened in the flood in 1 Peter 3 because we make it through the waters of God's judgment.

And how we do that brings us to our third and final point. We've seen that in a world God will judge, we should listen to God's warning and obey God's word.

We should also rely on God's work. What should you do in a world that God will judge? Point number three, rely on God's work. This point will cover chapter 7, verses 10 through 24. Follow as I read.

Noah did as God commanded him. Verse 10, and 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 heaven were opened, and rain fell upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights. On the very same day, Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and 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 40 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.

Our section begins by confirming the trustworthiness of God's warning. In verse 10 we see that after seven days, the waters of the flood came just as God had said they would up in chapter 7 verse 4. Brothers and sisters, God knows what he is doing in judgment and salvation, and he knows when to do it. Moses goes on to give some dating of the flood, letting us know this is a real historical event that encompassed the world. We see the fountains of the deep, so wells from within the earth busted from beneath, and from the top the windows of heaven poured forth.

Friends, this is top to bottom judgment.

And as it comes, Noah and his family and the animals enter the ark. Did you see that note in verse 13? On the very same day, Noah and his family began to enter the ark. Brothers and sisters, God would get his people out just in time. They would have to trust him until the last minute, that there wouldn't be a day where the exercise of their faith wasn't necessary.

No, they would have to rely on God's work.

And boy, did he work. Did you see it in verse 16? Noah and his family obeyed. They went on the ark. But what happened at the end of verse 16?

The Lord shut him in.

I Love. That the Lord had Noah build this ark in such a way that only God could shut the door.

Beloved, God is the one who keeps us ultimately. I mean, isn't his shutting the door such a picture of our salvation? He is the one who accomplishes it. He is the one who initiates it. Did you see in chapter 6, verse 18 that God says, I will establish my covenant with you.

We'll learn more about this Covenant when God establishes it in chapter nine. But the point for now is that God initiates our salvation. God accomplish it. God seals it.

If we're gonna make it through his judgment, it's gonna have to be because we rely on him. And we can, because after all, in his grace to get through his judgment, God has given us something so much. Better than an ark. He's given us a Savior. Friends, the truth of the matter is that we have not always been Noah.

No, we have been more like the people who deserve to drown. We have sinned. We've seen things that were a delight to our eyes and taken them. The intentions and thoughts of our hearts have been only evil continually We need a way out to escape the flood of God's judgment that we will certainly drown in. And Jesus is that way.

Jesus, who lived a perfect life, the thoughts of his heart were only good continually. And yet he died a criminal's death. The death you and I should have died. You see, on the cross, Jesus drank the full cup of God's judgment as he died as a substitute for sinners. As one preacher said, On the cross, Jesus was flooded so that you and I don't have to drown.

The preacher said that because if we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, we can be forgiven. But we can make it through God's judgment and be counted like Noah, righteous, blameless, favored in God's sight, saved to praise Him forever.

In my introduction, I spoke about that tornado warning that came a few weeks ago, and whether we would heed the warning that we heard. I talked about how when that warning came, you may have gone to a basement or a room without windows. Friends, I think many of us have, when we know a bad storm is coming, we have an instinct to grab our loved ones and run to something for safety. A room. A shelter.

Beloved, friends, kids, what with the storm of God's coming judgment, where will you run for safety?

If you're here and you're not a Christian, I want you to know that there is still room on the ark that is Jesus.

And today is the day to come to him. Jesus is the only one who can carry you through the coming fiery judgment. So I was preparing this, I was just struck thinking, this is real. This will happen again next time with fire.

Turn from your sins. Trust in him. And for all of us here who have keep relying on him. It's so wonderful to do that. You don't have to be worried about losing your salvation before the final judgment.

The Lord has shut you into Christ. You don't have to worry about being good enough on the last day or strong enough to make it there. The Lord has shut you in. You don't even have to build an ark. You just got to come to Jesus by faith.

Jesus in whom the Lord has shut you in. Friends, the terror of our passage is that if you don't trust in Christ, you will not be able to escape God's wrath. There were no life preservers being thrown out from the ark to people drowning. In verse 22 we see this horrific description again, just as God said he would, everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. Remember, God was undoing creation.

This is why we hear this haunting refrain, the waters prevailed, the waters prevailed, God's judgment was prevailing. So the terror of our passage is that if you don't trust in Christ, you won't be able to escape God's judgment. The wonder of our passage though is that if you trust in Christ, you will not be able to escape God's grace. Because the Lord has shut you in to Christ. That is His great work.

Rely on it. Let's pray.

Well, Father, we thank youk that yout have shut us into the mighty fortress that is Christ. Come, high water, come what may. Father, we thank you that you will keep us. Help us to listen to you, to obey you, and to rely on you, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.