Sermons in Genesis #7-“THE ARK WAS LIFTED UP” Genesis 6:14 & 7:16-17 Intro read 6:14 & 7:16…I wanted to preach on “and the Lord shut him up!” But I’ll let that for another day…! “The Ark was Lifted Up”
Ill-Without a doubt, one of the most famous ships that ever sailed was the Titanic. In her day, she was a state of the art Ocean liner, 882.5 ft long; her beam 92.5 ft, and 60.5 ft from water line to boat deck. She consisted of 9 decks. She was designed to remain afloat with any 2 compartments flooded, possibly three. She could carry 329 passengers first class, 285 passengers 2nd class, and 710 passengers 3rd class. On her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, she carried 2227 on board. When she sank on April 15, 1912, out of 2227 passengers and crew, only 705 survived. In fact, the boast was made that the Titanic was the unsinkable ship. The only ship that is better known than the Titanic is the H.M.S. ARK! It was Captained, a man by the name of Noah. (Aren’t you thankful, we do not read anywhere in the Bible that the Ark EVER SANK?! Aren’t you glad that everybody that was in the Ark made it Safely through! No body fell out or drowned! They all made!) The Ark truly was an unsinkable ship.
In preaching about Noah and the Ark, I am reminded of the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:37 37But as the days of Noewere, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. As we continue to look at Noah, the question arises, “Are The Days of Noah here Again?” Let’s Look at our Bibles.. In chapters four and five we have: I. GOD’S ASSESMENT OF THE TIMES A. (ch 4-5) They Were UNGODLY B. (ch 6) They Were UNRULY so what is God’s Response to the Wickedness of Man? In chapters six and seven we have: II. GOD’S ANSWER FOR THOSE TIMES His answer consisted of: A Man & A Plan A. GOD HAS A MAN- Have you ever heard that desperate measures call for desperate means? I’m glad that even in desperate times, God has a man! “Desperate Times often give way to Destined Men” The world in which Noah lived was crumbling rapidly. But aren’t you glad GOD always has a man? *The children of Israel were desperate down in Egypt’s Land and God raised up a man by the name of Moses! *Once again the children of Israel found themselves at a low tide spiritually and God raised up a man by the name of Elijah. Time and time again, when times grew dark, God raised up a man! Thank God even here at A.O.H. after the departure of the first Pastor God raised up a man by the name of Dan Mouw! And the jury is still out on the next fellow! Here we are now in desperate times again! And all around us it seems the foundations are being destroyed! O that God would raise up a man to Lead in his family! A man to lead
NOAH was GOD’S MAN for such a Time! 1- Noah was a FORGIVEN MAN- “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” 2- Noah was a FAITHFUL MAN- “the Bible says he was a just man and perfect in his generations” 3- Noah was a FEARLESS MAN- “he walked with God” “a man that bows before God can stand before Kings”
B. GOD HAS A PLAN- God’s Plan was an ARK! 1-The Ark Foreshadowed the Finished Work of Christ- Noah was to build an Ark and offer a way of escape from the coming wrath of God. Noah was given full instructions on it’s construction. a. The SHAPE of the Ark- “God said, Make the an Ark” The shape was to be that of a coffin… b. The STRUCTURE of the Ark- “Make thee an Ark of Gopher Wood” which is Cypress Wood. It is the same wood they used in making coffins! Gopher Wood was said to be Incorruptible Wood. But Why a coffin? Because as Christians, our lives are to be buried with him in baptism and we are raised to walk in newness of life. We are not our own. We have been bought with a price! At salvation, we3 traded our life for His life! c. The SIZE of the Ark- “rooms thou shalt make in the ark” Notice Genesis 6:15, “And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of; the length of the ark shall be three hundred cub its, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits." The ship was to be 450 ft long, 75 ft wide, and 45 ft high. It was 45 stories long, 8 stories wide, and 5 stories high. In total, its size was about 3 million cubit feet. What are you saying? 2 things! #1-And it Looked Like a Floating Coffin! Which speaks of the death of Christ in that He Tatsted death for every man! #2-It was Big Enough for Everyone!
d. The SECURITY of the Ark- “and shall pitch it within and without” The word used for pitch is the same word used in the Old testament for atonement. You know that atonement speaks of the Blood that was sacrificed for sins! e. The SERINITY of the Ark- (6:16) The Ark was to have a Window & a Door. Noah was to have control over the window, and GOD was to control the door! In other words, Noah didn’t need to worry about the course and destination! God was charting it’s course! And we need to be reminded who’s driving our ship- God is the one behind the scenes carrying us through this land of Uncircumcised Philistines! So we too can have Peace & Serinity from the storm! 1- The Ark Foreshadowed The Work of Christ
2- The Ark Forecasted the Faithful Word of God 17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, whereinis the breath of life, from under heaven;and every thing thatis in the earth shall die. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. (Genesis 6:17-18) God foretold that Judgment was Coming! But he also prepared a way of escape before the Flood came!
We have looked @ 1- God’s Assesment of the Times! 2- God’s Answer for the Times! And 3rd:
III. GOD’S APPLICATION OF THE TIMES There is a threefold application to be made here! A. There Is a Message of SALVATION In the Bible, Salvation can be looked at from two viewpoints! 1- God’s Initiative- God takes the Initiative in Salvation! The Ark was Planned by God! Psalms 3:8 “Salvationbelongeth unto the LORD:…” Jonah 2:9 “…Salvationis of the LORD.” John 6:44 & John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw allmen unto me.
God’s Invitation is INDIVIDUAL! God said to Noah “THOU shalt come into the ark” (Our God wants to save the whole world! And He does it One Soul
at a time) God’s Invitation is IMPARTIAL! Genesis 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts thatare not clean by two, the male and his female. The Call of Salvation is to WHOSOEVER! God’s Part in Salvation is Initiating it! 2- Man’s Response- “Noah went it” (Gen. 7:7) Noah was not made to enter. He went in on his own free will. John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hendoth gather her brood underher wings, and ye would not!
Noah Preached the same message for 120 years! Everybody had the same opportunity to get in! B. There Is a Message of CONDEMNATION This is a frightening and vivid picture of the final judgment coming upon the ungodly in the last days! Genesis 7:4 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. 1- The Source of the Waters- This was not normal rain! This was the fountains of the deep pouring upon the earth! Remember God separated the waters from the waters in (Genesis 1:6-7) 2- The Significance of the 40 days- It was symbolic of Testing! Remember Israel spent ____ (40 years) wandering in the wilderness! Remember Elijah spent 40 days without food in 1 Kings 19:8 Remember our Lord spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness after His baptism! 3- The Swiftness of Judgment- On that day it was too late! Once the rain began to fall, there was no- O I guess old man Noah was telling the truth! C. There is a Message of PRESERVATION The same waters of Judgment that destroyed all living creatures LIFTED UP the ARK! John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,…” Just as the Ark was battered by the waters of Judgment- so was Jesus! That Ark felt the Full Force of the Waters as they Fell upon it! So did Jesus, as he too felt the Full Force our SIN that was Laid upon him! Conclusion: Noah was not holding on to the Ark! HE WAS Resting Safe Inside the Ark! Are You IN? Have you come through the DOOR of Salvation which is JESUS Christ? Aren’t you glad That Ark was Lifted Up?