[0:00] And open up your Bibles again to Genesis chapter 6 and 7. For those old enough to remember, I'm sure the date, December 26, 2004, is scarred into your memory.
[0:16] It was the date of the Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake sent a tsunami hurtling to the coast of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and it killed hundreds of thousands of people.
[0:34] And I came across a story about the tsunami recently. I stumbled across it even before I was thinking about Noah and the Flood. I came across the story of Tilly Smith. Have you heard of Tilly Smith? Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old British girl, was on holiday with her family in Thailand.
[0:52] And on that Boxing Day, she was on the beach. And she started to notice something strange. The water was bubbling on the beach.
[1:03] And the tide was retreating away. And she, in that moment, she remembered a geography lesson from a few weeks earlier. And she remembered, that's the sign a tsunami's coming.
[1:16] And so she ran and she warned her family, who then told the hotel. And then the hotel got everyone off the beach and out of the pool and back to safety.
[1:27] And because they listened to Tilly Smith, she saved probably hundreds of people that day. She even won the Pride of Britain Award in 2005.
[1:39] It goes to show you can be a national hero if you listen in geography. But I want us to see, the story of Tilly Smith and the story of Noah are very similar at heart.
[1:52] And not simply because they involve water and a flood, but because the heart of both these stories is that they both involve a warning. What is key to the story of Tilly Smith is that she gave a warning and people listened and lives were saved.
[2:12] And that is key to the story of Noah. God gave a warning, Noah listened, and lives were saved. And so there are lots of important things in this passage.
[2:23] There is a flood and an ark and animals going in two by two. Lots of things we might be familiar with. But what I want us to take away from this is, I want us to be like we're on the beach next to Tilly Smith.
[2:37] And I want us to hear the warning. We need to hear God's warning in this passage. We need to listen to it. And when we do, lives will be saved.
[2:50] So as we dive into this, yes, there is warning for Noah. But there is also a warning for us sounding through this passage. And the first thing we need to hear in this is the first thing that Noah hears.
[3:05] We need to hear God has planned to judge this world. It's my first point today if you want to follow along. God has planned to judge this world.
[3:16] The passage starts well, doesn't it? Verse 9. 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.
[3:29] There's Noah, a son who we know is going to bring rest. And he's a righteous man. He walks with God. And he has sons. This is promising for the promise.
[3:40] We have sons. We have righteousness. We have the immortal bloodline still going. It's still here on earth. God is still bringing salvation. But something else is on earth.
[3:52] Verse 11. 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.
[4:04] For all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Yes, there is righteousness in Noah and his family. There is color in this world. But God looks down and sees everything else.
[4:19] And the whole world is just filled with violence. It's corrupt. It's like rotten meat. You know when you get chicken and you put it in the fridge?
[4:32] It's good at first. But you leave it too long. What happens? It rots. It becomes corrupt. And you smell it.
[4:43] You peel back the film. And it's rancid. And you can't use it. It's useless. It's no good anymore. And it's only going to start to infect more things in the fridge if you leave it there.
[4:56] Well, God smells the world. And it's rancid. And this says something important about God. God isn't blind to what's going on in this world.
[5:11] God isn't this detached force that has created the world. But he isn't really involved in it. He isn't this grandfather in the sky that's just happy that people are enjoying themselves.
[5:23] No, God is a moral judge over this world. He knows the ins and the outs. And he morally assesses each and every moment.
[5:37] It all plays out before his eyes. Did you notice that language? That the earth was corrupt in God's sight. And God saw the earth was corrupt.
[5:50] Our heart, our intentions, our thoughts, what we do in secret behind closed doors, we might be able to hide it from people. But we cannot hide it from God.
[6:03] Our lives are playing out before God. And he morally judges it. There is no such thing as, well, I think it's right. It's right for me, so therefore it's right.
[6:15] No. God is the judge. And he looks at the world, and what does he see? Violence. Corruption. And how bad is it that the earth is filled with it?
[6:29] All flesh. Every creature. And in many ways, it's like the creation has become the opposite of what it's designed to be.
[6:40] It was meant to be good. God saw that it was very good. But now God sees it as corrupt. It was meant to be filled with life and peace and harmony.
[6:52] A united humanity serving God. But now it's filled with violence. Man against man. The stabbings. The muggings.
[7:04] And even down to the animals. Every creature. The mosquito spreads the malaria. The XL bully dog attacks the child. Creation was good, but Adam took that fruit, and now it's rancid.
[7:20] And how does God respond to this? How does God feel about his creation becoming this? Well, God is planning something, verse 13. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh.
[7:36] For the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. God's response to this violence, this corruption playing out before him, is to wipe it out.
[7:51] Destroy it. God has planned to judge this world. And before we go any further, we need to realise this is right.
[8:05] This is just. That this is the appropriate response from God. Before we are tempted to think God has no right to do this.
[8:17] And before we start flinching at these words, just realise where we are. That this is God's world. God's God intended for his praise, for him to dwell here with us, and for the world to be glowing with his glory.
[8:32] And he is a good, generous, holy, morally perfect God. Yet we have taken what he has given us, we've not said thank you, instead we've taken it and we've just made it rancid.
[8:46] The lives and the hearts that he's given us, all the gifts that he's given us, we've spat in his face and we've gone our own way. And so there is this glaring stench in the world.
[9:02] And it's us. And so it is right that this evil be wiped out. It's like when you get dog poo on your shoe.
[9:14] It happens daily around here. You've basically got to do hopscotch and eating just to get around the dog poo, don't you? And what happens when you get dog poo on your shoe? You don't just say, oh, that's fine.
[9:25] Let's keep going about my day. Let's get a bit more dog poo on it. That's fine. No, no, you go straight to wipe it off. You go to the outside tap, you wash it off, you disinfect it.
[9:37] You need to wipe it away. It's not right to leave it there. Well, it's not right for God to leave the smear of sin in this world.
[9:49] In fact, it would be unfair if God didn't respond this way. How do we feel when someone breaks into our home and just gets away with it?
[10:01] It's not okay, is it? How do we feel when the abuser only gets a couple of years in prison for what they've done? It's outrageous, isn't it? We know, we know evil needs to be dealt with.
[10:17] Well, it would be outrageous for God to do nothing right now. This is the right response to a fallen humanity. And so God warns Noah, this is what's coming.
[10:31] I'm going to blot out this world. I'm going to turn the tap on and wash it away. And this, this is the very same reason why a final judgment is coming to us.
[10:48] God has set a day in his calendar when all the evil in this world will be blotted out. Christ will return to disinfect and destroy every drop of sin.
[11:02] and every single creature is going to be brought before the judgment seat of God and every life that is not forgiven in the Lord Jesus, that life will be destroyed. And it will be a never-ending destruction.
[11:18] And as Paul preached a couple of weeks ago, it means hell. And so this flood is a foretaste, it's a preview of what's to come for this world.
[11:33] This flood, it's like the trailer to the actual film that's about to come. God still has planned to judge this world. And like this flood, it's going to be global and it's going to be catastrophic.
[11:48] And so like Noah, we need to hear the warning. This chapter is like watching the water bubble and the tide retreat.
[12:01] It's like hearing Tilly Smith. And so let me ask you, do you know this day is coming? Is this day in your calendar?
[12:12] because it is in God's calendar. And so this means listening to a warning about something you cannot yet see.
[12:25] We are currently on the beach but we can't see what's beyond the horizon. The judgment, it's something that we can't see yet and it may seem ridiculous to you.
[12:36] It may seem fantastical but on that boxing day, the idea of a tsunami might have seemed ridiculous. But just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean it's not coming.
[12:47] And so by faith, we need to hear what God is warning now and we need to put that date in our calendar. Do you, do you know this day is coming?
[13:01] But God, God isn't just giving this warning to gloat. No, he's telling Noah because God is planning something else in history.
[13:14] Yes, God has planned to judge this world but God has planned to save this world. That's my second point today. God has planned to save this world. So as God looks down on this world, yes, all flesh is corrupt but God sees something else, Noah.
[13:32] And what is Noah like? Righteous, blameless. Now, this doesn't mean sinless but it does mean he's right with God. He's not like the corruption out there.
[13:43] This man is different. He's walking with God. And what does God say to Noah? Yes, he warns him judgment is coming but he tells Noah that there's something to do about it.
[13:54] There's a way to prepare for what's coming. Verse 14, make for yourself an ark. Make a boat 130 metres long, longer than a football pitch, 20 metres wide, 13 metres high.
[14:12] Noah's ark, it's basically a huge barge. It's like a giant wooden floating coffin. A company in America, you might have seen it, a company in America has actually reconstructed the ark of what it might have been like and you can go inside and walk around and see what it might have looked like.
[14:29] And the thing is massive. And it's got three decks, a roof and Noah makes it watertight. And why an ark? Well, verse 17, because the destruction is going to be a flood and a flood needs a boat.
[14:48] And God says to Noah, yes, here is the warning about what's coming but here is what you're going to do about it. You're going to make this ark and this ark is going to take you through what is coming.
[15:03] And so God makes a covenant. He makes a binding promise with Noah. God promises he's going to do something. Verse 18, but I will establish my covenant with you and your wife and your sons and their wives are going to be included in this covenant and you're all going to enter this ark and I'm not going to let this flood touch you.
[15:25] all my love and protection and all my promises it's all going to be for you Noah. We're used to pictures of the ark in children's stories aren't we?
[15:39] You can get those wooden toys as well filled with animals. I think we might have one in the crash. We've got one at home. And the ark we can be tempted to think it's just a bit of a novelty right?
[15:51] It's just a bit of fun for children. It's one of the good picture stories for kids. But we need to realise next time you open up a children's Bible realise what that boat is.
[16:04] That ark is God's gift of salvation to the world. God has planned to save this world and that salvation it's in that ark.
[16:17] But why? Why is God saying this? If justice demands the whole earth be wiped out why tell Noah to build the ark? Well it's because the God who sees the corruption of this world who sees all the dirt of our lives that God who sees us he is also a wonderfully gracious God.
[16:43] We must never think God announcing judgment is cruel or mean. God's warning here is so so gracious because if God stayed silent right now what would happen to Noah?
[17:00] He would just join everyone else in the flood but God has spoken and he's spoken to us. The warning of that day in the future this warning now that you're hearing this is God's grace to you.
[17:21] He hasn't stayed silent he's telling you to prepare. We're on the beach the tide's gone out and he's calling to us and he doesn't want you to be wiped out he wants you to be saved.
[17:38] So as you put this date in your calendar realize that you can even write this date in because God is good. And there's another reason why God is doing this for Noah.
[17:52] Don't forget about the immortal bloodline. How is salvation coming to the world? It's through a family and a promised son coming from that family.
[18:05] And so just think if God blots out everyone in the world right now what will happen to that bloodline? It will disappear. If God wiped out everyone in Noah's day including Noah Christ never arrives.
[18:22] But what God is doing here he's putting his hands around the bloodline and bringing them through the flood. It's like when you do some painting.
[18:34] Maybe you're painting a living room painting a picture and what do you put on when you paint? put on overalls or an apron. And when you paint everything and you get paint everywhere it all gets messy but then you take off your apron or your overalls and everything's protected and clean underneath isn't it?
[18:55] Well in this ark God is getting an apron and covering the bloodline and bringing them through the mess while he blots out everything else.
[19:05] this is God's wonderful care for his people. For everyone who belongs to his family for God's people he wraps his hands around you and says I promise my judgment will never ever fall on you.
[19:25] I promise I will take you through the judgment and bring you out the other side because I want to start something new with you.
[19:38] I want to begin a new creation with you. And that's why it's not just Noah and his family but animals get included in this covenant as well.
[19:50] Verse 19. And have you ever wondered why? We love seeing the giraffe pop its head out of the ark in the pictures but have you ever wondered why the giraffe is there at all?
[20:01] Well notice God is bringing a male and a female of every kind. God wants to repopulate the earth.
[20:13] In this ark it's like a little capsule of the whole world so that after judgment the capsule can be opened and the whole world can burst forth again.
[20:27] There's a place in Norway called the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. You might have heard of it. It's this huge concrete underground bunker and in it they're collecting every seed known to man.
[20:41] Every plant, everything, every seed. And they're doing that so that if there's ever a global disaster like a nuclear attack or something like that, if there's ever something like that it means that they have the ability to regrow the planet from this bunker.
[20:56] They call it the Doomsday Vault. Well that's like the Ark. It's the Doomsday Vault. With the seed of every creature and at the centre of that is the seed of God's people.
[21:12] And from that God is going to regrow the world and begin a new people. And that is why God is saving his people.
[21:24] He wants to start a new world with us. which is why when we fast forward to the end of the age after the final judgment we see the goal of salvation is not deletion.
[21:40] God does not want to abandon his world. No, the goal is new creation. The final judgment is coming in order to clear the way for the new creation.
[21:53] God is going to disinfect the world, wipe away sin, wipe away tears, so that he will bring his new family safe through it and raise us up on that last day and start something new.
[22:10] And that's what's going on in miniature with the flood. God is protecting his chosen family to bring them out the other side to new life.
[22:22] God has planned to save the world, but judgment must come first for that to happen. And so just as God warned, the rain clouds come over.
[22:37] The rain begins to fall and God calls them in the ark. Noah and his family get in and the animals two by two. And verse 16, the Lord shuts them in.
[22:50] Do you see that? Doors closed. It's like the Almighty is pressing his hand up against the door of the ark, holding them in.
[23:02] And the rains fall harder and harder. And something else happens, verse 11 of chapter 7. All the fountains of the great deep burst forth.
[23:14] This is talking about subterranean water that God brings up from the ground. And the ground cracks and opens and water starts rising up as the rain starts to fall.
[23:29] It's like God is de-creating the earth. So remember, in creation, he splits the waters above and below, and now in judgment, he's smashing them back together.
[23:43] the flood, you mustn't picture the flood like it's filling up your paddling pool. No, the flood is a supernatural doomsday event.
[23:58] And as the waters rise, the ark starts to rise with it. And they rise more and more in verse 20, the waters rise above the mountains.
[24:09] The flood is miles deep. And what happens to the people and the animals outside? Every lung with the breath of life in it, every lung now fills with water.
[24:25] Everything dies. And so the cute picture we get in all these storybooks, it doesn't do the flood justice. This isn't one big swimming pool with crystal clear water, lovely to swim in.
[24:39] No, the flood is a horror show. If you were in that ark, as you float above the mountains, it's not gentle waves and splashing that you hear against the side of the boat.
[24:54] No, you hear corpses knocking against the wood. And if you were to zoom out and look down from space at the world, it's not your usual bit of green land, lots of sea.
[25:08] No, no, it's only blue, except one little speck on that water. Verse 23, only Noah was left and those who were with him in the ark.
[25:25] That's it. Carnage everywhere, but the Lord shutting in this one man and his family. Nothing can touch God's people in this world.
[25:38] He's provided one perfect, untouchable, safe place for them to bring them through the judgment. And this is the same when the final judgment comes here.
[25:53] There is only one, one safe place for you. It's in the Lord Jesus. This is the gracious warning we need to hear today.
[26:04] Judgment day is coming. that needs to be in your calendar, but there is a way to prepare for it. There is a way to be protected and safe through that coming flood.
[26:16] The Lord Jesus is the righteous man who's not only blameless, who is sinless. And it's with him, that is where all of God's love and protection and security and promises lie.
[26:31] It's all and only, only in him. he's the only way anyone on this planet can ever be safe through the coming judgment.
[26:43] Jesus is the ark that will carry us through the storm. And how can you enter? It's the same way as Noah. You hear the Lord's warning now, you take it seriously, and you trust in the Lord Jesus to save you.
[27:01] faith in the Lord Jesus, it's like stepping onto that ark. In Christ, the Lord has his hand over your life, he shut you into the Lord Jesus, and nothing can touch you.
[27:17] On that final day, you will be utterly and entirely safe. God will remember you. because the Lord Jesus has already passed through the judgment of God.
[27:31] In the flood, God unleashed water, but on the cross, God unleashed his wrath, and it all fell upon his son, and Jesus swallowed it up.
[27:45] All the wrath, because of our violence, because of our corruption, and so for everyone safely hiding in Christ, there is no more judgment to face.
[27:57] That final day in the future is nothing for you to fear, because Christ is not coming to judge you, he's coming to save you, and you will be brought to the other side, to awaken to a new world, cleansed and righteous and prepared for you.
[28:21] But we aren't there yet. we're still on the beach, the tide is retreating, and something is coming that we cannot see yet, and so we need to act now.
[28:34] We need to listen to the warning, and by faith, believe what God promises, he promises this day is coming. And we don't know when it will be, and neither did Noah's neighbours, or the people at the time, that they were all eating and drinking, and life was normal, but then the waves hit.
[28:55] And life seems normal now, but please do not be fooled, God is telling us something is coming. And so what do you need to do now?
[29:07] Get in the ark. Get in the ark and stay safe. And don't delay this, Tilly Smith didn't think, oh I can wait until tomorrow to do something about this, no.
[29:17] get in the ark now, run to Jesus, and you will be safe forever. Are you listening to the warning? Are you safe in the ark now?
[29:32] There is only one place, one place that this world can go, join the ark, join the Lord Jesus Christ, and the doors are open, wide open, and everyone is welcome.
[29:44] Let's pray. Amen. Amen.