Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ.
Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church located in Kernersville, North Carolina. The Lord's preparation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female, and of the beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. Now I don't know all this but we believe when he talks about birds here that they brought in seven instead of just two and we kind of believe that he brought that so that they would fly to each of the seven continents to keep those alive. Now you would say why did he bring seven of a kind of clean beast and two of a kind of unclean beast? Well they had to have something to eat on the ark.
So they brought the extra clean beast so that they could survive and eat on the ark. I don't know if you ever thought about that. I think you all were thinking I was joking. You're so used to me being funny.
Okay, no I'm serious about that. It was so that they had something to eat on the ark. Notice if you would verse four.
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. And Noah did unto all that the Lord commanded him and Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. Noah was six hundred years old when he finished and obviously when the floods of the waters had stopped and so Noah was four hundred and eighty years old when God asked him to build the ark. Now check just about any movie or anything you want to see and they never have a four hundred and eighty year old looking man portraying Noah. I don't know how you would portray a four hundred and eighty year old man.
None of us know what that looks like but it probably would look pretty bad okay. But he was four hundred and eighty. It took him a hundred and twenty years to build the ark. Notice if you would verse seven. And Noah went in and his sons and his wife and his sons wives with him.
They're all married. The sons wives with him into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts and of beasts that are not clean and of fowls and of everything that creepeth upon the earth.
I don't know about you but when you started loading up snakes I might have rethought this whole thing of obeying God. Verse nine. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark the male and the female as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass that for seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life in the second month the seventeenth day of the month the same day were all of the fountains of the great deep broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. They said obviously because of our storm system that literally the very foundations of the earth God had to move and to shake and to move. And it literally changed the entire what we would call geological representation of the earth. The land was never the same.
Probably there were not necessarily just seven continents at that time. Who knows what the earth looked like but everything was changed and then also the heavens were opened so we had the shifting all the waters of the earth began to become in turmoil. We're talking typhoons we're talking all these things and then you have rain coming from the heaven that had never fallen yet at that time. Look at verse thirteen and the self same day entered Noah and Shem and Ham and Japeth the sons of Noah and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark. 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 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. Verse sixteen. And they that went in and went in male and female of all flesh as God had commanded him and the Lord shut him in. Lord we need you this morning as we try to rightly divide your word.
Please Lord help us in Jesus name. Amen. Let me say this. The Bible is a book of invitations.
Now think about that phrase. The Bible is a book of invitations. Beginning here and continuing to the very last verses of Revelation God is always has always and will always be involved in inviting people to come to him. I'm letting you know this morning if you've never been saved he is inviting you today. He always invites you to come to him for salvation for the help that you need and for the things that you lack. Just like everyone alive was invited to come to the ark the ark would have everything that was needed to survive.
Every need would have been met. Everybody was invited and today I'm here to tell you Jesus obviously the ark is a picture of Christ and Jesus is inviting you. He will fulfill every need that you have. He will fill up everything that you lack and you will be safe against the judgment that is to come. This ark provided safety for the judgment of water that was coming because of sin.
Christ provides you safety because of the judgment of fire that will be coming because of sin. It's a book of invitation and he's inviting you. What is interesting in Genesis chapter 7 verse 1 it is the first time that it is used as a command and as an invitation. Look at verse 1, And the Lord God said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark an invitation. And we find this as the first invitation and it's going on until this very day when Christ is still handing out invitations.
Let him that will come. Even though obviously this command was given thousands of years ago God is still inviting people to enter the ark. I want to give you some facts about the ark before we jump into some information today. And these are just some facts that some of you as we look at what the Bible has say you have some questions. And maybe over the next two or three weeks I think probably two more weeks after this we'll be done just a four week series on the ark.
But maybe there's some questions and I might not be able to answer all of them. But let me just give you a couple of facts and I just mentioned this earlier it took 120 years to build the ark. If you think about this the people had 120 years to receive the invitation. That's long enough. And there might be one day you might say you know what I just didn't have enough time to accept Christ.
I didn't have enough time to think about it. Dear friend I'm here to tell you this is all the time you need. He died on the cross for you. You're welcome to come if you will. You've got all the time you need. You don't need any more time than this. I'm here to tell you when he comes and the last chance is given. And no one will be able to be saved after that point. You can't say you didn't have enough time.
You did. I want you to notice this that Noah and the family and the animals sat in the ark seven days before the first drop of rain. Imagine how they look to the people. Now obviously we know that Noah and his family were ridiculed.
And they were made fun of. And here's a man 480 years old building a boat that's going to float when the earth is flooded and they've never seen rain. So that's all very strange anyway. Then it takes him 120 years to build the ark and so that's got to be strange. And then when he cries that this is the last chance the Bible says once all the animals and the family came in guess what? The Bible says God sealed and shut them in and then nothing happened.
Do you think that Noah began to think they sat there seven days. Now I know people because I know when Carolina loses Duke fans come out of the woodwork. You can't find them when we beat them.
They don't say nothing. I had to get that in this morning. I know what happened. As Noah and his family were on that ark I guarantee you people began to walk around there ridiculing.
I guarantee you people began to walk around there. Oh yeah you got it all built. Good job Noah. Oh that water is coming down from the sky like you said God was going to do. Oh you're real smart Noah. You could just see them sitting in that boat, that ark and just sitting there probably hearing people ridiculing. People showing up just about every day. Oh yeah making fun.
But when that first drop of rain began to fall they sure were glad they were in that ark. I'll tell you something folks you can put up with ridicule here on earth. But there's coming a day when that trumpet sounds they won't be making fun then. But that door's been shut.
Dear friend you can get on any TV program, any comedy TV, watch up just about any stand up comedian. And they do nothing but ridicule God, church, Christians, anything to do with it. We're the laughing stock of America.
But I'm here to tell you one day, one day they will not be making fun. The length to width to height ratio by the way of the ark was 300 to 50 to 30. That means the ratio from length to width to height and we gave you the measurements of the ark last year. Is in math terms it's a ratio of 300 to 50 to 30 by the way. It is the exact ratio that ship builders use today when they build ships. Interesting thought isn't it?
They find that this is the best ratio in ship building to survive in stormy weather. And here's just an old guy Noah taking directions from God. I notice this that there are two accounts of the number of animals.
And I share this with you. Genesis 6 19 tells that there was male and female of every kind. And chapter 7 verse 2 to 3 says that there were seven pairs male and female of clean animals.
And only one pair of unclean animals. And we believe obviously that this was for food. But let me tell you also what it was for. Now obviously they were in the ark for quite a period of time. We're going to share that later on. But not only did they have animals to eat but they had animals to what? Sacrifice.
They had church on the ark. Say well how do you know that? Well I'm going to prove some other things to you later on.
I don't know if it's today or next week. But it's very very interesting. They had these clean animals because they had to have something to sacrifice. Because Christ always you know of course God put in his lamb. He wanted a clean lamb, a clean animal to sacrifice. And they had these on there because even in the midst of the safety of the ark. They were still worshiping God. Listen to me dear friend just because you've been saved and now you are in the safety of the ark.
Does not mean now you can sit back and do nothing. Wow that's good isn't it? Amen preacher that's really good. Noah's ark was 450 feet long. The Mayflower was 90 feet long. Just to kind of give you a comparison. Noah was 480 years old when he began to build the ark.
Listen to this. Noah did not have any children during the first 20 years of building the ark. All his children were born after he had started building the ark. That means not only did he take on a very big building project at 480. Then he decided to have kids.
Real smart. According to the Hebrew calendar the ark voyage started. Everybody says what time of the year according to the Hebrew calendar.
The ark would have begun and these floods would have begun at the end of our November. Been a nice warm time of the year for this. We find that the top 3,000 feet of Mount Everest is made up by the way. And geologists have been up there. The top 3,000 feet of Mount Everest is made up of sedimentary rock. Packed with seashells and other ocean dwelling animals. How would they get up there? Sedimentary rock is found all over the world and that's the rock that is formed in water.
They provide clams in the closed position and many of you men would understand that. They're found all over the world and they testify to rapid burial. And we have found some obviously that they were buried.
They had to be while they were still alive and they have found them on top of Mount Everest. Folks when they had this flood it was nasty. But that's nothing compared to the judgment that is to come. I want you to notice a couple things if you're keeping notes this morning. I want you to notice number one the sanctuary surrounding the ark. Now for sake of some that might be new here this morning there's a few things I'm going to share that I shared last week.
I'm going to go through these very quickly. But I want everybody if somebody has just come today I want them to get the entire picture. As we show how the ark pictures salvation. Remember the good old gospel ship is what we're talking about the ark.
It's a picture of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Number one I want you to notice the sanctuary surrounding the ark. Notice verse one of chapter seven. And the Lord said unto Noah come thou and all thy house into the ark. For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Why? Because I have seen thee as righteous in this generation. Now the ark must have been a very unusual sight as it sat there in what we call ancient Mesopotamia. Now it was a wooden box 450 feet long 75 feet wide 45 feet high. And it was built by a preacher and his three sons. Now 120 years Noah had worked and I'm sure that people literally thought that he was mad. His neighbors probably thought that Noah was insane. And the ark he constructed must have looked very much out of place sitting there.
It would look like a coffin and we talked about that last week. But the reason that Noah built this ark is because it was to be a sanctuary against the storm of wrath. Why had it gotten so bad that God was ready to start all over? In fact the Bible says that he was going to wipe out all of mankind. But somehow Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Now listen to me. In Genesis chapter 6 verses 1 through 4 we find that there was intermarriage between the godly line of Seth and the ungodly offspring of Cain. We all know the story of Cain and Abel and of course Seth was another son of Adam. And we know how Cain murdered his brother and he was cursed from that point on. But we find in Genesis chapter 6 in these first verses that the godly line of Seth they had begun to intermarry with the ungodly line of Cain.
And the Bible says that the children born of this union were evil beyond words. And things began to get worse and worse and worse in Genesis chapter 6 verse 5 We see that God saw the wickedness of man and he saw them as hopelessly corrupt. He said every desire in man led him away to do evil thoughts and evil deeds.
It was only evil continually. So God said I'm just going to have to wipe them out. Verse 11 and 12 of Genesis chapter 6 God looked at man, saw that he had ruined what God had designed.
Man was unjust and violent. Man had abandoned the ways of God. And he had turned from God completely. And in chapter 6 verse 6 and 7 God decided that he was going to destroy mankind. That brings us to the point where God saw Noah. The Bible says that God saw that Noah was just. That's why Noah found grace in the eyes of God. Now what does it mean that Noah was just? You'll have individuals that say well Noah was a perfect man and that's why. Listen Noah was not perfect.
He was just. When he was just it doesn't mean he was sinless. It meant that his faith was in God. And when you put your faith in God, God counts that to you for righteousness. That's why when you and I get saved and we put our faith in Christ not only are our sins forgiven but God sees us as righteous.
Noah obviously is commanded to build the ark. In Genesis chapter 15 verse 6 we are told that Abraham quote believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness. How did people get saved in the Old Testament? By putting their faith in God. They put their faith in God. And dear friend you get saved the same way today.
By putting your faith in Christ. That was then. This is now. And while the ark was a place of sanctuary for sinful man. Today Christ is the place of sanctuary for sinful man.
Let me read this to you. First Peter chapter 3 verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for our sins the just for the unjust. He was just and he was sacrificed the just for us the unjust.
You got that? That he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit. Who brought up Jesus from the grave? The Spirit. He was put to death in the flesh and he was raised out of that grave by the Holy Spirit.
Guess who raises us? The Holy Spirit. That's why he was put inside of us. Because we will never die because he will never die. And the moment you and I take our last breath on earth the Holy Spirit who is in us is resurrected.
Isn't the Bible great? Listen to this and read the next verse. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.
Did you hear that? We're talking about Jesus being put to death quickened in the Spirit. The Bible says in verse 19 by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.
What did Jesus do in those three days? Look at verse 20. By which sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was a preparing wherein few that is eight souls were saved by water. The very thing that wiped out mankind, water is the very thing that saved those eight souls. The very person that will one day judge mankind for their sin is the very person that will save you from judgment.
Okay I better move on I'm just too excited for you this morning. The sanctuary surrounding the ark. First I want you to notice the substance. We talked about this last week gopher wood. Gopher wood obviously wood is a picture of humanity. Wood had to be cut down in order to build the ark to provide safety.
Jesus Christ had to be cut down so that He could provide our salvation. Second we noticed not only its substance but notice its security talking about the ark. After the ark was built it was covered with pitch.
We talked about this last week it's a gooey type substance that they would have sealed the inside and the outside of the ark. Just like the blood covered our sins that pitch covered the ark. And just like Christ seals us unto the day of redemption that pitch sealed them from the judgment that was to come and that is secure. Listen to me it's not the humanity or the life of Jesus that saves us it was His death and His shedding of blood. Listen just because He lived a perfect life that wasn't what saved us. What saved us was that He lived a perfect life and died and rose again. That's what saved us.
This is great. Let me say thirdly I want you to notice not just its substance and its security but notice in the ark its size. Obviously because of its measurements 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high it could literally contain 3 million cubic feet. We talked about this last week that there was a whole bunch of extra room in the ark.
Why was that? Because God built it big enough so that if every person received the ark as sanctuary that they could have fit. And I'm here to tell you there's enough grace of God to save every person that comes to Him in Christ. He knew there would be some that would reject but He built it big enough in case they didn't. And God knows that there will probably be some that will reject Him but He died on the cross and provided enough redemption and enough mercy.
The Bible said His mercy is everlasting, His mercy cannot be measured and that means anybody that comes to God there's room at the cross for you. I want you to notice not just its size but its shape. We have told you that the ark is not like a regular boat that you would see and often times that we picture as the ark. It would have looked like a floating coffin. This speaks to the fact that Jesus died for us. That coffin is a picture almost of death. Look at me as that ark floated in the water literally looking like a coffin it was a picture of the death of mankind at that time of judgment. And it's also a picture that Christ died in order to save us. That floating coffin is what those people were living on and God saved mankind, gave another chance for man. You and I have life and breath today because God salvaged mankind by keeping those eight individuals alive in that picture of death. And because of the death of Christ you and I will be alive together in heaven forever.
Not just its shape but I want you to notice its structure. The Bible says that the ark had one door, one window and three stories. Preacher what does this mean? These elements obviously are a picture of salvation. The one door the Bible says as the ark that door was low enough so that all could enter. And I'm here to tell you Christ's love goes low enough to save the worst of sinners. Everybody can get on the ark of Christ. Everybody has access to him by grace through faith.
Now John 10 9 this is what Jesus said, I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. About the window, the window was so high that all would have to look up. Colossians 3 2 says set your affection on things above not on things of the earth. In the middle of all this devastation look at me folks the whole point of the picture of the window and the ark was so that Noah and his family would not concentrate on all the junk that was going on around them.
The only thing they could look to was where there was nothing going on. Everything is fine in heaven. Dear friend God says don't put your affection on the things going on on this earth.
This is not our final home. You and I should be constantly looking to Christ the author and finisher of our faith the Bible says. I want you to notice not only that but the three stories of the ark had a top level, a middle level and a lower level. The three stories remind us that salvation is a work of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It also reminds us that when a person is saved their whole person, body, soul and spirit are changed. Let me read this to you, 2 Corinthians 5.17 Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a what?
Old things are passed away behold all things are come new. Look at me dear friend, salvation took the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father gave the Son, the Son gave himself, the Holy Spirit raised the Son. It took all three in salvation. Look at me dear friend, when you get saved your body, soul and spirit are all changed.
Not just its structure but I want you to notice its sustenance. Genesis chapter, by the way there are verses for each of these just for the sake of time. Genesis chapter 6 verse 21 it describes us, listen to me, that Noah was saved by the ship and he was also satisfied in the ship. Not only getting on the ark kept him safe but while he was on the ark he had every need fulfilled.
Dear friend when you got saved not only were you kept safe now but you have been satisfied. Every need he will supply. Isn't the ark a wonderful picture of Christ?
It just gets me excited. He had everything in the ark he needed to survive the flood. In Jesus the believer will find satisfaction for the soul. The Bible says he is bread to the hungry and he is water to the thirsty. The Bible says all those that come to him he is all that is needed to be satisfied.
Listen to this, John 6 35 and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirtland Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web at kirtlandbaptistchurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you.
