Let's read this passage:
First, Noah's warning. By faith, Noah, having been instructed by God that he had never seen before, was moved with awe and prepared an ark to save his family. Chapter 6 of Genesis records Noah's warning:
"When the population of the world increased and daughters were born, the sons of God saw the beauty of people's daughters, chose them at random and married them. The Lord said,' since man is a flesh, my spirit will not live in him forever; However, his life can still be one hundred and twenty years "(section 1-3).
This is the first warning;
"The Lord says,' I will destroy man, livestock, insects and birds in the air which I have made of clay, because I regret having made them'" (v. 7).
This is God's second warning and instruction to Noah. He told Noah that the Holy Spirit would not fight for people forever. He told Noah that he would destroy everything he had created. If Noah is like some of you, he will say: God is a loving God, and he will not destroy the people he created; Or, like some of you, he will say, oh, there is still a long time, enough time to turn to God before the flood comes. But no, "by faith, Noah feared God and prepared an ark to save his family after receiving instructions that God had never seen before."
Brothers, if you follow Noah's example, you should fear him. God warned you not once or twice, but hundreds of times. God warns you in the Bible: "God's wrath is revealed from heaven to all ungodly and unjust people" (Romans. 1: 18). God also said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Too 18: 3). God also said that if you commit such a crime, you will die; "Those who don't believe will be condemned" (KE1616); Wait a minute. Oh, my God! Did you tremble before God's warning? If not, you are not like Noah, because he believes in God. I tell you, if you believe in God, you can't continue to live like this; You don't believe in God in your heart, so you don't care about God's word: "Noah prepared an ark to save his family because of his faith and fear of what God told him not to see."
Besides, the priest warned you. We accept words from God's mouth and use them to warn people. If we don't do this, God says he will ask these watchmen to atone. One of the main duties of a priest is to warn those who have not reformed. This is what I do both in private and in public. I warned you, did you accept it? Oh, dear! Say, do you think I will be scared by a person's remarks? If you say so, I want to tell you that this is not my word, but the word of God. If you don't listen to what God tells you through the priest, you are not like Noah.
In addition, the work of divine protection also warns you. Some of you have seen your souls go to hell, but you are still alive; Others saw the people you led fall into the pit of sin, but you were left behind. Hey, man, can you say you weren't warned? What do you think of this? Some of you are getting deeper and deeper into sin. Some of you will object: I don't like to be feared; I like that God is full of love. It is true that no one is afraid of being brought before Christ, but we are brought before him because of Christ's love. However, unless you tremble with fear, you will never get rid of dependence. You must get rid of sin through the fear of God's word and enter Christ through love.
Brothers, don't despise the fear of God. How was the jailer brought before Christ? When the jailer called for a lamp, he jumped in, fell trembling before Paul and Silas, and led them out, saying, Gentlemen, what must I do to be saved? "(Acts 16: 29). What made him ask such a question? It was trembling and fear; What made 3000 people in the streets of Jerusalem shout, "Brothers, what should we do?" (Acts 2: 37), it is trembling and fear; What made Saul fall to the ground and cry, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" (Acts 9: 6), it is trembling and fear. If you have ever been brought before Christ, you should also be afraid. Wake up, "why did you sleep?" Get up and call on your God, or God will take care of us so that we will not perish "(take 1: 6). Oh, don't throw away your trembling and fearful heart. I tell you, as long as you stay in your carnal and lifeless state, like wine sinking in its residue, you will never come to Christ. The Holy Spirit is like a dove, but the first thing he does is to make you confess your sins.
Second, about the ark. By faith, Noah was awed by God's unseen instructions, and prepared an ark to save his family. We can find the preparation process of the ark in the sixth chapter of Genesis, section 14: "You shall build an ark of gopher wood, and make rooms in it, and paint it with rosin inside and outside." Section 16: "There should be a transparent place on the top of the cabinet, one cubit high. The cupboard door next to it should be open. The ark should be divided into upper, middle and lower floors. " 2 1, verse 22: "Take all kinds of food and store it for you and them. Noah, that's it. He did everything God told him. "
Brothers and sisters, if you pay attention, you can see how the ark fully represents Christ. The ark is out of God's plan; So is the salvation of Christ and the gospel. It was impossible for people at that time to design an ark with such a large load; Similarly, neither man nor angel can find a way to save sinners. "God loves the world so much that he even gave his only son to them" (Jn. 3: 16). The bible records that angels want to examine the plan of redemption, and the scripture says, "this is immeasurable." This is a plan to save sinners, and all the glory belongs to God. This is a plan to bring sinners before God-a plan to give glory to God in the highest place and peace to people on earth, from which God's goodness is revealed to people.
Let's take a look at the endurance of the ark. God knows how much wind and waves it can withstand. Christ is like an ark. God made him strong enough to resist any aggressive hostile forces, so that he could save all those who came to God through him.
It is also an ark with many rooms, and so is Christ. His mission to the servants is "there are still empty seats" (Road 14: 22).
Also, the cupboard door next to it is open. When Christ was hanged on the cross, there was a gun glued to his side. So the scripture says, "I am the door" (about 19); "through him, we can enter the father twice" (Christopher. 2: 18); "I will never forsake him who comes to me" (John 6: 37). There are no steps to get there, so we have no choice but to believe.
Also, there is a transparent place at the top of the ark where you can see the sky. Similarly, in Christ, we can expect a God who can reconcile us with him.
Also, there are plenty of supplies in the ark. The same is true in Christ; "My God will ... meet all your needs" (Phil. 4: 19). Do you need gold? Christ can give; You are polluted and need running water? The Lord is the root of sin and impurity. You are hungry and need food? Christ said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6: 35). Everything you need is in the ark. Brother, if you neglect such great salvation, if you despise such a powerful and rich ark, how can you run for your life?
Third, how did Noah save his family? By faith, Noah, having been instructed by God, was moved with awe and prepared an ark to save his family. Noah saved his family by staying away from other means of refuge. "The Lord said to Noah," You and all your family should enter the ark "(Gen 7: 1)." In order to avoid the flood, Noah, his wife, son and wife all entered the ark. Clean animals and unclean animals, birds and all insects on the ground are paired, a male and a female, and they all go to Noah and enter the ark, just as God commanded Noah "(Gen. 7-9).
Dear brothers, Noah's way to save his family is to enter the ark. First, he went in. People with physique may say, isn't it better to climb to the top of the mountain? But Noah believed in God, so he didn't use other methods. He not only went to the door, but also went in. His wife, son and daughter-in-law also entered the ark with him, and then God closed the door. If you want to enter the ark, you must do the same.
First, you must give up the other ark. Carnivorous people will say that there are many ark as good as this. Some people rely on God's mercy, but this is a fake ark. Some people stay on their moral qualities, others stay on their knowledge ark, but these are fake ark; Everything people make is a fake ark. Brothers, we must abandon all shelters for lies and remember that you can't stay at the door; Many people look in, but refuse to go in. Many people knew what was in the ark, but refused to go in. But you must come in, you and your wife, your son and your wife, and God will shut you in. You can't just hear about the ark, but also enter it. Don't cry for you, just pray and everything will be fine. It's only safe if you come in. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The past has passed, and everything has become new "(2 Cor. 5: 17).
All the animals came in. A lion and a lioness came in. Then a pair of tall cows came in; A camel, bending its beautiful long neck, also came in; Then the bird came in, and so did the eagle, who likes to hover in the sky looking for prey. Then reptiles, and maybe a snake. Seeing it crawling on the ground, Noah might think: it will bite us-but it also came in. So, really, all kinds of sinners can enter. It is very lovely to see what happened when they went in: the lion was lying next to the lamb; The leopard sits next to the little goat. The same thing will happen to those who turn to Christ. The temper like a lion has been changed into a gentle character like a sheep; Proud people will become humble. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; The past has passed, and everything has become new. "Some of you think you belong to Christ, but your old nature has not been removed.
Fourth, about the world. The Bible says he condemned the world. When Noah entered the ark, he condemned the world; Unlike some people, he is a preacher who preaches justice and judges the world; But when he came in, he condemned the world. When a child from an unbelieving family was saved, he entered the ark, thus condemning those who did not enter. Brothers, most people in the world didn't even notice when Noah entered the ark.
Jn 10: 10 As the days of Noah were, so will the Son of Man come. In the days before the flood, people ate, drank and married as usual until the day Noah entered the ark. Unconsciously, the flood came and washed them all away. So it will be when the Son of Man comes "(Matt. 24: 37-39).
Look, they eat and drink, get married and get married. The bride stood up and put her hand in the groom's, expecting a happy time-suddenly the flood came. Some people say, look, a man is building a boat on land. They laughed at Noah, but the flood came that day. It still is. Although we tell you a better ark, you still have to go your own way, eat and drink as usual, and get married.
Brothers, I believe that most of you have gathered or will gather. You are becoming a proof of the gospel, and you will live as usual, eat, drink and get married until the flood comes and washes you away. You laugh at the people who built the ark; You refused to enter. Ah, my brothers, when you see someone trying to enter the ark, many of you will say that they are crazy. That's what they told Noah. Well, if it's madness, entering the ark is also a happy madness!
But, brothers, I believe there are still many people who didn't laugh at Noah and helped build the ark. They may cut down trees to build an ark, but they won't go in. You too; Many people say: we are good people, but we have gone too far. Ah, many preachers helped build the ark, but they didn't enter it themselves; Many Sunday school teachers helped build the ark, but they didn't enter it themselves.
It is likely that someone came to the ark on the morning Noah entered the ark, but it was too late. God closed the door. I believe many of you will come when it is too late. I know that many of you have confessions of faith, but you don't enter; As soon as the door closes, you come, just like those stupid virgins, "say,' Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'" But he answered and said, Truly I tell you, I don't know you. You heard Emmanuel's chariot rumbling, and you were anxious to get on the bus, but it was too late. Brothers, the devil has blindfolded you from these things.
Finally, a terrible flood swept through. When they were still eating and getting married, it came before they woke up. The hotel was full, and the bride was beaming and singing and dancing. When the Son of Man comes, it will also be a sudden flood.
The flood is terrible. Water floated the ark from the ground to the top of Ararat Mountain. According to calculations, the water level rose by 400 feet on the first day. Brothers, that was really a huge and terrible flood. No one can stand in front of it, and the proudest person is drowned. The same is true when the fire devours the world. Scripture says: Who can stand on that day? I warn you, sinner, run! "I punish you that day, your heart can stand it? Can your hands be strong? (Ezekiel 22: 14)?
The flood drowned Christ. Look, how terrible his pain is! But if you belong to him, it won't drown you-if you are in this ark, you will be saved; If not, you will be washed away.
God have mercy on you, dear friend, there is nothing I can do. God promised that he would finish it before the flood came and washed you away. amen