The God of the Flood

Would you turn with me in your Bibles, please, back to the passage we've read in Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

! Genesis 6.

In the face of all of the wickedness of the world, we read in verse 8,

!

Noah found favor or grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Let's just bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father, as we come for a short time this morning to your word in the Bible,

we ask and pray for your guidance and your direction to lead us into the truth.

We need, Lord, your blessing continually.

We dare not come to the word of the Bible by ourselves without your leading and direction,

without your help.

And so we ask today that you would indeed open these things for us,

so that we would see the truth, that we would know the truth, that we would believe the truth and hold to it

and experience the preciousness of it.

We ask then these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So often when we come to stories in the Bible, we often put ourselves or humans at the heart of the story.

So the flood is a good example of this.

You know, when we think about the story of the flood or the ark, what do we think of?

Well, so often it's Noah's ark, isn't it?

It's the flood of Noah.

As if somehow Noah is who the story is about.

As if Noah is the one who's at the center of this account.

But that's just not the case.

The reality is that all of these stories, the whole of the Bible, is given to us not to tell us about Noah

or to tell us about any of the characters in the story.

But it's there to tell us about the God who is over it all.

The God who is working and acting in all of it.

It's not a story about the man who was saved so much as it's a story about God who does the saving.

And so this morning I want us to think about this salvation.

And I want us to think about the God of this salvation in Noah's experience.

The salvation itself, we should be absolutely clear, it is gargantuan.

We cannot begin to underestimate the scale of what's happened in Noah's experience.

Noah is facing, if you're a fan of the movies, maybe the phrase an extinction level event kind of rings home with you.

It's one of these moments in human history where everything is on the line.

There is about to be complete destruction.

And Noah, I think, knows it.

When God comes to him and says, I'm going to destroy everything and I'm going to start over,

Noah's fear must have been palpable.

It's the worst of all possible times.

It is a moment of extreme devastation.

Everything that Noah knows, everyone Noah knows except his immediate family,

is about to be blotted out of existence, washed away in the scale of this flood.

And I'm sure today, all of us can probably go to moments in our lives where that has been almost the case.

Where our life has felt like that.

Where moments of absolute calamity and catastrophe are before us.

Where it feels as if everything we know, even the ground under our feet, is being taken away.

Maybe you're there right now.

Maybe that's the way experience feels at this moment.

And the question for us today is really the same as the experience of Noah in this flood.

Where is God in all of this?

Who is God?

And how does God reveal himself in this?

The first of the things that we can note is that God chooses Noah.

That's one of the first things, actually, that happens in this account.

God is set on judgment and destruction.

And in the middle of all of this, God chooses to save Noah.

And we could ask ourselves, why?

Maybe it's because we think, well, Noah was the only good man around.

And certainly that's what the narrative tells us.

Noah was a good man.

Noah was someone who feared the Lord.

He walked with God.

His character was shaped by that experience of fellowship with God.

So we could say Noah, in that sense, was perhaps a good man.

And that might lead us to say, well, God, therefore, saves good people.

We might think to ourselves that God chose to save Noah because he was such a good person.

And maybe as you look around the church today, you might see Christians around you.

Some of whom, not necessarily all of whom, but some of whom are good people.

They might be exemplary people.

And you might think to yourself, well, that's what God does when he saves people.

When the salvation of God comes into someone's experience, you might think, well, God saves good people.

But that cannot possibly be the case.

Because the Bible is full of stories of bad people who get saved.

There are plenty bad sinners who discover the salvation and the grace of God.

And that was the case in Noah's life, too.

Because the verse that we tend to think says, well, God looked at Noah and saw a good guy and liked him and thought he'd save him.

Is that verse, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

And the way we read that is we tend to think, well, Noah was somebody that God chose to bless because he saw something in him.

But that's not what the verse means.

The word that's translated favor there is the word for grace.

It's very close to the same idea we were thinking about actually last time I was preaching.

When we were thinking about God out of his good pleasure, revealing things to us in salvation.

What it's saying there is God took pleasure in saving Noah.

In showing grace to Noah.

God delighted in doing this.

God was pleased to do this thing.

It wasn't because Noah was offering sacrifices.

It wasn't because Noah was, in any respect, an outstanding person.

The initiative begins with God himself showing undeserved favor to a human.

Noah, who, although he is perhaps better than many, is still himself a sinner.

Is still himself someone who needs God's grace.

Not deserves it.

Not because he's earned it.

But because he needs it.

And God has chosen to show it.

And Noah is someone who, in the face of this, has already experienced it in his life.

Because long before the flood ever happened, Noah had been walking with God already.

Noah had a relationship with God.

A relationship of trust.

A relationship of faith.

The Bible tells us elsewhere that without faith it is impossible to please God.

So Noah must have heard things of God passed down from his parents and grandparents and great-grandparents.

A story that came to him of God being a God who saves people.

That goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

And Noah was in a line of people who were believing God was a God who saves.

And so when the story and the time and the news of the flood comes.

When the news of ultimate judgment arrives.

Noah is saved because he has trusted God already.

He's already had faith in a God who offers salvation.

And today that's what each and every one of us desperately need.

We need to come to know and trust a God who offers salvation.

I wonder, is that today the God you've come to meet and to worship in our service today?

Is that why you're here?

Are you here because you want to meet and love and know and hear of and long to know better?

A God who brings salvation.

Undeserved salvation.

To men and women in the darkest of experiences.

God chose Noah.

Secondly, God taught Noah.

See, I think sometimes we tend to have this idea that maybe God doesn't help us out enough.

And some people I think maybe today think that way.

They think, well, I know God is a righteous God.

And I know God is going to send judgment on the earth.

And I know that maybe even I will experience that judgment.

I'm in danger of the judgment of God.

But I just don't know what to do.

I just don't know how to resolve this.

I don't know what's needed.

I don't know what's necessary.

And what we need to remember is that the story of the flood is a story not of Noah working out what needs to be done to avert disaster.

I mean, God doesn't leave Noah in that uncertain position where he can just figure out what to do.

God says to Noah, you need to build an ark.

And for Noah, that must have been really strange news because Noah had never seen an ocean.

Noah had never really seen a large boat before.

And you can go and see a mock-up of this boat today.

I think Ken Ham's organization built one.

I think it's in Kentucky.

They obviously used a lot of modern construction techniques to build it.

They needed cranes.

They needed mechanical engineering.

It is a huge feat of incredible engineering.

And God said to Noah, that's what you have to do.

And Noah, without any engineering experience, goes and does what God tells him to do.

And the key thing here is, God showed Noah what to do.

He didn't leave him in the dark.

He didn't leave Noah to work out for himself what was necessary.

God made Noah some instructions.

And Noah, to the best of his ability, followed these instructions.

He went and he got gopher wood, whatever kind of wood that is.

And he covered it inside and out in tar to somehow make it waterproof.

And he constructed this enormous boat.

But the key thing is, God told him what to do.

And today, when we're in the darkness of despair, confused about what we need to do to find and discover and experience the salvation of God,

God does not leave us in the dark about what to do either.

God does not leave us in a place where we can kind of flounder around,

desperately trying to work out what's necessary for us to experience and discover salvation.

He doesn't leave us in that darkness.

Instead, he has sent light.

For us, the instruction is not, go and build an ark for yourself.

The instruction is, go and discover the ark I have built for you.

Go and discover the salvation that I have completed for you with another piece of wood.

With the cross.

Because there, that cross, that wooden ark of salvation,

I have done what is necessary there for your salvation.

In fact, curiously, just the same as he did for Noah.

Because I don't for one second believe that Noah's engineering skills

were up to the task of building a 250 meter long boat of wood,

having never built one before.

The ark was not an effective means of Noah's salvation

had God himself not intervened.

Remember when Noah goes into the ark,

we didn't read it, it's in chapter 7,

but God, when he puts Noah into the ark,

he says, you go into the ark now,

and I will shut the door.

I mean, God's salvation is in operation

right the way through this story.

Not Noah's ingenuity,

not Noah's technical skills,

but God's provision of security

and protection for him.

And once again,

Noah has to respond to God's instructions

with obedience and trust.

And today, God hasn't left us in the dark

in just the same way.

He has said to us,

if you want to discover the salvation

that I am calling you to,

if you want to discover the hope

and the peace that you are invited to,

you need to come to Jesus

in faith

and cast yourself upon him.

It's one of these other moments

of calamity in the Bible

when the Philippian jailer

comes trembling before Paul and Silas.

The prison has been destroyed by an earthquake.

He's fearful for his life

because if the prisoners have escaped,

his life is forfeit.

He will have to die

for these escaped prisoners.

And trembling,

he comes before Paul and Silas

and he says,

what do I have to do to be saved?

His world is collapsing.

And Paul and Silas say to him,

believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

and you will be saved.

Today, the same instruction is there for us

in whatever darkness

and calamity we are experiencing.

Whether it is the ultimate darkness

and the fear and the calamity

of our lostness before God

or whether it is the experience of darkness

and the consequences of sin

and brokenness in this world

and all of the different ways

in which that manifests itself

in our experience,

the solution that God provides

and the pathway that he has shown us

and the road that he lightens for us

and directs us towards

is the same.

He says to us,

believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Put your trust in my son

because he is your ark of salvation.

And we might say to ourselves,

well, I don't know if I can really do that.

Well, friends, the truth is

it is the only thing you can do.

You can't start behaving

as if somehow your own ingenuity

will get you out of a lost eternity.

And you can't start imagining

that your own ingenuity

is going to get you out of the darkness

of broken relationships

and misery

because of things that have happened

in this world

and in your experience

it won't.

But I know

that Jesus will.

But I know

that the love of Christ

and the fullness

of what he has done

for sinners

and the greatness

of the joy

that he holds out

to his people

is sufficient

for our sorrow

and our pain

and our lostness.

And so just as God taught Noah,

he teaches us

not to remain in the darkness

but to come into

his wonderful light.

And Noah obeyed.

There's another verse as well

which we don't,

you know,

we didn't have time to read

the whole story today

of the flood.

But as the floodwaters continue,

the ark is there

floating on the floodwaters.

God has shut the door.

God has sustained them.

And there's this wonderful phrase

that comes across

after God has shut the door

that God remembered Noah.

The word remembered

in the Old Testament,

it's a fascinating word

because it means more than just

I had forgotten something

and suddenly I remembered it.

The word remembered

in the Old Testament

is written remembered

in an era

where there wasn't

Microsoft Outlook,

where there wasn't

a Google Calendar.

And so I would be

completely lost.

In fact,

I still am completely lost

some days

without Outlook

and Google Calendars.

I'm really thankful

for my staff at work

who help me out

sometimes reminding me of things.

But the word remember

is crucial

because in the ancient world,

alliances and treaties

and commitments

had to be constantly

called to mind.

You had to remember

your commitments.

You had to remember

that you had promised

your allies

you would send troops

to help them

if they were attacked.

You had to remember

that if someone

had shown you favor

when you were on the run

that you would have

grace towards them.

You had to remember

the promises

that you had made

to people in the past.

You've got examples of this

with David, for example,

in Mephibosheth,

where David has to remember

to show mercy to him

for his uncle's father's sake.

The fact that God

remembers Noah

is rooted in something

that God has already done.

God,

when he put Noah

into the ark,

the Bible tells us

God established

a covenant with Noah.

God made a commitment

to Noah

to save him.

And so when the Bible

tells us that God

remembered Noah,

what it's telling us

is that God honored

the commitments

he had already made.

That God

didn't suddenly think,

oh well,

there's Noah

in the ark.

I better do something

about that

until the floodwaters

abated.

It's that actually

through that whole experience,

through that whole

terrifying experience,

Noah is never

distant from the thought

of God.

Noah is never

absent from the care

of God.

God is

intimately familiar

with what Noah

is going through.

And God

is mindful of him

at every point.

And so,

simply today

for us,

going through

these difficult

experiences

and these painful

moments

where we just

can't see the light

because of how

dark it is,

or for those

who are going

through these

experiences

of realizing

and recognizing

your lostness

without salvation

and the

grim reality

of an eternity

without God

in outer darkness

in a place of weeping

and gnashing of teeth.

I want to say

to you

that God

is a God

who remembers

his people.

it's there

for you

to come into

and enjoy

and experience

the moment

you trust

in Christ

Jesus,

the moment

that salvation

comes to you,

there is that

sense of

absolute security

because God

is not going

to forget

about you

at some point

in the future.

He's not going

to abandon you.

He's not going

to let you go.

He's not going

to leave you

in the dust.

He will carry you

and uphold you

and be with you

eternally

and forever.

And for those

of us

who are believers,

we can sing

Psalm 23.

Yes,

even though I walk

through the valley

of the shadow

of death,

you are with me

and your rod

and your staff

comfort me.

in the midst

of my enemies,

you furnish

a table for me.

You provide for me.

You have not

abandoned me.

You are with me

always.

God,

simply put,

remembers

us.

He remembers

you.

and he calls

to mind

continually

his promise

to you.

And I'm

fairly sure

that the reason

for that today

is actually none

other than Jesus

himself.

Because the New

Testament tells us

that Jesus,

now that he's

ascended to heaven

and is seated

at the right hand

of God,

what that says to us

is the function

that Jesus now has,

the work that Jesus

is doing today,

is making intercession

for us.

And there may

well be times

where that means

God the Son,

the person of Jesus,

is at the Father's

right hand

and is mentioning

us by name.

That's certainly

possible.

I think,

I don't deny that.

But at a more

basic level,

there is his presence.

The dust of this world,

incarnate in the

person of God the Son,

resurrected to life,

following his death.

And he is there

as the representative

of all of the people

who are in the

Lamb's book of life.

And so all of the

believers in all of

the history of this

world and in all of

the future of this

world until the Lord

returns, all of the

believers are there

represented immediately

at the Father's side.

And the Father cannot

forget us.

He cannot forget the

ones for whom his

son died.

And so he will not

abandon you to abject

despair and lostness

and overwhelmed,

unmitigated sorrow and

separation from him.

He will send the

Spirit.

He will send the Holy

Spirit to come in as the

comforter who will enter

into the lives and the

experience of God's people

in the midst of all of

that sorrow and all of

that disaster.

And he will comfort us

because that is what he

has promised.

And because that is what

his son has earned.

And that is what Jesus

has done for us.

A covenant has been made,

a commitment bounded up

in the blood of Jesus,

sealed in Christ,

has been made towards

God's people.

And so today,

we cannot be lost.

We cannot be isolated

and separated from God.

We cannot know

the fullness of calamity

overtake us.

And it's interesting again

to see Noah's response

to that.

Because just as

Noah had seen

the grace of God

and believed in him,

and just as Noah had

received the instruction

of God and obeyed him,

so Noah,

when he sees the

remembrance of God,

Noah does something.

Noah,

when he came out of the

ark,

having been remembered

by God,

built an altar

and worshipped.

And that's what's

necessary for us today.

That when we remember

and when we discover

the abiding

covenant

commitment of God

to us as his people,

we're moved

simply to worship.

We're moved to awe

and wonder,

marveling at the grace

God has shown us,

marveling at his redemption.

So I want to encourage you

today,

if you've known

answered prayer,

if you've been delivered

from the black dog

of depression

in your experience,

if you can look back

on times of profound

sorrow,

and you can say,

God has not failed me,

then worship.

Sing with joy

a new song of praise

to our God,

because he is good

and his mercy

lasts forever.

And so Noah worshipped

a God who remembered him.

The story, though,

doesn't quite end

with Noah's worship.

And this I find

quite telling.

The story ends

with the verses

that we read

at the beginning

of Genesis 9.

God blessed

Noah

and his sons.

See,

the story doesn't end

because we're here.

Whatever

the outworking

of this is,

the reality

is the human race

was not extinguished

in the days

of Noah.

The human race

survived.

And grace

and mercy

has been shown

over and over.

And the reason

for that

is because

when the ark

does come to rest

and Noah

and the rest

of the survivors

come out of the ark

and they leave it

and they worship,

God renews

his covenant

with them.

And one of the

outworkings

of God's

covenant commitment

to us

is blessing.

The word blessing,

it's a really

interesting word

when you try

to work out

what it really

means.

I think

the best thing

it can mean

when we experience

the blessing

of God,

the best

interpretation

I would have

of that

is that

we receive

everything

that is

necessary

for us

to thrive

and flourish

in what God

has called

us to do.

So when God

blesses you

he blesses you

for the tasks

he's called

you to.

He equips you

for what you're

called to do,

what you're

called to go

on doing,

what you're

called to

continue to do

serving him.

You're called

by God

to go on.

When times

of sorrow

and turmoil

and tragedy

come in the

lives of God's

people

there is a

temptation for us

to respond

like the world

which has

no hope

in a world

which doesn't

have the

inherent strength

to move on

and sometimes

we might become

locked

in that past

trauma

but actually

Noah

is a lesson

for us here

because I think

in a sense

that's what

Noah almost

wants to do.

He has an

experience of

some sort of

I think

survivor guilt.

It's really

interesting that

one of the

first things

Noah consciously

does when he

comes out of

the ark

is he goes

and he plants

a vineyard

and he gets

drunk.

Noah is still

a broken

sinner

and his

trauma is still

with him

but God

doesn't want

Noah to stay

there

and so God

says to Noah

I'm going to

bless you

and I'm going

to reiterate

a command

a function

an ordinance

in fact

that I gave

to Adam

at the very

beginning of

creation.

Be fruitful

and multiply

it and fill

the earth

and subdue

it.

Noah is

the evidence

of God's

new creation

God's new

work going

on

the new

world that

is now

created

is now

under the

same

creation

ordinance

that Adam

was given

be fruitful

fill it

subdue it

be my

overlord

within it.

The same

task is there

for Noah

he has to

move on

and we

in our

lives

we're given

the same

blessing

by God

that our

lives will

not be

defined

by where

we have

been

they'll

not even

be defined

by what

we have

come

through

but we

will be

defined

by the

call of

God

on us

to continue

to serve

him and

honour him

in the

mission that

he has

given us

and in the

New Testament

that is to

honour him

in the

great

commission

to go

forth into

this world

into our

families

into our

workplaces

into our

communities

into our

neighbourhoods

and to

there

make

disciples

of all

nations

and the

amazing

thing is

God

blesses

us

for that

task

that if

we've

come to

Jesus

if we

followed the

instruction

of God

in coming

to him

and trusting

in him

he blesses

us

to continue

moving

forward

as his

servants

and so

be lifted

up today

with renewed

strength

and boldness

in God's

service

because there

is work

to do

and he

has given

it to

us

and he

will give

us everything

that we

need

to finish

the task

let's

pray

heavenly

father we

thank you

today that

you are

a God

who saves

and just

as you

saved

Noah

you

so

also

save

us

in the

one who

is known

as the

way

the truth

and the

life

we thank

you today

for Jesus

the ark

of our

salvation

we thank

you that

there's hope

to be found

in him

and we

pray that

you would

help us

to live

and walk

according

to what

he has

said to

us

help us

Lord

in the

midst of

sorrow

as well

to remember

that we

still have

a purpose

that you

have given

us a

mission to

get on

with

work to

do in

this

world

and so

we pray

father that

you would

make us

winners

of men

and women

people who

make disciples

and who

seek to

disciple others

coming after

us in that

great work

as well

and so

father bless

us today

in the work

of the

church

bless us

in the

ministries

that we're

called to

and we

ask all

of this

in Jesus

name

and for

his

sake

amen

we're going

to sing

in conclusion

again in

sing psalms

in psalm

98

this is

page 129

in the

blue book

page 129

we're going

to sing at

the beginning

verses 1 to

3

you'll sing a

new song to

the lord

for wonder

she has done

his right hand

and his holy

arm the victory

have won

the lord

declared his

saving work

and made it

to be known

to all the

nations of

the world

his righteousness

is shown

his steadfast

love and

faithfulness

he has

remembered

well the

covenant he

made with

them the

house of

israel and

all the

nations of

the earth

have seen

what god

has done

our god

who brings

deliverance

by his

right hand

alone

and we're

going to

sing these

four stanzas

to god's

praise the

tunes warwick

will stand

to sing

oh sing a

new song

new song

to the lord

for wonder

the lord

he has

the lord

to all the nations of the world

His righteousness is shown

His steadfast love and faithfulness

He has remembered well

The covenant He made with them

The house of Israel

And all the nations of the earth

Has seen what God has done

Our God who brings deliverance

By His right hand alone

Now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

The love of God the Father

And the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit

Be with each one of us now and always

Amen

Amen

Thank you.