There Is Grace In His Eyes | Pastor Eoin O'Sullivan

Welcome to the Springs Church Podcast.

We are so glad you joined us.

Our mission is to reach the lost by raising up fully trained disciples that are empowered by God to impact their world.

We pray that you are challenged and encouraged as you listen to this week's message.

Matthew chapter 24, verse 37.

Matthew 24:37

I want to preach a short message to set up baptism for us this morning, entitled There is Grace in His Eyes.

There is Grace in His Eyes.

Now Matthew chapter 24, verse 37, it says this.

Matthew 24:37

For years they've speculated whether this could be Noah's Ark or not.

But there was restrictions because of uh governmental restrictions on going and actually testing and exploring and allowing archaeologists in there to study it.

But in recent weeks and months, they've allowed scientists and archaeologists to go in and study this ground.

There's some pictures there that clearly is shaped out in the in the shape of what looks like uh an arc or a boat, and they've studied it, drilled down into the ground, and they've found that what's underneath the surface uh is man-made.

It's not something that's just a byproduct of random events, there's intentionality behind it, there's uh right angles, there's construction, there's material that was used uh that's underneath the surface.

And so, of course, you can't uh a hundred percent verify whether this is Noah's Ark, but I can't help thinking that maybe God's giving us one big sign here as we're coming into the last days, as the scripture will be fulfilled that just as in the days of Noah, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Now, I that we've got flying cars happening at the moment.

Have you seen Teslas?

I don't know what we're gonna use them for, I don't know what purpose they're gonna be for.

I don't know if I plan on driving on the on ceilings anytime soon, but but we've got we've got uh cars that can flip over, that can do all these kinds of things that are happening.

But if you want to see a work that lasts, look to what God has done.

The blood still flows, the blood still redeems, the cross still stands, the gospel still goes forth, the Holy Spirit still is uh giving people supernatural strength and gifts.

And maybe here is a sign that thousands and thousands of millennia passed, uh, right back at the beginning, that when God gave Noah a warning of a judgment that was to come and gave him instructions for an ark to be built, maybe God's just showing us that what he does stands forever.

But what he does stands for time over time.

Verse 38 and verse 39 of that same chapter says, For in the days before the flood, before the judgment, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.

In other words, what Jesus is saying to his disciples is that before the flood happened, before the judgment came, and so it will be in the second coming that people will be just going on with life.

Things will continue to be happening as they've always happened.

People will be eating and drinking, they'll be in marriage and given in marriage, there'll be road construction, there will be new building projects taking place, there will be there will be news headlines, there will be all the different cycles of life.

As Solomon said, nothing new under the sun.

Everything will be going on as normal as so it would seem, and people will be distracted by all that's going on.

Now it's not easy to see that there's so many distractions in our world today.

I mean, myself and Sarah, we're every Saturday, we're like professional party attenders when it comes to we've got three kids, and so there's like birthday party after birthday party after baby shower after baby shower.

So we just go from one to the next to the next to the next.

And then in the middle of that, you've got college football going on, and it's like, you know, I mean, it doesn't get any better now.

The Gators win, Georgia lose, Florida State lose, Alabama lose.

It's like, it's like it's like the best days ever, you know, and so and so you have to you're watching this in the middle of all of these distractions that are that are happening, and then you're in church it's Sunday morning, the Jags are playing in London.

You know you're going to heaven when you're in church at 9:45, and all that distraction is going on out there, and blue angels are flying around the place.

How many woke up this week and seen uh a rocket going off into sky and this beautiful bloom in the sky?

Life, this distractions, all everything's going on as normal.

And Jesus says, beware.

Just like it was in the days of Noah, when people were eating and drinking and everybody was going around their business, so shall it be when the Son of Man appears that Jesus says coming back.

It will be like the days of Noah.

So, what was it like in the days of Noah?

Well, you got to go back to Genesis chapter 6, verse 5 and 7, and look at what was going on.

Genesis 6:5

It says, And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent and the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

God looked out and seen wickedness.

He seen the thoughts and the intentions of man were continually evil.

I wonder if God looked at the thoughts and the intentions of humankind today.

What would he see in the heart and the intents of humanity today in 2026?

He says it was evil continually.

And the Lord was sorry that he made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.

So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I've created from the face of the earth.

But man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.

It was brokenness, dysfunction, sin, wickedness in the earth.

If you look beyond the distractions, there's a lot of brokenness in our world.

If you look beyond just what is being put in front of us, if you if you look, you see what's happening in France.

I don't want to be a doomsday person, but literally, France is burning to the ground right now.

It is there's destruction that's taking place.

I don't think there's been as much rebellion since the French Revolution, and there's these things that are happening.

You and you don't have to look over there, you can look in Orange Park.

Listen, as a pastor, I recognize that beyond what is seen on the signs and on with people out eating and drinking and getting on with life, that there is broken homes, there is broken families, there is destitution, there is all kinds of immorality, there's all kinds of wickedness that's going on.

And listen, you may be able to see it right.

You might just look at your own budget and see that there's brokenness.

You can look at your own family relationships and you may see brokenness.

You might look at your own heart.

Come on, somebody and see there's brokenness.

And here is the time where God looks and he's grieved at the nature of what he sees around him.

I'm sure Noah looked down and seen the same wickedness around him.

What do you do when everything is broken?

Because it seems like everything is heading towards judgment.

It seems like the this passage of scripture, as you read it, is going in one direction, and that direction is towards a judgment.

And judgment will come, the flood will come.

But look at verse 8.

Verse 8 is unexpected.

In chapter 6, verse 8, because it says that God is grieved in his heart and that he's going to destroy man whom he's created, both man and beast, creeping thing, and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I've made them verse 8.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Hallelujah! This is the first mention of grace in the entire Bible.

When everything's heading towards destruction, one man finds grace in the eyes of God.

I just came here to preach to somebody today that there's still grace in the eyes of the Lord.

You can look into what they're mountain to, or you can lift up your eyes to the hills, you can look at the Lord, and you can still see that there's grace in the eyes of the Lord.

And in that grace, God is going to not only provide for you, but He's going to bring you through.

I just want to let you know that God's going to bring grace will bring you through.

Grace will get you to the other side.

Judgment may be coming, but we have a savior.

Trials may be coming, but we have a we have a God that gives us a testimony that brings us through to the other side.

We may go through the valley of the shadow of death, but his rod and his staff they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the land of the living.

Anybody gonna be with me as we go to the land of the living?

God will keep us, God will hold us, God will sustain us.

The judgment was real, but also the grace was real as well.

The grace was real as well.

There's grace in his eyes today.

Let me just give you three quick points, and then we'll move into a time of baptism this morning.

Number one, grace precedes righteousness.

I want you to look at the progression of the chronological order the scripture portrays to uh uh portrays to us.

Verse eight says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Verse nine says this is the genealogy of Noah.

Noah's a just man, perfect in his generations.

Noah walked with God.

Now, I believe that Noah is a picture of Jesus in this, but the reality is the Bible makes it clear that all have sinned and all have fallen short of God's glory standard.

I believe that's Noah as well.

There was only one perfect man, and that was Jesus.

See, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, grace is unmerited favor.

God gave Noah favor because he found it in Christ.

He didn't he didn't figure it out or fix himself, he found it in God.

Then righteousness came.

Verse 9, then verse 14, the assignment comes.

Many people want the assignment before grace.

Verse 14 says, Make yourself an ark of gopher wood, make rooms on the ark and cover it on the inside and the outside with pitch.

The pitch was a type of tar that would be used.

And then finally, obedience comes in Genesis chapter 6, verse 22.

Genesis 6:22

Just Noah did according to all that God commanded him.

So he did.

Noah built an ark, or before Noah built an ark, he found grace.

I don't know if you guys have been a part of the Wednesday nights, the midweek discipleship courses, the men's and the women's, but I believe it's been one of the most transformational things that we've done here at the Springs Church.

I believe God's doing a really incredible work amongst our men and women here on Wednesday nights, and I've really enjoyed being amongst my discipleship group and the group of men that I'm a part of.

And as as part of that journey, I've got a chance to meet with pretty much every one of them for a cup of coffee and just chat with them.

And the most resounding conversation is I want to change.

I want to be transformed.

I want to, I want to be a better man, I want to be more of a man of God in my life.

I mean, that's incredible.

I commend that.

I'm I love to desire God.

I I see I believe God sees that desire.

And my follow-up question is well, what does that mean to you to be transformed or to be changed?

What is that to you?

And uh and the most common response is well, I want to be a better husband, I want to be a better dad, I want to do more for the church, I want to be more disciplined in my life, I want to do less of this, and I want to do more of that.

And so I come and I challenge that and I say, So you want to be transformed, you want to change, but it's all on you, and nothing's on God.

That's not the gospel.

The Bible says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

You see, you can be all your life trying to be a better person.

Certainly, I think there's there is a merit in that, and there's there is there is a wordy cause to live a godly and a good life.

But my experience is personally and also then pastorally, is that no matter what you focus on in your life, there's probably another area in your life that you can't fix.

So you can be focused on living a healthy lifestyle.

I'm gonna go to the gym, I'm gonna take creatine, I'm gonna take protein, I'm gonna take vitamin D and B and three and C and D and E F G, and I'm gonna take all the vitamins in the world, and you're working out and all this, and then you realize but I'm neglecting my family.

I need to spend more time on my family.

So then, and so then you put your focus on your family, and you're helping them through situations, and you're being alongside them, and you're helping them out, but then you realize you look at your budget and you you you're struggling to meet your ends meet.

So you go, I'm gonna work overtime and focus on my business and my purpose on life, and so then I'm gonna focus on that.

And while you're focusing on that, then you're like, but I'm not spending enough time with God, so I'm gonna start a Bible reading plan, and then I'm gonna read the Bible, and then I'm gonna keep reading the Bible, and then and then, oh, but over here, there's so my my wife is giving me 4,000 honeydo list jobs, so I gotta do my honeydo, I gotta do the gutters, and I gotta cut the grass.

And every time you go and do something, there's something else that's been neglected.

Is there anybody in here that feel I just can't keep up with everything that's going on?

I can't catch up with everything that's what's going on.

See, if it was if it's all up to you, then you're gonna be discouraged along the journey.

But before Noah ever built an ark, he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Men, I I I get it, men.

We don't like to go to the doctor, we don't like to ask for directions, we want to fix it ourselves.

But in order for us to be born again, to be transformed, it's a work of grace.

In other words, it means you must trust another man's work before you start to do anything yourself.

It's on the grace of Almighty God, it's on what Jesus has already done.

See, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 to 9 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves.

Ephesians 2:8–9

It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

I love what the old Scottish preacher Alistair Begg said.

He was preaching on grace.

He talked about the thief on the cross.

And he said, The thief on the cross, when he died, he went to heaven and he was standing at the pearly gates.

And Peter's standing at the pearly gates, and he begins to say, Well, why should you get into heaven?

And the guy's like, Well, I don't really have anything to show for myself.

I don't really have a resume.

And Peter says, So, what do you believe about the doctrine of justification?

And the thief on the cross says, I don't even know what the doctrine of justification is.

So Peter says, Well, have you been water baptized?

I've never been water baptized.

Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit?

I don't even know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is.

Well, what church did you go to?

I've never been to church in my whole life.

What denomination?

I've I've never been to church.

So, have you been a good dad?

Have you been a good husband?

No, I've been a terrible dad.

I've been a terrible husband.

I've been I'm actually I was a crook, I was a thief, I was hanging on the cross.

And Peter says, Well, why do you think you should get into heaven?

The only thing I know is the man that was dying on the middle of the cross told me that I can get into heaven, and that's the only reason that I'm here.

It's not that it was a saved, you're on the middle of the cross, and said today, you know what be women be in power and hallelujah! It's not about the water, it's not about your resume, it's not about your Bible degree, it's about none of this, it's about what Jesus did for you.

You're saved by grace, through faith, not of works that you can boast.

We don't care, we can't boast about anything, we can boast about Jesus, we can't even boast about the Springs Church.

We don't have a church, he's got a church, we're the church, he saved us, he redeemed us, he washed us.

Man, I could go keep on going here for a moment, but I'm gonna keep on keep on rolling here.

Number two, grace provides salvation.

Grace provides salvation.

As Pastor Paul pointed out to me, grace provides salvation, it's GPS, it's our GPS.

Genesis chapter 6, verse 14.

Genesis 6:14

He says, Make yourself an ark of gopher wood, make rooms of the ark and cover it on the inside and the outside.

See, I believe the ark is one of the great Old Testament illustrations that's not just a fairy tale, it's a reality, I believe.

I believe God allowed this moment to happen, and it's a picture for us.

The ark is a picture today for us of what the cross is to us, of the cross.

The ark was all God's idea, it was his design, it was a word that he gave to Noah.

But you know, we live by faith, the just shall live by faith.

We live according to God's word.

He just gives Noah a word, just trust this word.

Live your life according to this word.

If you put your trust in this word and you obey this word, I'm gonna bring you through the storm to come, I'm gonna bring you through the trials to come, I'm gonna bring you through the difficulties that are gonna come through through this life.

I I'm gonna I'm gonna cover you, I'm gonna keep you from the judgment that is to come.

He says the ark was covered.

Listen to this, church.

The ark was covered on the inside and out.

The word that is used here is a Hebrew word, kefar.

That word tar or pitch is kefar.

You go through the Old Testament, the other times that that word kefar shows up is used for the word atonement.

You want to see a picture of a cross?

He says, You cover that ark with atonement on the outside and the inside, you cover it.

In other words, when you go through the storm, whatever the judgment is on the outside, you're gonna be safe on the inside.

Just like Moses when he took the blood of the Lamb on the Passover and they put it on the door post, and when the angel of death came around, those who were under the blood of the Lamb, they were safe.

Those who were in the ark, they shall be safe.

Our only hope is the cross.

Their only hope is Jesus, our only hope is the gospel.

There's an open door that's before us.

You see, when when when God has given the instructions to Noah, there's a picture on display for us.

There was one door that gave access to that ark.

Can I tell you there's only one way to heaven is through Jesus Christ?

There's not many roads, there's one road.

There's not your truth and my truth, there's one truth, and he is the truth.

It's not a philosophy, it's not an argument, it's it's a person, it's Jesus.

Every other religion will tell you how to get to heaven by living a good life.

Christianity is different, it says you will never live a good life, that Jesus lived the perfect life and died for your sins so that you can be saved.

There's only one way is through Jesus.

Cover the outside and the inside by atonement.

There was no instruments added to that ark for direction.

There was no rudder or anything that would cause there to be direction.

No, when they got into that ark, when they came in and trusted in the in the cross, there they they lived by faith.

Wherever that ark would go, they had to trust that God would keep them safe and take them through the flood and take them through to the other side.

Let me just tell you about the cross for a moment.

The cross will separate you from the old life.

That ark going through the waters was going to separate Noah from the wickedness of humanity and bring them into a new life.

Those who go through the waters of baptism today, you're testifying that the old is gone and the new has come.

You're not the same as you used to be.

You're a new creation in Christ Jesus.

This is so important.

This is not an Instagram moment, a Facebook moment.

You put it up, tell all your friends about it.

That's good, but it's not that's not the motivation of why you're doing this.

Your motivation is that you're a new person in Christ Jesus.

You've got new motives now, you've got a new heart now.

God's given you a new life.

Your name's written in the Lamb's book of life.

He separated you from the wickedness of this world, and he's brought you into a whole new life in Christ Jesus.

Hallelujah.

The cross will save you from the coming judgment.

The judgment's still coming.

The Bible says that He will never judge the world, flood the earth again with water, but does speak about a judgment of fire that's coming.

Can I tell you there is a judgment coming?

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the second coming of man.

Everybody will be getting on with their life, everybody will be checking the scores, everybody will be doing this and that and the other.

Can I tell you, we gotta stop playing games in the kingdom of God?

I read a statistic recently that said that the number one population range that are uh that are consumers for game consoles like Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, those who purchase things like Harry Potter stuff, all of the Super Mario stuff.

You know what the age range is?

It's ages in their 30s and in their 40s.

That's the number one consumer range for those kind of products.

We have a generation that's playing games and missing, missing what God wants to do, missing the heart of God, missing that there's a judgment coming.

We can't play.

This separates you.

This takes you through.

You might listen, there's an atonement on the outside and the inside.

Well, as I began to think about this moment in time, I'm sure Noel was inside in that ark, him and his and the eight that were inside there.

And there was times the storms went left and right, and they may have missed their footing from a time to time and fallen in that ark.

But they got back up in that ark again.

There was a there was a refuge, there was a safety inside that you may be here and you may have fallen, you may have fallen short.

But if you're in that ark, there is a salvation, there's a keeping you through the judgment.

Come.

The cross is the only hope for you and your family.

God didn't tell Noah to fix the world, He told him to believe his word.

We want to fix everything.

We can't fix it.

We can't give out enough food here at the Springs Church.

We can't do enough programs here at the church.

We cannot fix the world.

Our only hope is to believe in Jesus, proclaim Jesus, lift up the name of Jesus.

Only Jesus can save somebody.

I don't know who's gonna come, go in with Jesus.

I don't know who's gonna give their life to Christ.

The Bible says that only eight people went into the ark, everybody else perished because they they did not believe and they did not trust that God had in the in the provision that God had made through this ark.

Chapter 7, verse 1 says, The Lord said to Noah, Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

I'm gonna invite the worship team to come back.

But you'll see right here in Genesis 7, it was an invitation.

It was an invitation.

Noah was invited to come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

My final point this morning is grace produces good works.

It produces good works.

In Genesis chapter 6, verse 22, it says, Noah did according to all that God had commanded him to do.

Genesis 6:22

Paul said in the New Testament, Ephesians 2, 8 to 10, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But people often miss the second part of this scripture.

For we are his workmanship.

Just read on to verse 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Listen, when you are saved, you're not you're not going through these waters of baptism just to go back and live your old lifestyle.

No, God does give you a purpose, He does put a calling upon your life, He does lead you into something greater and into something higher.

Can I just talk to the men for just a moment in this place?

Because I believe if the if the men get this right, I believe that we could be on the verge of an incredible revival in our nation right now.

I really believe that with all my heart.

I'm praying for our men.

I'm believing God in our discipleship groups that God is going to do something in us.

Men are always looking for purpose.

What should I do?

What's that thing I should do?

Grace has to come first.

But when grace comes in, it gives you a purpose.

You want to build something that lasts, don't go out and remortgage your house for a new Tesla that could jump over buildings.

Don't find yourself playing some computer game.

Oh, I'm serious.

When you know when when the Mary and Joseph they lost Jesus on the journey, they went back up and they found Jesus in the temple, and he said to them, Did you not know that I would be about my father's business?

When Jesus comes back, I pray he finds me about my father's business.

That doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter if it's just with my kids, it doesn't matter if it's with my wife, it doesn't matter if it's preaching a sermon, it doesn't matter if it's on the mission field, but I want to be about the father's business.

I don't want to be wasting my time, wasting my resources, wasting this bread that God's given me in my life for nothing.

No, God gives us a new life, He gives us a purpose.

In 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18 to 21, as the candidates come forward for baptism this morning.

1 Peter 3:18–21

Peter would allude to Noah's Ark as being a representation of baptism.

Verse 18 for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death, being being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also he went to preach the spirits in prison, who were formerly disobedient, when once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through the water.

Now, here, just catch this.

This is gonna be a deep scripture and it could get complicated fast.

But what Peter is saying, he's saying is Jesus, who was righteous, died for us who were the unrighteous.

He didn't save us just so that we could have a theory of God.

You can read all the books in the world and still miss a relationship with Jesus.

He brought us in so we could have a relationship with him.

When it speaks about going back in the days of no, I believe Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.

It speaks of Jesus preaching and coming to that place of reminding of the judgment that was to come, and then it says baptism.

It's an anti-type, not the removal of filth of the flesh, but the answers of a good conscience towards God to the resurrection of Jesus.

It's not just an outside removal of the dirt, it's an inward transformation.

Romans 6:4, therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death.

Romans 6:4

That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.

Could you stand your feet across this place, church, this morning?

If you just love Jesus and are grateful for the work of salvation in your life, can you just give him praise in this place and just thank him for his mercy and his grace towards you?

I'm gonna, as the candidates come forward right here now, I just want every eye closed, every head bowed across this place.

If you're here and you've never given your life to Jesus, you think that you're saved by your works, by your merit, by your effort, but you've never truly repented of your sins and given your life to Christ, then I believe today is the day of salvation.

I want to give you that opportunity.

The door is still open.

He set before you an open door that no man can shut.

There's an invitation to come in and receive the work that Christ has done for you.

With every eye closed and every head bowed, if this is you, and you say, Today I don't want to run anymore.

I don't want to try and depend on my parents' faith or my neighbor's faith or somebody else's faith, but today I truly want to surrender my life to Jesus and ask him to be my Lord and Savior.

When I count to three, would you just lift up your hand nice and high?

I want to pray with you today.

I want to pray that prayer of salvation with you today across this place.

So if that's you and you don't want to wait another minute, another hour, don't want to live by chance any longer, when I count to three, just lift up your hand.

One, two, three.

If that's you, just lift up your hand nice and high, please.

One, two, three, four.

Keep them up, please.

Keep them up.

Keep those hands up.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus.

I thank God with all my heart.

I thank God.

Five people lifted up their hands to just ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior this morning.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! This is the best decision that you're ever gonna make, the most pivotal decision of your life.

Jesus makes all things new.

We're gonna pray, we're all gonna pray along with you this prayer, but you just mean it from your heart, and you prayed us to God today.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner and I can't save myself.

I repent.

Please forgive me.

Come into my life, make me a new creation.

I give you my past, my present, my future, and I worship you as my Lord and my Savior.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Let's give God a big shout of praise to this house today.

Thanks for listening to the Springs Church podcast.

We pray that you were encouraged, uplifted, and challenged by the message today.

If you need prayer or want to learn more about the church, we would love to connect with you.

Visit the New Here page on TSCjacks.com.

We pray you have a great week walking in all that God has for you.