Scripture reading for today is from the book of Genesis, chapter 6, verse 13 to 17. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood, make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it, the length of the ark 300 cubits, Its breadth, 50 cubits, and its height, 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above. And set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. Please pray with me. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this precious day that we can be here together as a church family. I thank you that we are here today gathered to receive your word and the teaching that Boyd brings through you, Father. And I pray that we would accept it and that we'd apply those truths that we hear today to our lives and that you would strengthen him with boldness and courage to proclaim your word to us all. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Of all the songs we sing at Christmas, this is my favorite line, my favorite stanza, and we sing it this morning. Part of our gathering today is to do what it says, Jesus, to thee be all glory given. That's why we're here, to glorify the Father. Just your attendance and your fellowship with one another is glorifying to God. because he desires for us to be together, to be unified as brothers and sisters in Christ. And Jesus, as we celebrate this time of year, word became flesh. And so we adore him for that. My favorite part right there of singing at Christmas. Now to Noah. I know it seems almost the verses that Rudy just read almost seem like a sort of a downer as we Here we are at Christmas season and we're talking about the whole world being wiped out. But we're going to look at today what Noah feared more than the flood. Now, when I ask you, what are some of the attributes or aspects of God and his characteristics that come to mind? And you may say, well, you know, his love or his mercy and grace, compassion, his kindness, his benevolence, his faithfulness. I mean, you can just go on and on and on and on about all the things that we like to talk about when we talk about God. and His love for us. And I'm pretty sure we're all thankful for those things like this list that we see right here. But here's where we have to be really careful. Because it's very easy for us in our minds to create a God that we like. It's real easy to do that. Many people, especially in the American church, will do that. They will create in their minds a God that they like. a God that they are comfortable with. And there's a word for that, and the Bible calls it idolatry. We read the commandments and we read about idolatry, we think, oh, well that's worshipping a little statue. Well, that's one way. Idolatry is also creating a God in your mind that you like that's not the God of the Bible. Because you often hear it phrased in a way, well, my God's not like that. Well, that's because that's your God that you have created. So we need to look at what the God of the Bible, who He is. And so what we have to do is take the entire word of God, and not just parts that we like, or parts that we like about God, because that's idolatry. Because here's how we find ourselves if we're not careful. This is the kind of God that we will create, or the God that we will say that we're worshiping, and that is a God who is all-accepting, that rejects no one, a God who is all grace and no judgment, all mercy, no justice, all heaven, no hell, all love, no wrath. Well, that's the God I like, but that is not the God of the Bible. But so many people, especially in the social culture that we're in today, will say, well, I like the God that's written there in black, that he's accepting but doesn't reject. No, he loves everybody, and everybody's accepted. Well, that's not what we read about in scriptures. We don't read about a God who's just all mercy but no justice, or whose only heaven is provided but there's no hell, or who's all loving and no wrath. That's not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible, has some things that we are uncomfortable with. And I'm glad because if it's a God that I create, then that means I'm the God, really. But we have to understand with the God of the Bible who He is. And today we're going to look at one of the least popular aspects of God and His attributes and characteristics, and that is His wrath. The God of the Bible, we see His love over and over, but when you read the Scriptures, you also see His wrath. And we're going to see that in our text today as we learn about the wrath of God, His anger at sin. And we're going to look at some truths about judgment, things that we're uncomfortable with. But first, we have to understand, when we're going through Genesis, the goal is to learn biblical truth and see the greatness and closeness of God. So if we want to know what God's really like, we have to take God at His word. And so we're going to do that. I don't want us to miss the big picture here. God is close. He is great. And part of His greatness is that He has wrath for those who are evil and wicked. But we are gonna learn this today as we go through Genesis 6. But I want us to pick back up with our memorization, looking at Psalms 8 again today. And so, say it with me. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes to steal the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen and also the beast of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. Oh, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Now, we're gonna go back today. We've been in the last two weeks in Genesis 6, and we're gonna go back to Genesis 6, but let me ask you, if you're like six and under, help me out here. If you're six and under, which of these is odd? Which one? You can answer. Seven and under? What's the odd one? Which is the one that's weird in this picture? The green one. The green one stands out. The green one. That's the odd one here. But what about here? Which one is the one that stands out, that looks a little different? The yellow one. You know, the same is true with righteousness. When the entire world is filled with sin and wickedness, the righteous stand out. We're a light in a dark place. That's the way it was with Noah. Millions and millions of people on the earth, and Noah was the only one who God said, this man is righteous. He stood out. Even the world saw his righteousness. Even in their sin, Noah was the odd man out in the world. He was the only living soul that God said, this man is righteous. Not just out of a family or a neighborhood or out of a city or a country, out of the whole world. And because the wickedness of man was so great, God's going to pour out His wrath upon the earth and everything is going to be destroyed except for knowing his family and what he tells him to put on the ark. So we're going to look at our text today, and we're going to cover verses 13 through 17. And it's funny, so many times I think I only get further through the passage than I actually do. And I actually planned on finishing the chapter today, but I realized y'all didn't want to be here until 2, so... I cut it off at verse 17. And so we're going to read verses 13 through 17. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh. For the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them of the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it. The length of the ark, 300 cubits. Its breadth, 50 cubits. Its height, 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, finish it to a cubit above, set the door of the ark on its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. Now, in the verses, we're going to cover actually two of four truths, and we'll get to the other truths later. I want to cover the first two here today. We'll pick up the other two later. But we're going to look at two truths today here from chapter 6, and the first one is God's salvation, which was in the form of the ark. You know, in verses 14 to 16, God gives details to Noah. He says, this is how you're going to build the ark. These are the measurements. This is how tall it's going to be. This is the wood you're going to use. He gives all these details to Noah. This is how you're going to build the ark. This is the blueprint for it. So it's really more like a barge because it's I mean it doesn't have a motor, it doesn't have sails on it. This is just going to be a floating vessel filled with Noah and his family, some resources for food and things to live off of, plus all the animals God told Noah to put on there. And so God gives him all this detail about this is how the ark is going to be built, these are the dimensions. start building. And so the ark is how God is going to save Noah and his family. That's the means that he's going to use to bring salvation to Noah's family as he destroys the rest of the world. And so there's two groups living in the day of Noah. And there are those who are going to be inside the ark and those who are going to be outside of the ark. And what happened to those two groups is extreme. One was saved and the other was destroyed. And by what means did God save Noah's family? The ark. They found salvation in the ark. And the only way that anybody on the earth at that time could be saved from the flood was to be on the ark. There was no plan B. There was no second chance. There was no other way to be saved from the flood outside of just being on the ark. Your efforts would not be good enough. You could not cling to driftwood and be saved. You would not survive. I don't care how good of a swimmer you were, you would not survive. I don't care how much money you would give to Noah to try to bribe him to save you, you had to be on the ark. It's the only way you could be saved. There was no other option other than to follow the command of God and get on the ark. The same for us today. The only ones who are in Christ Jesus will be saved. The cross is like the ark in a sense. We only find salvation in Christ. There is not another plan. There is no plan B. Just like it was the ark or die, for us today it's either be in Christ Jesus or be dead spiritually forever. And so we only find salvation in Christ. Just like a great swimmer could not survive the flood, attending church can't save you from God's wrath. Giving money away can't save you from God's wrath. Being nice or being just a moral person does not save you. Just like the only way to be saved back in Noah's day was to be on the ark, the only way to be saved today from eternal damnation is to be in Christ Jesus. That is it. And the scriptures tell us that today is the day of salvation. This is the day of salvation. It's not something you go, hey, maybe I should get saved in the future, maybe I should start following the Lord in the future, maybe I should surrender my life. No, today is the day to do that. That is not something you put off. And so when we read about God's dealings with Noah, And the fact that God created a means for Noah and his family to be saved by having him build this ark. So as we see that, today, our means of salvation is found only in Jesus. Now, here's the thing. What was Noah being saved from? Because if you needed to be saved, there has to be something you're being saved from. I mean, if I said, man, I'm so thankful to so-and-so, he saved me. Your first question would be like, from what? So just the fact that you have to be saved, it's understood there's something that you have to be saved from. So what was it that Noah needed to be saved from? Well, obviously, there was a flood coming. And it's true, God was going to destroy the world. But what we have to understand, especially you children who are younger in here, I want you to see this. Listen carefully because it's real easy to see that this flood is coming and that Noah needed to be saved from the flood. But there's even a bigger picture here that I don't want you to miss. And although God was going to use this flood to bring destruction, what Noah ultimately needed to be saved from was God's wrath. That's the big picture here. I don't want us to settle for the fact that Noah just had to be saved from the flood. I want us to understand that Noah needed to be saved from God's wrath, which was coming in the form of a flood. You see, Noah wasn't, his fear wasn't in the flood. Noah feared God. which is far bigger than any flood. He had a reverence for God. He had an understanding of God's holiness and His justice. And he knew that God's wrath was going to be poured out on the earth in the form of a flood. It's not incorrect to say that Noah was saved from the flood, but the better answer is that Noah was saved from God's wrath that came in the form of a flood. Do you see the difference here? Noah needed to be saved from God's wrath, which came in the form of the flood. Because even in Matthew 10, Jesus said, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. And so He's saying, don't fear those who can destroy your life physically, who can kill your body. He says, you need to fear the one who can destroy your soul. People cannot destroy your soul. They can't touch your soul. A flood cannot destroy your soul. Only God can, and that's who Noah feared. He feared God, while the rest of the world did not. Therefore, Noah and his obedience was saved from the wrath of God, which came in the form of a flood. Now, God's wrath, as I said earlier, is not something we like to talk about. Certainly outside of church, it's not a popular topic, and we, including those who are saved, we all like the love and kindness of God, but many churches today won't even speak of God's wrath. We like to believe that God is only love, and that there's no wrath, or that He's never angry. But here's the thing. Because God is loving and because God is good, He judges in the right way. And a good judge will bring down judgment for those who are evil and wicked. God is a good judge. And because of sin, He must hand out judgment in the form of his wrath. And so, you know, if you, I mean, it's frustrating as a citizen sometimes that we read of somebody doing this violent crime and a judge lets them go. Well, do you, I mean, here's the thing, is when we read that, we're not actually mad at the guy who did the crime. We're mad at the judge for letting that person go. And so we say, that's not a good judge. Well, the same with God. If God just lets sin go and... lets evil continue, that's not a good judge. But God is a good judge, so he cannot leave sin alone. He has to bring judgment, because he is a good judge, he's gonna bring his wrath upon the wicked. And he did that in Noah's day through the flood. Now here's the thing, God promised he would never destroy the world again with the flood. And it's true, he will not. We'll have local flooding, but the whole world will never be destroyed again by flood. But at the end of time, God's wrath will come again. But it's not going to be in the form of a flood. Because as we know in Genesis, God promised not to destroy it. He's going to keep his word. But it will be destroyed again, but this time not by water, but by fire. Here's what the Apostle Peter wrote about God's coming wrath in the future. Remember, God's wrath is the big part. How he pours out his wrath can look different. In Noah's day, it was through the flood. In the future, it's going to be by fire. He says, So the next time God destroys this world, it's not going to be with a flood. It's going to be with fire. And the Apostle Peter continued to speak about the coming wrath of God. He says, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in the lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn? It's so important to understand there is another day coming of God's wrath. It's going to destroy the entire earth, but this time by fire. And we read in the days of Noah and we think, wow, those people were so foolish. Noah's building this huge boat. They won't turn away from the Lord. And we read about them and go, what were they thinking? I mean, you would think the closer he got to finishing it, you would think, wow, maybe this is really going to happen. Maybe God is going to pour out His wrath. And yet they were so foolish. We know, we read in the scriptures, God's wrath is coming again to destroy the world, but this time not by a flood, but by fire. And we read in the scriptures about God's wrath at different times. We know the flood was a worldwide event. But we also see pockets of God's wrath coming out. And so in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we see God's wrath destroy that area. Not the whole world, obviously, but just that area because their sin was so great. Here's what we read about God's wrath in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. So in that area over in the Middle East, God completely destroyed that area. His wrath was poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah. And in that story, everyone, of course it wasn't worldwide, It was just in that area, but it was still God's wrath. And if you remember, the children of Israel, when they were enslaved in Egypt, the plagues, God used those as his agents, in a sense, of wrath. Just like God used a flood as a means for the destruction of the world in Noah's day, in Moses' day, God used the 10 plagues against Egypt and his wrath. Now, you can certainly find that story in Exodus, but when you look in Psalm 78, It also speaks of what happened in that time, and here's God's wrath coming upon Egypt, and this is from Psalm 78. He turned their rivers to blood, so that he could not drink of their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. He gave their crops to the destroying locusts, and the fruit of their labor to the locusts. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts. He let loose on them his burning anger, his wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels." He made a path for his anger, or his wrath. He did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength, and the tents of Ham." So here we read about, again, sort of a localized wrath of God being poured out on the Egyptians. And just like those in Sodom and Gomorrah, and those living in the days of Noah, we still see God's mercy first extended to them. before he pours out his wrath, before they are destroyed. They had over a century to repent in the days of Noah. We know that Moses went and made an appeal, and the Egyptians still said, no, we're going to do it our way. So God's wrath came upon them. So we always see God given a means of repentance, an opportunity, and yet, Eventually his wrath will come and in fact if you read the book of Jonah his wrath was about to be poured out And they repented and he withdrew his wrath Now here's the thing we read about the wrath of God and it's again. It's not a popular subject But there's a critical question That comes up when we go through a passage and we read about God's wrath and people being destroyed and and all these things It's not something we hear about a lot Unfortunately, not even in the pulpits of America today. But if you don't understand God's word and you don't understand what it says, it can lead you to a wrong understanding about God's wrath. And so the question is, and this is one we all need to sort of just apply personally, is will I receive God's wrath? If I was living in Sodom and Gomorrah, would I receive God's wrath? If I was living in Noah's day, would I have received God's wrath? I read about second Peter in the coming wrath, when the earth will be destroyed by fire. It's easy to read those passages and think, will I be one of those who is destroyed by God's wrath? Think about that for a moment. Would I be on the outside of the ark? Would I be one who would be in Sodom and Gomorrah and fire and sulfur and all those things raining down on me? Because it's pretty clear when God's wrath comes, nothing survives. Nothing. And that's obvious when we read about the flood. Nothing survived. We read about such destruction. It makes us consider the question, will I someday have to face the wrath of God? It's a reasonable question. And I would say you're foolish to not take that into consideration. Because I want us to leave today having a clear understanding of whether or not we will have to face God's wrath. So I want to walk through the remainder of our time through some truths about God's wrath before we really have to answer that critical question. of whether or not you or me will be on the receiving end of God's wrath, the kind that we read about in 2 Peter. We know He's not going to flood the world again. There is no more Sodom and Gomorrah. But we do know there's a coming day when the entire world will be destroyed from His wrath. And so I want us to understand that's a serious question. We all need to consider it. But let's learn something from the Scripture about God's wrath. First of all, God's wrath, or His anger, is when He brings punishment over wickedness, injustice, and sin. So God's wrath is His anger towards sin. And remember, if God is a good judge, and we know that He is, that means He must punish sin and wickedness. What good judge would just ignore evil and let it happen with no punishment? That is not a good judge. If a man is found guilty of murder, a good judge will punish the murderer. If a man is guilty of sin, a good God will punish that sinner. So do you see the connection here? Because it's important for us to understand this aspect of God and who He is, because yes, we love the fact that God is love and that He's merciful. But here's what you have to understand. God is not just love. He's not just mercy. He is just. He is merciful. He is loving. He is holy. But he still has wrath. He is a good judge. And a holy, right, just, loving God must punish sin and wickedness. But what scares us about this truth, if we go, yeah, God has to destroy sinners, then we go, oh wait, I'm a sinner. So here's the dilemma. We know that if God is a good judge and he must destroy sin and wickedness, and those people who are sinful and wicked, we turn around and go, wait a minute, we're sinners. So that raises the question a little bit more here when we're considering it. Am I going to be one of those who is destroyed? We're going to get to that problem in just a moment, but for now we have to agree that God has to act justly. He must punish sin and wickedness and evil. He did it with the flood. He did it with Sodom and Gomorrah. He will do it again in the future, as with fire, as we read about in 2 Peter. But here's the second truth that we realize, and this is good news, and that is that God is slow to wrath. He is slow to anger. God is not hot-headed, where you have to be walking on eggshells around him because you're scared he's just going to blow up any moment. I mean, maybe you know people like that, that before you encounter them or whatever, you're like, hey, wait a minute, I know this guy could just blow up at any moment. He's got hot temper. He just likes to go crazy at times. That's not the God we're talking about that we have. And we know there's times you'll see a two-year-old or whatever lay on the floor and pitch a fit because they don't get their way and they just, you know, if they could, they'd destroy you. That's not the kind of God we have. So we read in the Scriptures here and we know that we have this critical question about God's anger, but here's the good news is God is slow to that anger. God is not hot-headed, but He does have wrath that He will pour out upon those in sin and wickedness. But I want us to see how patient God is. when it comes to withholding his wrath. The scripture says, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power. And the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. We have two, what we might want to think are extremes. I mean, the guilty will suffer and they will be destroyed. On the other hand, God is slow to getting to that destroying part. His wrath is coming, but it's slow. He's merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in His steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made. So we have, here we have the extreme love and mercy of God, and He is faithful to that, but He is also faithful to being a good judge who's going to destroy wickedness and sinfulness. But here's where we have to, we can't just presume upon the goodness of God, like, you know, He's never gonna get around to doing this. But there are people who have that kind of mindset with God, that He is never actually going to judge the world, that we have forever. The Bible says, the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. Here's what we have to understand. I want us to see this in this verse. God doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to repent. He is patient towards us. But, don't mistake that for the fact that He's not coming. The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. So here in 2 Peter, the reason God is patient, the reason God is slow to anger, slow to wrath, is because of what we read in verse 10. I mean, because of what we read in verse 9. He doesn't want anyone to perish. So again, His mercy is always extended even prior to His wrath. So don't think for a moment that God is quick in His anger. He is slow. But as we know with humanity, we always think we have tomorrow. In fact, let's be honest. Nobody here thinks they're dying tomorrow. We think it's going to be years and years and years down the road. That's kind of how we view the wrath of God. We may agree, yeah, it's coming, but I mean, I've got a whole lifetime before that ever happens. And we do that with God and His wrath and His anger towards sin and wickedness. We always think it's way off in the distance. And He is slow. He's given us plenty of time to repent. But just like the days of Noah, where they had over a century to repent, they presumed upon the patience of God and pretty much thought they had forever, if they believed in God at all. So we have this double-edged sword of God's wrath. On one hand, thankfully, in His wrath, He slowed to that wrath. But on the other hand, He is faithful and His wrath will be executed. It will happen. But He has given us, in the meantime, time to repent. So let's get back to the question. Will I receive God's wrath? And think about it for a moment because this is a serious question. Because we know if God's wrath is poured out, nothing survives. But just like in the days of Noah, there were two groups of people. There was Noah and his family, and then there were those who were outside of the ark who were destroyed. You got those who were saved, and then we got those who were destroyed. And at the final judgment, when God destroys the world by fire this time, there will also be two groups of people, those who are in Christ Jesus and those who are not. And here's where we find the great promise, because we know we cannot escape God's watchful eye. We know that he knows everything. He knows what you're gonna think today. He knows what you're gonna be thinking 20 years from now. He knows what you're gonna do. He knows everything. You cannot escape his watchful eye. Hebrews tells us, It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So wait a minute. Then what hope do we have? What hope do we have when it comes to the wrath of God? God knows everything. He knows that we're sinners. We know that God destroys wickedness and sin, and we fit in that category as sinners. So where's our hope? Well, we've already seen it several times in the Scriptures. We must be in Christ Jesus or we will come under the wrath of God. It's the two groups again, those on the ark and those in the water. At the coming judgment by fire, there will be those who are in Christ Jesus and those who are not in Christ Jesus. So it's important to understand this. We have a promise. God's wrath is never ever poured out upon his children. Now this is incredible news because God has promised. His wrath, His anger will never be poured out on His children, meaning those who are saved in Christ Jesus. Now, because of His love, we will be disciplined at times, just like a good father will discipline his children. But it's not the same as His wrath. In fact, the Bible tells us, and this is written to believers, this part we're reading here, God tells us, for God has not destined us for wrath. This is not our destiny. The wrath of God is not where we're going, if you are saved and if you are in Christ Jesus. He says, for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we be awake or asleep, we might live with him. So Paul's talking to believers here, believers who are in Christ Jesus, who have trusted Christ to save them from their sins. They have repented of their sins. They're following Jesus. Those who are in Christ Jesus have a great promise here. God has not destined us for wrath. That is not where we are going. That is not our destiny. So if you are a believer in Christ Jesus, you will not experience the wrath of God. You will be like Noah. You will be saved. You'll be like Lot with Sodom and Gomorrah. You'll be saved. You'll be like the children of Israel. You will be saved. He doesn't pour out His wrath upon His children. We never receive His wrath, because we have received instead His salvation, just like Noah. In that same letter in 1 Thessalonians, we find the same truth again. Paul speaks about the spiritual state of the Thessalonians, and he says, how you turn from God from idols to serve the living true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. At salvation, one of the things we always say, well, God will save you from your sin. Yes. Because your sin leads you to his wrath. So 1 Thessalonians 9, when you are saved in Christ Jesus, yes, you're saved from your sin, which means you're saved from the wrath to come. You're saved from what God is going to do that we read about in 2 Peter when he destroys the earth by fire. Christians will be saved from that because God's wrath is never poured out upon his children. Do you see what being in Christ Jesus does here? If you're in Christ Jesus, you are delivered from the wrath to come. It's like your own the ark. God does not destroy true believers. And we see it repeated in Romans. He says, since therefore we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God? I want you to see this. If you're in Christ Jesus, you do not have to fear God's wrath. It does not come upon his children. We are saved from his wrath, and we see that repeated over and over, just like I started earlier. Yeah, Noah was saved from the flood, but ultimately Noah was saved from the wrath. And we will be saved from the fire, but ultimately we're being saved from his wrath. Lot was saved. from the fire and the sulfur that came from heaven. God never pours his wrath out on those who are in him, those who are his children. So the question is, we've gone it up a notch, the question is, am I in Christ Jesus? Because if that's the separating factor here, between those who will survive God's wrath or be delivered from it and those who are not, the question is, am I in Christ Jesus? Because that's the only thing. There is no plan B. Am I a child of God? Well, here's the thing. If you are not a child of God, if you're even unsure, if you don't know, say, I don't know. I've never repented of my sins. I've never trusted Christ. I don't follow Jesus. I mean, I like church and I'm nice and I don't do a lot of bad things. But the question is, are you in Christ Jesus? Has He saved you from your sins? Have you trusted in Him? Because here is the situation for those who have not done that. Look what the Bible says. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. For those who are not in Christ Jesus, there is pending doom, the wrath of God will be upon you. That's not a pleasant thought. I mean, especially here at Christmas time, we're supposed to be all happy thoughts. But I'll tell you what, Those people outside the ark and those people who had the fire rain down on them in Sodom and Gomorrah, they knew the truth when it started to happen. They believed it then. They didn't believe it before. You're in the same position. Do you believe it now? God's wrath will come upon those who are not in Christ Jesus. And that's what John 3 says here. The wrath of God remains. It is pending. But thankfully God's slow in His wrath, and today He is saying today is the day of salvation. He's giving you time to repent. So we're back to these two groups. Those who believe and have life and have been saved, and then those who don't, who are not saved, they will come under the wrath of God. So do you see whose God's wrath is going to come upon? I want us to understand that. I want to do it for two reasons. First of all, I want those who are not in Christ Jesus to see and fear God. And to those who are in Christ Jesus, I do not want you to have a necessary fear, because you will be saved. Noah built in that ark, he knew the flood was coming, but you know what? There was no fear, because his trust was in God. And so, when we see that, those who are not in Christ Jesus, They should fear the coming wrath of God, but those who are in Christ Jesus, who obey Him, who follow His commands, we have nothing to fear when it comes to the wrath of God, because He has saved us. The wrath of God is reserved for unrepentant sinners, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and righteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. And so many times, this is so typical of our day, People are presenting the truth, and they just stuff it. Don't want to hear that. That's not the God I like. I'm putting it away. I don't want to hear that. And that's the culture we live in, just like it was in Paul's day. Later in that same book, Paul addresses, though, maybe sounds like those maybe who are even here today, that you think God's just going to look the other way at your sin. Well, 51% of my life has been good, and 49% has been bad, so therefore, I'm going to heaven. No, that's not how you're saved. We read these horrible but true words in Romans. Or do you presume on the richness and kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impotent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. In your hardness of heart, you're just waiting for that impending doom because of your hardness of heart. Whereas God's kindness, just the fact that you're breathing air today and that you're alive today is a sign of God's kindness and goodness, that should lead you to repentance. But it doesn't. Your heart is hard. See, God's word cannot be any clearer. A day of wrath is coming. And if you are not in Christ Jesus, you will come under that wrath. But those who repent of their sins, who trust in Christ, follow Jesus, the wrath of God will never touch us. Instead, we have peace with God in eternal life and forgiveness, but it only comes when we surrender to Jesus and rest in His work that He did by taking God's wrath that was intended for us upon Himself at the cross. You know, if I would have lived in Noah's day, I would have wanted to be on the ark. If I'd have lived in Sodom and Gomorrah's day, I would have wanted to have an early exit like Lot did. If I was living in the days of the children of Israel in Egypt, I would have wanted to escape the plagues that were coming upon them. But I'm not living back then, I'm living today. As a follower of Jesus, I want to be spared from the wrath of God that is coming. Jesus made a way just like he made a way for Noah. He made a way for lot He made a way for the children of Israel. He's made a way for boy Dillinger and he's made a way for you and That way is Jesus the scripture says so Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father Except through me. Let's pray father. I thank you that we read the truth of God in the scriptures and we see that Lord, you are, thankfully you are slow, slow, slow, slow to anger. But Lord, that does not mean that your wrath is never ever coming. It is coming, and I pray that we are not fools, just like those who probably watched Noah build that ark for decades and still were on the outside of the ark when the flood came. They suppress the truth. May we not be fools like they were. We have heard the gospel today, and Lord, we are gonna be dead so much longer than we were ever alive. I pray that you would help us to consider, even those who, and right now in their heart, they're wrestling with this. Lord, I pray that they would just surrender. I mean, how foolish to think we can get away with anything. You know everything. You know more about us than we know about our own selves. You see our sin and wickedness, and yet you have provided a way. You have given the kindness of God. It should lead us to repentance, but if our hearts are hard, Lord, we're gonna fight you on that. And no one has ever won that fight. Father, you are so good, so faithful, so merciful, so loving, so kind. Why would we not want to follow and surrender to a God who's like that? Lord, we cannot save ourselves, just like those people outside of Noah's Ark could not save themselves. What makes us think that somehow we got a way to get around you? So Lord, I pray that we would not be fools. and that we would walk in that life of surrender to Christ and that we would be found in Christ Jesus. May we not believe the lies of the devil that we're gonna miss out on something. But we are, we're gonna miss out on destruction, we're gonna miss out on torment, we're gonna miss out on judgment and wrath. Lord, I pray that we would surrender our hearts to you Lord, for those who are in Christ Jesus, I pray that we would not walk in a wrong fear, that we would find and trust you at your word that your wrath will not come upon those who are in Christ Jesus. And we thank you for that promise. Lord, I pray for those who today, they've been bothered by these verses that we have read. And that's a good thing. Better to be confronted with the truth than to believe a lie until it's too late to do anything about it. So Father, may we surrender to you. May we let the work of Jesus be where our hope is. Because our morality, our being nice, the good things we've done, none of that can save us. Even being in a Christian home with Christian parents, that doesn't save us. Being in church doesn't save us. Only Jesus. Today I pray that we would understand that Noah had the ark. The thankful Father today, we have the cross. We have the cross of Jesus. And God's wrath was poured out on Christ so that we might be saved. Only a fool would reject that. May we not be fools today. Thank you for the cross of Jesus, or we find our salvation in him. It's in Jesus' name, amen.