Ladies, thank you for that song. Genesis chapter 6 this morning. Genesis chapter 6. I want to take a moment and say I love our church. And I love each of you. Thank you for being here and being involved and being a part of the work of God at the Wilton Baptist Church. And God is doing a good work in our lives. And we thank the Lord for that. Genesis chapter 6. Work ethics matter. That's the title of our message series the next few Sunday mornings. And we're going to look at some people in the Bible who did some work and they got some work accomplished and God was honored with the work that they accomplished. Someone once observed that a wasted life is really nothing more than a collection of wasted days. As God gives us life, each one of us starts the new year with the same number of opportunities, 365. We can choose either to use it and invest it in eternal things or to allow it to drift by in things that are useless and wasteful. The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is not found primarily in talents, but in diligence and in effort. Really, you make a choice. with what you're going to do with whatever time God has given to you. And our question today is how do you work and how do you live? Now the word ethics means a study of moral standards and how they affect conduct. A system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct of a person or group. Everyone has some kind of set of ethics. You could go to a a business that's founded upon basic Bible truth and Bible principles and has ethics. You can go to a godless type place and work and they have some kind of an ethic or a standard by which they work. All of us have some kind of an ethic when it comes to work. Now I know some believers who they like to work and we we tend to be working hard and that's a good thing and I encourage you to be a hard worker but I know some people even Christians who work so hard they miss the will of God for their life. They'll work. They'll serve. They'll be diligent about making money. But they miss God's plan for their life. They miss their family. They're just not there. They miss church. They just don't show up. There are people who say they are Christians. They'll work 10 days a week. You can't work 10 days a week. But they'll work 10 days a week. And that's a life out of balance. That's not understanding what work is or how we are to work. We should work, but folks, we should not miss church. We should not miss our family. We should be like God. And God rests in the seventh day. We need to balance it out to also have that day and that time of rest. As we begin this message, we'll look at the life of Noah here in chapter 6. But before we do, here are five principles for work. And you might want to write these down. They're not all inclusive of the Bible, but five major highlights, things that we need to have in our life. Proverbs 22, 29 speaks about work by saying this, seest thou a man diligent in his business. He shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men. So a man who's diligent, that's what God wants us to be. But we need to understand how God wants us to work. as people here today. Number one, giving. Giving. Can you say that with me? Giving. Write down this passage. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 28. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Every one of us with our jobs and with our work and with our income should look at it as a means to which I can be a blessing to somebody else. And that's part of the balance of understanding how we are to work as Christians today. We need to have this giving attitude. Number two is fervency. Here's a person who's not slothful, but hardworking. He is fervent. Can you say the word fervency with me? Fervency. We need to work with an ambition and have some goals, if you would, with our work and be hard workers. The Bible says in Romans 12, 11, not slothful in business, Fervent in spirit serving the Lord and so with our business We're not going to waste time or sit around or Twitter our thumbs or whatever we could do We're going to get something accomplished and while we're at work and when we're we're working We're going to be fervent about it number three value. Can you say value with me value? We need to have value and add value to our workplace The Bible says Jesus said it this way in Luke 10 at 7 the laborer is worthy of his hire. Do you bring to the table the hard work ethic that is needed to add value to the position that you hold? When the boss says, I'd like for you to be able to accomplish this task, do you fulfill it? Do you add value to it? Are you someone that's dependable? Do you add value to your position in the workplace? Value is so important. Number four, busy. We need to be busy. Say that with me. Busy. It's kind of like that word fervent. Listen to this verse, Proverbs 14, 23. In all labor there is profit. But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. That means poverty or being poor. Some people just talk about work. Now isn't it good, maybe an engineer, he's going to think with his mind. That's work as well. If you have an office type job where you're thinking or making decisions, that's work as well. But sometimes people just, let's just talk about getting a job done. Let's just talk about putting a roof on. Let's just talk about building something. Or if you have to mow the grass, you could talk about mowing the grass all you want. But it's not going to go and mow its grass just because you talk about it. You actually have to get that lawnmower out or get on it and get it going. And around it, you have to actually do the work. And so you could talk about all you want and talk about working, but there is profit to every form of labor. So we need to be busy, not just talking about work. And I hope you're like that at work. When you go into the workplace, the office, the manufacturing plant, wherever you work, that you don't just talk on the job, but you get things accomplished on the job. Number five, providing. Can you say that with me? Providing. Let's try it again. So important. Providing. We need to be providers for our homes. Men in particular, you need to be providing for your family. Listen to 1 Timothy 5.8. If you have a job, this is why you have a job, part of the reason. If any provide not for his own, especially for his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Someone who outright hates God is just as evil as a man who says, I don't care if I work or not, I'm not going to provide for my family. And that's evil and that's wrong. God's given you a job. He's given you an opportunity or the ability where you can hold a job or keep a job or create a job. And you do that. We need to have some work ethics. And these are five principles that all of us should have giving, fervency, value, being busy and providing. Now, as we think about these principles, we look at Noah. And NOAA built the first inland shipyard. Now sometimes when I introduce myself to other people from other parts of the country, I'll mention we have a Navy. We have a Navy base right close to where we're at. And that sounds kind of odd that there's a Navy base right here because we're inland. But we do. And we have a few Navy personnel here today. We thank them all for that. And the nuclear engineering and the things that go on that's taking place inland. When we lived in West Virginia for a while, there was a Navy base up in the mountains. It was just one building. And they did something for the Navy right there. A man in our church, he had petitioned the government to put it there. And so they were there. They left eventually because, I mean, they were really far from anything to do with water, I guess. So the Navy was there. And here's Noah. He built the first inland shipyard. And as he's starting to craft this boat and talk about this boat and preach righteousness, which is what he did, people were probably scratching their heads. Now boating wasn't a new thing. Going out by the water, that wasn't the new thing. But building a huge ship in the middle of an area like that was a new thing. I mean, he was miles and miles and miles away from any place that could displace that much water. No waterway, no pond or lake or sea was anywhere close that could hold this. And so people had to be asking about it. Now, I wonder if his boys said, Dad, will it float? Dad, will it work? I mean, they were close enough to the right tree that God had talked about. They'd been crafting this and working on this for 100 years. And it's getting bigger and bigger and larger and larger. And I wonder if they asked the question, will it float? And if that question was asked, I believe here's what Noah would say. The sons, or to the building committee of the town he lived in. You know, there's always people like that. You're trying to get something done. You want to talk about this? Will it float? Here's what he would say. We build it the way that God said. It'll work. Folks, when we do things the way God says, it will work. Isn't that a marvelous truth this morning? Now let's look at our passage. We'll read here in chapter 6, beginning in verse 5. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Bible tells us that the day in which we live is much like the day of Noah's day. And the people, if you see sin and evil around you, is just like that in Noah's day. Verse 6, it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man of whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repented me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Thank God for his grace. In this sin-stricken world, in this sinful environment, wicked, evil environment in which all of we live, you can be like Noah and find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse 9, these are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and perfect. That means mature or complete in his generations. And Noah walked with God. That's the same testimony we as believers need today. And Noah began three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Brooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitcheth within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make of it. The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits. A window shalt thou make in the ark, and a cubit thou shalt finish it above. And the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof. With lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh. wherein is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant, and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort, shalt thou bring into the ark to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female, of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing, of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. Thou shalt take unto thee all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be food for thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he." Here is a massive undertaking in London. building this thing, not next to anything that you could put it in to float it in. And he starts to build this and it has these large rooms and three stories, a large window all the way around the top. And it's just an incredible structure that God tells him to build. And Noah and his sons, they faithfully built it. And I wonder if they did ask, will it float? Will it work? But Noah did according to all that the Lord his God commanded him. And he believed God. and His work reflected His faith in His God. And believers today, our work and how we work and what we do should reflect our faith in our God. Now some people would say, well we don't need this boat. It's never been done before. But He kept building and He kept persevering. Now you might wonder about the size of the ark. The cubic was about 18 inches in the Bible. That's about the size of it and we have the dimensions and so we can understand about how big this boat would be. It would have a displacement in water if you know about boats of about 20,000 tons and have a gross tonnage of about 14,000 tons. It has a carrying capacity of 522 railroad stock cars. That's a lot of stock cars. That's longer than any train you've probably ever seen drive by or rail by that you've seen. Each of these railcars, and let's just break it down into the railcar size for just a moment, a railcar can hold 240 sheep. Now, 522 railcars, that's a huge, but if you only need that much space for that, 188 cars would be required to hold 45,000 sheep-sized animals. Well, what about the dinosaurs? It doesn't say that they took the biggest dinosaurs. They could have took a young Tyrannosaurus rex or a young Brachiosaurus or all those types of dinosaurs. They would have been on board as well, just a small one. Only 188 cars would be needed. Folks, that would leave 104 cars for food and for Noah's family and for the animals to walk around if they did walk around. It's estimated today that there are 17,600 species of animals. The Bible says take one of every kind. It's not one of every color dog. It's just two dogs. So we can understand how God got all the animals on that boat and on this ship that we call Noah's Ark. And so 45,000 animals, a likely approximation of what Noah could have brought into the Ark. That includes the seven of the clean ones that could be used for sacrifice. Now, when we talk about Noah, sometimes people ask about the ark. I think that's a good explanation that we just gave to you about the size of it. What about his lifespan? He lived to be 950 years old. How did these men of old live to be so long? Well, they're not so far removed from the perfect bodies in the Garden of Eden. Folks, when God created Adam and Eve, He created them and placed them in a perfect environment with no sin, with no disease, with no death, with no decay. with no dying. There were no mutations. There were no sicknesses to battle. There was no need for medicine because they never had a cough or a cold or a flu or a cancer or anything like that. Then when sin entered into the world, the Bible says death passed upon all men so that all have sin. And at that moment, the Bible talks about thorns and thistles and work and how the work is going to be sweat and how child labor is going to be great pain and intensity and all those things. And with original sin of Adam and with Eve there in the garden, here comes all of the diseases. And now there's going to be mutations in the body and the chromosomes and the DNA and the all the things that would change, that would produce the sicknesses that we battle today. And believe it or not, even though scientists and people in the media and people in education want to tell you that things are getting better, folks, our bodies are not improving. And we get more sicknesses, and there are more disease, and there are more strains of virus and things today than there ever have been, because we're so far removed from that perfect environment of the Garden of Eden. Well, they're only a few generations away from that. And on top of that, the atmosphere is a little bit different. There's so much water in the air. Believe there's a water canopy. There's not as much UV radiation. UV, that kills things. I mean, it really does. You get too much sunlight, it kills things. And so after these guys lived so long, well, the environment was just so different than ours today. Their bodies were so close to that day when everything was perfect. And so we could talk about those things when talking about their lifespan of the men back then. If you notice, immediately after the flood, lifespan is cut by more than half. And people start to die off a lot sooner than they did before. So you may have a question about that. Let's go back to the boat for just a moment. Why do we need this boat? Why do we need this ship? We have cottages. We have our way of life. We have our form of entertainment, and Noah says he's preaching righteousness, he's talking about a God who's coming to judge, or is there going to be judgment because of God, because of our sin, and we have our lives, we have our job, we don't need a boat like this. Noah, what are you thinking? Noah kept on building. Noah kept on persevering. I read in Job this morning that the righteous man, he's persecuted. A righteous man, he is mocked and scorned. Job experienced that. Noah experienced that as he was working and serving for his God. The Bible tells us in Luke 17, 26 and 27, but as it was in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the son of man. They did eat and they drank. They married wives were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. We have our games to play. We have our lives to live. We love the evil and the wickedness in the Bible used in Genesis. The violence that we can do with our hands and with our lives and even the continual thoughts in their heart was evil. It had such evil in that day just like today. And as Noah was building, he was scorned and mocked. But he kept on building. Have you ever had anyone scorn and mock you? Someone persecute you? I'm really glad that Noah didn't give up. I'm glad he kept going. I wonder if people threw rocks at Noah. I wonder if they spit at Noah, his sons. He was 500 years old when he had his sons, Shem, Ham, and Jacob. And around that time, if you read it's in Genesis 5, Genesis 6, God gives the command to go build the boat. There's so much evil. It's so much wrong here. You go build the ark. He gives them the dimensions. Folks, for 100 years, by the age 600, that's when he gets on the boat, for 100 years, all that Noah's boys knew was God and building that boat. That's all these boys knew was God and building the boat. But I wonder if people would come. Other kids, their age, when they were younger. Other people, their age, when they were middle-aged. When they were finding a wife, I wonder if other people came up to them and said, what are you doing? And I wonder if they endured some persecution. After all, the Bible emphasized violence. And maybe they were violent toward Him. Maybe there's someone violent toward you and you love God. You keep loving God. You keep on serving God. I remember in 6th or 7th grade, we were playing dodgeball. And this wasn't dodgeball with one of those little foamy balls that doesn't hurt. This was real dodgeball. Okay, a heavy rubber ball, and when you hit it, somebody just right, I mean, you could see it on them, that type of dodgeball. And I remember, there's this boy, and I could throw pretty hard. I loved playing. I was very competitive back then, I guess. And we would have fun playing dodgeball. And there's this boy. I was in, I think it was sixth grade. Now, he was supposed to be in the eighth grade. But he was still in the sixth grade. So he was a lot bigger and a lot stronger. And he was one of those guys that pushed you around. I'm a big guy, you know. But he was on the other side of the line. And he got close. And I hit him really good. Supposed to be out, right? I don't remember exactly when it was, but he didn't like that. He didn't like me. He didn't like me. I was a believer anyway. I didn't talk like him. I didn't do the things that he did, those types of things. And I remember, I think we were lined up in a line. He came over to me. His name was Frank. And he looked down at me because I was just a little sixth grader. And I looked up at him, and he, whoosh. Preacher, what'd you do? I just wiped it off. I didn't fight him. He's a lot bigger than me. I didn't want anything to do with that. You know, I wonder if things like that happen to Noah. I had a boy in high school. He said he was a believer, but we didn't get along. Some of that was my fault, perhaps. We were fighting for the same position on the ball team to play the same position on baseball. And I remember one day, because we didn't like each other. He didn't like my faith, I believe. I don't know exactly why. But he was in his car and was getting ready to drive. And I was standing there on some pavement. He was in some gravel. And he acted like he was going to run over me. And I said, come on, run over me. And I grabbed the front of the car and started to push. He started to hit the gas pedal. And it was loose gravel. So he was spinning and throwing gravel for a little bit. But I was holding his car. I was like, oh, yeah, I'm a strong baseball player. But then the car eventually wins. And I was hanging onto the bumper underneath the truck after that. You know, that's just foolishness. That may be some kind of persecution. Maybe you've endured something like that. Maybe you've gone through something like that. I wonder how it was violent. You know, I was all right and made it OK. These are the things that I've endured, things that I've gone through. I wonder what it was like for Noah. When I was in Bible college, there was a place, and this guy, he must have not liked me at all, because he broke some graffiti. And it was where, when people were walking down the steps, they could see, it was really big on this parking lot area, it said, Steve Harness is a And somebody must have come to stop him, or he must have saw somebody come because he stopped. I'm glad because I don't know why he intended to write there. But that was some kind of persecution. And I recall in his case, you know, I just would say, hey, we've got to do what's right here. And he didn't like just doing what's right. And so he was writing that in graffiti-type ways. You know, what kind of persecution do you go through for standing up for the Lord? I am really glad that Noah didn't say, enough! I've had it! I'm not going to finish building this building! I'm not going to do the work anymore! Aren't you glad he didn't say that? You know, that's a temptation, isn't it? I'm not going to work hard at work. It's tough. I'm not going to work at things that God wants me to work at because it's difficult. But he did not do that. Folks, I'm here to tell you this morning, because of Noah's faithfulness to do the work of God, and because of Noah's faithfulness to finish the work that God called him to do, some people were saved from the judgment. And your work can have just the same impact today. You see, our faith impacts how we work. Our faith impacts how we serve. And our faith can make a difference. How we work impacts other people. And I already told you about Noah having these boys at age 500. All they knew was working for this boat and they knew God. And that's all that they knew. And perhaps the persecution that they had as well because they were persecuted for it. Now let's take three observations here today that you can take away from this passage. Now we have our principles for work. So let's make the application of how your work can impact other people. Let's ask for God's help. As we look at these three truths, we pray that you would teach us your word. Help us with this passage. Help us to be the workers, diligent, putting in a good effort at work, faithfully serving you even here in this place with believers. So much so that the testimony resonates with others and you're glorified. Challenge our hearts, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Now how do you work? Three observations. Number one, judgment is for all. Judgment is for all. If judgment is for all people, and I really believe that, when I'm at the workplace, I want to work so that they know there's a God in heaven who loves me and who died on the cross for me and who I love and who I want to serve. And because of that, I'm going to be faithful I'm going to be on time. I'm not just going to be on time when I get there early. I'm going to go the extra mile. The Bible talks about that. I'm not going to complain. I'm going to get the job done with a good testimony because it is true. Judgment is for all. I don't know if Noah would wake up each morning and kind of sit there and say, oh, I know judgment's coming. I know there's going to be a flood. I've never heard of a flood like this before. I don't know what rain is, but God said water's going to come out of the sky. And, you know, boys, let's just take it easy for a little bit. He didn't do that. Every day they got up, well, six days out of the week, he would work. He'd rest like God told him on the seventh. And they'd go, and they'd toil, and they'd work, and they'd build, and they'd get it done. Then they'd haul timber. They'd craft it. They'd put it together. And I'm sure that pitch was some sticky stuff. Have you ever thought about that? They've got that pitch. They're trying to get it inside the boat and outside the boat, make it waterproof. He didn't complain about it. He just did it. Because judgment was coming. We need to take our work serious. Judgment is coming. Look at chapter 7, verse 19. The waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail and the mountains were covered." Wow! The top of the tallest mountain in Noah's day was totally covered by water. Some people will say, well this is just a regional flood. But the Bible teaches it's a global flood because Everything that had the breath of life, except for what was on that boat, died. And judgment was for all. A global flood that affected every living person. There was no way to escape the flood other than the ark. Those outside the ark, when the water started to break up from the deep and when the rain started to come, well, we've never had rain before. They didn't have any umbrellas. They didn't know what that was all about. It's never rained like this before. We've never seen water like this before. Well, Noah, he's over there. I wonder if some people were going over to the boat and knocking on the door. Hey, Noah, you're right. There's something strange happening as a tempestuous storm is covering the entire world. Judgment is for all. The plot is accomplished, and God's purpose is achieved. They land on the mountains of Ararat. Noah finally gets off the boat, and he offers a sacrifice to God, a sacrifice of thankfulness. We'll get to that in just a moment. After that, God sends a rainbow. You can read it in chapter 9, the rainbow. And it's a promise that no longer, never again, will God judge the entire earth by a fly. Now the Bible tells us that God's going to judge the entire earth, but no longer with applause. Every time you see a rainbow, you think about that promise of God. But you also remember that there's another judgment coming. And not one of water, but one of fire. The Bible says the earth and the elements thereof will all be burned. There is a judgment of fire. The great white throne judgment for those who reject Jesus Christ. There's a tribulation on this earth for people who reject Jesus Christ. For believers, we also are judged. It's called the judgment seat of Christ. Everyone's judged. A judgment is coming. A judgment is coming on this earth. Judgment is for all. Now, there was no way to escape the flood except by being on the ark. And I wonder if some people said, well, let's go get our fishing boat. Let's go up to higher ground. Let's try to get on the tallest mountain. They could just keep climbing and keep climbing and keep climbing. But folks, they finally ran out of real estate because it covered the entire earth. And there was no escaping the judgment of God other than by being on the boat. And it's true today. There's no way of escaping the judgment of God other than by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we talk about Noah and the ark, this is a picture of the salvation of Jesus Christ that Christ offers to us. You can try a lot of different ways. You can try a lot of different ways to escape the judgment of God. I'll be a good person. I'll go to church. I'll get baptized. I'll be kind to my neighbor. I'll join some kind of religious group. I'll do some charity work. I'll do some good things. I think that I'll escape the judgment of God. No, you won't. you will not escape the judgment of God. It's appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment. And it's judgment for all. Number two this morning, the ark was for all. Everyone was invited to get on this ark. In 1 Peter 3, verse 20, the Bible says, which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah. While the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. They were saved from the flood. Only eight people. You know what the Bible says about those others? They were disobedient. They were disobedient to God. God said, get on the boat if you want salvation. They didn't get it. They didn't get on the boat. They rejected it. Aren't you glad for good things that we all enjoy? We enjoy food. Anyone like food? I like food. I like to eat good food. My wife is a good cook. The preacher last week emphasized that a few times. And she does a good job. You like good food. When we have fellowships here, I encourage you to come to the fellowships because we have good food here in our church. And linger long with all of that good food. We like good things. We benefit from breathing air and drinking water. We all can benefit from the sunshine. We can go outside. It's a nice day. If you like this cool weather, I like this cool weather. We all benefit from some good things. And there's something that we can benefit from. We have the church. We have family. We have a church family. These are things that we can be benefited by and be blessed by. And that ark was something that was for everyone's benefit. That ark was there to bless everybody on the earth. Everyone could have got on that earth, but most chose not to. You see, the Lord gave time to repent. The word repent, it's the word matineo. It means to think differently, to afterwards consider or to reconsider. It means a change in direction. I'm going to choose to do something different. And instead of choosing something different, the people said, well, we like our houses. We like our activities. We like the games and things that we do for entertainment. We like our violence. We like our life. And Noah, you're telling us to change all of that and to get on this boat? We don't need your boat! And only eight people chose the way of God. But everyone could have chosen that. Turn over to Acts 17 if you would. Speaking of repentance, Acts chapter 17. I'll begin reading verse 26. Acts 17, 26. And hath made one blood of all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth. That's an important verse, by the way, for creation, for understanding. We're all of one race, one people, one blood. No matter what color of your skin, what nationality you come from, we all come from the same people. Adam and Eve and Noah and his sons. So we're all one blood. And notice what the Bible says, and speaking of God, has determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As certain also of our own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, We ought not to think that the Godhead is likened to gold or silver or stone, graven by art and man's devices. So we don't serve a statue or a picture or something like that. We only serve one true God. In the times of this ignorance, God waits out. But now commandeth all men everywhere, can you say the next two words, to repent. Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance to all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead." Jesus Christ is our salvation, folks. Jesus Christ is our judge. And judgment will come. And judgment will happen in this world. We need to turn from our sin and our unrighteousness and our unbelief in Jesus Christ and turn to Jesus Christ for our salvation. Here are these people. They could have changed the direction from the world. But folks, the world is the enemy of God. The Bible says it's the enmity with God. That's the world in which we live is against our God. We can embrace the world and love people like we should love people, but not love their life, not love the sin and the wrong in that regard. What about a change from the direction of your heart? Some people say, well, I just think I'm basically a good person. You need to change the direction of your heart because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? So the world's telling you, follow us. Stay out here with us. Don't get in the ark. Your heart might even say, don't get in the ark. You don't need to get on the ark. But friends, look right here this morning. Every one of us have a choice. The ark is open to you. Salvation is open to you. It's by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and have his salvation today. Well, only eight people believed. Only eight people got on the ark. By the way, when you give the gospel to somebody, don't get angry at God if they choose to reject Jesus Christ. God, in such a loving way, sent His Son to die on the cross for them, for me, for us. But it's their choice. These people could have got on this boat. But when God shut the door, it was too late. When God shut the door, it was too late for them. When judgment happens, when the rapture happens, believers go. Those who've heard the gospel, like some may be this morning without Jesus Christ, it's too late for you. Here's Noah, he's a ship builder, but he's also a preacher of righteousness. In 2 Peter 2, 5, the Lord spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. And so while he was building, he was a preacher of righteousness, let me ask you a few thought-provoking questions. With you at work, where you work, where you make a living or earn an income in the workplace, does your work compel people to believe God? How you work, does it compel people to believe? that you know there's a God and that there is a judgment coming? Or do you go in and complain or waste time or not get the job done or not glorify God? How do you work today? Do you use the five principles we gave earlier? What about at your house? Do your people, your young people, your children, do your grandchildren know about how you work, how you keep things up, what you do at home? Do they know from your work ethic that there is a God. Do you get the proper amount of rest that you should get? Do you make time so you can be with God's people in God's house? Do your kids know there's a God and there's a judgment coming based on how you work? How about the people in the neighborhood? Do they know? Do they know based upon how you work? How about Sunday school teachers today? You study, you prepare ahead, or you just fly in and throw it up on the wall. not really put much effort into it. Your kids can see right through that if that's how you teach. They know that. Is there really a judgment coming? Is there really a God who can save us? Absolutely there is. That should be reflected in how we work, how we serve. If there's something to build, if there's something to accomplish, if there's a street that needs doors locked on, if the work that God's called us to do, if there really is a judgment coming, is that reflected in how you work? and in how you serve those around you. You think about that today. Judgment is for all. The ark is for all. But salvation, just a few would trust. Just a few would trust. Noah built the ark. Jesus gave us the cross. Aren't you glad for that? It's not our work. Now Noah, it was the Old Testament. He had to do something for this form of salvation, for that picture to work. He had to go out, follow God's plan, the dimensions, get the right wood, all the pitch and everything. Christ did everything for us. Christ did it all on the cross. He finished the work. He said, it is finished! And then He died after setting His flood for our sins. Thank God for His plan of salvation. Jesus is God's plan for our salvation today. Folks, everyone could have got on that boat. But only a few came to get on that boat. Jesus willingly did the work on the cross. Let me ask you today, have you accepted that work? Some people live a life of ritual. If they could see it, hold it, taste it, touch it, if they could do it in a church service, they would think that's good enough for salvation. But it's by grace through faith that we're saved, not of ourselves. It's a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. It's the finished work of Jesus Christ. Have you asked Christ to forgive you and to save your soul? Oh, just a few here got on the ark. God, shut the door! Jesus keeps us safe and secure. If you're a believer today, you are secure in Jesus Christ. Isn't that a wonderful truth? Well, I don't know. I don't know. I want to jump ship. Oh no, if you're born into God's family, thank the Lord for it today. Have that assurance of salvation that is found when God shut the door. We can find that in this passage where God shut the door. There's no fear in that ark. When the storm started to come, Noah said, we did it all right. We did what God said. We built it just like God told us to build it. And God shut the door. He looked at his sons and their wives. They were getting close to 100 years old by now. And he looked at them and said, we're all right. We're OK. And believer, we're fine in Jesus Christ. We are secure for all of eternity. 1 Thessalonians 1.10 says it this way, we wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Everyone could have gotten that vote, but only a few came. Let me ask you today, have you come to Jesus Christ in salvation? Oh, I hope that you have. If not, you can choose Christ for your salvation. Get on the ark of the salvation of Jesus Christ today. And finally, as we consider Noah, Noah gave a sacrifice at Thanksgiving. After the waters assuaged, after the water went down and everything ceased, he sent out the dove, and the birds went out, and the animals, everything went out, and they started to repopulate the earth, if you would, and all that took place. But the first thing that Noah did when he got off the ark, he found some of those perfect animals, the ones that were designated clean for sacrifice. They took seven of those so they could have sacrifices. And he built an altar there on the side of that mountain. And he looked up to God and gave a sacrifice and said, Lord, thank you for your deliverance. Believers, I hope that you're thankful for the deliverance that God has given to you in Jesus Christ. Now, how can I express that thanksgiving to God? Well, the Bible talks in Romans 12, 1 and 2 about us as believers being a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. And so you can present your body as a sacrifice to God, a living sacrifice. Lord, take my life. Would you use it today? When I go to work, I want people to know about the one true God. I want to have a work ethic that reflects the fact that judgment is coming. There's a work that you've called me to do. I'm going to be faithful. I'm going to be diligent. I'm going to rest when I need to rest. I'm going to work when I need to work. I'm going to have the right attitude about all of these things because there is a God and there is a judgment coming and my work can point people to the salvation of Jesus Christ. And folks, that's Noah's life. That is Noah's life for 950 years. He was faithful to his work and to his God.