Amen. We thank our young people. Thank the Lord for them. It's always a blessing to watch them. And I pray that we'll never, never lose track of the importance of our young people singing the praises of God. I've received a couple of cards here tonight, and we thank the Lord for that. Some of our kids, we thank the Lord for those pastor appreciation cards Tonight I'd like to invite you to turn your Bibles to Genesis and Chapter 6. Genesis and Chapter 6. I'm going to begin reading at verse 13. We'll read down through the remainder of the chapter. I pray the Lord's blessing upon His Word this evening. Again, our main text will be taken from verse 22. And I pray the Lord will open up our eyes to this. did according to all that God commanded him, so did he. In verse 9, the Bible says, These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man and a perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat 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, room shalt thou make of the ark, and shalt pitch it within, and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make of it. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, and the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubic shalt thou finish it above. In the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof, with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And behold, 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 unto the ark, thou, thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, too, of every sort, shalt thou bring unto the ark, to keep them allied with thee, and they shall be male and female. of fowls after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the earth after his kind. Two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. And take thou 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. Our most gracious and divine Heavenly Father, Lord, as we bow before Your throne this evening, we do so with thankful heart. We thank You, dear God. We thank You for the Scripture that is even before us. that gives us an insight and an understanding of the evil that was upon the land when you destroyed it with the floods of water. And now, God, as we look upon the land today, Father, I know that judgment looms. I know according to Thy Word that judgment is going to be Swifter and more severe than even the flood. Now, Father, I pray that you will cause individuals in this house to contemplate their own destiny, their own end. Help them tonight, dear God, to understand that you have made a way of escape, and just like the ark, And as Noah preached the glorious gospel according to thy word, for that 120 years he preached, the wrath was coming upon all the earth. I just pray tonight, O God, that when we deliver the warning, that it will be different than it was in the days of Noah, that people will come to understand there's a God in heaven. Lord, I pray that you'll help us to know that we're to be pleasing unto Him. Help us, dear God, tonight to understand that obedience brings about the blessings of God, just as it did with Noah and his family. Lord, I pray it will with this house tonight. Save souls and save lives. And Father, forgive us our sin, in Jesus Christ's name, and amen. Tonight again, our text, the main verse of Scripture, I want you to get a hold of it, is that verse 22, where the Bible states this, Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he. As we look in this Scripture tonight, we have to come to an understanding that belief leads to obedience. I remember the time when I was saved by God's amazing grace. I was young when I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. And it came after a time when the Holy Spirit had brought upon me the convicting power that made me to see that I had a need. I was shown through the Holy Scriptures my sin. and that I could receive forgiveness for that sin only by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. I go back and I think about the Gospel message that I heard Brother George Galloway preach one time. And I remember the fact that I was made to see in order for me to receive forgiveness of sin, I would have to believe that Jesus Christ came and died for me on the cross of Calvary. It was for my sin that He died. And that He was buried and rose again the third day because of my sin. That's when it made all the difference in the world. And you know, when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to that one thought, and I became obedient to the Holy Spirit's power, That's when the Lord saved my soul. That is the testimony of salvation in a nutshell of anyone who's ever been saved by God's amazing grace. God has, through the Holy Spirit, moved upon that individual and caused them to see that they had a need. Tonight I'm praying that God will open your eyes. I'm praying tonight that God will cause you to understand that you have that definite need, even in this house tonight. Not only did I realize that Jesus Christ died for me, but that He was buried and rose again the third day for my justification. He paid my price at Calvary. He paid my sin debt. He took my place. When I realized the true gift that I was given, I had a different outlook, I had a different desire, a different direction in life, and I only want to be pleasing to God even now as I stand behind this pulpit. So first of all tonight I want us to see something. We see an announcement of coming destruction. In the book of Genesis in chapter 6 and verse 13, notice what it says here now. The Bible says, And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. My friend, that is a crude statement as many would say today. That was an awful thing for a holy God of heaven to say, many would say. But it is an eye-opening experience when you realize that, listen, the same destiny is for the earth tonight, not the flood. Listen, the Bible tells us that God promised that there would be no more great flood. The reason why we have the rainbow today is a sign that God said, I will not destroy the earth and all its inhabitants by water again. But He did say that there's coming a day when what the establishment in our government today says is global warming. There is going to be a global warming, my friend, and the Bible states it very well. And this is the warning to everyone who is here tonight. God said the earth and the heavens above are going to melt with a fervent heat. Listen, we need to understand that that means that life upon earth is going to change drastically. There will be no life upon earth whatsoever when God gets through with it. We go and we understand that God states that mankind had not only defiled himself, but he had defiled all of creation. All that God had created was defiled by man's sin. Oftentimes you hear me speak of total depravity. Total depravity is something that men don't really wrap their minds around. Total depravity is what most men would think is that, well, you've come as far as you can come with sin, and that's as far as you can get. Listen, the Bible says that total depravity is a sin that just continues to evolve and gets worse and worse and worse. As a matter of fact, the Bible says of the end times that men will wax worse and worse. What do we see in the world today? Men waxing worse and worse. Sins that we have never heard of before are running rampant upon this earth. Unnatural affection. Listen, there are those in our world today that would just as soon to take your life as to look at you and listen, we need to understand that what went on down here in the lower end of the state You know, people look and say, well, that was one of those fluke things. You get into the computer and you look and see how many times, how many places that children have really went against their own parents and done things that are unnatural. Listen, I want you to know something. We are seeing in this world today a time when sin is getting more and more prevalent and more and more wicked. Men are waxing worse and worse. God says there's coming judgment. And this is what I want each and every one of us to realize tonight. That when we die upon the earth, it isn't over. There is wrath to come. You see, death is only the entrance into our eternal state. The Bible teaches us in the book of Revelation in chapter 20, And I want you to think about this. Verse 11 down through verse 15. You see the great white judgment throne seat of God. And that's where every lost sinner is going to stand one day. Whether they've already died or whether they have died in the wrath that's to come. Listen, there's a payday coming. We are given a heads up on all that's going to take place. And men today would be wise to listen to this old preacher. If you're not saved by God's amazing grace, you would be wise to sit up and listen to what I have to say. Because the Bible says that wrath is coming. Noah warned the world for 120 years that God's judgment was coming. Men, women, they laughed at him. Just like they do today when the man of God is preaching, many today will say, well, there's no possible way that that's going to happen. Well, listen, that's what they thought in the days of Noah when they said, it'll not rain. We've never heard of rain. What's rain? Rain came, didn't it? The floods came. In all of life, it was not on board the ark. He was all lost. No doubt Noah warned all that he could that God was about to destroy the world as they knew it. And all that had breath of life in them was going to die just as we are warned the wicked tonight. Sin will be punished. You say, well I'm not that bad of a person. Listen, the Bible doesn't differentiate, neither does God. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says that we're born in sin. Our mothers conceived us in sin, the Bible says. So sin is passed upon all men. That's the reason why tonight the lost people need to be saved by God's amazing grace. That's the reason why tonight the lost individuals need to be prayed for. That God will open their eyes and they'll see that there's wrath coming. Noah done his best. He preached the glorious gospel. He preached the fact that Jesus, that God the Father was going to bring wrath upon the earth. But it's just like Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report? Tonight as I stand behind this pulpit, many times I've asked myself, Lord, who has believed the report that you gave of your Son? For truly, the fields look like they're whited to harvest, but yet there's nobody that's willing to say, I have sinned and come short of God's glory. The second thing I want you to think about, that not only was there an announcement of coming destruction, we see that Noah was getting ready for that destruction. In verses 14 through 17, and in verse 21, you see that Noah was doing something. He was preparing himself and his family and all that God wanted him to save. After God warned Noah, He then instructed him into preparing for that day of destruction. God told him in verse 14, Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Now this is a special kind of wood. You know, today, fence builders, they really like to use locusts. I mean, locusts is one of those woods that really lasts. Or even in the days when they were building the forts around the state of Kentucky, they would use white oak. And the reason why they would do, because it was so long lasting. But no one was told, build you an ark of gopher wood. He didn't stop at that. You know, the Bible talks about the fact that there was a way prepared. And the only way that we can understand what that preparation is, is to make sure that it was pitched inside and out with a sealant. You know, when we're saved by God's amazing grace, that's exactly what happens to us. There is a pitch applied to us. Now that pitch is a substance that was used on the ark to seal it inside and out so nothing could penetrate and get into that gopher wood. We look at ourselves today, you know, we've trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. You know what we've been sealed with? The Holy Spirit of God Himself. He has become our pitch. He has become our sealant. He's the one that has sealed the deal that nothing can take it away and nothing can harm or maim it. Folks, I'll tell you, that's the kind that you need, isn't it? The Bible tells us in John chapter 10 that those that are saved by God's amazing grace, that nothing can take that away. Nothing. You're a child of the King. You now belong to the One who redeemed you. Or in other words, bought you back from the slave market of sin. Oh may God help you to see that tonight. This Hebrew word ark is used for a boat or a chest or a coffer. And since the ark needed to be waterproofed, God told him to use pitch to seal it. Pitch is a type of God's Holy Spirit. What happens to us? Go to Ephesians chapter 1 with me please. Ephesians in chapter 1. And I want you to look at verse 13 with me. This is the beginning point. Now think about this. Ephesians 1 verse 13, the Bible says that if you look at verse 12, that we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom after that you believed you were what? Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. That word sealed there is the same word that we find here in the word for pitch. In chapter 4 and verse 30 of this same book, Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 30, the Bible says, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed until the day of redemption. That makes our salvation impenetrable. That makes it to where nothing can take it away. And that, to me, is the joy of our salvation back in John. I'll go back here for just a moment before we move on to our next point, but I want you to think about this. In the book of John, the Bible states this in chapter 10, in verse 27, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I am my Father, O Lord. Yes, tonight I'm thankful. Not only am I saved by God's amazing grace, but I've been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. He is the earnest. In other words, it is the down payment. When you see that word earnest there, that's like what you do in transaction of money. It's earnest money. It's something that's paid ahead for the end result. Listen, the Holy Spirit is there to provide that earnest. In other words, it is there to keep you and hold you until the day of our redemption. The day in our salvation is fully known. The day that when we leave this life and go to the life hereafter, listen, that's when our salvation is made full. Noah's obedience kept him safe. His obedience kept his family and himself and all the animals fed and protected from spoil. Our obedience tonight keeps us in the blessings of God's provisions. Romans 8, verse 1. Again, here is another portion of Scripture that I need you to really get a hold of. Romans 8, verse 1. The Bible says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Verse 28 down through verse 39. of Romans chapter 8 tells us again that nothing can take our salvation away. The Bible says in verse 35, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril assured? Look at verse 37, They in all these things were more than conquerors through Him that loved us, for I am persuaded. Paul had a persuasion about him that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There, my friend, is that sealing power. Now thirdly, I want you to think about this. This is our last point, so just bear with me for a little bit. We see a promise of a covenant. You know, the Bible tells us back in Genesis chapter 6, if you'll go back here for just a moment. Genesis chapter 6, verse 18, 19, and 20, notice what it says here. But with thee I will establish my covenant. And thou shalt come unto 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, and fowls after their kind, and creeping cattle, and cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort. shall come unto thee to keep them alive." God instituted a covenant with Noah. The use of the word establish is derived from the Hebrew word hequim, I believe it is, which implies establishing something previously in existence. What covenant agreement was before Noah? The Abrahamic. If you remember, God gave Abraham a covenant. You see that in Genesis 3 and 15. What's so important about God's covenant? It will never be broken. Our obedience to God assures us of manifold blessings and that because of the covenant of promises. Blessings of eternal life, John 3, 15-16. Blessings of His keeping, John 10, 27-30. And blessings of no condemnation, Romans 5-1, Romans 8-1, Romans 8-11. A covenant is when an agreement between two parties in patriarchal times A covenant was established by a sacrifice of a bull or goat, which was divided into two and both parties would walk between the sacrifice to ratify the covenant. This covenant was binding and no alteration could ever take place. What was the purpose of that covenant? The covenant was about the saving of life. God sent His Son to this depraved earth to do what? To save life. John 1 verse 11-12. Jesus says He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. Even to them they believe on His name. That's a covenant promise. And it's promised to anyone who will come unto Him tonight even. Would you come unto Him this evening? John 3, 14-21, there again you see the covenant promise. That Jesus Christ would come and die on the cross of Calvary. He would shed His precious blood, was buried, and rose again that you might have life and have it more abundantly. That's a covenant promise. And it's for you tonight. It's the only way you'll find protection this evening. If you're here and you don't know the Lord your Savior, the only hope you have of escape from the wrath to come is to realize that the covenant promise is there for you. The covenant promise. Verse 36 of John chapter 3. You know the Bible tells us very plainly about what that is all about. We go back here for just a moment as we read this and I want you to consider it with me. Where is your life right now? Where are you standing right now? In verse 36 of John 3, the Bible says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Where are you at right now, my friend? You know what obedience will get you? It will get you salvation. You know, when I spoke this morning about Philip and the eunuch, I spoke also of the Philippian jailer and Paul and Silas. And the one thing that both of these narratives had is the fact that there was obedience played out. The eunuch, as he read the glorious Word of God, Isaiah, He was reading from a portion of Scripture in chapter 53 where it talks about the death of Jesus Christ to come. Philip looked at him and said, Do you believe what you're reading? He said, How can I except some man explain it to me? Then Philip opened up the Word of God and began to preach unto him the Gospel. Listen folks, you'll never understand it until it's opened up to you. The glorious gospel is the means by which you are saved today. When Philip came and that eunuch came to a hole of water, that eunuch said, Well, here's some water. What's going to hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, Well, if thou believest, thou mayest. You see, it's the same thing on the lines of believing as what they told the old Philippian jailer. When he came in, he cried, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? What did they tell him? and thou shalt be saved. My friend, that's the simplest way that I can explain salvation to you tonight. Obedience to God's Word. What is obedience to God's Word? Believing on the Scriptures. Believing what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. You've got to believe. You've got to come to an understanding that Jesus died for you on the cross. And so tonight, If lost sinners would be obedient to God's Word, God's covenant promise, they too would have safety in the ark. The ark that's sealed with the pitch of the Holy Spirit. That's something that you can never get away from. Something that the devil can never take away from you. Oh, may God help us to see that tonight. May God save souls May God save lives. Let's all stand please.