Good morning. If you'd open your Bibles to Philippians 2, I've entitled this morning's sermon, Noah's Salvation. We're going to be starting in Philippians 2, verse 12. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That verse has been somewhat puzzling to me in my Christian walk as I've considered how do I work out my salvation And what does it mean to do it in fear and trembling? I'd like to take a look at a story that we find in the Old Testament, in Genesis 6, that will help us to understand this scripture. It's the story of Moses. I'm sorry, of Noah. The story of Noah. It's a story that we're all very familiar with. We could go all the way back to Genesis 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, as was so clearly pointed out. Everything that we see around us, the stars in the sky, everything was created by God. He made the land and the waters, the trees, the grass, the animals, and then He created man. But in time, man grew wicked. And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great, that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts were evil continually. And God the Creator looked down in sorrow. The creation that was supposed to glorify Him, that was supposed to reflect His glory, was in sin, was really at war with the Creator. in rebellion. His creation was worthy of nothing less than his divine wrath. But God looked with favor, with grace upon Noah and chose to save him. And God informed Noah that there was going to be a day of coming wrath and told him to build an ark. And he was very specific He told Noah, you are to build this ark 300 cubits by 50 cubits by 30 cubits. We would know that as about 450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet. It's about half the length of the Queen Mary and just about as tall. If you've ever been there, that's pretty big. It's huge. It was to be made of gopher wood. It was to have three floors within it. One believer calculated that if you took sheep inside of those dimensions, you could fit comfortably 230,000 sheep within that ark. God told him that it was to be coated with pitch inside and out. and to bring aboard enough food for his family and the animals. And it's at this point we find a scripture that is just so important. Genesis 6, verse 22. Thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him. So he did. What was the size of the ark that Noah eventually built? It was 300 cubits by 50 cubits by 30 cubits. It was exactly the way God told him to build it. How many floors did it end up having? It had three floors. Did he just cover it and pitch on the outside and say, that's good enough? No, he put pitch on the inside as well. Did he bring enough food on just for him and his family and say, hey, let's just see how long these animals can last. That's just a lot of work. Thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him. So he did. As he was building the ark, as he was hammering away at the sides of the ark, the people around, the people of the world ridiculed him. They laughed at him. I believe in that day and age, There had been no rain. There's different beliefs and interpretations about that. But I believe in that day and age that it had not rained upon the earth. And so when Noah starts telling them, there's a coming flood. Water is going to fall from the sky. Water is going to shoot up from the earth. The people laughed at him. That's never happened before. It's not going to happen now. But they saw that Noah was serious about what he was doing. Day in and day out, he was obeying God in his construction of the ark. Every day, as he went to go get lumber, perhaps buy lumber from his neighbors, here comes the crazy old man. We can at least make a buck off of him. Send him on his way. As they would get the pitch, put it on the ark. the people must have been laughing, ridiculing him. One day they entered the Ark, and the people probably partied around the Ark thinking, we'll never see him again, he's going to die inside with all those animals. Their laughter stopped when God's wrath came. God's wrath came upon a wicked generation. The waters burst forth from the earth. Water fell from the sky. And the people's attitude and reaction toward that ark changed dramatically in that one moment. When they saw the reality of God's wrath, they no longer ridiculed Noah. They wanted inside of that ark But it was too late. At first, the waters probably just swirled around their ankles. And they sought higher ground. Perhaps some of them ran to the ark and started pounding on the side, let me in! But it was too late. The doors had been sealed. The door had been sealed. There was really only two types of people at that time. There were those that were inside the ark, and those that were outside the ark. Those that were saved from God's wrath and those that were experiencing God's wrath. Noah weathered the storm. He had built this ark and it carried him above the wrath of God. He weathered the storm and eventually stepped foot on dry land. God had saved his chosen one. The question we have to ask is, who saved Noah? It should be very obvious to all of us. God saved him by the grace of God. But I'd like us to consider today, who built the ark? Noah built it. Did Noah's building of the ark have anything to do with his salvation? Yes, it did. God directed Noah to participate in his own salvation. And God was specific on how he was to participate. Why was God so specific? Because He knew what was coming. He knew the wrath that was to come. And Noah was obedient. Thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him. What if Noah had not built the ark? What if he had said, God said, I'm saved. Whoo! Don't have to worry about it. And the flood said, come. What if? You know, I'm an educator and a parent. Sometimes you get tired of the what if questions. I'm learning from them, though. What if? What if Noah had not built the ark? What if Noah had skimped? What if Noah had said, you know, that gopher was hard to get? That gopher was real expensive. Maple will do just fine. What if he was tired, you know? It took me 25 years to put the pitch on the outside of this ark. I've had it. We don't need it on the inside. What if he had just thought, I'm saved, I've got my ticket to salvation, I don't need to do anymore. The work of Noah's hands was tested in the day of God's wrath. Every nail, every coat of pitch, every joint that he put together was tested as the waters rose up, as the waves crashed against the side of that ark. The amount of food that he placed aboard was tested. Was it enough? Yes. Why? Because he was obedient to do all that God had commanded. This point is so important that we don't find it just one place in Scripture. We find it here in Genesis 6.22, and then once again in Genesis 7.5. Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him. Noah was obedient. My brothers and sisters, God desires and commands our participation in our salvation. We are to be builders of arcs for the day of the Lord's wrath. The Lord's wrath will come again, and this time it will consume the earth in fire. We can look upon the world today and know that the wickedness of man cries out for the justice of God. We can look out and see the me-centered generation. We can see the humanistic world. It's immoral, pornographic. There's a lack of respect. Materialism is rampant everywhere we go. The Creator readies Himself for imminent justice and judgment upon this earth. And yet He extends salvation to mankind through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. And as He did with His servant Noah, He demands our participation. Don't get me wrong, salvation is from the Lord. In the case of Noah, He could have said, Noah, you're saved. I'm saving you. And we're speaking of the same God who from the words that He spoke created this earth. He could have spoken an ark into existence. He didn't have to have Noah build that ark. He wanted Noah to build that ark. In our case, He could do the same. The moment a believer says, God, forgive me of my sins. I come to Jesus as my Lord and Savior." That person could be whisked away and go straight to heaven. But He doesn't do that. He demands our participation. Let's turn to 1 John 3. The work of our hands is important just as the work of Noah's hands was important. We've been created for good works, we find in Ephesians 2. By understanding how important our work is, we can see in James where it says, faith without what is dead? Faith without works is dead. We can even say, Noah, without His work would have been dead. 1 John... We're going to look at 1 John 3 here in a sec. 1 John 2.3 says, By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments. By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments. The work that we've been given to do, to complete, is a different type of work. It's not a physical work. It's a spiritual work, an internal work in our hearts. 1 John 3.10, By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God. nor the one who does not love his neighbor." What caught my attention on this verse is this distinction between the children of God and the children of the devil. It's the distinction between those outside of the ark and those inside the ark. Righteousness and love. What type of work does God ask of us? What is this calling, the work to which we are called? It is one of righteousness. It is one of love. It is a denial of self in righteous living. It is loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is loving our neighbor. It is an abundant production of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Love. Joy. A joy bursting in our hearts knowing that we're saved. Peace. Knowing that we used to be at war with God, and now we no longer are. We're His children. Patience. As we demonstrate and reflect that same patience that God has had with us. Kindness and goodness. as we realize how good and kind the Lord has blessed us and blesses us every day. Faithfulness, or faith, depending on your translation, faith to God, or faithfulness to Him. Gentleness, as we realize and understand how gentle He is with us. Self-control, to put to death the old man, and to live in Christ Jesus. It's a difficult task. For me, I'd rather have to go and build a physical ark. It would be easier than to have to carefully consider my heart and do work there. We are to intently, with fear and trembling, search our hearts with the light of Scripture and bear fruit. You will remember that in Acts 26, Paul's talking before King Agrippa, and he tells them that he's been given a heavenly vision, and that he's been told to release the captives from bondage, to help the blind to see. And he tells King Agrippa that He was diligent. He fulfilled this task by declaring to the Gentiles that they should first repent, and then turn to God. There's that third one that we so often forget. They're to repent, turn to God, and perform deeds or works appropriate to repentance. Ark building. building of arcs, what the Lord has called each and every one of us to do. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 3. How shall we be tested in the fiery day of judgment? Our arcs will be tested just as Noah's arc was tested. 1 Corinthians 3, beginning at verse 11. No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident. For the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. And if any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. And if any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." This scripture here tells us how each one of our arcs will be tested. If you will note in verse 12, Let's back up, verse 11. The foundation, that foundation of our ark. That's hard to say, our ark. Our ark has already been laid. The moment we come to Christ Jesus, the moment we repent and ask the Lord to save us, we step onto that foundation. We know that we're going to get carried above the fiery wrath of God to come. The foundation's been laid, and that foundation is only found in Christ Jesus. Verse 12. We're to build the walls on that, Art. And they will either be gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw. Now, we can divide those elements into two groups. We know that they're going to be tested with fire. Half of those elements will burn up and half do not. If we build with wood, hay and straw, those won't last long in the day of judgment. Gold, silver and precious stones will. We will survive The fiery flood of God's wrath in that day of judgment. But the question is, how? How will we survive? Verse 14, if any man's work which is built on it remains, he will receive a reward. I'm reminded of the scripture that was read to us this morning about the reality, it was said, of the throne room of God. The cherubim. singing, holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty, and the elders on their thrones. And the elders, what did they do? They would bow down, take their crowns off, and throw them before the Lord. I want to enter heaven with lots of rewards. Do you know why? Not so I can enjoy them, but I want to have Lots, because I want to be able to have lots to throw down at the feet of our God. What better way to praise the Almighty, the One who saved us from our own sins? I want an armful of rewards. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive rewards. He will have that opportunity to throw before the feet of our King those rewards. Verse 15, if any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved. Yes, so is through fire. What a what a gruesome, terrible thought to enter into the presence of our king and to be side by side with all these believers and they're throwing down their rewards and have nothing in my hand. Nothing. I can bow down and say, thank you Lord, I praise you for saving me, but to come empty handed. We are to be builders of arcs. Where are our priorities? Are we building with gold? Silver and precious stones things that will last the test of that fiery flood Unfortunately today Christianity has a I have my ticket mentality We've stepped up aboard that foundation of the ark And we're content with our ticket to paradise. We're not really thinking far enough into the future. We don't really understand reality. We stand there, we praise God. But the race is not over until the finish line is crossed. When we neglect our salvation, When we don't do the work to which the Lord has called us to, we're denying the word which He speaks to us. In a sense, we're calling God a liar. We're saying it's not real. Philippians 2.12 says, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Genesis 6.22, we are to do all that the Lord has commanded. For the unbeliever, the day of the Lord's wrath is coming. The Apostle Peter tells us that in the last days mockers will come, living in their lusts. We're in that day right now. A generation that is living in its lusts. and saying, where is the promise of His coming? Today seems an awful lot like yesterday. They speak just like the people in the time of Noah. They forget and deny the flood of water that came and snuffed out the life of mankind. Peter also reminds us of the reality The present heavens and earth, by His Word, are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. That is reality. Just as one day in the past this earth was completely covered in water, it will be consumed by fire. It'll be much more devastating than the flood of Noah. The unbeliever stands outside of the ark, just like in the days of Noah, scoffing. Just like in the days of Noah, they waited. Perhaps there were some who thought, maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong. But I can live my life how I want and rush over there when it's time." But when they got there, the door was sealed. That date, that time could be at any moment. It can be in the next moment. And the foundation of your ark is already laid, and it's Jesus Christ. All He asks you to do is repent of your sin. your warfare against God, and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior." To the unbeliever, I say, choose wisely. Your time is running out. To the believer, we're reminded that there are two types of people. There's the scoffers, and there are those who build arcs. We could also say that in time we will see that distinction as those outside of the ark and those that are inside of the ark. Right now, are you a builder of arks? And if so, how serious are you? Do you work with fear and trembling to do all that the Lord has commanded? Noah's work was a constant business. Is our work always before us? Noah's ark did not have leaks. How will your ark stand the test of the fiery flood? The people in Noah's time scoffed at his message. But note that the Ark was a byproduct of what Noah believed. Noah believed that the flood of God's wrath was coming, so he seriously worked on the Ark. And the people scoffed. Was it at the Ark, or was it scoffing at what he believed? It was what he believed, and the Ark was a result of what he believed. Why is that important? Today, the people scoff at us for wrong reasons. Today, they scoff at us because we build wrath. We lash a few logs together, and then we go and tell our neighbors, God's wrath is coming. And they look at us and laugh. And they say, you live just like I do. Get serious. You're just as materialistic as I am. You're caught up in just the same sins as I am. The only difference I see is you go to church on Sunday and I don't. We build rafts and they laugh at us. We pump ourselves up. Perhaps we come to church on Sunday and get pumped up for the week. But, you know, I don't think Noah pumped himself up from feeling down. I don't think he expressed his joy of salvation prior to the flood by saying, you know, I'm feeling kind of down today. Get his sons around him, hey, high five, we're saved, guys. Let's pump ourselves up here. No, when he started feeling down, how could he get himself back on track by building The Ark. Because that was reality. It would remind him of what was coming. It would remind him of what God had done in his life. And that was a constant business. It was not reserved for one day. Not one day out of seven. It was every day. Noah did not let the cares and concerns of the world distract him. Can we say the same? Participating in our salvation is a serious responsibility. For the believer and unbeliever, this is reality. A fiery flood of judgment is coming. Do we live, Philippians 2.12 and Genesis 6.22, that we are working out our salvation with fear and trembling? That thus we do according to all that the Lord has commanded us, so we do. How well will your ark ride out the storm? How will you enter paradise? Will you enter with your arms full of treasure? or will you enter scorched? Let's turn to 1 Corinthians, our last verse we're going to be looking at. 1 Corinthians 15. God Almighty, the Creator and the Redeemer, has asked us to join Him in our salvation. And just as we honestly don't believe that Noah saved himself, so the world should see the works of our hands. So the world should see our arcs and know that it is the Lord who saves. He will be glorified. We are reminded to let our lights shine before men that they may see our good works. For what purpose? To glorify our Father who is in heaven. May we build arcs in earnest. May the world hear the hammering and know that we are serious. May we not build rafts, but build strong, sturdy arcs as we diligently prepare for the coming fiery flood. May we do all that the Lord has commanded and seek our salvation with fear and trembling, and in doing so, glorify our Creator. our Redeemer, our Lord and our God. Let's close now with 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you this morning. We deserve to be consumed by your fiery wrath. We have sinned against you. We at one time or another have been at war with you. You loved us anyway. You gave your son that he would die on the cross and save us from ourselves. Thank you so much, Father. And then you give us the privilege, the honor to work with you in the salvation to glorify you, to give you honor. What an amazing and incredible privilege we have, Lord. We are so undeserving, but so grateful. Help us, Father, to keep our perspectives true. Help us to keep reality before us. Help us to keep our eyes on You. And Lord, may all that we do, every thought, every word, every work in our lives, give glory and honor unto Your precious name. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, we pray. Amen.