OPEN: I love to read magazines like National Geographic and The Smithsonian and Popular Science (often just for the illustrations I can find there). But I have especially enjoyed Popular Science. About 3 years ago I stumbled across the question and answer section of Popular Science where people can write in with questions they have always wondered about and get answers from scientists. In this particular issue someone asked the question: “Could You Build A Spaceship Out Of Wood?”
Well, could you? (I heard a couple, “Yeah, you could build it. But it wouldn’t fly”).
Actually, the answer is yes. You could build such a spaceship, and it could fly. Back in the 60’s the Russians built a scale model of a space craft made from wood that they used in wind tunnels (http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/09/buran-wooden-spaceship/). In the Popular Science magazine they quoted Mike Gruntman, professor of astronautics at the Univ. of Southern California, and he said: “In terms of strength, wood is pretty good.”
Early airplanes were built with wood, all the way into the early 1930s. There were also wooden submarines. Gruntman thinks it may be possible to build a wooden spacecraft that could survive the stress of a rocket launch. The article continued by saying that, once you got into space, there would be serious problems with a wooden spacecraft - but as far as getting INTO space, wood would do the job.
Now the story we’re reading from scripture today had to do with another wooden structure - a wooden structure called the Ark. It was a HUGE boat (we put a couple of graphics on the screen to give people a feel for how large Noah’s Ark was). There are many people today who ask the same kind of question about Noah’s Ark that that person had asked Popular Science about a wooden spacecraft: “COULD you build a wooden boat this big, and (if you could) WOULD it be seaworthy enough to survive in rough seas?”
The answer - found in no less of an authority than the Smithsonian magazine – is yes. In their article they asked this question: “If one could hypothetically build an ark to the specifications outlined in the Bible, would it float or would Noah have found himself in a Titanic-like scenario?”
THE ANSWER: Yes, it could float and yes it would have theoretically been sea worthy. Now, bear in mind, the Smithsonian authors were very clear on the fact that they doubted any such boat had ever been built or that there ever had been a universal flood… but they were honest enough to explore the issue and present it for our consideration. (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-noahs-ark-float-theory-yes-180950385/)
Our text for this morning indicated that God expected that response:
“scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” II Peter 3:3-6
In our present culture many people not only “overlook” (or ignore) the story of the flood. In fact, they scoff at it. They say “You can’t be serious! Do you really BELIEVE there was a worldwide flood?”
(PAUSE)
Well… Jesus did. Jesus BELIEVED that Noah’s flood was an accurate Biblical account. Jesus said:
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27
Now, if Jesus said it happened… it happened. That’s quite enough proof for me. But the world around us is not so likely to embrace a Bible story just because Jesus said it was historical. For them, the question is: “Is it reasonable?” Is it reasonable to believe that Noah’s Flood could actually have occurred? And the answer is yes. In fact, there are several reasons to believe in the Biblical account.
1st – there is physical evidence of a worldwide flood.
Genesis 6:19-20 “…the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep (22 ½ feet). The waters covered the mountains for at least 40 days and nights.”
For over a month, the flood waters covered every mountain on earth. That's what the Bible says, but is there proof of that? Well, of course there is. One of those proofs is the presence of marine fossils on the tops of mountains across the world (we put a graphic on the screen that addressed that. It said “In mountains all over the world one can find sea shells and other marine fossils. These include the Sierras, the Swiss Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes, and many more.”)
But wait… there’s more.
Genesis 8:2-3 tells us “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.”
Whenever there’s a flood, as the waters recede they leave behind a residue of silt and sediment.The bigger the flood… the bigger and more far reaching the sediment. Noah’s flood was HUGE, so you would expect to find evidence of HUGE layers of sediment covering massive areas of land mass. It just so happens… there ARE huge layers of sediment. (We showed a graphic like the one found at this website: (http://discovercreation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Tapeats-Sandstone-Map.jpg)
“The Tapeats Sandstone and Redwall Limestone of Grand Canyon can be traced across the entire United States, up into Canada, and even across the Atlantic Ocean to England. The chalk beds of England (the white cliffs of Dover) can be traced across Europe into the Middle East and are also found in the Midwest of the United States and in Western Australia.” https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/global/worldwide-flood-evidence/
Then there’s also the matter of how Coal Seams have formed. (We showed a meme that indicated how evolutionary scientists believe coal was formed). It has been generally assumed that coal is the debris from fallen trees that were underground for millions upon millions of years. And over time - this plant material was compressed into the coal we use today. We’ve been told that the layers of coal reflect different forests that have decayed and been covered by sediment – layer upon layer upon layer - over millions of years. Each layer represents one forest that’s been turned into coal, followed by the next layer. Each layer taking a few million years.
But there’s a problem with that scenario. This is a drawing of a coal quarry in France (http://www.increasinglearning.com/uploads/7/7/9/1/7791541/6667251_orig.jpg). Those vertical “bars” you see in the picture were trees that became coal and which stood upright between several layers of coal. Now correct me if I’m wrong (but I’m not) – but how on earth did a tree survive long enough to grow up through several seams of coal (that took millions of years to form)? That’s just not supposed to happen. Those trees would need to have been living for millions of years as the coal formed around them.
If you were to visit a coal mine and ask miners what the risks are of mining coal, somewhere in the list would be the concern of “coal trees” crashing down from the ceiling above them.
Scientists who believe in creation have long pointed to this as illogical. For years creationists had suggested that a more logical scenario for these “coal trees” was that - during Noah’s flood - massive forests were mowed down and ended up floating in “mats” or groupings on the water’s surface. As the trees became waterlogged, they’d sink and form the basis of coal seams. Most of the trees would lie down… but others would become trapped upright as the other logs formed “seams” around them. After decades of having been buried by silt and sediment, the plants and trees became compressed into what ultimately became coal seams.
Well, is that reasonable? (Well, you know it’s going to be reasonable if I bring it up). Do you remember Mt. St. Helens? It's a volcano in the state of Washington. When it blew up back in 1980, it created massive flooding and forests were mowed down. Scientists watched in wonder as “tree mats” began to form on the surface of the flooded areas (we showed a couple pictures of these mats). As the trees became water logged they sank down to the lake bed and some of the trees lay vertically, while others wedged in horizontally (upright). It created the scenario that many scientists who are creation minded visualized had been the foundation of coal seams.
So there is physical evidence for a universal flood. But there’s also historical evidence of Noah’s Flood. (We showed a chart on the screen: https://preachthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/noah-flood-tranditions.png). As you can see from this chart – a number of cultures have flood stories.
In fact, over 270 cultures around the world still have ancient stories about a great flood, and most of them tell the same story:
* Man became corrupt
* The Flood was worldwide
* Eight people were survived the flood
* Representatives of all land animals were saved
* A dove was released to find dry land
* The survivors came down from a mountain to repopulate the whole world
* And the hero's name is often a variant of Noah: Nu-u; Nu-Wah; Noh, Nos; and Nuh
(1:1 AnswersUpdate April 2014)
Whenever archeologists encounter such similar stories like these from so many diverse peoples … they tend to believe SOMETHING happened.
Here are just 3 of those stories:
ILLUS: An old Aztec legend tells of a man named Tapi who was a very pious man. The legend says that the creator told Tapi to build a boat that he would live in. He was told that he should take his wife, a pair of every animal into this boat. And naturally everyone thought he was crazy. But then the rain started and the flood came. Men and animals tried to climb the mountains but the mountains became flooded as well. Finally the rain ended. And Tapi decided that the water had dried up because he let a dove loose that did not return. (http://creationwiki.org/Flood_legends)
ILLUS: In China there’s an ancient temple, and on one wall there’s a painting shows boat owned by a man named Fuhi (the Chinese version of Noah). The boat is depicted being out upon raging waters while dolphins swim around it, and a dove with an olive branch in its beak is shown flying toward it.
ILLUS: In the South American country of Patagonia - there’s this ancient story: "At a remote time in the past, the earth was inhabited also by people other than those created by the sun-god. They were very bad and fought among themselves all the time. When the sun-god saw this he decided to annihilate these people and to create another population in their stead. To destroy the bad people, the sun-god sent torrential and continuous rain, the springs opened and the ocean overflowed. In the deluge all mankind and all animals were swept away… the sun-god sent (out) the dove, which returned with blades of grass in its beak, proving thereby that it had found dry land. Then the sun-god decided to create new people. First he made a man, then a woman, and finally a dog to keep them company."
Now, that’s all very interesting, but what difference does it make? Why should I care if Noah’s flood was real or not. I mean, after all, we’re a New Testament people… and that story is so “Old Testament”. Well, when Jude told us to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints Noah’s Flood was part of that Faith we’re to contend for. The Flood is an integral part of the Gospel message.
We’re going to repeat a phrase we’d said many times before: We don’t have to apologize for our faith. We don’t need to rally to God’s defense. Our God is bigger than we are – and He doesn’t really need our help. But in spite of that, God calls us to contend for the faith…” (Jude 3)
Noah’s Flood is central to the message God wants us to understand. It is part of the faith once delivered to the saints. But why is this flood such an important part of God’s story?
1st – God tells us that the Flood is the symbol of God’s righteous judgment.
Jesus said: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27
Peter wrote: “if (God) did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” 2 Peter 2:5 & 9
The flood depicts the fact that our God is a righteous God, and there will come a time when God won’t put up with man’s foolishness. It’s happened before, it’ll happen again - you can bank on it.
But now, as you might imagine, worldly folks aren’t too wild about this part of the message. I encountered this meme on the internet some time back: “Ah yes, the uplifting story where God massacres every living thing on the planet, including millions of men, and women and every single child. How charming… because he loved them” (http://www.talkingeasy.com/meaning/noahs-ark-for-love.jpg)
Does that offend you? It offends me. But it is the kind cheap shot you’d expect from someone who cares nothing for your God or your faith. The basic assumption of this insulting meme is this: those who died in the flood didn’t deserve to suffer judgment. They were just innocent by-standers.
Well, were they? Were they innocent? Well, of course they weren’t. In fact, they were not only NOT innocent, they were so corrupt that God couldn't stand it. "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5
ILLUS: Have you ever gone into your kitchen, picked up a loaf of bread to make toast, reached inside and pulled out a piece of bread and noticed it wasn't... a normal color? There was green stuff growing on it. What did you do with it? Did you just throw away the one piece of bread? Of course not, you threw out the entire loaf. It was moldy... decayed... not edible.
There's even been a couple times that I'd forgotten about a bag of bread I'd left out... and I didn't even have to open the bag to see that bread was a sickening shade of green. I felt as if I needed to put on gloves and gingerly pick the bag up before depositing it in the nearest hazardous waste dispenser.
That's how the earth looked to God in the days of Noah: It was moldy, decayed, corrupt.
ILLUS: Now, it’s not just the world doesn’t like judgment. Even some folks in church aren’t too excited about it. Scott (our associate minister) told me of an Elder in a church he’d served who got upset every time Scott preached out of the Old Testament. That leader wanted Scott to ONLY preach out of the New Testament. Why? Because (the Elder said) the Old Testament spoke of JUDGMENT while the New Testament spoke of GRACE.
Someone once said: “If men will not understand the meaning of judgment, they will never come to understand the meaning of grace.” Dorothy Sayers
Grace makes no sense if there is not the potential of judgment. Grace is God giving us forgiveness for our sins. If there’s no threat of punishment for sins… what do I need forgiveness for? If there's no fear of judgment, I can do what I want when I want and God will just have to put up with it.
The Flood is God’s way of saying: “I don’t have to put up with that. And I’m not going to put up with that.”
As it says in our text today: “… the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:5-7
So, the Flood speaks of God’s righteous judgment. There will come a time when God says “time’s up. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Judgment is about to begin.”
The Flood speaks of God's judgment - but, while it may seem strange - Noah’s Flood also speaks of God’s Grace: I Peter 3:20-22 tells us “… God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
Baptism “saves us?” Well, that’s what it says. It’s part of what God asks of us in our response to His offer of salvation.
ILLUS: A preacher friend of mine told of the time he baptized a person whose family weren’t part of his congregation. They belonged to a church that rejected the idea that baptism was part of God’s plan for salvation. My friend quoted this passage from I Peter that spoke of “baptism saving us” and the family was a bit upset. One of them asked my friend “Where did you find that Scripture? Is it in the Old Testament?” He’d never heard that passage before – because the church he belonged to didn’t like what it said. But that IS what it says.
Baptism is God’s way of telling us we can’t get into heaven OUR way. Noah and his family were saved because they did what God told them to do. They built a huge boat to God’s specific specifications and they trusted God to protect them inside that boat. Can you imagine Noah saying to God – “Hey, I’m Ok just the way I am… I’ll just float.” Or Noah saying “we don’t need such a huge boat, we can survive in a rowboat.” Of course not! Noah and his family had to do things God’s way or they’d have never survived
Baptism is God’s way of saying that you and I can’t buy our way into heaven, or impress God with our good works, SS School attendance pins, or by how many ministries we’ve been part of. We can’t just float along or swim our way to salvation. We’ve got to do things God’s way.
Water Baptism is God’s way for us to “appeal to (God) for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
As I came to this part of my sermon preparation I noticed something odd about that verse. Did you notice that it doesn’t say anything about Jesus’ death or burial? Only His resurrection. Why on earth would God put it that way? Well, think about it – if the Gospel message had simply been about Christ’s death and burial, where would our hope of salvation been? Without the resurrection Jesus would still be in the grave. Our appeal to God for a clear conscience is based on the fact that Jesus didn’t stay buried. He rose victorious from the grave to give us hope for life in a world filled with death.
Similarly, if water baptism only focused on our death and burial in Christ, there’d be nobody coming up out of the baptistery. Every convert would be end up being drowned because no one would have been raised from the watery grave to “walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
In Christ’s death, burial and resurrection God changes me. And water baptism is God’s way of letting me take hold of that change.
CLOSE: I read the true story of a man who experienced. His name was Mike. He said his family was known thru out the community as the worst examples of humanity. His parents were irresponsible. The kids were troublemakers. They lived like animals, even eating food out of trashcans. He said that everyone who saw them thought, "That’s just who they are. That’s all they’ll ever be. They’ll never change."
But Mike did.
Mike heard the powerful message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and decided that that was what he wanted for his life. He believed in Jesus, repented of his sins, and was buried in the waters of baptism for the forgiveness of his sins. Eventually he even became a preacher - and part of his ministry reached into his family – of whom he baptized several.
Then one day, Mike was at the funeral of his brother-in-law. One of the women who was there (and who had not seen him since his conversion) spoke with him and she said that she was amazed at the change in his life. She said she was surprised at what HE had made of himself.
Mike responded: "Oh I really appreciate your compliment, but I really didn’t change myself. It was Christ IN ME that brought about the changes in my life."
INVITATION
