Illus: Guinness Book of Records gives this information about floods:
(1) THE WORST FLOOD DAMAGE in the United States was caused by the flood of August 10, 1993. This flood affected nine states and covered an area estimated to be twice the size of New Jersey.
(2) THE DEADLIEST FLOOD in the United States took place May 31, 1889, in Johnstown, Pa. That flood formed a wall of water 20 to 30 feet high that rushed through the town killing 2,000 people.
Illus: We often hear about floods in certain regions of the country. We have seen:
• Complete cities covered by water.
• Complete counties covered by water.
But, never has the whole world been covered by water as it was during Noah’s time.
You can check back in history and will find that no flood has even come close to covering the whole earth as the flood God sent when Noah was alive.
Let’s look at the world’s -
I. GREATEST DISASTER.
That was, without a doubt, the GREATEST DISASTER to ever occur on this earth.
There has been a lot of disasters but nothing can come close to the flood of Noah!!!
Preacher are you saying that every hill on the earth was covered by water?
No, I am not saying that--the Word of God says that!!!
Look at Genesis 7:18-20. We read, “And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And 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.
”Notice, the word “prevailed” appears twice in these verses.
The word “prevail” relates to competition.
Illus: This is the same as when two boxers get into a boxing ring to box. They compete until one prevails over the other.
We get the picture, in these verses, that the EARTH and the FLOOD were in competition.
• The flood said to the earth, “I am going to cover you and drown everything on you.”
• But the earth said back, “No, I am much too great and strong. You can not do that!”
Yet when all was said and done, the FLOOD PREVAILED.
Verse 20 tells us that the highest mountains were covered fifteen cubits. That is approximately twenty-five feet above the highest mountains.
The flood waters stood triumphant over the earth.
This was not only the WORST FLOOD. It was the WORST DISASTER that has ever occurred on this earth.
We have seen some disasters in this country. For example:
(1)The deadliest TORNADO on record in the United States occurred in March 18, 1925.
When it was over: 695 had been killed in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. This tornado holds the record of having the longest track on ground...219 miles of sucking people up from the earth and smashing their bodies into buildings and trees.
(2) The deadliest HURRICANE occurred in Galveston Island, Texas, in 1900, taking the lives of an estimated 6,000.
But you can search the history books of DISASTERS in this country, and around the world, and you will not find such a disaster as we find in Noah’s flood.
The flood did not take-
• 10,000 lives
• 15,000 lives
• 20,000 lives
It wiped out the whole human race, and animal race except for Noah’s family and the animals on the ark with them.
Look at verse 21. We read, “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man.
Never in the history of mankind has there been a national, or world-wide disaster like the one Noah and his family faced.
• The Bible said, “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth...”
• If it was alive before the flood, it was dead after the flood!
That was THE GREATEST DISASTER ever!
Noah’s family was the only family that survived of the human race!
Illus: When it was all over with, only Noah and his family could wear T-shirts that stated, “We survived the worst flood ever in the world.”
Why? Because no one else survived!
Why was Noah’s family the only family spared?
There are two reasons wehy they survived:
(1) Genesis 6:9 We read, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
Noah did not walk with God one day and then walk with Satan the next. The Bible tells us that Noah walked with God.
(2)In Genesis 7:1 we see another clue as to why he and his family were spared. We read, “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation”
This tells us at least two things:
A. God saw all the wickedness.
In Genesis 6:5, we read, “And 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.”
God looked down and saw that man thought only evil continually. This is something God can see every day.
Notice, God not only sees our deeds He also see our thoughts.
Noah’s age was so wicked God had to destroy it.
Illus: There is a common statement that says, “A person seldom rises far above the average goodness, or sinks far below the average wickedness of the age in which he lives.”
Noah is a man who is not like his contemporaries. His belief in God helps him to rise over and above. He is just a man who rises to be a just man.
The Bible tells us that Noah’s age was so wicked “And 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.”
For example, we can be sitting in a room full of people.
• Some can have some of the purest thoughts you can imagine!
• Some can have the most evil thoughts that you can imagine!
BUT, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT MANKIND IS THINKING…ONLY GOD KNOWS!!!
In Noah’s age every man had nothing but evil thoughts.
Illus: It is probably good that God has made it so that we can not know what others are thinking. If we knew…
• We probably would be in fights all the time
• Scared to walk out of our homes.
Again, God sees ALL.
Also...
B. God sees the righteousness of man.
Illus: A man asked Dr. Odell Belger why did God allow Covid 19 to sweep across the world killing thousands.
Dr. Belger said, “I do not know all the reasons God allowed this virus to sweep across the world but I can tell you this...it has many people praying that has never prayed before.”
The Bible teaches the GOODNESS OF GOD IS TO LEAD US TO REPENTANCE. But sometime God has to allow some terrible things in our life to get people’s attention.
Notice God sent this FLOOD in His wrath!!!
God allows us suffering in two ways:
(1) To teach us…
Illus: To understand how this works, think about a parent-child relationship. As much as parents probably wish they could control the behavior of their children to the minutest detail, every child has free will–just as the parents do.
Parents can teach, chastise, correct, direct, threaten, punish, coerce, or any number of other activities to try to curtail their child’s behavior, but until the child makes a decision to do as they are directed by their parents, it will not be done.
Now let’s picture a parent who has repeatedly told their child not to do a particular thing–for example, run in the house because there could be undesirable consequences like falling.
This has been said more than once. The child knows the expected behavior but chooses to run even though they were warned about the potential consequences.
Then one day the parent sees the child running but decides to allow them to run and the child falls.
• Is it the parent’s fault that the child fell?
• Did the parent cause the child to fall?
While the parent was not the reason the child fell, the parent permitted it to happen.
This is kind of how the permissive will of God works. He allows us to exercise our free will even though He knows there will be consequences because we chose a particular action.
The second reason God may allow bad things to happens is due to the…
(2)Judgment of God
This is the case with Noah’s flood. The fl,ood ws not a teaching method, IT WAS JUDGMENT!!!
He caused this flood to occur. He did not allow it to happen He caused it to happen!!!
We have looked at THE GREATEST DISASTER but now let’s look at…
II. THE GREATEST DELIVERANCE.
Look at Genesis 7:16. We read, “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”
What a marvelous picture of salvation!
What was it that saved Noah?
Look at Hebrews 11:7. We read, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.”
The scripture makes it clear he was trusting in the ark for his salvation. The lost world had been trusting in other things.
Perhaps as Noah warned the wicked:
(1) Some said, “If a flood comes I will climb that tall tree and will be spared.”
(2) Some said, “We live above the flood zone and we would never have to worry about a flood.”
Illus: The rain came and kept on coming.
• Can’t you imagine, as they gathered on the tallest tree, and found that would not save them, the horror of their plight.
• Some gathered on the tallest mountains and found those mountains were not high enough; how hopeless and distraught they had to have felt as the waters rushed over their heads!
Those people were trusting in all kinds of things, but Noah was trusting in one thing!
The Bible said he, “...prepared an ark to the saving of his house...”
The ark that delivered him represents the New Testament Ark, which is Christ.
Noah lived during the worst disaster ever, but there is a greater disaster yet to come.
Only those who have placed their faith in Christ shall survive.
• Noah placed his trust in the ark and it saved him.
• We have to place our trust in our ark, Jesus, in order to be saved.
When the wrath of God fell on the world, Noah and his family were safe inside the ark.
Illus: Notice! Nowhere in scripture do we read that when that flood came that God drove some pegs on the side of that ark and then told Noah,
• “Here is a peg for you.
• “Here is a peg for your wife.
• “Here is a peg for Shem.
• “Here is a peg for Ham.
• “Here is a peg for Japeth.
• “Here are three more pegs for your sons’ wives.
Now, GRAB THOSE PEGS AND HANG ON!
If you hang on and do not turn loose you shall be saved, but if you do not hang on you will be lost with everyone else!”
This is how some picture salvation!!!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger drove several hundred of miles to witness to his uncle to be saved. He gave his heart to the Lord and was gloriously saved. His wife walked into the room and Dr. Belger said, “Tell her what you just did?” He said, “I asked the Lord to save me and to come into my heart?”
• You know what she said, she should have said, “I am so glad to hear that!”
• She said, “I hope he holds out!”
There are people who believe like that. They believe God saves us initially and then we are on our own.
If that be the case God only partially saves us!!!
Listen, when God saves us He saves us from our past sins, present sins and our future sins. That is how we know we have eternal life when he saves us. HE SAVES US FROM OUR SINS!!!
But listen to what the Word of God tells us in Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God did not tell Noah and his family to hang onto some pegs on the side of the ark, He told them to come into the ark and the Bible tells us He shut the door.
Notice, He shut the door!!!
There is no way that door was going to open, HE SHUT THE DOOR!!!
He could have told Noah to shut the door but He didn’t! HE SHUT THE DOOR!!!
Look at Genesis 7:16, we read, “And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN.”
There are two things we need to consider when God shut the door…
(1) God’s people are secure. They are safe inside the ark.
(2) God shut the door those on the outside it is to late for them to come in.
This was THE GREATEST DISASTER TO EVER TAKE PLACE!!!
There is one disaster that will be greater and that is when the rapture of the church takes place and people all over the world will be left behind. ONLY THE FAMILY OF GOD WILL BE SAVED!!!
Most of us have no idea what took place with Noah in the ark.
Illus: Much of the time Sunday school literature and visual aids have done children a lot of good. However sometimes it can give a wrong impression.
For example, most of you can remember seeing some Sunday school depicting the scene of the ark during the flood. Often it seems to be an almost peaceful scene. The ark is floating peacefully on what looks like an endless ocean. Rain is falling, splashing in the calm waters. (And Noah is standing on the top singing, “Rain drops falling on my head...
That scene gives the wrong message.
Why?
Those pictures we have seen are of the MOST DISASTROUS FLOOD ever, and we have gotten the wrong idea of what happened to Noah and the ark.
What happens when there is a flood?
One of the most powerful forces on earth pushes and drives objects that you would think could never be moved.
Illus: Recently, on television, one flood report showed how the water came against a two-story house. At first it seemed the house was firm, but then it began to move. The power of that water pushed it down a river and smashed it into a bridge, tearing it all to pieces.
I am here to tell you that Noah and his family were in the worst flood the world has ever seen. The ONLY REASON HE SURVIVED was because HE WAS IN THE ARK, and the Bible tells us, “...the Lord shut him in!”
Listen, Noah’s family and the animals were in that ship as it tossed from left to right, up and down, but they were in a lot better shape than those on the outside who were trying to find a place of refuge on the highest mountains.
Noah’s ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus. It was because the ark that was saved, and it is because of the Lord Jesus that we are saved from sin and hell.
Noah was on the inside.
He was not on the outside trying to hang on!
We have too many who have this kind of “salvation.” They are TRYING TO HANG ON!
Listen, God does not want you to hang on. God wants you to turn loose and trust Him. JESUS IS OUR ARK!
Illus: A young man went roller skating back in the 50’s. His mother had just bought him a brand new pair of white clam-diggers with a red and blue stripe down each side. He had been skating at this large skating rink with his girl friend when the older fellows who were skating decided to play, “Pop the whip.” Not knowing much about “Pop the whip” the young man joined in the tail end to impress his girl friend that he could skate with the big boys. They began going around the skating rink, holding on to each other’s hips. They got to going around this skating rink faster and faster they went. At one point, as they sped around the rink, the head man rounded a curve and put on the brakes. The man behind him did the same. Each one down the line hung on as tight as he could because as those on the tail end of the “whip” rounded the curve the force was greater and greater. The young man, who had not known how to skate very long, was on the very end. He held on so tight that the man’s feet were hardly touching the floor and he was afraid he was going to pull his pants off. He was holding on tightly as he could, finally as they made that curve the force was so great his hands could not hold on any longer! He knew he was in trouble as he sailed across that floor at what seemed to 100 miles per hour! He said he glanced down and his white clam diggers looked like two flags blowing in the wind. He saw, at the other end of the skating rink he had the choice to either smash into a concrete block wall, which seemed to be certain death, or to go out through a garage door that had been left open to let fresh air in. Across that opening had been placed a two-by-four to keep people from falling outside into the corn patch behind the building. He chose the garage door and two-by-four. When he hit the two-by-four he did not even slow down! On he sailed through about twenty-five feet of that corn patch behind the skating rink. After going through that two-by-four and sailing through the corn field, he was quite beat up. Everyone came running out to him. Then he heard, what seemed to him, to be two of the dumbest question he had ever been asked—
(1)”WHY DIDN’T YOU HANG ON?”
He answered, “I TRIED, BUT I COULDN’T!”
(2)“His girl friend ask him the most craziest question she could have asked…are you hurt?”
Illus: Listen, if people can dish out things like “Pop the whip,” and we can not hang on, why would you think anyone could “hang on” through the storms that Satan dishes out!
God wants you to quit trying to HANG ON. God wants you to do what Noah did. OBEY HIM AND PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE ARK, CHRIST JESUS!
Noah was not hanging on! Noah was trusting God.
Conclusion:
Illus: A United Press release from a mid western city told of a hospital where officials discovered the fire-fighting equipment had never been connected.
For 35 years they had thought they could rely on it for the safety of the patients in case of emergency, but it had never been attached to the city’s water main. The pipe that led from the building extended four feet underground--and there it stopped! The medical staff and patients had felt complete confidence in the system. They had thought that if a blaze broke out, they could depend on the nearby hoses to extinguish it. But there was a false security! Although the costly equipment, with its polished valves and well-placed outlets were adequate for the building, it lacked the most important thing--water!
For whatever the reason, there are many people in our churches who feel secure being attached to our churches. But, one day when God’s wrath is poured out, they will find they are in trouble because they lack the most important thing a person has to have to enter Heaven--THE LORD JESUS!
Conclusion:
I. THE GREATEST DISASTER
II. THE GREATEST DELIVERANCE
