Hebrews 11:7 – 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; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Hello readers, today we will be considering the end of the world. We read in Matthew 24:3 – And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? The disciples asked about the end of the world, and Jesus answered them what the world would be like and the signs of the times. So you see, the question is not will this world end… because this world is going to end. Jesus didn’t say it wouldn’t end, he answered their question and gave them the signs and information they were seeking. There is an expiry date on this world. You may have heard the saying “it’s not the end of the world”, but one day this world will end.

The Bible says there is no new thing under the sun… and we always have examples in the past which we can learn from. The Bible was written so that we could know things, it is in fact the book of life… it has everything you need to be life proof and future proof. Did you know that the world has ended before?  This world won’t be the first world to end… because a world ended thousands of years ago in Noah’s day. So today, we can look at the story of Noah and see how we should prepare for the end of the world, as he prepared for the end of the world. 2 Peter 2:5 – And 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… so you see, there was a previous world to this one, Jesus said that at the end of the world it would be like in the days of Noah. The old world wasn’t spared, and neither will this present evil world be spared… judgement is coming fast.

Noah prepared an ark to the saving of his house, so we can look at Noah’s life and learn from it, so we can be ready like he was. In recent years there has been an upsurge in “doomsday prepping”… people have a sense of a coming apocalypse, people are fearful for the future, they’re fearful for the future of this planet. In a parallel passage to Matthew 24, which is Luke 21, the Lord Jesus said this in Luke 21:25 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring… it seems ironic that the sea and the waves roaring is a sign of the end times… people are so worried about rising sea levels… and we also see today distress of nations and perplexity over climate change. But the Bible says God has set the bounds for the seas, and while heaven and earth remain, they won’t prevail against us. Job 26:10 – He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

The world has ended before, and it will again. It ended with a flood of water the first time, but the second time it will be with fire – 2 Peter 3. We go back to Genesis and learn from a man called Noah, and we can be like Noah today. Noah and his family were the only survivors, and it goes to show the same pattern today… not many people are saved. Elijah felt all alone, so God does have his own and know his own, and they know him. But it has always been just a small remnant of true believers, the overcomers, who overcome the world by faith and faith is the victory. Noah believed God, and because of his faith in God, he survived the end of the world.

It seems funny that people are willing to believe in many things not seen yet, but won’t believe God who they can’t see. We read that Noah “being warned of God of things not seen as yet”… there are many things we only see through faith. I haven’t seen hell, or seen heaven, or seen Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 1:8,9 – Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. In Hebrews we read that without faith it is impossible to believe God. Noah had God’s word… and so do we today. We worry so much, and in fact use this excuse… what about people in the Amazon who’ve never heard the gospel… if God was able to get his word to Noah, and he’s gotten it to you, what makes you think he can’t get his word to anyone or everyone else? Noah had God’s word, and he believed it. Yet people are willing to believe things they haven’t seen like climate change, like evolution, yet ignore things like the Bible’s warnings. You may say there is evidence for evoltuion… but there isn’t. The ACTUAL evidence is that dogs produce dogs, cats produce cats, humans produce humans… that’s all we’ve ever observed. End of world climate change? All we’ve ever observed is that we keep having hot and cold, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest. That is actual science.

Here’s an interesting note… God cares about animals more than you. He created them, you didn’t. He sees the sparrow fall… you don’t. Read the way God spoke to Job, in Job 39 as God spoke to Job… Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? And in Luke 12:24 – Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? The Bible says God feeds them. God cares for animals more than you. And who knows, it’d be a shame not to experience Isaiah 11:6 – The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. You spend your whole life worshipping the creation but not teh Creator, but you’ll end up missing the future blessedness of a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (no sin, no evil, no pain, no suffering, no disease). God made sure the animals survived, and he brought animals by pairs to the ark to preserve them. And after all, animals are cursed as all of creation is, because of the sin of humanity. God cares for animals more than you.

The waters that destroyed the old world… saved Noah. Did you know that? The waters saved Noah the Bible says in 1 Peter. Because that past world was wicked, violent and corrupt. It was a time where man’s thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually. That’s pretty bad. We often criticize God for not doing anything. In fact, ungodly man always pins this on God “why does God let people and children suffer?”. Why doesn’t he do anything about it? But God HAS done something about it many times, just like in Noah’s flood. Then he does something about it and people say what a mean vindictive God he is for killing all those people bar Noah and his family. Can’t win right? Suffering is in this world because God gave mankind freewill and choice, but the sad fact is, man often uses his freewill and choice to do EVIL. You can use it to do good, but many don’t. Look at the world today and list it’s attributes. Greed, lust, envy, selfishness, anger, pride, exploitation, manipulation, slander, cursing, bitterness… the list goes on and on and on. That is what the flesh is, and that’s what the flesh does. And the Bible says in Genesis 6 that God said he would not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh. There is an endpoint for flesh. Thanks be to God. Surely you even get sick of yourself.

God said to Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me. Flesh had corrupted it’s way on earth. And that’s mankind for you in his sinful, unregenerate, ungodly state. There had been preachers before the flood. We read in Jude that there was a man called Enoch… his sermon is recorded in Jude… but he was a preacher we wouldn’t like today. Ungodly this, ungodly that, ungodly, ungodly, ungodly. Why can’t you say anything nice preacher? Ahab didn’t like the prophet Micaiah because he never would said anything good to him. When we get right with God, truth is welcome, but when we are in darkness, the word of God is our enemy. Because the light exposes the darkness, the truth is salt in our open, unbound wounds… which rather than being healed, we would rather they run… like the running issue of Leviticus. We all have running issues, sins and sins that fester and plague our life and those around us, but they’re never fixed, they’re perpetually running.

Lots of people have tried condemning Noah. Russell Crowe, a famous actor, who played Noah in the movie Noah (which is a totally unBiblical movie)… said Noah was not benevolent or nice… making out Noah to be this bad guy standing by watching the world get destroyed. But the condition of the world was atrocious, it was full of evil, wickedness, violence, corruption. So evil God repented he had made man. The Bible says Noah was a preacher of righteousness… he warned people with his words and deeds. How is he responsible if noone else believes God? It’s a bit like today. People have God’s word available to them, people have been warned so much you tell them and their eyes glaze over and you’re Bible bashing. It wasn’t Noah’s fault everyone got destroyed, they could’ve prepared for the flood, but they chose not to… they could’ve believed God but they chose sin over righteousness, just as people do today. In fact today is exactly the same as Noah’s day in all respects. There was the warning of coming judgement with the imploring to be ready back then… and so it is today. I can warn you that God’s wrath is coming and that you’re going to hell if you die in your sins, beyond that I cannot help you. If you choose to reject truth, that’s on you. And it doesn’t make me the bad guy for believing and doing something about it… which you could’ve done. Wisdom crieth in the streets saying how long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity. The start of Isaiah 53… who hath believed our report? You’ll believe lying reports, but you won’t believe the Bible’s report of truth to you.

Noah survived the end of the world because he prepared. He prepared by obeying God. And you will only survive the end of the world in this sequence. Firstly you need to hear from God. That includes being willing to hear. God’s word is available to you today, you have heard the gospel and you hear it, you hear it so much your ears are shut to it. But Noah’s ears were open to God’s voice. You need to hear God, you need to get God’s word, then you need to believe it. And in believing what God has said, you then will act upon it, you will obey it. Noah heard God’s word, than he obeyed it. God showed him the way to survive the end of the world. We have been shown the way to survive the end of our world. There is a way, but there is only one way, a very specific way. Noah followed God’s instructions, and God has shown us how to get to heaven, and there is only one way, God’s way, to heaven. Jesus Christ is the way. That ark that Noah built symbolizes Jesus Christ. You prepare for the end of the world by believing on Jesus Christ, that is building your ark. Get your family in the ark with you. If you get saved, tell your family, make sure those you know and can influence get saved to.

Noah was saved because he got in the ark. In Christ we will make it through the storm. We are safe in the ark. That ark took a battering, but Noah and his family were safe inside. Jesus took God’s wrath for us, and it floated on the waters of judgement. We can stay afloat and not drown in God’s wrath against our sin when we are in Christ. Jesus satisfied God, and thus the ark does not sink, instead it floats, and it is what saves us. That ark took a long time to prepare. You see our life on this earth is one of preparation, and as he built that ark, so a life built on Jesus Christ will make it through the storms of judgement and death. The future isn’t so scary when we are in Christ, sealed inside, as Noah was. Noone could get in that ark once it was shut. I imagine quite a few people went running to that ark when they realized Noah was right as the rain started falling and the ground started bursting with water beneath. It was too late though… and similarly, today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time… don’t put it off! They procrastinated year after year, and suddenly it was all over. You don’t have as much time as you think.

Noah was moved by fear the Bible says. Today’s society doesn’t fear God. They say “you’re just trying to scare me”. But fear is a good thing. Fear often holds us back from doing things we shouldn’t do. When people start drinking alcohol, it removes fears, it removes inhibitions, and many people make many mistakes when under alcohol’s influence. It’s a good thing to fear God. In fact the fear of the Lord is one of the seven spirits of God, which is the Holy Spirit. If you don’t fear God, you don’t have the Spirit of God. Jesus told us who we should fear, fear the one, God, who is able to cast your soul into hell. Noah was moved with fear, he saw the wicked world, he knew what God had said, that the world was going to be destroyed… and he didn’t want to get destroyed, him or his family. Fear is a good thing, it’s healthy. It might just save you from going to hell. I’d think twice before disregarding a warning of going to an eternity in a place of torments and burning. But God did tell him judgement was coming, but with the warning came the solution, you see it’s a picture of law and grace, those two combined teach man the gospel. The law condemns the sinner, but the grace of God shows man how to be saved, how to be forgiven, through Christ. God never leaves us in our plight, he tells us we are wicked sinners, as they were, and as we are, but he also shows us how to live, he gave Noah all the information he needed to survive the end of the world.

It was by God’s grace Noah survived the end of the world. It was God’s grace all the way. People believe all kinds of things about salvation past, present and future. But it’s always been God’s grace. From Genesis to Revelation… it is the grace of God. By God’s grace Noah heard the word of God. By God’s grace Noah obeyed God’s word. By God’s grace Noah was saved. As he piece by piece, plank by plank put that ark together… and it was the finished article by the time the waters came. The Bible says Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. If you are saved, you will make it, you will be prepared against the future. There are many things not seen as yet, but we are ready for them simply by hearing the gospel and believing it. And after we are saved, living it by God’s grace. Life can be hard, I’m sure assembling the ark was not easy, but by the end it was done. Life can be pretty rough down here, but at the end of it, if you are in Christ, all will be well with you. That ark was waterproof, it rose above the waves of God’s judgement, and when finished, Noah stepped out into a new world… the old world destroyed, but Noah had made it through. Because he had prepared for the end of the world. It was preparing an ark that saved him. Preparing an ark isn’t a call to do works to make you saved. But it does show the practicalities of the Christian life. There are sacrifices, there are costs, there are hardships, there is the testing of our faith. God had told him what to do, how to be saved, that preparing the ark is a picture of our responsibility. God tells us the truth, but we still have to take hold of it, he won’t force us to believe. Building the ark took dedication, it took commitment, it took determination, it took believing God, it took trusting God, it took a “despite all odds” attitude. But it saved him and his family.

Building an ark today for the end of the world is hearing about Jesus Christ, it’s hearing about the fact you’re a sinner under the wrath of God a heartbeat away from hell, it’s hearing about the coming of the Lord in judgement, it’s heeding the warning, and it’s believing in what Jesus has done on the cross for you, trusting in him to save you from your sins. Jesus Christ is the ark. Only through him will you make it to the new world. For many people, this present evil world is their hope, their home, their future, their all. Jesus said the foxes have dens, the birds have nests, but the Son of man hath nowhere to lay his head. Noah didn’t invest in the world of his day. He invested in the future world he would be living in. If you are saved, this is not your resting place, you look for a world to come. We look for a new heaven and new earth, we look to heaven, that’s where our heart is. Following Jesus Christ will alienate you from this world, and just like Christ, our resting spot isn’t here, that’s why the Bible calls us strangers and pilgrims. We are on a journey to a new world, a world wherein dwelleth righteousness, a world where there is no more evil, no more sin, no more pain, no more curse. Revelation 7:17 – For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

God told Noah what. He told Noah judgement was coming. The same thing is true today, judgement is coming both on a personal and corporate level. Individually we are all sinners facing the wrath of God, we have a sin problem. They were wicked then, we are wicked now. God told Noah how. He told him to build an ark. And it had to be done in a particular way. This ark pictures Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way we are going to find the solution to our sin, and to our future. He is our only hope, but he is a sure hope. How did Noah prepare for the end of the world? Well the end of the world came. And he had built an ark. He had heard the word of God, he had obeyed it. Build a life based around the ark of Christ. A life based on Jesus Christ. A life built on Jesus Christ. Abide in him, just as Noah got in that ark, and he and his family were safe inside it, even while the water raged from above and beneath. Prepare for the end of the world, and you do it by trusting in Jesus Christ. That ark being built was a testimony to others, and your life being built upon Christ will impact those around you, and even if they all pass by, or laugh, or scoff… it will be worth it and you will be ready for the end of the world, you will be ready for things not seen as yet.

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