Genesis 6:13-22 – What Can You Do to Make God Happy? – Bible study

Genesis 6:13-22 What Can You Do to Make God Happy? This morning I preached on Can You Make God Angry? Tonight, we preach the flip side of that. What can we do to make God happy? It boils down to one thing. Get on the ark. There was one thing that would have made God happen in the days of Noah, them getting on the ark! Notice what Peter wrote about that generation of people. 1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. They were disobedient while God waited. What was God waiting for? Them to get on the ark. What were they disobedient about? They did not get on the ark! It would have made God happy if they had gotten on the ark but only 8 souls did. Ge 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noahs wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; What is it about the ark that would have made God happy? The ark was a picture of Jesus and His salvation. It always makes God happen when people come to Jesus. There are many ways that the ark pictures salvation. I. The Ark is type of Jesus because it saved the people from the judgment of God for sin. A. I talked this morning about the sin that had angered God and moved Him to judging the world. B. The ark was the means of salvation. 1. The ark was the vessel of mercy. 2. The ark was the vessel of forgiveness. 3. The ark was the vessel of grace. 4. The ark was the vessel of salvation. C. But you have to get on the boat. II. The ark type of Jesus because it was the ONLY means of salvation from the flood. A. The ark was the one and the only means of redemption from the flood of judgment that God sent. B. There was not a fleet in that day. There was but one ark. III. Along the same lines, there was only one way to get on the ark. A. It was through THE door. Gen 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 1. There was only one door into the ark. 2. There were three floors but only one door. 3. You either came through the door or you did not get in. B. Jesus is the only Door to heaven. John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. IV. The ark is a type of Jesus because there was a preacher preaching the way of salvation! A. Just like there are preachers who preach about Jesus today, Noah preached about the ark then. 2Peter 2:5 And (God) 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; B. What was Noah preaching? The exact message is not given but the topic was. Righteousness. 1. What is righteousness? It means "right with God." 2. There are two thoughts that a preacher can preach about righteousness. These had to be the thoughts that Noah was preaching. a. The need for it. b. How to get it. 3. How does one get righteousness? Well, today a. Believing is having faith in the ark, having faith that Jesus death, burial, and resurrection will save you. Why? Because Jesus is the means of salvation. b. Repent. (1) Repent is turn from your sins and start doing right. (2) Why do we have to repent? Because repentance is the basis for our new relationship with God. (3) You could say that the sign you have repented is that you start to obey. (4) Obedience alone will not save but obedience is what comes out of a repentant heart! (5) The sure-fired sign that people have not repented of their sin is that they keep doing it. 4. The question then is, "What did Noah preach about righteousness in his day?" That will take me to my next thought. V. The ark is a type of Jesus because the conditions for getting on the ark were faith and repentance. A. Noah preached the same thing then that we preach now. B. He preached faith, the need to believe. 1. In our day, we preach that you must believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. 2. Noah preached faith but not in Jesus for Jesus had not come yet. 3. Noah preached that you need to believe a judgment was coming and the ark was the means of salvation. 4. I believe Noah used words in his sermon like "rain, flood, judgment." a. Some of these words would have been new to the people of his day. Ge 2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. b. I believe it would have taken GREAT faith for these people to believe in a coming rain and flood. c. Without that faith, they could not be saved. 5. What God has asked people to believe has changed down through the ages. a. Not the content of our faith for it has always been the same. (1) We are sinners. (2) Judgment is coming. (3) A means of escape is also coming. (4) Repent and trust are the means of escape. b. But the depth of what God has asked us to believe has changed down through the ages. (1) In Adam and Eves day, they only believed a means of escape was coming and nothing more. (2) In Noahs day, the ark was proclaimed as the means of salvation. (3) Today, I can tell you that the name of the Ark is Jesus Christ. C. He preached repentance, the need to turn and obey. 1. Repentance means to turn about. 2. In spiritual matters, it means to quit serving sin and self and let God be your Master and Lord. 3. In Noahs day, repentance mean quit ignoring what Noah said and get on the boat. a. The first step in repentance is always obedience. b. The first step of obedience in that day was to get on the boat. c. If you did not repent and surrender to God, you would be left outside the ark and perish! VI. The ark is a type of Jesus because the means was picked by God but the passenger list was determined by those who got on board. A. I cannot prove this point but I believe it to be so. 1. That is what the striving was about. Ge 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 2. That is what Noah was preaching for. B. Two things you need to know about the ark. 1. The Ark was chosen by God to redeem the people. So was Jesus. 2. The choice to get the ark was the peoples. So is Jesus. VII. The ark is a type of Jesus because the passengers rode on the inside. A. They did not have to hold on to the outside. 1. There was no peg out there for them to hold on to. 2. They were safely kept inside the ark. B. That is a picture of us being savednot by our good works, but by resting in Jesus completed work. 1. Jesus said it is finished and I believe Him. 2. I have trusted what Jesus did. a. My repentance is not me working for my salvation. b. It is me demonstrating I have surrendered to Him. c. From the outside, it may look to you like I work for my salvation. d. But I can tell you, being on the inside, I am not working to get saved. I am working because I am saved! e. The things I do, I do because I am grateful that I am on the boat, not because I am working to pay the fare. VIII. The ark is a type of Jesus because the passengers could fall down but they couldnt fall out. A. This speaks of the security that we have in Jesus. B. I am a believer in the eternal security of the believernot because I alike (although i do), but because the Bible teaches it. John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 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: John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. C. I dont want to fall down but I will be honest. It is hard for me to walk in a sea-tossed ship! When the waves of life hurl themselves at me, my ship may pitch and my balance may fail, but I am safe inside the ark! D. That is why so many Bible verses describe our location as IN Christ Jesus. (In a quick count, I found 40!) Ro 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Ro 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. IX. There ark is a type of Jesus because there was a time limit to get on the ark and God held the timer. So is there with trusting Jesus. Ge 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. A. People had to get in before the door closed. 1. God alone knew when He would send the rain and close the door and God alone could open the door. 2. Noah did not close the door so Noah could not open the door. 3. Once it was closed, those outside stayed outside! B. When it comes to salvation, I believe there are three ways God may close your door. 1. Death Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 2. I believe the rapture will seal some peoples eternity. 2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 3. I believe God may just quit dealing with you about being saved.