The Gospel According to Noah — Carter Conlon

Matthew chapter 24 if you'll turn there with me, please. Matthew chapter 24. The gospel according to Noah. The gospel according to Noah. So father, I thank you with all my heart today Lord for the touch of your Holy Spirit.

I Thank you for your word which is a discerner and divider of the thoughts and intents of the heart. I Ask you Lord today to give weight to your word weight that can only come from the Holy Spirit. It can't come from my exuberance.

It can't come from even our sincerity. It has to be supernaturally imparted to us. Let there be a weight on your word today. Father, I pray that you'd give each of us a receptive heart. To listen to learn to let you begin to change our lives to Bring each of us into conformity to what it really means to be born again by the Spirit of God.

Help me Lord to deliver this message help us to receive it and God I thank you for it. With all my heart in Jesus name and don't forget that to pray for our Bible school summit. International School of Ministry all of our students from 28 different countries arrive on Thursday.

Please be in prayer. The Lord's given us a great mission field and I believe he's bringing in some of tomorrow's leaders in various countries. To be trained and taught in the ways of God and to find out who they are in Christ.

Christ’s Answer About His Coming and the End of the Age

So, please always be in prayer for our Bible school. Matthew chapter 24 beginning at verse 37. Now before I read this, I want to just remind you that at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24 The disciples came to Jesus privately in verse 3 and they said tell us When will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

What what? What will show us? What will it be about society about the world? What what will the conditions be? What can we look forward to in a sense that will tell us that you are coming soon? What will tell us about the end.

So all of chapter 24 and chapter 25 is now Christ's response to this question. What is the sign of your coming now? He he does they don't understand that the coming of Christ is it is a twofold procedure may I put it that way?

He's he's coming first to take his church from the earth. Then there's going to be a time where hell is literally going to be unleashed on all of humanity such Suffering as humanity has never seen and of course at the end of that of that time He's returning with the Saints and glory To set up his kingdom on the earth where he will rule and reign for a thousand years and of course following that there will be the creation of a new heavens and a new earth and so he's trying to put answers by by the speaking of parables into their Understanding although the situation I'm about to read is not a parable, but he's using it as an example Matthew chapter 24 beginning at verse 37 now in answer to this question What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

But as the days of Noah were So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage. Until the day that Noah entered the ark now now, please.

Eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage is not an evil thing. Really what he's he's really speaking here is that society will just be carrying on as if there's a thousand years ahead of them.

People will be completely most people will be completely unaware of the day that they're living in. They will not know that the end of all things has come upon them and They did not know verse 39 until the flood came and took them all away.

So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

But know this that if the master of the house had known What hour the thief would come he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour That you do not expect.

Be ready. Be ready. Jesus Christ is coming for his church at a time When many many people are not going to be aware of it not going to be ready for it. Now the first implication When you begin to read This passage of Scripture is that society in the last days Might degenerate to the point that it looked very much like the society in Noah's day in Genesis chapter 6 verses 5 and verse 11 says the Lord saw That the wickedness of man.

This is a Noah's day was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The earth also verse 11 was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence.

We can expect society to degenerate down to this kind of a behavior and surely if you have your eyes open You see that degeneracy happening on a very rapid scale now in our time violence is now becoming accepted in our society.

Lying is a standard way of life. Truth as Isaiah said has fallen into the street morality is no longer anywhere to be found. People are taking evil and calling it good and taking the good of God and calling it evil.

Exactly as the scripture foretold the last days would be. Paul the Apostle in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 Calls it a perilous time in the last day perilous is there something in your heart that tells you that we're living in such a time right now a Time when you feel that all hell could break loose in our streets our society almost any moment.

That there's a seething anger in society. Just waiting for a moment to manifest itself. Civility is breaking down the desire to love and forgive and to have order. That which was part of the framework of our society because we were founded.

Whether or not you agree it is historical. We were founded on a Judeo-christian ethic in America. There was a value system. The value system of our laws and our society and our marriages and everything was based on the Word of God.

Now that we've taken the Word of God and we're throwing it out of our Institutions out of our schools and left to navigate our own sense of righteousness. We have becoming the very people that the Apostle Paul warned about in the last days.

He called it perilous dangerous times will come difficult times Jesus said it would become so difficult on the earth that men's hearts would begin to fail. Because of the struggles and trials and troubles that will come into this world as we know it.

The Perilous Character of the Last Days

He says men will be lovers of themselves. Lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient of parents unthankful unholy unloving unforgiving slanderers no self-control. Brutal haters of those that are good.

Traitors. In other words, you can't trust anybody's word anymore. Truth is not to be found true. You can't believe anything. You can't even believe you can hardly believe anything now that anybody says Headstrong Haughty lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

And the worst thing of all in all of this is having a form of godliness. But denying its power from such people Paul says turned away covering the whole thing up in a man-made powerless bankrupt sense of righteousness called religion some kind of religion of of some sort that will be characteristic of the last days.

Now thank God that in spite of the wickedness in Noah's day of that moment there was still Somebody that could hear the voice of God. That's why in Hebrews the writer of Hebrews says today If you can hear his voice don't harden your heart against his voice if you can still hear Thank God if it makes you uncomfortable.

Thank God that means you can still hear. If it if it causes you your your palms to sweat today. If it causes your heart to beat if it causes you to feel like running out of this place. Thank God. That means you can still hear.

When you can't hear any longer that means you can be sitting here a complete Reprobate totally outside of the presence in the kingdom of God. I can preach whatever I want. It's just like water off a duck's back.

It means nothing to you. When you've gotten to the place where you can't hear I don't think there's a worse place to be on the face of the earth. But oh, thank God in Noah's day. There was a man who could still hear and the message spoken to him was not easy.

Noah’s Warning and the Judgment of the Flood

God said to Noah the end of all flesh has come before me. The earth is filled with violence through them and behold. I'm going to destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7. The writer of Hebrews says by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen. Moved with godly fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his household. 2nd Peter chapter 2 in verse 5.

Speaking of the judgment of Noah's day. It says and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah one of eight people a preacher of righteousness bringing the flood of the world bringing the in the flood on the world of the ungodly.

And so concerning this man Noah, it could be said that his entire life. Its pursuit its direction. After he heard the Word of God Became the message. Peter said he was a preacher of righteousness. His whole life was the message.

A Believer’s Life as a Message

Is your life a message? When you walk into your office where you work or the unemployment office where you hope to get a job. Is your life a message. Is your conversation a message is your pursuit the way you the things you do.

Are they a message in your home? Are you a message to your family? Are you wholeheartedly pursuing the things of God? Is the kingdom of God your primary obsession in life? To live for him to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

To do what God says is right and to walk away from what God says is wrong. Yes, we struggle. Yes, we fall. Yes, we fail, but let me tell you ma 'am. Let me tell you sir. Your kids know if it's true what's in your life.

They don't expect perfection, but they know when it's true. They know when you come to the same table where you might have said something you shouldn't say in the next day. You're there saying I'm really sorry.

I spoke out of turn. I should never have spoken that way to you or to your mother or to your husband or your father. Whatever the situation is they know what is true. See Noah was not perfect by any stretch.

But his whole life his whole pursuit became his message. I Studied this and there are estimates that range from 40 years to 120 years that it took him to build the ark. There's a lot of conjecture about it.

You can look at it yourself. But safe to say that it took a long time to build this boat it was a big boat. It took a long time to build it and no doubt many people stopped by. Even out of curiosity to hear what he had to say.

Let's just call it Noah's Church. People probably stopped maybe Noah stopped everything on the Sabbath day most likely he did and perhaps he took a day of rest with his Family his three sons and their three wives who are all working together to build this boat.

It's in a high-profile place in the city. There'd never been a flood not even really been much rain of any sort. Especially along the lines of what he was talking about and people would have dropped by and there'd be curious.

The same as maybe somebody's here today. You've dropped by This church and you're curious you've dropped by on the internet from around the world. You're curious North Jersey in the annex. Maybe you're just here visiting and you're you're curious about what it is that we believe.

What are we building here? What was God doing when he established this church in 1987? What was the message and what's the point of having a church of this size in this day? And what was it about Noah's generation?

That virtually all the people apart from his own family. Refused to hear what he was saying. Can you imagine a society can get so entrenched in a false viewpoint of God and life and eternity? That they can no longer hear the truth.

The Three Elements of Noah’s Message

God forbid. God forbid. God forbid. God forbid that you're here today listening to my voice and you end up in hell. God forbid. God forbid that you have an opportunity To come to Christ as Lord and Savior you have an opportunity to not only have an assurance of eternity with God But have the full life that he promises.

You will have the full testimony between now and that time when you are with him in eternity and for some Inexplicable reason you push the message away. I I'm. What was the message of Noah now? There were three things that were I'm I have no doubt Was in his message.

Trying to tell people that their thoughts and their deeds were evil. They wouldn't hear it. They were so entrenched. Remember the original sin in the Garden of Eden is that mankind in himself or herself could become The judge of what is good and what is evil that is the original sin of humankind.

We will be God we will determine what's good. We will determine what's evil and so you've got this guy building a boat people are coming to hear what he's saying and he says God told me that the thoughts and the deeds of this entire generation are Evil in his sight.

How many people would have been offended by that? People who just they refuse to believe that sex outside of marriage is evil in the sight of God. They refuse to believe that marriage is only between one man and one woman and it's forever and it's ordained by God.

They refuse to believe it. I have little doubt that they were indoctrinating their children into their sinful behaviors. Even in their whatever educational system they had but they refuse to believe that it was evil.

They refuse to believe that gossip is evil. They refuse to believe that theft is evil that lying is evil. They refuse to believe it even though he said this is going to bring the judgment of God on this generation.

They refused to believe him. The second Element of Noah's preaching would have been that there was only one way in which they could be saved. How offensive that has become in our politically correct culture today.

There still is only one way Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and No one no one. No one comes to the father except through me. You do what you want. You craft your own religion you you you invent your own philosophy.

But you will not get to heaven apart from a living relationship with the Son of God who died for you. Requires you to admit that you're a sinner to believe that he died in your place and to confess him as your Lord and Savior.

And The third thing that he preaches with God was soon going to judge all the earth. Imagine, you know Peter the Apostle said in the last days. Scoffers are going to arise scoffers who say ah, come on.

We've heard this thing for 2 ,000 years. It's everything just goes on the way it always has stopped listening to these people. They're all crazy. God's not going to judge the earth. God loves the earth just as it is.

He's not going to judge it. There's the day of his coming as the scripture says they're gonna put far away the day of his coming. But a second question came to my heart as I was working on this is were there not some people who believed him.

You know, there are people here today. You're not really into the work. But you're not out either. You don't you don't fully deny what I'm telling you today but you're not in you believe but only to a point and Quite possibly they believe but none was willing to leave the good life of their present day to embrace such an all-consuming Project.

I mean this boat was going to take years to build and to finish. In other words Do I really want to spend my life doing this? There's so much out there. I mean the generation of that time probably had a lot to you know.

As Jesus said marrying giving in marriage buying and selling eating and drinking. There's there's just so much that that life had to offer them. Why would I want to give my all to this project and not only give my all to it?

But you know most everybody in the City that Noah was part of the culture was probably laughing at them every day going by. Probably that he was probably the butt of everybody's jokes in every dinner table.

And the stupid old man who's building this boat. And he's got his family, you know, a lot of people won't fully engage the work of God. They will not fully engage Christ because they're afraid of the ridicule of a godless society.

I would ask you a question. What in the world does it matter? Anyway, this is about eternity. Very soon this will all be over. It'll all be over. You're gonna be in eternity. And the people who stand before the throne of God that laughed at you and mocked you.

What does it matter then? That if you if you drew back because you were afraid of the ridicule if you drew back because you you really weren't sure is This is this work really worth Getting involved in and then there's a third type of person.

Others who said well, we're not far away from the boat. Well when judgment begins we'll get aboard. There's a kind of a person that says well I'm not really in but I know where the church is and you know, if it gets really bad out there if you know if the foreign Country decides to launch a nuclear missile.

I'll have enough time to get to the say. I heard it on the radio I got an hour to get to church and get right with God and you know, they honestly the thinking must have been among the people we know where the boat is and.

So when judgment begins we we know that there's a place of safety, but we're not really involved in it. We don't want to get into the work. We don't really want to do this. But you know when the time comes we'll get there.

How many people think like that in the Church of Jesus Christ? I'm not in. I'm not fully embracing the work. I really don't want to walk the way God wants me to walk. I really don't want to call my lifestyle evil.

I Really don't want to call his ways good. I don't want to be laughed at. I don't want to be ridiculed. I don't want to be. I don't want to be singly focused in life. But I'll get on board when times get tough.

The Suddenness of Coming Judgment

You see what they didn't understand and we're not prepared for and Jesus is talking about this in Matthew chapter 24 they were not prepared for the the suddenness of the coming judgment. In Genesis 11 it says in the sixth hundredth year of Noah's life in the second month on the 17th day of the month on.

That day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were open. In other words the judgment did not Come gradually it came in one day and it came suddenly and the rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 nights.

In Genesis 7 15 it says. And they went into the ark. To know up two by two of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered male and female of all flesh went in as God had commanded him and the Lord shut him In.

I want to remind you of something revelation 3 7 Jesus speaking to one of the churches as I am he who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. The Lord shut him in. The Lord shut the door. I I personally believe that that Noah couldn't open the door.

Even as people were banging on the outside and saying let us in let us in let us in. We repent we were wrong. You were right as the water Was a foot deep as the water came to their knees as the water came to their waist as they started banging on the door.

He couldn't open it if he wanted to because the Lord had closed the door and when God closes the door. You can't open it. It doesn't matter from the outside from the inside. You can't open the door. And you say well what relevance does that have to us today?

Noah, the Ten Virgins, and Readiness

Well, remember in chapter 24 and chapter 25 Jesus is answering the question what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? So now he starts to answer their question. He starts with different illustrations, but right in the middle of Matthew 24 He says just like it was in the days of Noah.

So also will the coming of the Son of Man be in a chapter 25. Continuing along that if you follow the thread, he's still he's still in the same mindset. He's still in the same theme about the days of Noah and he talks about five who are wise and five who are foolish.

People who thought they were part of the kingdom of God or maybe they took no time to prepare them. So they took no time to get the presence of God in their lives. They didn't take seriously their calling and at midnight a cry was heard behold the bridegroom is coming go out to meet him.

Chapter 25 verse 7. It says all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise give us some of your oil for our lamps. Are going out but the wise answered and saying no lest there should not be enough for us and for you but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves and while they went to buy the bridegroom came and Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came and saying Lord Lord open to us. But he answered and said assuredly I say to you I do not know you. He's still speaking in the context of Noah's day. He's drawing his own disciples back to that picture and saying just as it was in that day.

People were not concerned they were not listening. They were pushing the message away for various reasons. They were not willing to get involved in the work of God. They were offended at the thought that there was only one way to be saved from the coming judgment.

They pushed away the message. They pushed away the messenger. They deceived themselves into thinking that when trouble comes I can get in. I get in at the last moment. I will have time. You don't know my friend by my brother my sister you don't know if you'll have time.

You don't know if you won't die before the end of my message today. You don't know What how much time you've got left and this is the worst game of Russian roulette you could ever play in your lifetime.

To assume that you will have time. When the justice of God hits this world when he is saying this is this is what it will look like in that day. People will be knocking and saying Lord open to us and you say I don't know you.

The Warning of Sudden Crisis

Could you imagine? If you were in the proximity to this church. Based on this scripture and it came on 1010 winds on the radio that some nation just launched a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States and Realistically if they're going to do that guess what city is going to get hit first?

New York City is the bullseye in America. And so you heard on the radio that the missiles gonna be here in about an hour and anybody within a hundred mile radius is Gonna die, you know, you don't even have time to drive a hundred miles to get out and away from it.

So what do you do you come to the church? That's exactly what Jesus said is gonna happen in the last days. You knew where to go you knew where strength was you you knew? What the message was and you come in at the last moment and and and start saying get.

As you as you get close to the church. People are worshiping as we are today. They're praising. They're clapping. We're soon going to be in the presence of God. Oh Jesus, thank you Lord for your redemption.

But you walk in in a panic see because you never made the break you never really opened your heart and you comment. You're looking for somebody to give you something that only God can give you give us your oil.

Our lamps are gone out. We can't give to you and you're trying to knock. You're trying to get in but I'm gonna tell you I saw this on 9-eleven. It's very hard to get right with God when you're in a panic.

Very very hard to find that doorway of peace when you're in a panic and we saw it here. We saw people night after night after night coming in falling on their knees. Terrified of what was coming our way not knowing the depth of what terrorism was going to bring into our society.

But unable to really lay hold of God. We personally witnessed it folks people trying to get in and it seemed like the doorway to them was locked. It's very dangerous to play games with this kind of truth.

When you hear the truth of the cross you hear the truth of salvation and you push it aside. But I want to encourage you with these words this morning that Noah in spite of the evil of the day took his family with him.

Character, Family, and the Witness of a Godly Life

Because of his message because of his character and because of his life pursuit. I Thank God and I will thank God to my grave when I get to heaven. There's a man called Irv. I'm gonna seek him out. I'm gonna hug him for a thousand years.

I Thank God for the man who came to my house. I Thank God for the man who sat before me and I was not one to the Lord by his doctrine. I was one by his character. There was a difference I I didn't listen to what he had to say until I knew what kind of a man he was.

And I saw something in that man. I saw something in his character. There was something divine in him. Even when I pushed his buttons or I trash-talked him or I made fun of him. He responded to me in such a different way and his heart was fixed on my soul.

And I was so given why does this man care about me? Why does he keep coming back to my house? He's a good cop. He's a career guy. He's advancing in his career. He's got lots on the ball. Why is he wasting every Wednesday night coming to my house?

Because he was building the kingdom of God and his focus was not on his career. His focus was not on his next promotional exam. His focus was not on what he had done that day every Wednesday night. He left his workplace gathered his books and came to my house for a week after week after week.

Because he was building something that was eternal something that lasts something has value. He had character this man and his character opened my heart to the message. That's exactly what happened with Noah.

He drew his family in because they knew his character. They knew what they knew their father. They knew their father-in-law. There was something about his character that drew them into the work of God.

My father-in-law is not a liar. My father is a sincere man. My father hears from God and if my father is building this then we're in and we're going to build it with him. He took his family with him.

And you see it was the character of the man who led me to read the gospel of John who led me then God led me to open my heart, but I was the character of the man first. If I could have shaken his character, I would not have listened to his message.

I'll tell you right now. I'd be lost or dead today. But his character was not shakable. He was singly focused on the kingdom of God. Noah was singly focused on building that way of salvation. For his family and for his generation that God had set before him.

I Had remembered when I was a younger policeman, I'd be in the lunchroom. There was another Christian there and everybody made fun of this guy everybody he'd opened his Bible at lunchtime. They'd call him an idiot and every every other name there's a huge thing of conformity and Police work and he was a nonconformist.

Obviously, we're all cursed in Christ and playing cards and he's reading his Bible. I remember one day I said I got it annoyed with him. I said, why don't you stand up for yourself for goodness sakes, you know stand up for yourself.

Why do you let people beat on you like that? He says the Lord will defend me. I said, yeah, right the Lord will defend you and So the next day I come in and the guys are all just dumping on him again.

And I stood up and I had a bad temper back there. I'll tell you and I said just leave the guy alone. Shut up, everybody. Just leave him alone. He's not bothering you. He's not bothering me and play cards.

Do you stop but shut up leave him alone? And I sat down and kept playing cards and when everybody left he looked at me said see I told you the Lord would defend but I was really Thinking like ooh Lord.

Do I want to join him and be mocked like that? Nobody wants to do that. But it was the character of another man now this man had character as well. But it was the character of another man that when I heard him I saw his character and I heard his message.

I joined him and I began to build something that's considered foolish in the sight of a fallen humanity for the preaching of the cross is foolishness. To those who are perishing but to we who believe it is the power of God.

I Too picked up my hammer my cross may you put it that way and began to build as with Moses Scripture says he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater than all the treasures in Egypt and as a church age We have to make the break now from all of the mixture all the compromise everything that weakens our testimony.

Building the Kingdom Through Character and the Cross

When people come in contact with you your character is the first witness of Christ that they will receive. They will not listen to what you say until they see your character if you are among the divisive if your conversation is bitter if You are imbibing the spirit of this age and the divisions and the hatreds.

Then you've tried in secret to tell somebody About Jesus Christ, they're not going to listen to you because you've already negated the message by your character. You see it requires taking up the cross and building our focus comes into building the kingdom of God and We are willing to endure the persecution of a fallen society the laughter the Snickers.

In our hearts we feel sorry for them because they face an eternity. That the Bible describes as something that we can't fully comprehend because of its torment with our natural mind. And so my question to you this morning is are you a man or woman of character?

Are you letting the character of Christ be formed in you if you've opened your heart to Jesus Christ? If you've received him as your Savior, are you letting the Holy Spirit lead you into the Word of God?

Is the Word of God becoming your guide? For life when you walk into a Room and people are tearing apart our present leadership. In the country are you among those who say well the Bible says we should pray could we do that right now?

Could we just pray for our leaders? Paul the Apostle when Paul the Apostle said pray for our leaders that when we live a godly and peaceable life. He was talking about Caesar. Do you understand that at that time?

What are you building what is your message as The Church of Jesus Christ. I implore you with all of my heart as Noah must have implored his generation Get up and get right with God. Take your family With you into heaven not only into the work of God but into heaven itself.