Gospel—Robbie Wood
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You know, like to welcome everybody to the gospel tonight. Wonder if we could start off singing hymn #4.
In #4 Maybe we could stand together to sing.
Christ is the Savior of Sinner.
Now I agree I am free.
Stay happy, save up there in my cake, shake it before my grandma.
Now I can say I am cold and happy and justice delivering.
If I know what you thinking, this is the shaker morning.
Stay about 10:00 in.
Blessed with all Blessed.
How shall I tell them to bring it? This is the sacred for me.
Say about me. Say about dinner. Like me?
Change it. Like warm, like handsome. This is the figure for me.
Just ask the Lord for his help.
#40.
Hey, that's lovely.
Oh, let's go one to him be hung layer with my ears from yes he's a classic yes she's not allowed me yeah, he's not lost me.
The Bible tells me so.
She's not lumpy near God. I have landscape to open life. He will wash away my sins flat out a little child come in.
Yeah, it's a flooding. Yeah, we come. Love me.
Yeah, I love it. Not like I need so.
3000 times me so I'm sad and he wakes to make me cry, wait to pull me in his heart, keep me safe by every arm. Yes she has. Lovely.
Yeah, and I love you. Yeah, she's not plastic. Not I won't help me so.
She's not loudly, loudly still when I'm 30, we can tell. Round and shining. Oh my heart.
He will watch me where I lie. Yes, you're not love me.
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I love you. Yes, I love it. The light will help me so.
She's not flouncing. He will stay close to him all the way. If I trust him, should I die, he will Take Me Home, my time.
Yeah, yeah, she's not lucky.
Yes, she's not a loving. Yeah, she's a lovely who tells me so.
No.
We probably don't have to say too much, we could just sing a couple more gospel hymns and go home because they tell a wonderful story of salvation. But umm wanted to look at a well known story. That's a favorite of mine and I know I've spoken about it before, but it's simple and easy to understand. And with the children here and all that would be, I felt what the Lord would have me speak about.
And.
Most of us up until a month or so ago didn't think too much of the name. Irma might have been a distant, long lost relative or something, or maybe not even. But certainly in the last month, that name has meant quite a bit to any of the follow the news and certainly to any of that lived in the, uh, Florida area or down in the Keys or down in the islands.
The worst hurricane that had come in a long, long while, and.
We know that thankfully, the authorities are able to predict when these things are coming. They even have some idea where they're turning. And there was no doubt in anyone's mind that preparations had to be made.
And the poor folks that live in little more than pieces of tin, maybe nailed together with sticks, maybe not even nailed together. There was an awful lot they could do other than try and find something made out of cement to hide in. People that had a little more secure houses wanted to be sure that anything that was glass was covered up so that it maybe wouldn't get broken. Maybe put some sandbags around to try and prevent the flood coming.
But.
Everyone was pretty sure that there needed to be preparation made.
And the storm hit. The devastation was incredible.
And yet there weren't too many deaths. There were some, sad to say, I'm sure there are many that lost their homes and much of what they had, their lives were spared.
But early on in the Bible we read of quite a different storm that was sent, and so if we could turn in the book of Genesis.
And.
We could begin reading.
Umm. In Genesis chapter 6.
And we'll begin reading at verse #11. Genesis chapter 6. Verse #11.
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence, and God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Well, that was written many thousands of years ago. It could have been written yesterday.
We certainly know all around us that much of what even was held 30 or 40 years ago and society is being sinful and abominable is now being accepted. Sad to say, in our country of Canada, open sin is now being condoned as being lawful and being presented to children in schools as being something that is acceptable.
We need to pray earnestly for the country and the powers that be.
But in this day it records that God looked down and there was wickedness. Verse 13 And God said to Noah, the end of all fleshes come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
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Make the anarchy of Gopher Wood rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch. This is the fashion which thou shalt make it of. The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits.
A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it. Above the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof, with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life from under heaven, and everything that is on the earth shall die.
Well, we find that God.
Had made a decision that the wickedness had to be punished and if we were to read on through the Bible we could find.
Another incident where a city had to be punished for wickedness.
And we also know that this world is sentenced to judgment.
In part because of the wickedness, but most of all because it rejected God's Son from heaven.
But as is the case today, God made a provision for escape and he gave Noah the directions for building this huge arc or boat. Umm I The measurements were in cubits, which I understand was a measure that was supposed to have been from the end of somebody's finger down to both their elbow. Now of course the interesting part was what size person was it, but.
Says that's what it was. I'm sure the Lord laid it out for them.
Ian, rough estimation, the arc was somewhere around 450 feet long. I was counting the tiles in the ceiling and I think there's about 35 of them or so thereabouts, roughly. So that would be like 10 of these rooms would be 350 and then you'd add on another three of them in a row would get you to about 450. So if you kids can picture 13 meeting rooms in a row.
That was about how long the ark was and I didn't get working on the width because that would involve math and anyways, but you know how wide it is, roughly 32 or something other. So it would have been a little wider than this room, maybe another 10 feet wider. And the height wise 45 feet. That's pretty tall building. This would be what, 1012? OK, so three 12412. So it'll be almost four meeting rooms high from this ceiling.
To give you a bit of an idea of the size of this project.
Bottom line is there was room for anybody that wanted to get in.
And the Lord gave him direction to build rooms inside of it, gave direction for there to be a window above in the ark, and he gave direction that the door should be in the side of it.
And as we go on, we'll get some more instructions here. Verse 18. But with thee will I establish my covenant. Thou shalt come into the ark, thou thy sons, thy wife, thy sons, wives with thee.
And of every living thing, of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark to keep them alive. With thee they shall be male and female.
Of fouls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind. Two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive, and take thou unto thee. Of all food that is eaten, thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him. So did he. Well we find that.
God made provision for Noah.
And for his wife, his sons and his sons wives. And he was also going to provide a miracle in that the two of each kind of animal we're going to come into the ark. I don't know if you've ever seen a dog and a cat together, but they don't tend to line up and go quietly together. Sometimes once they get to know each other, they'll make peace. Umm, you don't usually see lions leaving small animals alone.
And you know, there's artists have had lots of.
Fun interpreting and doing this. Sometimes you see pictures of Noah trying to, you know, coax animals in. I believe the Lord had them walk in two by two and in order to fashion into the art because He had created those animals and He was going to preserve the things that he had created.
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And the entrance into it was through the side, and we'll see why that was important. So Chapter 7, verse one, the Lord said to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark. For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee. By sevens the male and his female, and of beasts that are not cleaned by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the year, by sevens the male and the female. To keep seed alive upon the face of the earth for yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth.
Excuse me, 40 days and 40 nights. And every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did, according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
So even though God had given Noah this instruction and Noah had worked on building the ark, he gave yet another warning at the end saying there's seven more days and it's going to come get into the ark.
And as we read, God had made provision for them with food to care for them, and we find that Noah was obedient.
So in verse six, Noah was 600 years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. Noah went in and his sons and his wife and his sons wives with him into the ark because of the waters of the flood.
Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth. Excuse me. There went in two and two unto Noah, into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah, and it came to pass after seven days.
That the waters of the flood were upon the earth in the 606 hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the 17th day of the month, the same day where all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
And the rain was upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights. In the self same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons, with him into the ark. They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
And they went in under Noah into the ark. Two and two of all flesh werein is the breath of life. They that went in went in male and female, of all flesh, as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in.
So we find that as God had planned nor constructed the ark, the animals went in, nor was family went in.
And at the end of verse 16.
We don't find that. Noah decided it was time to shut the door.
Says the Lord shut him in.
And you know, friends tonight.
The judgment that's coming on this world will be unlike anything that's ever been seen before. If you were to go up and down the street and ask folks what they thought the worst sin was that they could commit, you'd probably get fairly much the same answer. Probably murder would come up, probably more so than any. Maybe kidnapping, maybe extortion, maybe some form of moral evil, although that's getting less likely, sad to say.
But.
Each and every one of those things is a sin done by a man against another human being.
But the worst sin of all is to reject God's Son.
And it tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But God doesn't want to judge anyone.
He is holy and he is righteous, and he has made a perfect way of escape. You know what tells us in the Scripture a little earlier on we didn't read it, that it had never rained before on the earth. And so for Noah to have perhaps told his neighbors and acquaintances that they needed to get into this art because it was going to rain for 40 days, 40 nights, and there was going to be a flood.
They might well have said it's never happened before. What's rain? We don't know.
But it did.
And friends tonight, I don't think there's anybody in the room tonight that hasn't heard the gospel message before.
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And we know from the Scripture that the end of our chances to be saved from that judgment to come.
Is a day that's been appointed by God. You know, sometimes we have appointments, and if we're not carefully slip our mind, and we forget to keep them. But God doesn't do that, Says he's appointed a day that he will judge this world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.
That's the Lord Jesus, the same one that tonight wants to be your Savior.
And it tells us as well that the end of the day of grace is going to happen quickly and the twinkling of an eye. So if anybody is thinking that, you know, maybe like the neighbors of Noah's that they thought, well, you know, it's time. We got another day or two to maybe play outside the ark. It looks a little boring in there. We're not going to get in until the very last minute.
My friend.
The time it takes you to blink your eye.
Could happen before you even notice it and it will be too late. Don't put off salvation.
Well, if we go back in the Genesis 7 verse 17.
Says the flood was 40 days upon the earth. The waters increased and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. The waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. The waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. 15 cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered.
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, all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land dyed, and every living substance was destroyed, which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven. And they were destroyed from the earth. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark and the waters prevailed upon the earth 150 days.
Well.
This was a flood unlike anything that has been seen since.
Umm, we could spend more time on some of the details here, but I did wanna go down and umm.
Just a second here. Now look, in Chapter 9, we'll come back to some of the things in the middle, but in Chapter 9.
Says in verse eight, God speak to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, and I behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you from all that grow to the ark, to every beast of the earth, And I will establish my covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be cut off anymore by the waters of a flood, neither shall there anymore be a flood.
To destroy the earth. And God said this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh.
The water shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh, and the bow shall be in the cloud. And I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
And God said to Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Well, we all know on a sunny day, if it rains, if you look in the right direction, you see an absolutely beautiful display in the sky of a rainbow. And it's God's promise that he'll never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. I can remember some years ago we had a Sunday school class and there had been an event not on lake Hurricane Irma. I'd forgotten what it was, but there was terrible flooding somewhere.
And.
One of the children in the class said, well, that's not true because there was just a flood in such and such a place. And I said, well, let's read this again. And so we went back to the word of God, and it very clearly says that it's the entire world. And as we read a little earlier there in the end of Chapter 7.
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Talks about the waters rising up.
How that it went over the high heels and how the mountains were covered.
Now, in my lifetime, I've never heard of anybody being flooded off the top of the Rocky Mountains. Never heard of anybody drowning on the top of Mount Everest.
There has never been a flood such as this. You know, sometimes you see reports and they've they've got a foot of water and they say it's a flood of biblical proportions. Guarantee that reporter didn't spend a lot of time reading the word of God because they would never say that.
Anyhow.
There's lots of people that don't want to take God at his word, and that probably was no different in Noah's time you can picture.
Probably once they figured out that rain meant water was coming out of the sky. And as it started to get higher, there was probably a few of them that maybe had a little bit of education, maybe a little bit of experience farming. And they knew that water would go to the lowest point. So they maybe decided, well, we're not too sure about this, but no one went to a lot of trouble. Maybe we should move up onto a higher hill.
We find out the high hills were covered. There might have been even some that took him a little more seriously and said, well, let's not just stop at a high hill, let's get to a mountain because we'll be sure to be safe there. The mountains were covered. God's judgment was complete, just as He had promised.
Well.
The ark is just a little picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so if we go over, we'll just pick up a little bit of what he did so that we would not have to be sent to a judgment in a lost eternity.
And without reading, it would be wonderful if we had time to read the entire gospel, and that won't fit in the space of an hour, not even two or three. But the Lord Jesus, as we know, the eternal, everlasting Son of God, the spotless, sinless one, was sent down here into this world so that man might learn the heart of God the Father.
And sent to be a substitute for our sin.
On the cross.
How he was born as a little baby in Bethlehem and went about in his life.
Only doing good.
When he became about age 30, he began preaching.
And for three years, his public testimony was carried out. Blind people were able to see again. People that couldn't talk were able to speak again. Those that couldn't walk were able to walk again.
Many with diseases were healed.
Some were raised back to life.
And for all this good that he did.
Instead of receiving him and accepting him, man and their hatred.
Said that they wanted him killed.
God's people, the Jewish nation who he had promised to send the Messiah as a Savior, wouldn't accept that the Lord Jesus was the one they were waiting for.
I suppose they were looking for something that was grand and glorious, and a little baby born in a Manger wasn't exactly what they were looking for. And the more proofs and examples that he gave that he truly was the Son of God, the more angry they became and the more earnestly they called out to have him killed. And so even though the Jewish nation at that time was controlled by the Roman Empire.
And the Jews were not found at all of the Romans.
They prevailed upon the Roman government, the soldiers, the army to do away with the Lord Jesus. And so we find that eventually Jesus was arrested and brought into the judgment hall for a trial. And so we'll pick up some of that here.
Just a second here.
Hmm, we won't take time to read all of the account.
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Let's, uh, pick it up at verse 28 in John chapter 18, John chapter 18 and verse 28.
John, chapter 18, verse 28.
Then LED thy Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment, and it was early, and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat. The Passover Pilot then went out to them and said.
What accusation bring you against this man?
They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee, malefactor basically being word for bad guy for lack of a better express expression. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law.
The Jews therefore said unto him, It's not lawful for us to put any man to death, that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called for Jesus, and said unto him.
All right now the King of the Jews, Jesus answered him. Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered. Am IA Jew thine own nation, and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?
Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world. If My Kingdom are of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my Kingdom not from hence? Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king? Then Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out and said again unto the Jews, Sorry. He went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have accustomed that I should release unto you one at the Passover. Will you therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? They cried, Then cried they all again saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
So even in the Roman government.
They could say there's no reason to put Jesus to death.
And they even made an offer saying you get one prisoner free a year. How about it be Jesus this time? Well they said no no we want the robber called Barabbas and another place we could read that they said they wanted to CR to have him crucified.
Sentences then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. No, we read that verse quickly sometimes. What an awful thing.
To take a man with his ******** and to whip him with whips that were designed to gouge into his flesh and to rip hunks of flesh out of his back. What awful agony to put a man through.
Basically.
The Roman government trying to appease the Jewish people, no reason other than that. And the soldiers planted a crown of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe and said hail king of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands. So they took the Lord Jesus with his back bleeding and basically dressed him up to make fun of him.
They didn't have a crown of gold and jewels. They made a crown out of thorns, and apparently the thorns that grow in that area are not like the little prickers we have on rose bushes over here. They were like big nails.
Put that on the Lord's head.
Put on them a purple roll to make them look like a king and basically mocking him, smoting, smiting him, hitting him with their hands.
So Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.
I don't know about you, but if you didn't find fault with somebody to turn around and rip their back to shreds, dress them up like a mock king and let people hit them was no way to treat anybody, let alone the Lord of glory.
Says Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe Pilot saith unto them, Behold the man. When the chief priest, therefore an officer, saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
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Pilot saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no fault in him.
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Well.
He truly was the Son of God, but that was no crime worthy of execution.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid and went to gain into the judgment. Sorry.
Hall and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
Then saith Pileth unto him, Speaketh thou not unto me? Norest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
This is a mistake that's been made time and time again throughout history. Man in positions of power thinking that they have the right and the privilege to do things to God.
Jesus corrects him. He says, Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except if were given thee from above. Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
From Pilot sought to release him.
But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth.
Sat down in the judgment seat, in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover. And about the 6th hour. And he saith to the Jews, Behold your king. But they cried out. Away with him, away with him. Crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king?
The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. He bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other, with him on either side, one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. The writing was Jesus of Nazareth.
The King of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, right, not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews. And Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.
Well, we find that the Roman government's system of execution was put into action.
One of the most cruel ways to take a man's life that could be devised to take a human being. Stretch their arms out on a wooden cross and drive nails through their hands and nails through their feet. And then take that wooden cross, stand it upright and drop it into a hole and have the person hung on display for all to see and over the head of the person would be placed.
The crime they had done. And so you probably would go through the city on any given day and you might see that sign that would say murderer, thief, extortioner, whatever. I suppose their thought was that anybody thinking of carrying out a crime like that might stop and think twice about it, because they were doing the same thing as the poor man there, and they could very well be the next one up.
There was no crime to write on the cross over Jesus head, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Was what was there and so even when the Roman army had done their worst.
The gospel was really being proclaimed as to who Jesus was.
King of the Jews, well, says then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, made four parts to every soldier part, also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
Well, in the interest of time, we better drop on down here. Umm.
We'll go down to verse uh, 28 after this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. Now there were set a vessel full of vinegar. They filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth.
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Even as you might say, a man's last request.
He's thirsty, they don't give him a nice drink of water, they give him vinegar. Substance guaranteed to make you even more thirsty. The heart of man told out over and over again against the Son of God.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
So the Lord Jesus.
Gave up his life, we find that.
The Scripture tells us that the Lord had power to lay down his life and he had power to take it again.
And had another student one time say to me, well, you're telling me that God sent his Son into the world to die, but God could give up his own life and God could take his own life again. So what's the point? And I want to speak reverently because that was how this came across in the person's mind. What they were missing was the point. That's not recorded in this gospel, but in the others.
How that the Lord hung there on that cross for a period of six hours? How that for the first three hours men passed by and mocked Him and reviled him and did all sorts of mean things to him.
And then there was an eclipse, if you want to call it that. The sun was darkened in the middle of the day. No, there again this summer there was an eclipse. Everybody was worried that they'd go blind if they looked at it. And it was for a short period of time. Up here in Canada, we didn't see a whole lot. It was just looked like it was cloudy. And then it got sunny again. I guess it was quite dark in some areas down further to the South.
Didn't last for three hours.
During that three hours we know from other scriptures that God placed.
Our sin on his Son the Lord Jesus, and punished him there on the cross.
That's what the Lord was referring to in verse 30 when he said it is finished.
Sin had been paid, for the judgment was born.
You know, as we mentioned, the wages of sin is death, and that sentence is passed upon everyone.
But we have a choice. We can serve out that sentence in a place called the Lake of Fire in Hell for all eternity. Or we can accept that Jesus was our substitute there on the cross, and that he bore the punishment for our sin.
Just as that ark was born up on the water and Noah was saved from drowning.
And we know that that arc was covered with pitch. It wasn't a pretty looking bolt. It tells us by the time the Romans had finished with the Lord Jesus and nailed him on the cross, that his face was so mired more than any man in his form, more than the sons of man.
Believe he was possibly hardly recognizable as a human being, they had beaten them so badly.
You know, people are usually attracted to something that's pretty and nice. The Lord Jesus says there is no beauty in them, that we should desire Him.
And that arc maybe didn't look like a beautiful place to be, but it was God's provision, the only place of safety.
Well, we find that the Lord gave up his life, and in verse 31, the Jews therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, besought pilot, that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
So the process of crucifixion was not a speedy death. It was a long drawn out affair and the person hanging there on the cross was able to keep themselves alive as they would hang there and their arms would get more and more tired and they would sink down and eventually their airway would almost stop. If they could push with their legs, they might be able to live for a little while longer and the process would be repeated over and over until finally their body.
And exhaustion gave out and they basically would suffocate, I believe. So the Jewish people, they were worried that this was going to look not very nice on their party day. They wanted to get the downtown cleaned up. So they go to the soldiers and say, umm, we'd like to speed this up. So here come the soldiers. They're going to break the legs of the man on the cross, which would usher them fairly quickly.
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Into eternity says then came the soldiers.
Break the legs of the 1St and the other that was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. Well, I mentioned about that door being on the side of the ark where they could go into for safety. Here we have.
What matches up in the picture with the Lord Jesus?
How that soldier came.
They put the two men on either side to death. Jesus being dead already, I suppose the soldier, as they would do on a battlefield. If they saw someone lying there and wanted to be sure they were dead, they would use a sphere.
Did the same thing to the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross and a miracle happened because that blood and water came out. Umm, I don't know how accurate it is. I've been told that someone wants their heart stops, does not bleed very much. There's no pressure to drive it out.
God had that cleansing blood flow out. It tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
And so just as there was safety by going in through the side door of the Ark tonight.
Tonight you can see the Lord Jesus hanging there on the cross, that blood being shed from his side, and say he died for me. He's my substitute. He took the punishment that my sins deserved.
And I accept him as my Savior. That, my friends, is the gospel.
You don't have to pay anything. You don't have to do anything physically.
It's a gift from God. The.
Bruce John 316 All up here. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You know, if I come over to your house on your birthday and I've got a nice present all wrapped up, and it's got your name on the side of it.
Until you come and take it and say thank you, it doesn't belong to you. It's not yours to possess. And that's tonight what you've got to do with the Lord Jesus. It's not enough to know the account of the flood, to know the account of Jesus dying on the cross. You've got to realize and accept that it's for you.
To see that Jesus was punished for you so that you could be ready not only to live through this life with God as your Father and with that new life inside you, but that you're ready to meet with God because your sins are gone.
We know that the time is short. It talks about there being wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes in different places and all sorts of things that we're seeing.
The extremes of weather and all of these things.
God is speaking to this world. Are we listening? Are you listening?
It tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
Are we telling folks about the judgment that's coming and are we sharing that there is a way of escape?
I'm sure the Bible doesn't record, but those last seven days, Noah may very well have made the rounds of all of his friends and neighbors once again and said there's only seven days, there's only six days, only five days left. Get in the art.
Not one of them got in.
We've got a wonderful story to tell.
It's a gift of salvation, available freely to all.
How good a job are we doing telling those that we come into contact with every day? And I'm speaking this to myself.
There is not in many cases even a basic knowledge of the Gospel now in the world.
20 years ago or so, when children came into a Sunday school, you could possibly begin to start. They'd have some knowledge of maybe the Lord being born in Bethlehem.
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Might have some knowledge of him being crucified on the cross and rising again. These things are not taught even in the schools today. They're not common knowledge. It's all new. We know about it. The Gospel tells, the Bible tells us. We're an epistle known and read of all men.
As someone has said, to preach the gospel and if necessary, use words. There's a little song we used to sing in the Young People's hymn book. Uh, let me think what you are. Speak so loud that the world can't hear what you say. They're looking at your walk, not listening to your talk. They're judging by your actions every day. Umm.
Restaurant won't come but.
Are we shin shining as a light for the Lord? So many of the little children's hymns. Jesus bids the shine like a pure, clear light. It's not just for the children, it's for all of us.
And it speaks to us every day. Ought to How are we doing? Well, our time is well done. I'm sorry about that. One more quick thing I wanted to notice over in the account of the art.
Before we get finished and let's see here now, Yeah, Chapter 8.
And we'll just read it, verse 18. Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons wives with him, every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth after their kinds went forth out of the ark.
And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour.
And it was on from there. So we find that once NOAA had, as it were, been saved.
He built this altar and sacrificed to the Lord. In other words, he did something that the Lord desired, and the Lord was pleased with it. It says he smelled a sweet savour.
And unlike Noah, who had to build this huge boat for salvation.
We have a free gift we accept.
The Lord has asked us a very simple thing to do, to remember what He's done, to remember how His body was given in death for us, and to remember how His blood was shed. Unlike in the Old Testament, when there was many, many different offerings and complicated things, this was very simple. The Lord took.
A loaf of bread and a cup of wine and he said.
This move represents my body, this cup represents my blood. Take it, pass it among yourselves, and this do in remembrance of me.
Very, very simple. And he said as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death until he comes.
The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. He says, Surely I come quickly. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Friends, if you're not saved, you need to get saved now before it's too late. And if you have asked the Lord Jesus into your heart, he'd really like you to remember him as he asked.
This morning might have been the very last time that we'll have a chance.
To break the bread and take of the cup because it's only until he comes. It's something we can do while we're here waiting for him.
It's very simple. It's in His word. I just pray you'll consider that if you do know him as your Savior. Well, just wanted to mention a little incident and Kathy and I had a chance. We were given a trip some years ago to the little island of Malta, which is over in Europe. And most can picture the what they call the boot of Italy. And then there's little island of Sicily. And then.
A tiny little island off that called Malta. And we know it from the scripture. It was called Melissa. The Roman government had named it that it was where Paul was shipwrecked. But anyhow, and. And that in itself is interesting, but.
On that island, umm, we were taken to a bunch of umm, tourist attractions if you like museums. And one site that was absolutely fascinating was what they call their hypogeum, which literally means under the ground.
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And some fellow was building, I guess a house or something in the, I think 1900 or 1901, digging and trying to dig a cistern in his basement and broke through into this massive underground cavern. And so he started exploring and going around underground and they discovered a huge complex of tunnels built underneath. Umm, there was A and we've got to go down into this thing.
And in one part of it there was a beautiful, umm, sort of like a stone amphitheater if you like, built with different levels of arches on it. That would have been to.
You know, projects sound out to an audience. There was a, umm, curve out type of megaphone in the stone. That must have been their PA system. Umm, obviously fairly advanced people that built this thing. And they told us that with their carbon dating methods that they figured that the underground caverns had begun to being used somewhere around 4000 BC, they thought.
And that at about 2500 BC it had been used and expanded and there was, I don't know, different burial chambers and this and that. But they said the remarkable thing is about then it seems that everything stopped on this project. And they said it even seems like the entire civilization disappeared.
Friends, we realized.
The ones that built all of this were very likely destroyed in the flood with NOAA.
Nor wasn't destroyed, but you know what I mean. We don't need things like that to make the Bible real. But what a solemn thing to think that these people going on in their lives were snuffed out in an instant because they didn't get into the ark.
We, umm, tried to present the gospel a little bit. The guides that were there said that. Some of them believe that, but they weren't allowed to tell that as an explanation for what happened. But what a fascinating thing.
And all the Lord has preserved us. He gives thee little things for us to see. Soon we're going to see him face to face. We hope that not one chair in the room would be empty if the Lord were to come right now. So our time is gone. Umm, I was going to sing one more. Umm, maybe we'll just in.
Let's sing a #12.
Let's stand together and we'll sing it.
#12.
Just as I am without one.
Monthly but.
That's not what was shed for me and I.
My heart I come.
I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not to read my goal at once, I come out to the first light and flesh.
Exploded all my God, I come.
I come just as I am.
For wretched life.
Yeah, all I need and they could hug all and.