Charleston Truth Alliance Church
Sunday Worship Service
“Be patient!” (Gen 6:8-7:5)
Mar 2, 2025
Summary of the text: Judgment and Salvation
1. The total depravity of man after the fall
A world without salvation and the absolute sinfulness of man
6:5 And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
6:11 Then the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 6:12 And God looked, and behold, the earth was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their ways upon the earth.
6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with the wickedness of them; and I will destroy them with the earth.
2. God's response: SinàJudgment
I will destroy them with the earth (vv. 6, 13)
3. Method of judgment: Judgment of the flood (vv. 7, 17)
6:7 And I will wipe man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and cattle and creeping things and birds of the air.
6:17 I will bring a flood of waters on the earth to destroy all life from under heaven; everything on the earth will die.
4. Grace in the Judgment: Covenant of Salvation
6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you; you shall come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.
6:19 Of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring into the ark, two of every kind, male and female, to keep them alive with you.20 Of birds after their kind, of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive.
Why Noah?
Why did God entrust such an important mission to Noah? Today’s text clearly reveals this.
1. Noah was a righteous man.
6:9 This is the record of Noah's genealogy. Noah was a just man, blameless in his generations. He walked with God.
7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come, you and all your household, into the ark; for I have found you righteous before Me in this generation.
2. Noah was an obedient man.
Noah obeyed immediately (6:22; 7:5).
6:22 So Noah did everything that God commanded him.
Noah received God's covenant and immediately gave up everything in the world, and began to build the ark, and when the ark was completed, he obeyed God's word and entered the ark with his family without delay.
Let me tell you that it is easy to say about Noah’s action, but it required tremendous determination.
3. Noah persevered and obeyed to the end.
(1) Building the Ark
6:22 says that they simply did everything, but it would have taken a long time, enormous resources, and effort to build an ark this size with just the strength of a family.
Consider the Dimensions of the Ark (7:15)!
1 cubit = 18 inches (45 centimeters. Thus, the dimensions of the ark are 450 feet (135 meters) long x 75 feet (22 meters) wide x 45 feet (13 meters) high
Since the maximum length of a soccer field is 120 meters, the ark was longer than that.
Imagine building an ark this size with ancient technology. Imagine the effort required to obtain and transport the gigantic Gopher trees. They probably transported the wood one by one by rolling it on logs to the top of the mountain where the ark was built.
They were commanded to coat the inside and outside with bitumen to make it waterproof, but at a time when there was no metal, it must have been a huge task to build a facility to boil bitumen on such a large scale.
(2) They had to endure 371 days in the ark.
The total time they were trapped in the ark due to the flood was 371 days. Imagine the situation inside the ark.
Imagine being trapped in a dark, humid space filled with the smell of animal waste and noise for 371 days. There is no prison like this. It must have been worse than the prison conditions for gangsters in El Salvador. In such a situation, try to put yourself in their shoes and imagine how explosive the stress must have been. Most people would have gone crazy.
Noah and his family endured all these inconveniences for a long time.
Application
I was greatly challenged by today’s text. What challenged me most was Noah’s patience. Noah's obedience is the obedience of patience.
1. Let’s follow Noah’s example.
The Truth Alliance Church is also God’s ark. You have resolved to establish this Church as the ark of salvation according to God’s will.
You have worked hard to establish the church by obeying God’s will, but you must not forget that it will take time until the ark of salvation is complete.
Think of the investment and work period that Noah spent in cutting down and transporting the enormous amount of trees to build the ark.
Until this church is complete as an ark, your sacrifice and hard work will be necessary, and this period may be longer than you think.
Remember. The church is built on sacrifice, and the most important reason you have been called by God is to give you the opportunity to sacrifice and invest your life in building the ark of salvation.
2. Let us cover and forgive each other’s faults.
Also, the period of the flood when God’s ark was floating on the water was a whopping 371 days. Imagine the amount of excrement that all kinds of animals excreted during this period. The inside of the ark was by no means beautiful and fragrant.
However, the important thing is that there was life inside the ark and death outside the ark. Once the animals and people entered the ark, they had to endure each other’s shortcomings and filth, enjoying life as a community of common destiny.
The same goes for the church. Until we arrive at the eternal temple of heaven, we must cover each other’s faults and tolerate each other.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for saving us from this sinful world and leading us to the Truth Alliance Church. Above all, we thank you for calling us to the great work of establishing the Truth Alliance Church as the ark of salvation. Grant us the obedience of Noah and the courage to cover each other’s faults, and establish us as workers of faith who build this church together. We pray in the name of Jesus.