In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Noah and the impending judgment that God brought upon the earth due to the wickedness of mankind. He emphasizes that we are living in a society that is rapidly approaching a similar hour of judgment. The preacher warns that those who are spiritually lazy and not watching out for their homes will be caught unawares. He encourages the audience to find refuge in Jesus Christ, who is the only way to eternal life. The sermon concludes with a reminder to be ready for the coming of the Son of man, as no one knows the exact hour of his return.

This message is one of the Times Square Church pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, Post Office Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771, or by calling 903-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. Almost right at the beginning, Genesis chapter 7. Title of this message is The People Who Believed Noah. I guess if there are still children in the service, it seems to be they're leaving. Father, I come to you tonight, and I acknowledge that you are my strength. You're my rock. You're my shield. You're the beginning and the end of my salvation. Jesus, I thank you for the anointing of your Holy Spirit that does flow like a mighty river. Thank you for that abiding presence of your Holy Spirit. God, I ask tonight that you would flow from this pulpit as rivers of living water. God, that you would overturn, firstly, false understandings of who you are and your plan for fallen men. And God, that you would give drink to those that are thirsty and life to those who need life. And that you would pick up and carry and sustain those that are weak and weary and cast down. Father, you've come to bring hope to us tonight, and not to cast down your people. Lord God, I ask that you would grant to us ears to hear, everyone in this house, what you're speaking to your church in this hour of time. Oh God, I'm asking now that you would anoint me. That you would anoint my mind, my inward parts, my lungs. Oh God, every part of my physical body, that you would anoint me. Lord, that you would flow, that your words would come, that you would bring life and freedom and deliverance to your people who are gathered to hear your word this night. Oh God. Lord, I declare the triumph of Jesus Christ over every power of hell and darkness, every lying spirit, every power of evil sent against the testimony of Jesus Christ and the people of God, Satan. I say unto you, the Lord rebuke you this night. The Lord rebuke every weapon that you formed against everyone that's in this house. I declare the victory of Jesus Christ over every lying thing, over every power of hell and darkness. And Father, I thank you that we can walk in that victory tonight. Lord, I thank you for an eye salve anointing in this house tonight, to be able to see your plan for each one of our lives. Father, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. The people who believed Noah, Genesis chapter 7, beginning at verse 1. And the Lord said unto 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 clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according to all the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And 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, 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 sixth hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the self same day, that's in other words the day that it began to rain, entered Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark. They and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, and every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen 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 beasts, 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 died. 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 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 one hundred and fifty days. Now in Genesis chapter six and verse five, the scripture says that God 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. And he repented to the Lord that he had made man of the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. It was an hour of judgment. And I believe that in this society we're vastly approaching that hour that God has spoken of through the prophet Isaiah and through the prophets in the Old Testament, through the apostle Peter, and yet Christ himself even spoke of an hour, an hour of fire, an hour of incredible judgment, a suddenness of something coming upon the earth that is going to catch those who are sleeping suddenly and unawares. They're not going to be prepared for what's about to happen. But Noah, in Genesis 7 verse 1, the scripture says he was a righteous man. He was a man who walked in right standing with God. In chapter 6 and verse 9, it says Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. In New Testament Hebrews chapter 12 verse 14, the scripture says, Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7, the writer says, 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. And I trust with all my heart that those who are in this house tonight, that you are moving as God is beginning to speak in this last hour of time. And you are preparing an ark to the saving of your house. I trust with all of my heart and I'm persuaded that we are a people who are more wise than most of the people of Noah's generation. That we will not walk casually by the word of the Lord any longer, but will turn in unto the house of God and let our hearts become reproved by His word and get into that place of safety for surely as I stand here, surely as I stand here we're fastly and rapidly approaching a day when God is coming with a fiery judgment upon this entire earth. I thank God that I'm in an ark of safety tonight. I thank God that I found Jesus Christ as my high tower and my refuge. And I hope with all my heart that everyone who's in this house that can hear my voice tonight, that you have also found that ark of refuge. That you're not playing games with a holy God tonight. That you understand that there is only one way to eternal life. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man can come to the Father except through me. In Matthew chapter 24 and verse 43, Jesus said, But know this, if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and he would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. I trust tonight that those who are in authority in your respective houses will take to heart this scripture where Jesus said, If the good man of the house, that means the one in charge, the one in control of that house, the one who exerts spiritual influence over the lives of others, if he would have known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken up. It's a great day that's coming upon this whole world when Christ comes for his church. But it's a sad day for others who have been spiritually lazy and have not been watching out for their homes as we heard about in the message this afternoon so wonderfully preached by Brother Greg. There are so many who have forfeited the glory of God upon their homes for substandard things which will not be able to hold up in an hour of testing and trial that's coming upon all flesh, the whole earth, to judge the earth. Noah heard the word of God. Noah was a discerning man and Noah understood that they were living at a time when God was about to send judgment upon the earth. He had heard the word of the Lord. He was not a man who just sit there and did nothing about it. So he heard and the scripture says, move with fear. You see the scripture says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. To understand when God speaks, He's not speaking for nothing. There's a purpose, there's a reason and everything that God says will come to pass. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. But be not deceived, God is not slack concerning His promises. Everything He said in this book is going to come to pass. And so Noah began to build an ark. And I hope with all my heart tonight that you are building an ark and preparing for the saving of your house. Now I'm going to draw some conclusions from what I feel in my heart would have been a reasonable thing to do in building an ark. Knowing a little bit about building, having, I've built or at least repaired old barns and things like that. And I know that if you're going to build something of wood, you see this ark was built of wood, it has to be built in a high place. If you build something of wood in a low place, then the morning dew will get around it and before you have a chance to finish it, you see that Noah's ark was many, many years in preparation. Before you have a chance to get it completed, the whole foundation will be rotted out from underneath it if you let it sit in a place of dampness. And so anybody that knows anything about building, if you're going to build something of wood that's going to endure, you have to build it up in a high place or in a visible place. So we can say safely that the ark of Noah was in a place of high visibility and it was many, many years in the making. Noah was working and Ham and Shem and Japheth and Noah's wife and their wives, they were all working, they were sawing and hacking away and building this ark according to the specifications that God had given them and it was a magnanimous thing, a very, very large ark. And you can imagine what the people were thinking, living in a generation when it didn't rain. And here's a man building this huge boat because God had spoken something to his heart. Now in 2 Peter 2, verse 5, let me just read it to you. The scripture tells us that Noah not only built, but he preached while he was building. It says in 2 Peter 2, verse 5, And God spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. So Noah not only built, but he preached while he was building. I don't know what his format for preaching was. I don't necessarily think that he had services like we have here on Sunday. But I think Noah perhaps stood up on that high place beside his boat, maybe once a day. As people passed by for year after year after year, going into the city, going into places to buy and sell, going about their daily business. You see, Noah and his family were not the only people of that generation. And as Noah stood there, he preached and said, God has called me to prepare an ark for a flood is coming in on the world of the ungodly. God has looked down and He has seen your deeds. It has repented Him at heart that He has made man and He's sending a great flood upon the earth. And everything that has breath in it is going to pass away. The only people that are going to be safe are those who get into the ark that God has called me to build. Now, can you imagine? Can you imagine? People going by every day into the city. Walking by, and here's Noah, that the apostle Peter said was a preacher of righteousness as he was building this ark. Going by into the city, I can see the laughers and the mockers saying, look at that old fool. Look at the old fool. It hasn't rained in months. As a matter of fact, it's never rained in this area. This area is not even known for floods. Can you hear them scoff? Can you hear them laugh? Rolling, holding their signs. Look at the old fool, talking to Noah's sons. You know, you're going to waste your life working with this old man, building this ark in a place where it never rained. All things carry on just like they always have. Nothing's ever going to change. It's going to carry on the way it is. Don't listen to the old fool. Sounds very familiar with the church today, doesn't it? The church is an ark. The whole story of Noah is a type and shadow of the church of Jesus Christ. We have been called by the Holy Spirit to build a building. Not fashioned with the hands of man, but fashioned according to the plan of God. Every stone being crafted by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God being put into place, this church is being built. The whole body of Jesus Christ is being built. And someday soon, we're about to arrive at the place where the last stone is put into place. There's going to be a last person that comes to a last altar in a last house somewhere, bows his knee before God and gives his life up to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And then in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the trumpet of the Lord is going to sound. Hallelujah! The dead in Christ shall rise out of the ground. And we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Can you imagine having the distinction of being the last man, the last woman, the last one on the earth to bow his knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? Hallelujah! To lift your head and all of a sudden you're in heaven, and to be able to say, boy, that was quick. Scoffers, scoffers, scoffers, scoffers. There are warnings going out from the house of the Lord continuously, and yet we hear the scoffers in our society, the modern day scoffers, even sadly to say so many of them wearing a cloak or a veil of religion and scoffing at the warnings of God and scoffing at the coming judgment of God, saying the very same things that these people said. Listen to the old fools talking about the judgment of God. All this talk about gloom and doom. No, we're living in an age of success and prosperity. Oh, no. Judgment is not coming on this world. Listen to what Jesus said. Matthew 24, verse 37. He said these words, But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. In other words, He's saying just as it was in the days of Noah. For as in the days that were before the flood, verse 38, they were eating and drinking, marrying, giving and marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And they knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And so what Jesus is speaking about is that there's a nonchalant attitude in that last generation. We've heard it all before. We've heard all the doomsday. We've heard all the preaching about the coming day of the Lord. We've heard everything about the judgment of God. But all things carry on just the way they always have. 2 Peter chapter 3, if you'll turn there please. 2 Peter chapter 3. The apostle Peter talks about scoffers. In the last days, scoffers. Verse 1. This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first, verse 3, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Now this is what the Holy Spirit has revealed to Peter is going to be an attitude of heart of many people in the last days. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth, now in other words there was a judgment by water, that's what Peter is saying. Now in verse 7 he goes on and says, But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Verse 14, Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you might be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. Scoffers are going to be around, scoffers are going to be saying, where is the promise of his coming? All things are going on just the way they always have. I see in my spirit, an approaching era of incredible, time of incredible dangerousness. I feel in my heart, that we are very, very close to the return of the Lord. I can't give you a time, I can't give you a year, as a matter of fact, nobody can. And if you see any more books in the bookstore, talking about when Jesus is going to come, don't waste your $5.95 buying it. Turn to the Bible, and read the words of Jesus, where he says, No man knows the day nor the hour. And just settle it in your heart once and for all. But we do know the season. We do know that there are going to be certain signs, that precede the coming of the Lord. There are so many people that are around today, and they're discussing numbers, as we see the year 2000 approaching. That's the dangerousness I sense in my spirit. There's going to be all kinds of people predicting, the year of Jubilee, 1998 for Israel, the year of freedom, the year when everything happens, the year 2000, and you're going to be hearing it over and over, in the next five years. But I want to warn you, should the Lord tarry beyond the year 2000, I see a dangerous slumber beyond that year. A time when everybody was built into almost like a picture, a crescendo, the Lord's coming, the Lord's coming, and then we enter into the year 2000 and beyond. If that should happen, then all of a sudden a slumber sets upon the church, and everybody says, Oh well, I guess it's another thousand years, at least before the Lord's coming. We've mistaken somehow. Be careful, be careful. The scripture says, In an hour that you think not, remember that God's calendar does not necessarily coincide with our calendar here on this earth. There is a difference with God's timetable. So beware of men's calculations. Know this though, that we are in the season of the Lord's return. We are seeing the signs, the gospel is going forth with great power throughout all of the earth. We're seeing kingdoms come crashing down that have dedicated themselves to the crushing and extinguishing of the word of God. And we see a move of God like this, unprecedented in the history of the world. We also see a dangerous, dangerous slumber coming upon much of the western nations. But I'm believing God with all of my heart for an outpouring of His Spirit on America before the Lord returns. Can you hear the people? Can you hear Noah warning the people of the peril of trusting in riches more than trusting in God? I can hear Him in my spirit standing beside that ark as it's in construction, as the frame is built, and as the walls are going up, and as the ark is getting to a place of nearing completion, as the people are walking by day after day and Noah is warning them, don't trust in riches. Don't trust in these uncertain things. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. All these things will be added unto you. Don't worry about what you're going to wear or where you're going to live or what you're going to put on. Don't the heathen seek after all these things. Don't be concerned about these things. Your heavenly Father knows what you need even before you ask Him. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. I can hear Noah pleading with the people. And can you see other voices trying to lure God's people away from wholehearted consecration? It is possible. It's entirely possible that there were people standing there swaying under conviction, perhaps considering the message that this man was bringing forth by his words and actions to that generation. But there are other voices that are saying, forget this old fool and his ark. God wants you buying and selling in this city. As a matter of fact, the Scripture speaks of those voices that we're hearing so clearly in this generation. Turn to the book of 1 Timothy please, chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Voices even, sad to say, in the house of God turning so many people away from wholehearted consecration to Jesus. Turning them away from the ark of safety and sending them into a city to buy and sell and get gain. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 3. The Apostle Paul says, If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. The NIV version says, Supposing that godliness is a mean to financial gain, from such withdraw thyself. Do you read those words? Do you see that there? I don't think it could be put any more clearly in the word of God. Withdraw yourself from people that teach you that godliness is a mean to get financial gain. God will prosper His people if we walk wholeheartedly with Him. You'll always have a roof over your head. You'll have food in your belly. You'll have clothes to put on your back. And beyond that, you can just thank God for the opportunity to give for the furtherance of His kingdom. But we're to seek first the kingdom of God. Verse 7 says, We brought nothing into this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment or clothing, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. Not from heathendom. They have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But I can hear Noah even speaking these very words, But thou, O men of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called and has professed a good profession before many witnesses. There are voices in the church that are encouraging people to go and buy and sell and get gain. But there's another voice, and I believe it's of the Holy Spirit, it's the only voice that's of the Son of God, encouraging people and urging and warning to get out of these things and get in a place of safety. Get into that ark, get into that house that God is preparing for Himself. Learn what it is to become part of the church of the living God. The prophet Isaiah, let me just read it to you. Isaiah chapter 2, he speaks about what's going to happen to those that spend their time seeking financial gain. Isaiah 2, he says, In verse 12 he says, The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low. And upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, the haughtiness of man shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake terribly the earth. Now Isaiah is speaking not of his day, he's speaking of our day. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty when He arises to shake terribly the earth. The Lord is going to arise in a day soon and is shaking terribly the earth. I warn you with all of my heart, brothers and sisters in Christ, precious and beloved, in the sight of God, don't do like Esau, who was a young man who was to inherit a blessing, but sold off his blessing for a bowl of porridge. He sold it off for the satisfying of his flesh. And yet he sought a place of repentance greatly, the Scripture says, with tears later on, but couldn't find it. Don't sell off your birthright. Don't sell it off for the satisfying of your flesh. You have something much more valuable in the ark that God has prepared for you and I through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So we see the mockers and the scoffers. We see the warning of Noah. We can hear other voices trying to lure the people away from this man. But I think the most tragic of all and because Jesus drew an analogy between our day and the days of Noah, I think it's reasonable to assume that there are possibly some people who stopped and considered what He had to say. They rejected it ultimately by not taking it to heart. But it's certainly possible there were people who stopped as He was building and as He was preaching and they listened to Him. And some of them maybe said, yes, He's right. He's right. I sense in my heart that what He's saying is the truth. It's going to rain. There's going to be a judgment, some kind of calamities. I'm feeling it inside. All of society right now is feeling something inside. People can't put their finger on what it is. Do you know that? But everybody is feeling something inside. You secular writers now as you begin to read secular publications and newspapers, there is an ominous foreboding in the hearts of men all around the world now. That things are out of order. Things are changing. Some kind of a cataclysmic thing is about to happen in the world. And yes, they're right. They don't know what it is. They're sensing it. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's the return of Christ for His church. It's the horrible judgment spoken about in Matthew 24 when the wickedness of man is loosed upon the whole earth to finally bring Himself to His own tragic destiny. And there are people that were standing there saying, yes, He's right. But I'll just wait till the rain starts and then I'll get on board. Yeah, the thing looks... It looks good. It's in a high place. And there are so many. You see, they saw the ark daily. They passed by into the city and they saw it and they knew where it was. And they knew that refuge could be found there. But they said, we'll wait until the things prophesied about begin to happen and then we'll get right with God. There are so many people like that in the society right now. Brothers and sisters, all you have to do is go out the door and begin to talk to people on the streets. There are so many backslidden Christians out on these streets. It's incredible in this city. They walk by Times Square Church. They walk by Brooklyn Tabernacle. They walk by other churches preaching the gospel all throughout this city. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. The churches are generally visible in their neighborhood. They know what the message is all about. But in their heart, they're saying, well, I'll just go into the city, buy and sell and get gain. I'll play my games. I'll do the things that are in my heart to do. And when the rain starts, I'm going to run back to the house of God. I'm going to get on my knees just like in old times. I'm going to cry hot tears of repentance. I'm going to get saved at the last minute. And I'm going to go up into heaven to be with Christ for eternity. Sad to say, that's the thinking in the hearts of much of this generation. So many who know the truth and have made a choice to just carry on their way and are living in a delusion. They're hearing the message, but they're not doing anything about it. And it's so sad. They knew that many of the things that they were doing were wrong. But a false sense of security, and I believe that was the visible presence of the ark, made them feel that they could get right at the last moment. There are so many people, there are even some here tonight, that if you were going to be honest with God, that thought is in your heart. At the last moment, I know that what I'm doing is wrong. I know I shouldn't be in that relationship. I know I shouldn't be reading those magazines. I know I shouldn't be watching that sort of film or whatever it is that you're watching. I know I shouldn't be cheating on my income tax. I know I should be dealing honestly in my place of employment instead of under the table. I know that these things are wrong. But as soon as the first nuclear bomb falls on America, I'm going to get it all right. Oh boy, I'm going to just clear the slate. I'll even write the IRS or whatever you call it here, and I'll make it all right. And I'll clear the slate and I'll just do it right. I'll get down to Times Square Church and I'll fall on my knees and I'm going to get my life right with God. It is quite possible, conceivable, that that was the thinking of people in Noah's day. The ones who stopped. You see, that's what this message is all about. The people who believed Noah but never got on the ark. They stopped and they considered what he had to say. Now in Matthew chapter 24, if you'll turn there please. Matthew chapter 24. There are signs around us today that we're living at a time of God's judgment. We're living at a time when the ark, the ark is a type and shadow of the church. The ark was lifted off the face of the earth and the church is going to be lifted off the face of the earth. And as we go through these passages of Scripture now, you're going to see some remarkable similarities between the day of Noah and the day that we're living in. And if it doesn't put the fear of God in your heart, if you're not living right with God tonight, then I don't think anything I can ever speak to you from this pulpit will ever do that. Matthew chapter 24, verse 6. Jesus said, You shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Men's hearts, the Scripture says elsewhere, failing them for fear of the things that are beginning to come to pass upon the world. Suddenness. Suddenness is what the Scripture speaks about. Now, Genesis. Go back again to Genesis chapter 7. Genesis chapter 7, verse 11. In the 600th 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 open. Well, it's going to come in a similar way. The windows of heaven are going to open. The clouds are going to part. Christ is coming back for His church. It's going to happen suddenly. And the rain was upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights. Verse 13 says, In the selfsame 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 them into the ark. And verse 14 goes on to say, Every beast and all of the things, the animals that were gathered. Verse 16, They went in, male and female of all flesh, as the Lord had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. Who shut the door? The Lord shut him in. On what day? The very first day that it began to rain. Now, keep that in mind. The selfsame day, verse 13. As soon as the rain started, God commanded Noah and his sons and family to get into the ark and then God shut the door. And verse 17 says, The flood was 40 days upon the earth and the waters increased and bear up the ark and it was lifted up above the earth. Verse 18, The waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth and the ark went up upon the face of the waters. In the selfsame day, the Lord shut him in. The rain started. I see in my spirit, I have no evidence in scripture of this, so you'll just have to bear with me, but I can see in my spirit that people begin to run out of the city now. The rain has started. Those that have heard the message for tentatively as long as a hundred years, they've heard this man preaching, they've seen him build. You see, not only did he preach, but there was something about his life. He put what he believed into action and prepared an ark. That's what Pastor Greg talked about this afternoon. They saw the rain start and I can see somebody at a counter of commerce and they're about to buy something for their children and all of a sudden they begin to feel something. The rain. And it's a rain like it's never ever been seen before. This was not just a rain, it was a deluge. It was an open heaven. It was buckets and buckets of water coming from everywhere. An absolute deluge. You can see people, all of a sudden the horror begins to overtake them. He was right. He was right. Husband turns to wife and says, I told you. I told you he was right. We should have listened to him. Let's get down to the ark. And you can see the people now beginning to pour out from everywhere. And they're running from the highways, they're running out of the towns, they're running out of the villages. They're leaving their shops with all of the things that were so precious. Like Isaiah said, the gold and the silver are going to the moles and bats now. They're casting it off as they're running to the ark. That's what Isaiah said is going to happen to this generation. Do you know those things that you hold to, folks, that are keeping your heart from God, are just like anchors in the middle of a sea. They're not going to do you any good in the coming days. Cast them off now. Loose the cords from these things from your heart now. And now is the hour to run to the ark. Not when it's too late. And so they come running out of the cities, they come running down the roads, they come running to this high place. And I can see as they got close to it, they said, oh, thank God, the ark is still there. There's coming a day when people are going to come running down the streets of New York to every church they can find, any place they ever knew that was preaching the Gospel. And they'll see the building and they'll say, oh, thank God, the church is still there. And they walked up to that ark and they ran. But something was wrong. They couldn't find the door. The same day that it began to rain, the Lord of the Lord says, the Lord shut them in. You couldn't find the door. It must have been an incredible thing. It must have been heartbreaking for Noah. He could hear outside of the ark that family that used to stop by perhaps on the way to the city with the little curly haired blonde girl and the little boy that was there. And he could hear the voices of children knocking and hammering. And all he could say to them is, I can't let you in. I didn't close the door. I don't even know how to open it. I don't know where it is. I didn't shut it. God shut it. I can't open it. A fearful thing. How long did it go on outside that ark? Maybe it was 15 or 20 days. I don't know how long it took. But it took a season for the water to rise high enough to cover the mountains and lift that ark off the face of the earth. And all around that ark would have been masses of people seeking to get in. Do you understand something in the Spirit tonight? They would have been seeking to get in, trying to find the door, but they couldn't find the door because God had shut the door. And when God shuts the door, it says in the book of Revelation, no man can open it from the inside or the outside. No man can open the door that God shuts. All of the weeping and all of the crying, all of the repenting, all of the making things right that were going on outside that ark, but to no avail, for the door was shut. The door was shut. The door was shut. Listen, go back now to Matthew chapter 24. I want to show you an incredible truth. Matthew chapter 24, beginning at verse 42. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his Lord shall have made ruler over all his household to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming and shall begin to smite his fellow servants. In other words, smite is even with the tongue. In other words, begin to hurt or harm those who are his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. And there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now in verse 36, remember in that chapter Jesus is saying, verse 37, but as the days of Noah were. So he's still talking about the days of Noah. Now verse 1, chapter 25, he's still talking about these days. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and for you. But go ye rather to them that sell and buy it for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. And the door was shut. The door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, just like in the days of Noah, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour where the Son of Man cometh. An incredible truth. Jesus is likening the second return. When he returns again for his church, he's likening it exactly to the days of Noah. Just like we read in the book of Genesis, chapter 7. People coming out of all these places, having heard the truth, but having rejected in their hearts, and coming to that ark, and not able to get in because the door is shut. There's a season and a day when people are going to come and try to get their lives right with God. And they're not able to get in. Jesus said, It's just like ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth. And five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish came to the wise. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. And the wise said, We can't give it to you. It's not a quick fix. I see all of the quick fix Christians now, panicking in the coming days ahead. Panicking. Christians that are not used to the pathway that you have to walk to get oil from God. They're used to the quick fix. They run from convention to convention, and meeting to meeting, and tape to tape, to have somebody somewhere lay hands on them, to have some kind of a manifestation come upon their body. Quick fix. Not wanting to walk God's prescribed route. Not wanting to take the pathway of Jesus. An instant society. We have instant on television, instant radio, instant coffee. They want instant sanctification, instant holiness, instant everything without walking the path. But I tell you the dangerousness of that. That's like building your life on sand. And all of a sudden, I don't know what happens, but there appears to be an indication in Matthew 25 that there's going to be something happen which causes the wise to just shine forth. There's something. There's a glory. A bursting of glory perhaps on the church in the last moments of time. I really don't know what it is. But whatever it is, it causes the foolish to come to the understanding that they have no oil within their vessels. That they have not been standing on a solid foundation. It is possible the collapse almost overnight of everything that we've known, our whole way of life just literally falling into runes virtually overnight. Then all of a sudden, all of the laughing stops and all of the gaiety stops. All of the running into the city, seeking and buying and selling stops. And all of a sudden, those who have been prepared, those who have been walking with God, those that have been going into that arc of safety, those that have acknowledged Him as a high tower. As Pastor David said this morning, those who have appropriated and began to understand and hold to His promises in the bad times as well as in the good times. They got to know Him in a personal way. Their lives are not built on their circumstance, but their lives are built upon the rock. The prophet Isaiah said, a day of fire is coming upon the whole earth, but in the midst of that fire, there's going to be a bride arise. They're going to be not looking peripherally around them at everything that's crumbling, but they're going to be looking heavenward and says, this is our God. This is our Lord. We have waited for Him. A glory and a joy arising upon the church of Jesus Christ that leaves those that have been playing in the city, feeling bankrupt, understanding that they don't have anything solid. A deep inner terror comes upon those who are not walking right with God. They come running to those who are. And you can see their whole mentality. Give us of your oil. Give us. Everything has been just a quick fix. Lay hands on me. Zap me. Do something. Let there be some experience. Whatever you have, give it to me. The true bride has not been looking to this world, but the untrue bride, the adulterous bride has been looking to this world. And that's why a calamity comes upon her. She's not prepared for it. She's not ready for it. But the true bride says, we can't give it to you. It's not ours to give to you. It comes through reading of His Word. It comes through prayer. It comes by learning to believe His promises more than your circumstance. It comes by walking with Him through trial and through fire and through high waters, through good times, through bad times. It comes by learning about Him and learning who He is. It comes with a heartfelt proving of His Word, allowing God's Holy Spirit to touch your life, allowing His Word to become an x-ray machine passing right through you, bringing the rod of correction over if necessary, so that the glory of Christ may be revealed in your life. That's how you get it. That's why in this last hour, this foolish didn't have time to get it. You can't get this relationship in a place of panic, in a place of absolute panic. It comes through relationship. That's how the oil comes. Hallelujah. Thank God we're not living... Hopefully this church is not a church packed with people who like quick fixes, but like a nice, slow, steady, heartfelt walk with Almighty God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh Lord, it's got to be our cry in this hour. Produce Christ-likeness in me. My covenant God shine through my life. My covenant God lead me on the pathway of surrender of everything that's displeasing to you, oh God. Form your nature in my life. Form your heart in me. Form your character in me, oh God. Oh, listen to what the Lord says in Proverbs chapter 1. Turn there please. Proverbs chapter 1. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I don't know the exact scenarios of these last days, but I do know there's an indication in Scripture that there are people who are going to want to get right with God and can't for some reason. If that doesn't cause you and I to turn our feet to the path of righteousness today, then nothing will. Then we'll be just like those in the days of Noah. Buying and selling and getting gain, nonchalant, hearing and yet even agreeing, but not turning in the ways of righteousness. Listen to Proverbs chapter 1 verse 23. He says, Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, and I will make known My words unto you. Now this is the oil that God wants to give us. Because I have called and you refused, I stretched out My hand. Isn't that what God did through Noah? And no man regarded. But you have said it not on My counsel, and would have none of My reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity, and I will mock when your fear comes. When your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, I want you to think about the days of Noah. Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer. They shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would have none of My counsel. They despised all My reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoever hearken not unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Hallelujah. That's our promise tonight. Whoever will listen, and not just listen, but turn and get into that ark. Turn and prepare an ark to the saving of your house. That's what we've been hearing all day. Turn and believe God to take you through the difficult trial that you're in today. Turn and don't settle for anything less than the manifested glory of Christ upon your life and upon your home. Even if it's hard, believe God. He's able to take you through. Turn, turn, turn when you hear the Word of God. Turn at My reproof. Turn. I can hear the cry of God through Noah. I can hear the cry of God through preachers all throughout the world. God's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come through the knowledge of Christ. That all should repent and turn from their sin. I hear the cry of the Spirit. Turn, turn to this generation. Multiple millions going into New York City to buy and sell and get gain, thinking they can get right at the last moment. But God knows something is coming at the last moment that is not going to allow them to get right. Turn, turn, turn. Turn is the voice of God saying to this generation. Hallelujah. Our hearts go out to these precious brethren in Oklahoma City where this bombing has taken place. It's a horrible, atrocious thing that people would have to resort to that kind of evil. But there was a suddenness. People came to work that morning and others dropped the children off. It was just a day like any other day. And they went up to work, some to the 7th, 8th, 9th floor, whatever floor they were on and were greeting everybody and having a morning coffee and sitting at the desk and talking about the night before. Some may have even been sitting there saying, well, it was such a wonderful message I heard in church last night. I'm really considering. And then suddenly, suddenly everything is falling. Suddenly the floor is gone. Suddenly. Nobody expected it to happen. It just happened. My brothers and sisters in Christ, you need to understand something. There's no guarantee that New York City will not be dissolved this night. We're living in the brink of a world that is in absolute chaos. There are nuclear missiles in other parts of the world and people in high levels don't even know now who's in control of some of them. There are no guarantees of tomorrow in a physical sense. But there is a guarantee if you will turn into that arc of safety that God has prepared for you in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God's arc of safety for this generation. Come unto me, he said, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn of me, I'm meek and lowly of heart. You shall find rest for your souls. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. Turn. Turn from wherever you are. From whatever's holding you back from God. Is it worth losing your soul? Don't live the illusion. Don't live the lie that I can be hit by a truck and then just whisper, Jesus save me on the pavement. Some may be given that opportunity but the majority will never get it. Because you hear a testimony like that sometimes. Don't walk away thinking, well that's going to be me. I'm going to continue on. I'll sin and I'll live in the city and I'll just forsake the things of God and then when the first bomb hits then I'll be running right back to the church and getting right with God. You think that's foolish but there are people who live that way in this generation. There are people who think that way. Someday. Talk to them on the street. Someday I'll get right with God. Yeah, I know what it is to be saved. Someday. Someday. Someday. You hear that so much in New York City. Someday. I'm not ready for that now. Invite them, when you come back to church when you get right with God. No, someday. Someday. Well, someday is never going to come for many, many people in this city and around the world. This is the day of salvation. Now is the hour when the ark is on the hill. Hallelujah. The good news is that the door is wide open right now. You can leave that place that you're in if it's not a good place. I'm not saying that you don't have to have a job. You need to work to provide for your family. But I'm talking about places that captivate the heart and take your heart away from God. You can turn away from those places now. You can walk out of those places. You can do that right here in this service. The ark is still in a very high place. Jesus said, If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me. Hallelujah. That's why God crucified His Son on a hill called Calvary, in a high place that everybody could see it. Jesus Christ is not hidden from this generation. The door is wide open for all who want to come. Anybody who wants to come can come into that ark of safety. Look at Psalm 46, please. My last scripture. There's safety in that ark. Hallelujah. There's provision. God had told Noah to take two of every kind of animal and plus a few extras into the ark. There's a roof over your head. There's a dry bed in that ark. Didn't God promise that? There's bacon and eggs in the morning. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. There's food. There was provision there. In that ark, just as there's provision in Jesus Christ. If you're inside that place of safety, you don't have to worry about what's coming on society. We're not wishing for any hard times to come on society, but we do believe that as the scripture says, that it's going to continually get worse and worse throughout the world. Psalm 46, listen to what David says. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. God. Can you say that tonight? God is my refuge and my strength. Is it true tonight? Is it really true? Have you really turned to that ark? Or are you one of those that is hearing tonight? And you're agreeing in your heart. That's the most tragic of it all. I believe there were people who agreed, but never got on the ark. They said, yes, it's true. But they walked away and carried on in their lifestyle with some kind of a delusion that someday I can get it right. God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear. Though the earth be removed. Though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river. The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. And she shall not be moved. God shall help her in that right early. Listen to the condition of the world as described by the psalmist. The heathens, the heathen raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come behold the works of the Lord. What desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars to cease under the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in sunder. And he burns the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The testimony now of the children of God in the last hour of time. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Stand please. This is the conclusion of the tape.