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PowerPoint: Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: Why did God give grace to Noah? Not because he was good. The sinful consequences and judgment of sin was flowing through Noah's veins as well. Noah was just another guy. God chose to show him grace.

PowerPoint: On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how God will sustain you even throughout tough times. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, Unsinkable.

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 6. Now, let me catch you up on what has happened in the first five chapters of Genesis. God created the heavens and the earth. He spoke and they came into being. He made the man and the woman and put them in a garden, a veritable paradise, and they enjoyed life and they enjoyed the presence of God and walked with God in the garden.

God gave them clear directions and guidance as to how they were to live, including one commandment not to eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. But something catastrophic happened when the man and the woman sinned against God and broke His commandments. This is known as the fall of man, the great failure, the fall of man. Fall out of what? Fall out of a fellowship, a relationship with God.

God said, "If you eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil that I have forbidden you, you will die." And so what happened is that spiritual death and ultimately physical death entered into the world. The result of man's great sin was the consequences was death.

So in chapter 4, death takes place for the first recorded time and that is when Adam and Eve's sons engaged in a fight and Abel was killed by his brother Cain and the blood of one of their own sons reminded them of their rebellion against God, that the consequences of sin is death. They had never seen death before. Spiritually they died, but now physical death takes over. And so when you get to chapter 5, chapter 5 is a genealogy actually of the generations preceding Noah, but it reads like an obituary column.

Because Adam, verse 3, lived 130 years. He fathered a son in his own likeness. He lived. He fathered Seth after 800 years, but verse 5, all his days of Adam, 930, and he died. So he lived and he died. Then Seth came along. Then Seth lived and he died. Verse 8 says, "The days of Seth were 912 years and he died." Okay, skip down. Verse 12. When Kenan had lived for 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel and Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel for 840 years and had other sons and daughters. All the days of Kenan were 910 years and he died.

One after another. A man is born, he lives, he fathers some children. He dies. Is a deadly cycle of life. He lived and he died, and he lived and he died. There are a couple of standouts, one was Enoch. Verse 21, he walked with God and then he was gone. He didn't die for God took him. It was a supernatural event, and Enoch is a picture of the rapture, the translation, the supernatural rapture of God's people. Enoch and God just put that in the, in the middle and took Enoch out as, as an example to us. Of course, another well-known personality in this obituary column is Methuselah. He lived for 969 years, but he what?

He died. So it doesn't matter how well or unwell a person may have lived, no matter how long a person may have lived, the one common denominator in all of this, he lived, he died, he lived, he died, he lived, he died. Look, we are born in and live in a dying world. Unless Christ comes again in our lifetimes, we're going, going to die. And we're dead men walking because of the consequences of sin. Romans 6 says that the wages of sin is death.

You were born a sinner, and apart from the grace of God, you will die a sinner. And there's only one way to escape death. And we see it here in the story of Noah and his big boat. It's the story of salvation. So beginning in chapter 6 and verses 5 and following, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

You might write in the column of your Bible there, total depravity. The minds of men and women was only evil continually. Verse 6. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart. So the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heaven, for I am sorry that I have made them." Period. But thank God for verse 8. But Noah found favor.

Just put beside that word favor, grace, because verse 8 in chapter 6 of Genesis is the first time grace is introduced in the Bible. But Noah found grace, favor in the eyes of the Lord. He was found by God, this man Noah. And discovered grace, experienced grace in the midst of all this terrible depravity and darkness that was all around him. And he became an unsinkable, unshakable hero of the faith.

So how did it happen? Well, we need to talk about at the outset this terrible wickedness of humanity. Because, and this is how it applies to you and me, Noah is a picture of a last day's believer. Although he was a early believer, he's also a last days believer, and here's why. In Matthew chapter 24, just hold your place there in Genesis and go all the way over to the New Testament in Matthew chapter 24.

The disciples said to Jesus, "How will we know that you're coming again? When you're coming again? Give us a sign of your coming again." And Jesus began teaching them commenting on Genesis 6 and Matthew 24, verse 37, "For as were the days of Noah," What were the days of Noah like? Extreme vileness, excessive violence, darkness, depravity. Men's minds on evil continually. That's what it was like in the days of Noah. "So will it be in the coming of the Son of Man."

Men began to act like animals. We didn't come from the animals, but the more we turn from God, the more we act like animals. And that's what is happening in Genesis. That's what's happening now for we're in these final days, we're in these last days. For in the last days before the flood, what were they doing? They were eating and drinking, partying, marrying, giving in marriage. In other words, it was a time of indulgence. This is not talking about normal marriage and, and eating and drinking, that's normal. But, but everything was excessive. Everything was out of control. Cereal marriages and, and immorality until the day that Noah entered the ark and they were unaware. There was indifference and there was ignorance regarding the flood that soon came and swept them all away. And just as there was indulgence and, and immorality and, and indifference and ignorance in the day of Moses, Jesus said, "In the last days it's going to be like that again." So Moses, or pardon me, Noah is a portrait of a last days believer.

A graced man living in a godless world. Jesus believed the book and taught it and taught from it. There's a lot of evidence that people, people find regarding the story of Noah and the great ark. And there's a lot of interest in that and people are making models of the ark and and sizing it up as to how many animals it could hold and there's archaeological evidence regarding the great flood and geological evidence and, and, and scientists can look at that. But, and, and there is evidence to support it of course, in history, but here, here's the thing.

The reason I believe, first and foremost, in Noah and the flood and the ark and the entire story and every other story in the Bible, is because it is preserved for us, written to us in the Holy scriptures. Given to us by God himself, infallible and inerrant. And, and Jesus believed the Bible. So I don't, He believed the story of Noah and the ark and said so, "As it was in the days of Noah."

"As it was in the days of Noah." So I not only believe for, you know, historical reasons, archaeological reasons, geological reasons and all of that, that's fine. But I believe because of Christological reasons. Well, you know, pastor, that's not what my professor over at the community college said. And, you know, he's got a, he's got a goatee and he smokes a pipe and he drinks wine and eats cheese and he sounds like he's French. And he said, "You know, this thing really didn't happen." Go with Jesus on this. All right? Jesus said, "It happened." And so just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in these days.

PowerPoint: You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Unsinkable. We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word connect to 59789. Again, text connect to 59789. Every day people are hearing the truth of Jesus Christ through PowerPoints, broadcasts, podcasts and digital outreach. And friends like you help make it all possible through your support. So this month we want to say thanks for your gift of $10 or more to help share the biblical truth with more people around the world by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's book, Ask. In this encouraging resource, Dr. Graham helps you discover that prayer is not about performance. It's about knowing God personally and learning to come to him with confidence, persistence and faith. Text July to 59789 to give today and request your copy. Again, text July to 59789 so that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource. Please limit one per household. Now, let's get back to today's message, Unsinkable.

Jack Graham: Now, there's a very mysterious portion of this story that we shouldn't just pass over. Seen at the top of chapter 6 regarding the sons of God that married the daughters of men. This is verse 1 of Genesis 6. "When men began to multiply on the face of the land and the daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any as they chose. And then the Lord said, 'My spirit shall not abide in man forever,' or the King James says, 'My spirit will not strive, wrestle with man forever. For he is flesh and his days shall be 120 years.'" Notice the declension, the decline of the lifespan. As sin now is setting in, and the decay of sin is even affecting human lifespan.

And then the Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men and they bore children to them, and these were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown, giants in the land. Well, what, what is this? Is this some bizarre, strange story? There's a lot of, of interesting, intriguing explanations as to who this is, these sons of God who are intermarrying with the daughters of men. And it's really, you should interpret scripture with the clear facts in front of you. These were the sons of God, which should be the godly line, men living godly lives who are marrying the daughters of men, the ungodly line. And so if I could put it bluntly to you, these godly men, men who were supposed to be godly, while they should be living godly lives and following God, they're now chasing women who are ungodly women.

And they were intermarrying outside the will of God and the purposes of God, and it was just another expression of the depth of man's sin, just spiraling downward. And because of the sin of these wicked people, God's heart was what? Grieved. If you are grieved by someone, it is because you love them. If someone offends you on the street or in traffic, you may be inconvenienced or you may be irritated, but you're not particularly grieved. But if a family member, a son, a daughter, a wife, a husband breaks your heart in some way, disappoints you in some way, because of your love for them, you are what? Grieved.

The New Testament says, "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." So God is patient. And mankind had a long time to get this right. But over and over they fell into sin, and finally God's patience was done and he said, "I'm, I'm done." So because God hates sin, it violates His glory and rejects His grace. God made a decision to destroy His creation, and that's verse 7.

It's a dangerous thing to say no and no and no and no and no to God. Because finally God's patience is finished. So because of the wickedness of man, judgment is, is coming. But we see something great, thank God. Noah, verse 8 again. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Against the terrible dark backdrop of man's sin and the destruction that was on the way, this one man experienced God's amazing grace.

Why did God give grace to Noah? Not because he was better than others, not because he was good, he was just like the rest of men. Why, how do we know that? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The sinful consequences and judgment of sin was flowing through Noah's veins as well. Noah was just another guy, who's about to live and die in his sin. But God chose to show him grace, undeserved, unmerited favor. That's what grace is.

Salvation is this. Man has sinned but God is gracious. God wasn't looking down and saying, "Okay, let me find just one good guy that I can get to go on." No. God chose Noah out of His own love and affection. And this same God, grace being God, chooses to love you. God chooses to forgive you. God chooses to save you. And He says, "I will change you and I will cleanse you, and I will renew your life and restore your soul. I will offer you my hand, and if you'll put your hand in my hand, we can walk together." That's grace.

So God chose Noah and his wife and family. He said, "Build a boat." Now, we're told in verse 14 about the size and the substance of the boat. It was a big boat, 300 cubits long, that's 450 feet approximately, depending on how you measure a cubit. 50 cubits wide, or 75 feet, 30 cubits high, uh, that's 45 feet. So it was like a more than an ocean liner. It was really a box. God said, "Put a roof on it." That's a good thing because it's about to rain. "Put a roof on it, put a side door so people can go in the side door." So it was a massive. Some estimate that it weighed as much as 13,000 tons.

It really looked like a giant coffin. It was made with gopher wood, which is a very strong and sturdy wood, but we're told that it was pitched on the inside and out. Verse 14. "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood and make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch." Circle that word pitch there. Kaphar, in the Hebrew language. Kaphar, K-A-P-H-A-R, is translated the rest of the time in the Old Testament as atonement. So you could read this, "It was atoned on the outside and the inside."

Atonement is God's blood redemption for our salvation. And so the ark, you see, is a picture of our salvation, our security that is in Christ alone. A lot of people get all fixated on the boat, on the ark. Let's not get all focused on the boat, let's focus on what the boat means and what the ark means is that Christ is our ark of safety. In fact, Peter tells us that Jesus is the ark of salvation.

And when we are in Christ, it's like being in the ark. And Noah was safe in that ark. And you know why? Verse 18. God said, "I will establish my covenant with you and you shall come into the ark." Now, if I'm standing at my door of my house and you walk up and, and I say, "Come in." That obviously means, "Come in with me to my house." If I'm out in the driveway, in the street, I may say, you know, "Go into my house," but I'm out there.

So what God is showing us here is that Noah wouldn't go down for one reason. He was safe and secure for one reason, and that was because God was in that ark. God said, "Come in the ark." The only way that boat was going down was if God went down and God ain't going down. That's why Noah and his family was unsinkable, unshakable. He may have fallen down in the ark, but he never fell out of the ark. We are safe and secure in Christ. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. We are in Christ and Christ is in us. Jesus said, "We're in the grip of God. You are in my Father's hand. My sheep are in the Father's hand and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand." We are in the grip of Almighty God. In Jesus, we are safe. Once we are in Christ, we are forever secure. We are ever saved. This is the eternal security of the believer in Christ.

They were in that boat for basically a full year, rain 40 days, 40 nights. And the boat floated. They stayed in there as God commanded. And then verse 8, I love this of chapter 8 of Genesis. Verse 1 says, "But God remembered Noah." And God remembers you. Sometimes, you know, it must have been lonely in that boat. Times when Noah may have thought, "God, when are we ever going to get off of this boat? When are we ever going to get through this storm?" But God remembered Noah, and God remembers you. When you are sailing through storms in life, God remembers you. He never forgets you. Your child, your name is engraved on the palms of His hands. He loves you and you belong to Him. He's the ark of safety.

I know this, according to Philippians 1:6, "He who began the good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." What God starts, he finishes. And He will bring you through, and you will rise above a sinking world. Unsinkable, unshakable by the grace and the power of God. So Noah still preaches to us today, doesn't it?

He's crying out as always, "Repent and believe because judgment is coming," as in the days of Noah. He's crying out through the centuries, "Enter into the door." And who is the door? There was one way into that ark. And there's one way into the safety and security of our God, and that is through the door of eternal life, Jesus Christ, who is the way and the truth and the life. One door, one way. And so Noah is still saying, "Come with God, come into the ark. You need to be saved. It's beginning to rain."

Judgment is on the way. Don't laugh about judgment. Don't try to convince yourself that this doesn't exist. That's what happened to the generation of Noah. They mocked, they laughed. They didn't know until the storm came and took them all away and they were gone forever. God loves you and wants to grace you and rescue you. If you'll just walk up the gangplank of faith through the door of Jesus unto salvation and security and safety in Christ forever. That is the most epic adventure of all.

PowerPoint: You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Unsinkable. We want to remind you about a powerful resource Dr. Jack Graham has created to help strengthen your prayer life. It's his book, Ask. This practical and encouraging book explores Jesus's invitation to ask, seek and knock, helping you discover that prayer is not about saying the right words, but about growing closer to your heavenly Father through faith-filled relationship. When you give today to support the outreach of PowerPoint Ministries, you'll help share biblical truth and the life-changing hope of Jesus with people around the world through broadcasts, podcasts and digital ministry. Text July to 59789 to give your gift of $10 or more. Again, text July to 59789 so that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource. Please limit one per household. We're excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting connect to 59789. Again, text connect to 59789.

Jack Graham: Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Don't delay. God's offer of forgiveness is yours to accept today, not tomorrow, next week, next year, or on your deathbed. God knows you in the deepest secrets of your heart and He wants to forgive you so that you can have a deep, intimate relationship with Him that brings you joy and purpose from now till the day you meet Him in heaven. Getting right with God doesn't require you to do anything at all in order to earn God's favor. Noah wasn't chosen by God because of His good deeds, but because God showed grace to him. It was God's initiative all along. And it is God acting on your heart today. He is offering His grace, mercy and new life to you, and all you need to do is to accept His grace and love through Jesus Christ our Lord. I want to invite you right now to visit jackgraham.org and request prayer. If we can help you in knowing Christ, that would be our greatest joy. If we could pray for one of your needs or a family member or a friend who needs prayer, we would count that a privilege. You can also give an online donation and that's very important as we move the message of Jesus around the world through radio. Or you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. I appreciate so many Twitter followers and friends on Facebook, and I hope you're one of them. Join us today. God bless you and join us again next time for PowerPoint.

PowerPoint: And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Ask. Just text July to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the benefits of surrendering your life to God. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.