David's Sermons - Genesis 6 v 5-14

Genesis 6 v 5-14

And 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 it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
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.
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

Genesis 7 v 11-16

In the six 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 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;
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 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.

Noah is a picture to us of the saved man. The Lord warned him of him impending doom, and also showed him the way of salvation. Noah believed the Lord, and followed His instructions to build the ark. He built only one door into the ark, and that door was to be shut by God. While it was open, anyone could come in, but very few did. Just Noah and his family entered into safety. Once God had shut the door, the judgement came on the world.

John 10 v 9

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

Ephesians 2 v 18

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Just as Noah was, we are warned about the judgement to come, and we are also shown the way of salvation. The door is open to anyone, but it won't stay that way. There will come a time when God will shut the door, and judgement will come upon the world.

Houses have doors, and doors have locks. Generally only the members of the family who live in the house have keys that fit those locks. Christ calls Himself the Door. He is the only way into heaven. Sin is the lock that stops us from entering, but Jesus offers us the key: redemption through His blood. We can only come into God's kingdom through the Door. He is the Way.

Our own world is imperfect, and we can lose the keys to our houses. When I was a boy we were returning from a day out in the town, and on the way back from the bus stop my younger brother asked for the key to get into the house. He was given it and ran on ahead. When we passed some grass we noticed he was out with his friends playing football. "What did you do with the key?". "Oh, I couldn't open the door, so I posted the key through the letterbox". This was our only key! Fortunately a nice neighbour came to the rescue with some string and a magnet.

Once we have been given the key to Heaven we can never lose it. It's a personal key that only allows entry to us, not friends or family. They must see their need for their own keys.

The door separates people. There are those inside and those outside. The Door also separates between those who are His and those who aren't. We can invite others in, but they must enter of their own accord, and by the Door. Some think there are other ways in, some don't believe there's a place of safety to go to. But Jesus Christ said "I am the Door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved".