Are You Coming In?

By: M. S. Shiflett

This message was preached at Calvary Independent

Baptist Church in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

I am sure we are all familiar with the well-known account of Noah and the Flood. It is a story of a man and his family that God preserved through their own faith. There may be a lesson in this story for us that we haven't realized before.  Let's examine the facts.

• l Genesis 6:6-8 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in 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.

God looked down on planet Earth and saw the sins of men. It was not a pretty sight. In fact, it was horrible.

• l Genesis 6:5 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.

Through God's eyes, things must look pretty much the same today as in the days before the flood of Noah. Newspapers and headlines reveal all the signs we need to see.  My friend, we are in the last days!  I was reading the news recently to find out what is going on with the election there in America, and right in big, bold letters the headlines said:

"HUNDREDS OF GAY COUPLES ARE RUSHING TO GET MARRIED IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO"

Now, it is against the Constitution for a man to marry a man and for a woman and a woman to get married.  But in San Francisco, a few judges have allowed gay couples to get married, contrary to the law.  Hundreds of them are getting married.  The most revolting thing I have ever seen was a picture of two older women (in their 60'^s) getting married.  They have been lovers for 40 years! Can you tell me that this society that we live in is not perverted?  It is very much like the days of Noah.  It is as bad as it was back then, maybe worse.

It was also that way in the days before the flood of Noah.  The Bible says, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth".  I want to draw your attention to a couple of important facts concerning the Flood and it's relation to us today.

1.  The Omnipotence of God

In this day and age we need to remember one thing:

GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING!  He sees it all!

He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. God knows everything, is all-powerful and is everywhere at the same time. He is looking in your heart while you are reading this book this moment, and knows what you are thinking!  What a frightful realization!

• John 2: 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he (Jesus) knew what was in man.

Dear reader, you might fool your family. You might fool your church friends, your wife, husband or your children. You might even be so good at it that you fool yourself! But what if the Bible is true?  What if there really is a God, and He knows everything about you?   Then you can know that all those little sins that you have committed, that no one else knew about, He saw it!  He is aware of it.

Our society is so perverted and wicked today.  Things that are an abomination are now promoted and laughed at! Mankind has become one big, tangled heap of abominations and perversions. God is not slack concerning His promise; therefore sinners are going to hell!  God has declared repeatedly in His Word that HE SEES WHAT IS GOING ON!!

The fact that people do not take God seriously concerning this promise is evident in the account of Noah. They didn't realize that they were created men.

• Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

• Psalm 10:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

This is a fool speaking. I hope this isn't you!!

• Psalm 10:11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

Oh, yes, He will!  He does see it.  He sees everything you do, He sees everywhere you go, He sees every thought you have and He hears every word you say.  Even David realized that! His psalms reveal this fact.

• Psalms 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

• 2. The Order Of God

God gave Noah and his family an order.  Let's look at it.

• Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

In verse 15-16, He even gave Noah the dimensions of the ark.  His order was precise and simple to understand.

• Genesis 6:17-18 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 every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons wives with thee.

God gave Noah a simple command - Get prepared!  God also gives us a command - Get prepared!  Judgment is coming!

I trust that you will realize the seriousness of the judgment of God.  God loved us enough that He gave us a warning.  God would be justified in punishing each one of us because all of us have sinned.  There is not a single one of us that deserve to stand before God, to go to Heaven, or to earn eternal life.  God would be justified - God would be totally blameless if He wiped every single one of us of the face of the earth and started all over again.  But He didn't do that!  He is a God of mercy and love, revealed by the fact that He gave us a warning!!  What a blessing!

In Genesis 6 God told the people that there is a flood coming.  They must prepare for it by faith.

• Amos 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

There are very few things more frustrating than trying to prepare for something, and then when you get there, you find out that you are not prepared.  Have you ever prepared and studied for a test or an exam and you memorize everything and when you walk into the classroom and they hand you your paper, you sit down to start with the first question, and you realize that you are not prepared?  You realize you missed some things, and you did not study all the right things.  What a horrible feeling!  How sad!

Fortunately, God doesn't operate that way.  God told us everything we need to know to be prepared to meet Him. Everything is right here in His Word. Why did He do that? Because He loves man! He is a longsuffering and a merciful God.  We deserve hell, but He still loves us.

• 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

• 3. The Opportunities of Man

• Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

God told Noah the flood was coming, but he had 120 years to build an ark.  The days of man are numbered.  He didn't tell Noah he had to build an ark in five days.  He gave him the specific dimensions and He gave him time.  He also gave all the other people time to see Noah build the ark and to find out that it is going to rain.  Again, God is a merciful God.  God doesn't want to see any man destroyed.  Remember, these men were wicked! They deserved to die!!

The gospel message has been going forth for almost 2,000 years.  God has changed lives and manifested His power.  The Bible says in the book of Romans that we are without an excuse. 

• Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

If you have never heard His plan of salvation, you've got to realize there is a God this moment that loves you.  Most people have had the opportunity to hear the gospel again and again.  He has extended an invitation to you to get saved, and He warned you that judgment is coming.  His love for you is apparent in this.  By reading this book, you have another opportunity to hear of God's great love for you.

I can only imagine how Noah must have felt when he was building the ark and people stood there and laughed.  They thought he was crazy, and Noah had to tell them that God said it was going to rain. Noah knew if God said so, it is going to happen!

• 4. The Open Door

• Genesis 7:1 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.

God did not say "go"; He said, "come".  God was in there.  He was already in the ark, inviting man to come in also.

• l Genesis 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

Do you notice that God shut the door?  God is the one that decides when it is too late to repent, and when judgment must begin.

• l Genesis 7:4 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 form off the face of the earth.

Noah had been preaching for 120 years.  The ark is finished.  All the animals had been led into the ark.  Noah and his family also went into the ark.  For seven days they sat there with the door open.  This is proof positive that God is a longsuffering, merciful, patient God.  In verse 16, the Bible says that God shut the door.  What a horror that must have been to those outside!  What a fear must have come upon them.

Noah didn't shut the door.  If Noah had shut the door, he would have been able to open it up again when everybody started screaming and banging on the side of the ark. He would have done everything he could to help them, but he couldn't do anything for them!

God has not shut the door yet.  It is still standing open, waiting for men, women, boys and girls to walk inside. However, the day will come when He will shut the door.  He is going to shut the door, but for now, the door is still open.  Some have already gone inside.  Some of us have already taken God at His word and said, "Lord, I believe.  I believe that You are the only way." Needless to say, He IS THE ONLY WAY!!

Noah had stood at the opening of the ark and told the people that this is the only way that they could escape the flood.  Climbing up in a tree or on a mountain wouldn't save them from the flood.  They had to get in the ark. Their efforts were in vain.  They must put all their faith and trust in God's simple plan of salvation.

Today, Jesus is still the only way.  People come up with all kinds of alternatives.  They devise all kinds of ways to get around the idea that Jesus is the only way.  He is the only way, and for now; the door is still open.  Notice what Jesus said in John 14.

• John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

May I ask you a question?  Are you coming in or not?  In 1976, I went inside the ark as a 4-year old boy.  I knelt down at the altar at the Faith Baptist Church in Tifton Georgia in the United States.  I realized I was lost and on my way to hell.  I asked the Lord to come into my heart and to save me.  I wasn't even in school yet and I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  That day, I walked onto the ark.  I've been there ever since and the door is still open.  I am now standing at the door, asking those outside, "Are you coming in or not?"

• 5. The Outpouring of God's Wrath

• Genesis 7:17-20 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift 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.

There was no place to go.  There was no place to escape the outpouring of God's wrath and God's judgment.

• l Genesis 7:21-23 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, 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 the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

One day, God is going to pour out His judgment and His wrath and there won't be a single thing in the world you could do to stop it.  There will be nothing you can do to stop it if you are not in the ark.  If you never have been saved, you cannot escape His wrath.  His time of patience will run out, and those that didn't accept His plan of salvation WILL BE DESTROYED!

• l Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

You are going to die one day.  It could be soon; it could be later, but you are going to die.  You are going to stand before an almighty, righteous, holy God; the Creator of Heaven and earth.  He is going to look at you and He is going to know whether or not you were on the ark.  Can you imagine standing before God, knowing you mocked and laughed at His patience and His mercy?

• Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This is what is in store for those that don't get saved. God has to judge sin.  Even when His own Son was dying on the cross, God the Father had to turn His back on him. Dying on the cross, Jesus had to be the sacrifice necessary to quench God's wrath. When He was on that cross, all our sins and iniquities were placed on Jesus. God the Father forsook Jesus because he is a holy God and can't look at sin. If you don't get saved (get into the ark), the Bible says you are going to be cast into the lake of fire.  That goes for everybody that has never been saved.

• 6. The Outcome

• Genesis 7:23b ...and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

The outcome of Noah and his family was they lived.  They survived God's judgment.  Their outcome was life instead of death. If you read chapter 8 and chapter 9, you will see that they came of that ark, built an altar, worshipped God and thanked Him for their salvation

My question to you is:  "Are you coming in or not?"  Any day now, He can shut that door.  If you put this book down and reject this message; God don't owe you anything!  He doesn't owe you another chance or opportunity to be saved.  He is not obligated to leave that door open another minute.  Are you coming in or not?

If you are interested in finding out just exactly what God's simple plan of salvation really is, then read the following message.  This could very well be the last time God allows you the opportunity to be saved.

Without a doubt, what Jesus did for the world is the greatest news that has ever been told.  Man deserved to die because of his sin.

• Roman 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

God is a holy God.  He has to punish sin.  There is no other way.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God killed an innocent lamb to provide a covering for their shame.

• Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

From that time, man always had to offer blood sacrifices to God for their sins.  Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites offered thousands and thousands of bulls, calves, goats, sheep, even birds on the altars.  God required death for the penalty for sin.  But when we get to the New Testament, we find that Jesus came to earth to be the FINAL SACRIFICE for sin.

John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God"  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29.  This time, the death of the sacrifice would be the last death that God required.  The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were not good enough.  God required not only a blood sacrifice, but a PERFECT blood sacrifice.  Jesus, the only Son of God was the only one qualified to be that sacrifice.  So Jesus, because He loved you and all of mankind, He willingly offered himself on the cross as the final, perfect sacrifice.  He took your place.  He died so that you might live.  His death on the cross pleased God, and stopped God's anger and judgment.

• Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

It is extremely important to realize that salvation is NOT BY WORKS.  Man has been trying to work his way to heaven since the Garden of Eden. Cain and Abel were two brothers.  When it came time to offer their sacrifices, Abel chose a spotless lamb, just as God commanded.  Cain tried to impress God with his hard work.  He offered up the results of his labor. (Genesis 4:1-15). God did not accept Cain's sacrifice.  People today are still trying to please God by their good works, going to church, baptism, reading their Bible, and being good to their neighbor and many other ways.

All these things are very important, and very good. BUT NOT FOR SALVATION!  These are things we are supposed to do AFTER we are saved. Salvation is already paid for. Jesus did everything necessary.  That is why he cried, "It is finished" when He died on the cross. (John 19:30) If you trust in what Jesus did on the cross, and put all your faith in Him, and you repent of your sins, and call out to God and ask him to save you, then that is all that God requires! 

It is not by our works. We are saved by GRACE.  Grace is God's Riches At Christ's Expense. It is not based on whether or not we deserve it; it is based on God's love for us!  If we had to depend on our works to get us to Heaven, we would never be saved. It says in Isaiah 64:6, our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's sight!  Jesus took your place on the cross.  He died for you.  He paid for every sin that you have ever done. Isn't that wonderful? What are you going to do about it?

All you have to do is accept Him and believe His Word.  The choice is up to you.  You can believe Him and be saved, or you can reject him and remain lost in your sins.  No one will force you to accept Jesus as your Savior.  Not even God.

You have just read the most important message ever written.  It is a message of salvation, love and hope.  If you realize that you have never been saved, why don't you do so now?  Why don't you get on your knees right now and humbly admit to God that you are a sinner and that you need to be saved.  Ask him to come into your life and make you a child of God.  Let Him know that you are not trusting in your works, but instead you are trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for your salvation. Turn from your sins and ask him to save you, and He will. Don't put it off.  Ask Him today!

If you have been saved from this tract, please let us know! Also, don't let this book die!  Pass it on and share the good news.  Others need to hear this too!