Waterproof
Aaron Cloutier
Midland SDA Church
February 27, 2021
My brother and I grew up watching television. I understand not everyone here enjoyed the entertainment industry throughout the ’80s-’90s and into the 2000s but Jordan and I both did. And it rubbed off so much that often when we get together for family events, sometimes we will have an entire conversation only using movie lines. And if you submerged yourself into the television as much as we did, you were undoubtedly exposed to the worst things possible, including the most brutal and demonic media to have ever existed….infomercials.
My guess is even if you are not a media junky you probably still know what an infomercial is. Now they pop up on Youtube and streaming venues. Regardless, the endgame of all infomercials is to sell you a product…usually of terrible quality or exaggerated benefits. Some honorable mentions are the Chia Pet, The grabber, Potty Putter, Comfort Wipe! And you know what…we all know the commercial ploy. It always starts off with a middle-aged woman struggling to open a jar… then all of a sudden the screen goes crazy with colors and an overly charismatic voiceover introducing you to a flimsy Chinese-made device promising you an easier operation of a jar alleviating the stress of the situation. Then once they disclose all the benefits of said product, you come to the end of the ad and they tell you it costs 19.99….BUT WAIT, there is more. They will DOUBLE the order excluding crippling shipping and handling charges. Then once you feel like an idiot for not buying it, you place your order only to find it for sale on a Walmart end cap at the end of the business season 😊 Sham wow, perfect example.
But you know what, sometimes there is an occasional home run. There are a few products I can think of which started out on an infomercial platform and actually blew up in popularity. George Forman grill, OxyClean, Thighmaster, Snuggie “ for the life of me I have no idea how this made it “. I would also like to introduce to you a more current product which started out on an infomercial and has somehow made it to places like Homedepot… Flex Seal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xzN6FM5x_E
Pretty convincing huh? Out of curiosity how many of you would take a roll of this out on a boat with you, just in case a gaping hole is suddenly put into your boat? Well, I can't weigh in on its credibility because I’ve never used it but… I gotta say I got some doubts here.
But while we are in the spirit of things being waterproof and having miraculous sealing properties, let’s turn to Gen 7
READ GEN 7:11-24
Side Notes:
· Verse 11. This was an extremely violent occasion. “sources of the watery depths burst open and heavens flood gates opened up! PP page 99 “As the violence of the storm increased, trees, buildings, rocks, and earth were hurled in every direction. The terror of man and beast was beyond description. Above the roar of the tempest was heard the wailing of a people that had despised the authority of God. Satan himself, who was compelled to remain in the midst of the warring elements, feared for his own existence.” Brothers and sister, this wasn’t the gentle rainfall that we see in some cartoons. When a carnage ringleader like Satan fears his own life we know that must have been one violent show. Also, we still have geographical evidence remaining today as a testimony that the flood consisted of a lot of moving water. Things like the Grand Canyon and entire geo shelves displaced, and forests fossilized under large amounts of soil. Oh yeah, God did the job completely.
· Verse 13. Another side note… It was Noah’s responsibility to load up his family. This is a sermon all on its own but it deserves mention here today. God gave that job to Noah… just consider the implications of that as we move on.
· Verse 15. If you go back to verse 2 you will find that seven pairs of all clean animals were brought onto the ark and on 2 pairs of the unclean. Kind of a cool detail especially when you get into a conversation about appropriate foods. “ Well, clean foods were only meant for the Jews.” Unfortunate no… there wasn’t a Jew in sight for centuries.
Moving forward into verse 16 “Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.” Now isn’t that interesting? What does this even mean and why was that even necessary? We will come back to this but let’s read forward.
Read vs 17-24. Quite the devastating scene. I’ve always fantasized about what the horizon looked like at that point in time. Water, debris, more water; Complete annihilation and cleansing. And good thing the ark held up! I mean, I would think so considering the design of that magnificent vessel was designed by God himself. I doubt you would have found a roll of Flex Seal onboard. Although, that would make for a pretty sweet infomercial. The same charismatic dude slapping some tape on the side of Noah's Ark LOL. Better yet, a video of God actually using a roll of that stuff to seal the door opening 😊
But on a serious note, the ark was an incredible engineering feat. I understand the violent nature of the deluge was something fierce but Noahs Ark was designed by God to house and preserve humanity… what’s with God having to “seal” it up as the rains came?
Was it figurative? Did God perform a small “Peace Be Unto You” ceremony and bid them safe travels? Or was it actually more than that? I actually dug into my Strong Concordance on this one. Concordance # 5462 SAWGAR meaning to repair, shut, stop. So this sealing was definitely a physical sealing but most interesting was that it was also in the context of an act of taking ownership. That is God took control of maintaining that seal 😊 I want to read another portion from PP page 98 “Mercy had ceased its pleadings for the guilty race. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air had entered the place of refuge. Noah and his household were within the ark, “and the Lord shut him in.” A flash of dazzling light was seen, and a cloud of glory more vivid than the lightning descended from heaven and hovered before the entrance of the ark. The massive door, which it was impossible for those within to close, was slowly swung to its place by unseen hands. Noah was shut in, and the rejecters of God's mercy were shut out. The seal of Heaven was on that door; God had shut it, and God alone could open it. So when Christ shall cease His intercession for guilty men, before His coming in the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut. Then divine grace will no longer restrain the wicked, and Satan will have full control of those who have rejected mercy. They will endeavor to destroy God's people; but as Noah was shut into the ark, so the righteous will be shielded by divine power.”
Now obviously this deserves some unpacking, and we will certainly weigh in on those future elements here in a little bit but I still want to focus on this idea that it was necessary for God to take those actions in preserving Noah and his family.
Something I’ve had to work through in my mind was God's act of shutting/ sealing them in. I mean, if the ark needed to be sealed to be made waterproof, why have Noah build the ark to begin with? Why have Noah labor for 120 years building this structure, accepting ridicule from the human family, just to show up and do the real work preserving humanity anyway? These are fair questions, especially when you consider how far we as Christians are to take actions/ preparation of end times. But I’ve come to understand much of God's will for me and for you when it comes to duty when I see the connections and parallels offered through scripture and that of Noah and the flood.
And to help us navigate through the message this morning I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 24:36-38,42. This will help us begin making some connections and giving some applications for us today. READ. Basically… the experience we will have just before Jesus comes again will parallel the experience of Noah. So just to recap, God will decide to end sin and rebuild human existence…check. God will give a message to his chosen people to give to the world so that all can be restored to that same vision...check. God will give instruction on how to prepare for His coming…check. And God will also seal His people through the storm coming…definite check😊
So this morning, let's examine the last two antitypes as they relate to you and me.
Obviously, the physical structure of the Ark is heavily symbolic as we seek application, but I want to first say this… when Noah learned he needed to prepare for these crazy events coming, God gave Noah the plans for the Ark. Noah was not on his own. God told him how to construct it and what exactly to do with it. It was to be made of this material with these dimensions and will be a vessel to save others from destruction. He also was told to reach out to others even if they rejected it. All Noah needed to do was follow through.
Now, with just a little imagination we begin to see how our faith, how we reinforce our faith, and how we share our faith with others is a complete antitype for the Ark. So let me say this again… when Noah learned he needed to prepare for the end, God gave him plans for the ark. Quite literally, scripture gives us instructions on how to build our faith, how to maintain and grow it, and how to use it to so that others can benefit from their own ARK. Essentially, our ARK is our vessel through the stormy waters. AH HA right!?
And the best part is… it is GOD who gives us these provisions. Philippians 2:13 “It is God who works in you to both will and to do His good work.” All that we must do is take clear direction from Him. Let me tell you something, this is a hard thing for me because I’m not the kind of guy to stifle my own ambitions. “Obedience is better than sacrifice” we find in 1 Samuel 15:22. Do you know why obedience is better than sacrifice? It is because there is liberty in obedience…plus it’s the best form of worship. What liberty would there be if Noah did not obey God? None, because what freedom do you have when you are dead? Cha Ching! Build your Ark folks… don’t wait. At the same time, following God’s instructions should give you immense peace. I say this because oftentimes we begin to get anxious about the future… the irony is these are usually matters that God didn’t put on your plate anyway. In my last message, keeping the focus on Jesus was the pinnacle. Don’t be distracted.
When we start to see preparation from this angle, we also start to see why it was necessary for God to actually do the sealing action on the Ark. How much faith do you think Moses had in his own abilities to build something to keep humanity alive during world collapse? Really though, how vulnerable and capable are we really when you consider that we are in the middle of a war between fallen angels and the heavenly host. Let me just put this out there and make it as clear as day…No matter how you prepare, no matter where you are at spiritually, and no matter how well you are put together, God still shrouds you with His divine protection now, and for what’s coming. Your ark must be sealed by the Most High…Waterproof. No flex tape job here 😊.
But this brings us back to the issue of Noah’s function… why did God involve him in this whole process to begin with? And really, the answer is simple…companionship. Why did Jesus employ 12 disciples… a group of guys who would deny His name and fall asleep on Him when He needed them most? God's love for humanity is deeper than our performance. Obviously, God does not NEED us to do His work, but really we need Him to allow us to do this work because in doing it we draw closer to Him. And so, just like you and I, Noah was tasked with building an ark and reaching out because God wanted that relationship and anyone else who would seek Him out.
Now let me weigh in on the actual sealing God does on our behalf. If you recall earlier I talked about how God kept that seal functional on the ark. It wasn’t a one-and-done deal…God took ownership protecting that vessel.
In Ephesians 1:11-13 the Bible says that “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Also in Ephesian 4:30 “ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” We know the job of the Holy Spirit is to draw us closer to Jesus, agreed? Having that closeness with the Most High brings us into closer communion with Him, and you guys…the closer we are to Him the less influence Satan has in our life which obviously offers us a great deal of protection. By giving us the Holy Spirit, God seals or stamps us as His own, authenticating the reality of this relationship by making us more and more like Jesus. So, we are sealed, shut up in Him.. which gives Him the authority necessary to take ownership of us. And this, my friends, gives us a better image of the kind of people we see in Revelation 7:3 “ hearing the number of those who are sealed”, the ones who traverse through tribulation and flood water. You better believe these folks have some of that sweet perma-sealing action offered by God because you know that these people are helping to carry the burden of humanity with them as Satan wages war against God's chosen.
There is a lot that can be said at this point, but all I can really say is that our relationship with the Most High can be a beautiful thing; how a God who takes ownership of us…protecting His investments still calls us partners in duty. Consider the hope that we have in following after God because a lot of these scary things we discuss aren’t really that scary when we understand that God is batting for you.
So my challenge for you today is this; If you have not allowed God to come in and take ownership of you, your heart and mind… give Him a shot. Also, is there anything in your life that offers the kind of peace and purpose given by your Creator? Maybe you have become lax and given something else authority in your life and put Him out in the shed. I challenge you to examine your life… how much better off are you now?