WHAT DO NOAH, LOT, MOSES, AND MARY ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

NONE OF THEM DESERVED GOD'S BLESSING!

Genesis 6:5-9 - 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 repents Me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace (unmerited favor) 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. 

[Note:  "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" - and then, he was described as a "just man and perfect in his generation."  The Word of God clearly teaches that NO ONE, apart from the sinless Jesus, is perfect (Rom. 3:9, 23; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15)]. 

Genesis 19:15-19 - And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful (not giving Lot what he deserved) unto him:  and they brought him forth, and set him without (outside) the city.  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.  And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:  behold now, Thy servant has found grace (unmerited favor) in Thy sight, and You have magnified Thy mercy....

[Note:  A sinless man does not need mercy from the LORD!  Lot, like all of us, was a sinner!  The LORD was gracious to Lot and his family].

Exodus 33:16-17 - For wherein shall it be known here that I (Moses) and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?  Is it not in that You go with us?  So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken:  for you hast found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.

[Note:  The nation of Israel is a perfect example of what the word "grace" means!  If there has ever been a people totally unworthy of God's mercy and grace, it is them!  Abraham was a Babylonian (from the city of Ur (Gen. 15:7), Moses was a murderer who married the daughter of a Midianite (Num. 10:29), and when Israel's Messiah came to them, they rejected Him (Jn. 1:11) had Him crucified (Acts 2:22-24)!].

Luke 1:28-31 - And the angel came in unto her (Mary), and said, Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with thee:  blessed are you among women.  And when she saw him (the angel Gabriel), she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be.  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:  for you have found favor with God.  And, behold, you shall conceive and bring forth a son, and shall call His name JESUS.

[Note:  The Greek word translated "favored," is charitoo which means "to be made acceptable."  The same word is found in Eph. 1:6 where Christians are graciously made "accepted in the Beloved."  It is a perfect, passive, participle.  Notice in Lk. 1:46-47, Mary identified her Divine Child as her Savior!].

THE WORD OF GOD SAYS THAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE SINNERS!

THE GRACE OF GOD HAS PROVIDED JESUS TO SAVE SINNERS!

THERE IS BUT ONE PERSON WORTHY OF OUR TRUST AND PRAISE:

JESUS CHRIST, THE RISEN KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

THE SIGN THAT PROVED JESUS' IDENTITY!

JONAH'S EXPERIENCE WAS A PICTURE OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION

Jonah 1:17 - Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

Jonah 2:1, 9-10 - Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly - - - But I will sacrifice unto You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the LORD.  And the LORD spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Matthew 12:38-40 - Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from You.  But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:  for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly (Greek ketos meaning "a large fish"); so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Matthew 27:62-64 - Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.  Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Mark 8:31 - And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

John 2:18-22 - Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign do You show us, seeing that You do these things?  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt You raise it up in three days?  But He spoke of the temple of His body.  When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the Word which Jesus had said.

CHRIST'S FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY

Matthew 28:5-6 - And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus, Who was crucified.  He is not here:  for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Mark16:5-6 - And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were afraid.  And he saith unto them, Be not afraid:  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified:  He is risen; He is not here:  behold the place where they laid Him.

Luke 24:1-8 - Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher.  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:  and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spoke unto you when He was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.  And they remembered His words.

John 20:14-16 - And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.  Jesus said unto her, Woman, why do you weep?  Whom do you seek?  She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, Sir, if You have borne Him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take Him away.  Jesus said unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Acts 1:1-4 - The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen:  to whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:  and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard of Me.

1 Corinthians 15:1-6 - Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:  and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

Revelation 1:5, 8 - And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.  Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, - - - I am Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and The Ending, says the Lord, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.

JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS; HE WAS BURIED; AND HE WAS RAISED 

FROM THE GRAVE, AS THE SCRIPTURES SAID HE WOULD!  

TRUST IN HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME! 

ALL SIGNS INDICATE HE IS COMING FOR BELIEVERS VERY, VERY SOON!