House - Part 6 - Parade Of Homes Series

House

“Parade of Homes”

I. Introduction

God’s House is being built. Part of it or not, like it or not, fully understand it or not God is in fact building for Himself a habitation. My desire is that we become a part of that edifice and structure. So, we have been trying to understand the blueprints and systems that must be in place so that God will move in here! I want to make sure that God has to turn on the power, the light, the water, and have His mail forwarded to Passion Church! In order for that to happen we must build by His rules. Authority is the rule of His house! There are 3 avenues through which He exerts His authority. What are they? Word, conscience, and delegated authority! To be a livable house we must know house manners? What are they? Regard, respect, resolve, and restore! Nobody lives in an empty house. To change God’s visitation to a constant habitation we must furnish His home with bed (place of rest), a table (place of fellowship), a chair (place of support) and a lamp (illumination of His Word). We must expand our thinking outside our present level of thinking! We must secure our foundation so that we can handle the weight of His presence! We must come to a moment of decision about whether or not we are willing to pay the price and do our part to insure a habitation! One brick can’t get the habitation by itself. It takes all the bricks in harmony and pulling their own weight to provide such a place of dwelling.

So this morning I want to try to wrap this thing up if I can. I wonder how many of you have ever gone to a parade of homes? Julie and I have never done that, but we have talked about it quite a bit. I think I understand the basic concept of a parade of homes. The idea is that people open up their homes in order for you to get to a peak at how they live (at least a cleaned up, spruced up, dressed up glimpse of how they live). In that regard a parade of homes is positive. I will come back to the idea of a parade of homes in a minute.

I want us to go on a 2 stop parade of homes and look at a couple of homes that teaches us some things about His house.

Text: Genesis 7:1-10, 22-23; 11:5-7

1The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

6Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. 7And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

Genesis 11:5-7

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

I. House #1

Noah understood authority. God said build an ark. It had never rained before, but Noah knew that God’s Word is prominent and preeminent, so when God said build his response was “Yes Sir”. He built it exactly as God had commanded! He followed the blueprints.

In essence, Noah constructs the world first ever house boat! It was huge! 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet deep. Noah is instructed to bring on board all of his family and then as you know the gathering of animals that joined the family on the boat. We think it was two by two. However, that was only the unclean animals. The clean animals he had 7 of each. There are some things that this home teaches us about His house that I want to point out to you!