From Zero To Hero Pt. 3 Series

FROM ZERO TO HERO

PART 3

(Noah) HERO WHO PERSEVERED

NOTE: 4 OF THE 5 MAIN POINTS WERE ADAPTED FROM DOUG FIELDS, OLD SCHOOL GOOD GUYS MESSAGES. ALL THE BODY IS ORIGINAL FROM PASTOR RYAN AKERS, BUT THE POINTS ARE ADAPTED.

Genesis 6:5-22, “5Now the LORD observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. 6So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart. 7And the LORD said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them." 8But Noah found favor with the LORD.9This is the history of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.11Now the earth had become corrupt in God’s sight, and it was filled with violence. 12God observed all this corruption in the world, and he saw violence and depravity everywhere. 13So God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Yes, I will wipe them all from the face of the earth!14"Make a boat[a] from resinous wood and seal it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[b] 16Construct an opening all the way around the boat, 18 inches[c] below the roof. Then put three decks inside the boat--bottom, middle, and upper--and put a door in the side.17"Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing. Everything on earth will die! 18But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat, with your wife and your sons and their wives. 19Bring a pair of every kind of animal--a male and a female--into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20Pairs of each kind of bird and each kind of animal, large and small alike, will come to you to be kept alive. 21And remember, take enough food for your family and for all the animals."22So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

The great and famous movie Rocky tells the story of a small time boxer given the opportunity of a lifetime-the chance to fight undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. After weeks of punishing, grueling training, on the evening of the fight Rocky finally admitted the futility of his effort. “Who am I trying to kid? I’m not even in the same class with da guy. But I gotta go da distance. I gotta go da distance.”

Rocky set as his goal to go all fifteen rounds. He wanted to hang in there when he knew every muscle in his body would scream to quit. He wanted to endure under pressure. As a fighter, he wanted to go the full distance. The fight began, but in round one rocky was knocked down. The count commenced, but after wildly shaking his head back and forth, he struggled to his feet and lasted not just one or two more rounds, but all fifteen. He was able to go the distance because, during training, his body had been subjected to grueling preparation. Daily he had driven himself to the point of exhaustion. One-arm push ups, back bending sit ups, sprinting, sparring—this had all been part of his schedule of training. The design of a demanding training schedule enabled Rocky to endure.

I love the story of Rocky because it’s about persevering through difficulty. We’ve been doing this series called From Zero to Hero. We’ve been looking at heroes in the bible, men who were common men with an uncommon calling. Who were called by God, who were willing to lay their lives on the line to serve him. They set the ultimate example to us in what it means to be a true believer in Christ.

The purpose behind this series is because I was so tired of watching people fall in love with these fake “heroes” on tv and in movies and books. The world makes a hero someone that is so incredibly special that it is only the select few that could reach that level. And we sit in theaters and in our couches spending our lives saying, “man I wish I could do that, I would love to be famous, to have those talents, if I were this or I could do that…” Maybe some of you have grown up living your life having to hear that you aren’t good enough, your not smart enough, your not strong enough, you’ll never amount to anything. It didn’t have to happen to you as a child, you may hear that today from your husband or your wife or your boss or your mother or mother-in-law.