Noah - Man Of Obedience Series

“Superheroes of the Faith”

Noah – Man of Obedience

God is looking for people who will live righteous lives in the face of evil.

People like “Noah.”

People who:

Are obedient to God When it’s not popular

Push aside fear and Step out in Faith

People who will serve the Lord in a broken, desperate world. God is calling us to be those kind of people -

To be “Superheroes of the Faith.”

If you follow Hollywood there is no shortage of superheroes. From Batman to Spiderman, From Superman to Frodo, "Tinsel town" has plenty of superheroes to go around.

These days, if our culture can’t find real heroes, they invent them.

But friends, real heroes do exist. You don’t have to go to the movies to find people of courage & strength.

Oftentimes, the real heroes - not recognized for their contribution at the time. They just go about quietly doing good & working for the Lord behind the scenes.

If you’re looking for heroes, don’t forget to look in the Bible. God knows heroes when He sees them. In Hebrews 11 – He singles some of them out.

This month we’re going to take a closer look @ the lives of some real heroes of the faith.

As we do we’ll be gleaning some practical helps for living the life of Faith – a life that God can bless.

Our 1st Superhero – Noah.

You may recall – Noah built a great, wooden ship – “The Ark.” God used the ship to spare Noah & his family and the animals from a worldwide flood.

Many – hear as a child – Sunday School, VBS, Children’s Church.

IL – Grandpa & Ark

 Lil’ girl sitting on her grandfather’s lap.

 He was reading the Bible story of Noah’s Ark.

 “Were you in the Ark, grandpa?”

 “Why, no I wasn’t.”

 Pause - “Then why weren’t you drowned?”

“That’s interesting, but what’s it got to do with me?”

Actually, we can learn a great deal from Noah.

IL – All I will ever need to know I learned from Noah.

1. Don’t miss the boat.

2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.

3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark .

4. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big.

5. Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done.

6. Build your future on high ground.

7. Speed isn’t everything, the snails were on board with the cheetahs.

8. When you’re stressed, float awhile.

9. Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.

10. No matter what the storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.

All kidding aside – the story of Noah…

• Set in a world much like ours.

o No electricity, indoor plumbing, cable TV

o But – 1 major similarity.

o Filled with evil.

“THE LORD SAW HOW GREAT MAN’S WICKEDNESS ON THE EARTH HAD BECOME, AND THAT EVERY INCLINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS ONLY EVIL ALL THE TIME.” (GENESIS 6:5 NIV)

The world was in a state of Universal Depravity.

Time-honored, traditional values gave way to situational ethics. Human culture – threw off godly restraints and pursued wickedness.Every man did what was right in his own eyes.

The same thing is happening in our world today.

People are making up their own rules.

Rather than - obedience to God, many - doing what’s right in their own eyes. This attitude of relativity has even entered the corporate world.

“The Wizard and the Warrior” is a new book on leadership.

In chapter 15 - authors prmote Situational Ethics in the marketplace.

“(Leaders) must be willing at times to violate conventional wisdom and rules in the service of a larger cause, but still anticipate the risks.”

“Rule-breaking is sometimes the only way to win, but leaders need to be mindful of the associated risks.”

That kind of thinking:

• Feeds the idol of Selfish Ambition.

• Leads to unethical and even criminal behavior.

Does the word “Enron” ring a bell.

A world of situational ethics is a dangerous world.

Once people start inventing their own rules –

& changing those rules as it suits them –

the world becomes a very dangerous place.

That’s exactly what happened in Noah’s day.

The people discarded the ways of the Lord and pursued their own selfish ways. As a result – violence raged upon the earth.

“NOW THE EARTH WAS CORRUPT IN GOD’S SIGHT AND WAS FULL OF VIOLENCE. GOD SAW HOW CORRUPT THE EARTH HAD BECOME, FOR ALL THE PEOPLE ON EARTH HAD CORRUPTED THEIR WAYS.”(GENESIS 6:11-12 NIV)

This state of “Universal Depravity” was so widespread/intense, it literally altered God’s dealings with man.