Noah's Faith

Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

Luke 3:36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

Luke 17:26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

Luke 17:27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

1 Peter 3:20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

2 Peter 2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;

(From a couple of Sermoncentral lessons) -All I will ever need to know I learned from Noah. One, Don’t miss the boat. Two, Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark . Four, Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big. Five, Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six, Build your future on high ground. Seven, Speed isn’t everything, the snails were on board with the cheetahs. Eight, When you’re stressed, float awhile. Nine, Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals. Ten, No matter what the storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.

This is the fifth lesson in our Genesis series. This afternoon the groups will study about Noah together from Genesis 6-9 about how when sin got so bad God started all over. This morning let’s look at some New Testament statements about Noah and consider how God used Noah’s faithfulness as an example for us today.

Noah’s name occurs 8 times in the New Testament. He and his wife and three sons and their wives were the 8 people God chose to save when He wiped out everything that had breath in it by a flood.

The first two times Noah is mentioned in the New Testament is in Matthew 24. Jesus is explaining when Jerusalem will be destroyed and when will be His coming. Look with me at verses 35-42.

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Noah is an example to remind us to be ready for the Lord’s return.

Nothing motivates us to be careful like a strong anticipation of Christ’s return. I remember in elementary school when the teacher would leave the room and tell us to behave until she came back. Miss Sibley, my first grade teacher, would warn us to be quiet and work on something until she got back. She would warn us that if we weren’t quiet, we’d lose our recess. As a first grader, I’d rather die than lose recess! She would walk out that door and within minutes the noise of talking would rise and paper wads would begin to fly, and I would be miserable just knowing we were going to miss recess! I was one of the few that took her seriously.

2 Peter 3:1-13. Noah and the flood is a reminder to be ready for the Lord to return. We’d do well to take God’s word seriously. A strong awareness of Christ’s eminent return keeps us walking in God’s grace and helps us find favor in His eyes.