Learn to Drive Series Week 6
THE OBEDIENCE FACTOR:
Doing exactly what you are told
Immediately
with a happy heart
Tonight, as we follow up our baptismal service, and as we continue in our Learn to Drive in 2005 series, we want to look at the Obedience Factor. That is what baptism is about. Obedience to God’s command. Christ was baptized, and out of obedience, so must we be.
In our Learn to Drive series, last week, we talked about road signs, and their warnings to prevent us from harm. But in reality, the signs themselves don’t protect us.
It is our obedience to the signs that actually protect us from harm. If we choose not to obey them, then we will suffer consequences.
Tonight we need to learn HOW to obey the warning signs God gives us.
I want to take a close look at the actions of a man I greatly admire. This man was a man’s man. This man was not afraid of anyone or anything. The only fear he had in his life, was the healthy fear of God.
You see, God asked this man to do something that appeared to be so ridiculous, that without a doubt, he would be laughed at by all his neighbors, his distant relatives and in fact, the world. And not just for a few minutes, but for more than 100 years. That’s how long it took him to do what God had asked him to do.
Now is that embarrassing or what? To go talk to someone about Christ for 5 minutes is bad enough when you feel like you are making a fool of yourself. But for God to give you a job that would take over 100 years? I mean people would go to their grave thinking you were a fool.
But you see, this man had total faith in God. And he knew that God would never ask him to do something that wasn’t absolutely 100% important. God doesn’t waste our time, give us suggestions, or threaten us with false alarms.
No, God wants us to make the most of the time He has given us here on earth, He gives us commands (not suggestions) and He never threatens, He only warns us of impending events.
Our story starts here…
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the earth”…
You know how that goes. God took 6 days (and a day to rest) to create a perfect world. Every day He created something new. And each day when He finished, He looked at what He had done and saw that “It was good”. Until He made man. Then He saw that it was “VERY good.”
Unfortunately, by Genesis chapter 6, (only 6 chapters later) God’s perfect world had become so corrupted by man’s poor choices, that God was actually sorry He ever even made us.
Let me prove it to you. Genesis 6:6-7
6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart. 7 And 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."
Now that is sad. We took something so perfect that God made, and turned it into something so evil and corrupt, that He was sorry He made us. But there was one saving grace. One person had not been affected by the surrounding corruption. You hear people say, “But everyone is doing it.” Thank God not everyone does!.
This man was still a sinner, by birth and by actions. But his heart, belonged to God. He was living righteous and holy in a real imperfect world. We can use this as an example to ourselves. It is possible to stand up for what is right, to live in a way that would please God, no matter what “everyone else is doing”. As you will see, the strength to do what is right can often times mean the difference between life and death!
Look with me in Genesis 6:8-10
8 But Noah found favor with the LORD.9 This 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. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
How many of us would stand out in a crowd like Noah? Does God notice us in the middle of our world? Let’s read on,,, Genesis 6:11-21
11 Now the earth had become corrupt in God’s sight, and it was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, and he saw violence and depravity everywhere. 13 So 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 from resinous wood and seal it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Construct an opening all the way around the boat, 18 inches 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! 18 But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat, with your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal – a male and a female – into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of each kind of bird and each kind of animal, large and small alike, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And remember, take enough food for your family and for all the animals."
Up until this point, it had never rained on the earth. That means Noah didn’t even know what rain was. Until this time, the earth was watered by a vapor canopy, kind of like living in a greenhouse, where environmental conditions were constant and perfect, all the time. So when God said He would “Flood the earth” do you think Noah even knew what He meant? I doubt it. But he did understand the part that God was going to destroy the earth.
Do you think Noah’s first response was, OK! Sure! Or do you think some of these thoughts might have entered his mind?
•Who could believe that the wise God, who created the world, would be ready to destroy it all so soon?
•Or that God, Who had just drawn the waters off the dry land would cause them to cover it again? (Genesis 1:9,10)
•How could such a merciful God allow such devastation, especially to allow innocent creatures to die for man’s sin?
•Where could enough water to cover the whole earth even come from?
•And, if it was going to happen, why was Noah the only one told about it?
But you see, Noah’s relationship with God was so strong, and his faith so sure, that it didn’t matter if he understood it all or not. He just knew that God told Him to do something, and that he had to do it. Even though I’m sure the length of time it would take, how expensive it would be, and how hard to build something to those exact details did cross his mind.
What about us? We have a building project of our own coming up. Do you think it might take us a while to build it? Do you think it is going to be terribly expensive? Are we going to follow God’s guidance in what to build? Are we going to have enough faith to see it through?
Or are we going to whine, cry and settle for less? Let’s keep this in mind. Because as soon as God opens the door, we are going to find ourselves faced with a building project, that could be just as intimidating as the ark was to Noah!
Now back to our story.
Noah’s response to God was immediate obedience.
Let’s review the definition of obedience again.
Obedience is:
1. Doing exactly what you are told
2. Immediately
3. With a happy heart.
Look at verse 22 of Genesis chapter 6:
22 So Noah did everything, exactly as God had commanded him.
Noah obeyed, in every detail what God had told him to do.
Review:
What did God tell him to do? Build a boat
What did he do? Built a boat
When did God tell him to do it? Now
When did he do it? Immediately
How did God tell him to do it? With all his might
How did he do it? With all his might
What was the outcome of Noah’s obedience?
8 Righteous people were saved (his family)
All the species of animals were saved
God blessed him, and promised him He would never destroy the earth again with water.
Noah, did exactly what he was told, immediately, and did it with a happy heart.
Now you know the rest of the story I’m sure. After 100+ years of building the ark, to God’s exact specifications, Noah his family, the animals that God sent to be placed in the ark, and enough food to feed them all, went into the ark. Once they were in, God Himself shut the door and no one could open it. Then Noah and his family, and all the animals sat in the ark for a week while nothing happened, except that their friends and neighbors beat on the outside of the ark and laughed at them for being so stupid.
Then it happened. For the first time, ever, raindrops started to fall. I’m sure all the laughter stopped as they looked up in surprise and amazement at this new weather phenomina. But as the rain began to fall harder and harder, and the water started to rise up under their feet, the reality of it all began to sink in. After 100+ years of ridiculing Noah, now they feared he was right, and they wanted him to save them. They were going to die, just like Noah had told them, and Noah had pleaded with them to believe in God. He and his family, and the animals were safe. But all of the “everyone is doing it crowd” died that day.
So that is WHY we are to obey, because God knows all. We can trust Him. And anything He tells us to do is for a reason. We must learn to obey God the way we want our children to obey us. By doing exactly what we are told to do. Doing it immediately, and doing it with a HAPPY heart. And 1 out of 3 and 2 out of 3 aren’t good enough.
What about you?
Are you obeying God with your life?
Has He told you to do something you don’t really want to do?
Are you doing what is right, but doing it with a wrong attitude?
Are you dragging your feet doing something you know God has been tugging at your heart to do?
Take it from me. It is always better to obey willingly, than to be forced to obey, or than to have God take His hand of blessing and protection off of your life.
Take a moment to reflect on God’s word to you this evening. Let’s bow our heads.
