What fish is known for swimming up stream against almost insurmountable odds? The Salmon is the answer. The Salmon swims up stream to fulfill a God given instinct to reach its feeding and breeding grounds. Salmon are famous for their fighting spirit. They battle currents and leap across rapids and up waterfalls as high as 10 feet. When hooked, they struggle furiously to escape. Most Salmon spawn during the summer or autumn after swimming upstream as far as 2,000 miles from the ocean. I thought to myself, Salmon are a wonderful illustration of faith. You and I need a faith that is filled with that kind of determination. This will prepare us to face life’s challenges.
Today we look at a man who offers such an example. His name is Noah. Noah was willing to swim up stream against almost insurmountable odds to live for God. We learn many lessons from Noah.
Someone has done a light hearted piece about Noah that offers some interesting lessons.
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.
Look at two passages that highlight Noah’s life.
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Heb. 11:7 NKJV
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.” Gen. 6:7-8 NKJV
So, what can we learn from Noah about swimming up stream. Let’s look at several qualities in Noah that reveals positive Biblical guidance about swimming up stream.
1. The first quality we notice in Noah is his faith. The first three words of Heb. 11:7 speak volumes about him. We find these words “by faith Noah.” Anything we might say about Noah must be qualified by these words. I pray that people would say similar words about you and me. “By faith, he/she bought a house.” “By faith, he/she took a new job.” “By faith, he/she got married.” What can we learn from Noah’s faith?
Noah’s faith was built around the grace of God. In Gen. 6:7 we read that Noah found “favor (or grace) in the eyes of the Lord.” God’s grace towards mankind is expressed in several ways.
• His grace is expressed by His willingness to forgive and overlook our sins.
• His grace is expressed by His willingness to work with us and use us in His service.
No doubt Noah was a Godly man who walked by faith. We do not want to take anything away from him. However, it was the grace of God that chose to use him. God could have chosen any man, woman, boy or girl in history to do what Noah did, in building the ark. But he did not choose just anyone. He chose Noah. It was God’s grace that chose Noah.
Have you ever thought about how the grace of God works its way out in your life? You could have been born somewhere else. You could have been born in a country where the opportunities are not available. You could have been born in a country where you would never hear the gospel preached. But you were not born there. You were given a huge opportunity because of the grace of God. In the song “America” there are some telling words, “God shed His grace on you.” I do not know why God chooses to allow some to be born in freedom and others in bondage. I do not know why God blesses some with luxury and others go without. My only certainty is the certainty that God’s “grace” is a huge stewardship that you have been given. The Bible says “to whom much has been given, much is required.”
That brings me to the second aspect of Noah’s faith. Noah responded to God’s grace. He obeyed. Noah accepted God’s word and acted on it. God asked Noah to do something that was seemingly impossible. He asked him to build an ark 120 years before it would be needed. He asked him to build an ark 450 feet long x 75 feet wide x 45 feet high. He asked him to gather a diverse group of animals and carry them into the ark with him. He asked him to live with a bunch of stinky animals on the ark for almost a year. Jesus said that as Noah prepared the ark other people kept right on living as if nothing was going to happen. They were oblivious to this man of faith and his weird activities. This project was not logical, easy or popular.
People of faith are characterized by an obedient faith. They are willing to obey God when God calls their name.
• They obey when God calls them to faith in His son, Jesus Christ.
• They obey when God convicts them to be baptized.
• They obey when God calls them to a special duty.
• They obey when God calls them to do something that may seem illogical.
2. The first quality we notice about Noah is that he was a man of faith. A second quality we notice about him is that he was a man of fortitude. If you are going to go against the grain of popular opinion you better have a steadfast spirit. Webster’s dictionary defines fortitude as “the strength to bear misfortune or pain, calmly and patiently; firm courage.” I like that last phrase “firm courage.” I was once sent an e-mail definition of fortitude. It said “The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.”
Someone has written a lite hearted piece imagining the challenges Noah might have faced.
The Lord spoke to Noah and said, “Noah in six months I am going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water and all the evil things are destroyed. But, I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. So I want you to build an ark.”
Well, six months passed, the sky began to cloud up, and the rain began to fall in torrents. The Lord looked down and saw Nah sitting in his yard, weeping, and there was no ark. “Noah!” shouted the Lord, “Where is My ark?” “Lord please forgive me!” begged Noah. “I did my best but there were some problems --- big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the ark’s construction, but Your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, only to get into a long argument with him about whether to include a fire-sprinkler system.”
“My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, because it was killing the dandelions --- so I had to get a variance from the city planning board. Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the Fish and Game Commission that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn’t let me catch them, so NO OWLS.”
“Next I started gathering up the animals but got sued by an animal rights group that objected to my taking along only two of each kind; they wanted me to save them all. Then the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plain. So I sent them a globe! The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got notice from the state that I owe some kind of usage tax. Really, I don’t think I can finish the ark in less than five years.”
With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. “You mean You are not going to destroy the world?” he asked hopefully. “No,” said the Lord, “I am too late, the government already has.”
(Submitted to Sermon Central by Scott Chambers)
A. A person of fortitude is willing to walk alone. Whenever you choose to live for God as a Christian and follow Jesus Christ there may be times when you have to walk alone. Walking alone is not an easy thing.
Illustration: Several years ago there was a billboard in Northport that inspired me. The billboard was a tribute to firemen. It had a picture of a fireman on it. It read “When others ran out…he ran it.”
Think about the faith heroes in the Bible. They were willing to walk alone.
• Noah built an ark all by himself. His neighbors must have glared at him with disdain.
• Moses led the Israelites all alone. At times the people wanted to string him up because his leadership did not make sense.
• The Old Testament prophets were jeered at, abused and thrown into prison but they stood their ground. They walked alone.
• Jesus hung on a cross and died alone.
B. A person of fortitude has a steadfast spirit. There is a verse in I Cor. 15 that speaks strongly to this challenge. “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (vs. 58) If you are going to serve Jesus Christ there will be times when following Him will not be easy. If you are going to serve Jesus Christ there will be times when faith is not fun. If you are going to serve Jesus Christ there will be times when you are all alone. People of fortitude display a steadfast spirit.
Illustration: After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live...
(Contributed to Sermon Central by James Botts)
This discussion of fortitude leads me to discuss another subject, the subject is passion. Our society has a confused understanding of passion. We tend to think of a passionate person as being this optimistic, bubbly and enthusiastic individual with a charismatic personality. That is partially true. However, real passion goes much deeper. Our society tends to focus on the feel good part of passion. Legitimate passion is that which gives enthusiasm in the heart but also steel in the soul. The great people of faith have enthusiasm in the heart but they also have glue in their soul. They are people who stick by other believers and stick by their job, no matter what the cost. It has been said "We should measure affection, not like youngsters by the ardor of its passion, but by its strength and constancy."
(Marcus Tullius Cicero)
3. Noah was a man of faith and fortitude but also a man who kept his eye on the future. It is the time of year when all of us on the Gulf Coast keep an ear open to the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. We have learned that it is vitally important to be prepared. Failure to prepare can have devastating consequences. This was illustrated in the Persian Gulf several years back.
Illustration: According to the Chicago Tribune, on May 17, 1987, an Iraqi F-1 Mirage aircraft fired two Exocet missiles at the Navy frigate USS Stark, which was patrolling in the Persian Gulf.
The Stark was equipped with radar systems to detect such missiles in the air. In the nerve center of the ship was the electronic warfare operator, a man who monitored these systems. If a missile was fired at the ship, he would be warned in two ways. An audible alarm would sound and a visual symbol would appear on the radar screen.
Nevertheless, without warning the Exocet missiles slammed into the side of the Uss Stark just above the waterline, tearing a ten foot hole in the ship and killing thirty-seven American sailors.
To learn what went wrong, the House Armed Services Committee launched an official investigation. After visiting the ship and talking to the crew, they reported that the tragedy had probably not resulted from equipment failure. Rather the cause was human error or omission on the part of several people. One was the electronic warfare operator in the ship’s nerve center.
The report said, “The operator indicated that he had turned off the audible alarm feature because too many signals were being received that were setting off the alarm, requiring actions that distracted him from performing other signal analysis.”
Then with the audible alarm off, according to the investigators, he may have been distracted at the time when the visual signals appeared on the radar screen.
Warning signals are usually an irritating interruption, but we turn them off at our peril.
(Illustration 252 in Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers. Edited by Craig Brian Larson. P. 277)
The soldier in that control room lost perspective. He focused on an immediate problem and failed to be prepared for future attacks. That is a vital reminder about the place of faith. Faith keeps an eye open to the future. The unbeliever lives his live focused on today. He is unconcerned about the future and His spiritual preparation.
What about you? Are you prepared spiritually? Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart? Are you prepared to meet God?
