Text: “So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive” (Genesis 7:23).
We often hear the word “survivor” used.
What is a survivor?
How is the word “survivor” defined?
A survivor is one who lives through some misfortune, condition, or affliction. For example, “All the survivors from the train wreck were taken to the hospital for treatment.”
In other words, the people in the train wreck who did not die were taken to the hospital for treatment. These people are called survivors.
What are different kinds of survivors?
1. cancer survivor
2. abuse survivor
3. holocaust survivor
4. domestic violence survivor
5. accident survivor
A cancer survivor is one who had cancer somewhere in their body, but through surgery, treatment, and prayer has been given a clean bill of health and continues to live a normal live for many years.
An abuse survivor could fall into several categories.
1. drug abuse
2. alcohol abuse
3. child abuse
4. sexual abuse
A drug abuse survivor is one who had developed an addiction to some non-prescription or prescription drug and due to a near-death experience, prayer, a parent, or a friend was encouraged to go through a drug rehabilitation program. By going through such a program, the person’s desire for drugs no long existed; consequently, the person did not die, but instead became a survivor and an asset to society.
An alcohol abuse survivor is one who at one time was addicted to alcohol, but much like the drug abuse survivor took advantage of the rehabilitation program and shed their dependency on alcohol. Instead of dying prematurely, due to alcohol dependency, the person became a survivor and lived a normal life for many years.
A child abuse survivor is one who through the protection of Almighty God or local authorities was rescued from those who caused the abuse. The abuse might have gone on for a short time or for years, but at some point in time abuse was no longer an issue due to liberation by an outside party. Counseling and therapy given at the right time by the right people enabled the person to continue living a normal life.
A sexual abuse survivor is one who had been sexually taken advantage of by some adult. We have read of a father who sexually abused his own children. Neighbors and friends have sexually abused innocent children. Children have been kidnapped and sexually abused. A child who has been rescued and who has undergone counseling and therapy is a sexual abuse survivor.
As I mentioned at the beginning there are people who survived the concentration camps of World War II and are thus known as Holocaust survivors.
Sometimes family members fight amongst themselves and when police intervene, neither side wants to press charges. This can go on for long periods of time without anyone getting hurt, so in essence all are survivor.
On the other hand, when things really turn violent and people are shot, stabbed, or beaten and left for dead, but help comes before death, these people are domestic violence survivors.
I have given you several different scenarios concerning survivors. What I am really saying is survivors are the ones who do not die when a situation, mishap, or disease occurs.
This morning we read the story of Noah and the flood. As you recall, the only lives saved were the lives on the ark. Noah and his family did not die due to the flood, so therefore Noah and his family and all the animals were survivors.
If Noah had not listened to God, we would not be here today. We are survivors because Noah was a survivor. Scripture tells us “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).
Is the world any better today than it was in the days of Noah? Is there less corruption in the world today? Are there fewer incidences of violence in the world today?
I would answer “No!” to all of these questions. The world should be better today because of all the blessing we have received from God, but in many cases these blessings have been taken for granted by man and they have been abused.
Scripture tells us that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Noah was a sinner just like the rest of us, but he loved God, obeyed God, and walked in faith with God.
Noah lived in a wicked and violent world, but he did not let this influence his relationship with God. He did not do as others did, but instead Noah listened to God and followed God’s instructions.
When God revealed His plan to Noah there is no indication that Noah had any questions. Noah and his sons started the project of building this huge boat. This boat was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. (Genesis 6:15) We are not talking about a small fishing boat.
It is interesting to note that there was no body of water around where Noah was to build the boat. God made this promise to Noah: “I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark – you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you” (Genesis 6:18).
A covenant is a promise and when God makes a covenant or a promise it is never broken. God promised to save Noah, his family and all the animals on the ark. Noah and his family were granted salvation because of Noah’s obedience, trust, and faith in God. He offers us salvation today through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
Noah and his family were survivors in a corrupt and violent world. All other people were destroyed by the waters that came upon the surface of the earth, but Noah and his family were saved and lived to populate the earth. God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1).
Man once again had dominion over the earth. God’s promise to Noah was that life would never again be destroyed by flood waters. God said, “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11).
Every time we see a rainbow in the sky, God is reminding us of His faithfulness to His Word. Noah was faithful to God and was a survivor. God has given us the opportunity to be a survivor by accepting the life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
Another survivor we have heard about is a young shepherd boy by the name of David. Everyone was afraid of the Philistine giant named Goliath, but David told Saul he would fight him. This 9-foot tall giant was covered with armor from head to foot and was not afraid to fight anyone.
David was very confident in his ability to kill the giant. He based this on the times he rescued sheep from the mouth of a lion or a bear. David said to Saul, “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:334-36).
David knew he could not stand around and wait for the armies to do something. He knew action must be taken and his trust and faith in God would see him through. David knew in his heart that he would be a victor and not a victim while people standing around thought otherwise.
David said…“I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel…” (1 Samuel 17:45). He was going to do what was right in God’s sight so he did not fear. He said, “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves…” (1 Samuel 17:47).
David took a stone from his bag and slung it at Goliath embedding it in his forehead. Goliath fell to the ground dead. Then David took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head (v. 51). David was a survivor and Goliath was the victim. David was a survivor because he placed his trust and faith in Almighty God.
Daniel was another survivor. When he was 80 years of age, Daniel was appointed to be one of King Darius three top administrators. Daniel was a very good worker and demonstrated such to the King Darius. King Darius was so impressed by Daniel that he thought about placing Daniel over the entire kingdom. This did not set well with the other administrators and officials; consequently, they set out to find some charge against Daniel.
All the other administrators got together and proposed that King Darius should sign a decree stating: “… anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den” (Daniel 6:7).
Daniel knew what the king had signed, but he still got down on his knees in his upstairs room and prayed three times a day giving thanks to his God (Daniel 6:10).
Scripture tells us these men found Daniel praying and relayed the finding to King Darius. “So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: ‘Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?’”
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16).
Lions are very vicious and powerful animals and people were afraid of them. There were many lions roaming the countryside. Some were killed for sport while some were kept in parks. Some lions were used to execute people as in the case of Daniel.
The next morning when the king went to the lions’ den he was surprised to hear Daniel’s response to his question: “… has your God ….been able to rescue you from the lions?’ (Daniel 6:20).
Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king’ (Daniel 6:21, 22).
Daniel was a survivor. Daniel was true to God. He did not change his ways or his habits to the ways of mankind. His constant communication with God kept his spiritual diet well in balance. Daniel’s faith was so strong that whatever happened he knew God was in control and that he was in good hands.
Do the names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego sound familiar to you? These were young Jewish men who were sent to Babylon with Daniel. They were made administrators over the province of Babylon. These men were very good friends and they stood up for one another and helped one another in all respects. Although their friendship was very strong, it placed second to their relationship with their God.
It happened that King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold that was to be worshipped. The image was ninety feet high and 9 feet wide (Daniel 3:1). When a certain musical sound was heard everyone was to fall down and worship this gold image. Those who refused to worship the gold idol were “immediately thrown into a blazing furnace” (Daniel 3:6).
Some astrologers informed the king that some Jews were not following the decree. They said, “There are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:12).
The three men were brought before the king and given a second chance to fall down and worship the idol or be thrown into the fiery furnace. Their reply to the king was: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know if God would save them from burning up or not, but they did know they were not going to violate one of God’s commands: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
These men could have made up any number of excuses, but they chose to remain faithful to God. Their relationship was so strong toward God that they trusted him fully to deliver them one way or another. They knew God was still on the throne and He was still in control. These three Jewish men knew that their eternal reward was much greater than any suffering they could encounter.
Scripture tells us that “The king ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace” (Daniel 3:19-23).
When the king looked into the furnace, what did he see? He saw, “four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). God had sent a heavenly being to be with these men in their time of need. They were protected in the fiery furnace and God received the glory and honor.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were survivors because their relationship with God was one of unconditional trust, faith and dedication.
Conclusion:
Most of us have encountered situations in life that brought us to a fork in the road of life. Some of us have faced or know someone who came face to face with cancer somewhere in their body. One road leads to being a survivor and the other to a fatality.
Maybe you or someone you know has or has had an abuse issue. Perhaps drugs, alcohol or child abuse. Again, the person faces the fork in the road. One road leads to giving up and becoming a fatality and the other road leads to recovery and survivorship.
The people who survived the holocaust were people of strong faith. They never gave up seeking God. They became witnesses telling others what God had done for them and what He would do for anyone who would ask, seek and knock upon God’s heavenly door.
If we are going to be a survivor in whatever situation that comes our way, we need to be righteous and blameless like Noah. This means we need to place our love in God and obey His commands at all times. Yes, we will slip, as did Noah, but he asked for forgiveness, which God granted, and his life continued. We need to do the same thing.
David was no saint. He was a sinner just like us. He was a murderer, a liar, a betrayer and lastly, an adulterer. On the flip side, David did possess good qualities and he is considered the greatest king of Israel. David had great faith in God and he knew that God was a truly forgiving God. When he made a mistake which led to sin, David repented and did not repeat the same mistake.
Daniel was a man who knew God and stayed in constant communication with Him through prayer. Remember, he prayed three times each day. God gave him the gift of prophecy which he used. God has given each of us a gift, we need to find it and use it for His glory. David prayed when things were going good as well as when he was faced with negative issues.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were very close friends, but their friendship was second to their relationship with God. They did not compromise their friendship with one another and they did not compromise their relationship with God Almighty.
You and I can face any situation in life and become a victor instead of a victim or a survivor instead of a fatality. Complete trust in God, faith as a mustard seed, love and obedience toward God, repentance when we do wrong and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior will direct us to the right fork in the road of life assuring us a place in His mansion just of over the hilltop.
We can be survivors.
Amen.
