I would like to begina series on some of the people of the Old Testament. there are so many that we can learn from. And one of my favorites from the old Teastament has to be Noah. So today we are going to begin looking at men & Women of the Old Testament as we begin with a look at the man named Noah. Now we first read about Noah in chapter 5 of Genesis. He is listed as a descendant of Enoch, Methusela and Lamech his father. We read at the end of chapter 5, that Noah is five hundred years old when his sons were born. But it is in chapter six when we really start learning about the man, Noah. According to Genesis chapter six Noah was a man who found grace in God's eyes. Grace is that, undeserved, unmeritted favor that God shows toward us.
6"And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."
"17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
A) Noah was Saved
6"And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."
"17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
All of the people of the earth were condemned to death for thier sin , but God saved Noah and his family.
Noah was counted righteous because of his faith (Hebrew 11:7) "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
But it was by Gods grace that Noah was saved. Remember verse 8 " But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD"
Th earth today is also filled with sin as it was in the days of Noah Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" We have just read in Romans chapter 1 the sins of man that are still prevalent today!
The penalty for that sin is the same today as it was in the days of Noah, death.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death
' But as in Noahs' day there are those who have found grace in the eyes of the Lord..
Eph 2:8,9 "8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Because of Gods grace He saves the righteous.
We like Noah are made righteous by faith.
Romans 10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. "
John 3:16-18 " 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death;....... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Noah is a man of faith and his faith is evident in his obedience to the Lord, first in his submission.
B) Noah was Submissive
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
I am pretty sure Noah was not an ark builder by trade. It would have been very easy to say I don't know how to build an ark I'm a .......... What's an ark any way? But He didn't. He did all the Lord commanded.
Sometimes the Lord calls us to do something outside the box. We could try to make excuses to get out of it.
We need to be submissive, compliant, obedient, putty in the masters hands.
Remember we are supposed to walk with Him. He knows the way, We that walk with Him must be willing to walk the path he is leading us down. If we are looking for another way we are not walking with him.
Noah walked with the Lord and did all the Lord commanded.
He was submissive, Are we? His faith was also expressed as he served the Lord.
C) Noah was a Servant
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah's faith was evident by his obedience to the Lord. God gave him a task and Noah submitted himself to it. God gave Him a job to do and He did it!
Noah served God. He was not a pew sitter. He did not stand by as others did the work. He was actively serving in Gods plan.
If we are to walk with God we need to get off the pew and do what God has called us to do. Not sit by and hope someone else will do it. We say things like boy, it would sure be nice if our church grew. Stop talking about it and invite someone to church. It sure would be nice to have a womens bible study. Get up and start one!! If you see the need it may be God trying to get you going. It sure would be nice to have more community events. Do I need to say it?!!!
Walking implies an action, actual movement. If you are walking with the Lord you can't do it sitting in the pew. You need to actively serve!!! Are you saved? if so, are you submissive and serving the Lord? It takes obedience to do so. Noah's faith was evident in his life by his obedience to God, is your faith evident or do you still need to be in control, are you still waiting for someone else to do what God has called you to do?
