Someone wrote in a newsletter:
¡§I recently went with my wife to her 20 year high school reunion. In the front of the memory book, were these words:
In 1969....
A CRACK was a wise remark made to a teacher
The only AIDS we knew about were Band, Kool and First
BAD was not good
A QUEER was simply an odd person
A SMOKE was a cigarette
POT was in the bathroom
SWINGERS were either cool or sat on their porch
We got HIGH on music, good times and good friends
COKE came in a red and white can
A SNORT was something you did when you had a head cold
SPACE CADETS were future astronauts working for NASA¡¨
I wonder if Noah used to sit around with his family at home and consider how much things had gone downhill in his lifetime. After all, there was a lot of change from Gen 2 to Gen 6.
*6:9-17
-Noah was a standout. When I think of Noah, I think of one word. It's not faith -- but it's a result of faith:
6:22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
7:5 Noah did all that the Lord commanded
7:10 the animals came and entered the ark, just as God had commanded Noah.
Noah was obedient.
Most of us don't have a problem knowing what to do -- we struggle with our volition, our willingness to do what know we should. In other words, we wrestle with being obedient.
-(Ro 1:5) "Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." We're going to see in Noah that strong faith in God enables us to perform the most radical acts of obedience.
Strong faith in God will enable me to obey...
I. When It Isn't Reasonable
Ill - UPI - Allstate Insurance Co. recently surveyed Californians in earthquake prone regions. 64% of respondents say they believe a massive earthquake will hit in 3-5 years; but only 1 in 4 has earthquake insurance. (Jerry Bridges) "A belief is something you hold; a conviction is something that holds you."
1. Unseen
One feature of faith is that it has to be unseen. We don't have faith in the things we can see. We have faith because of what we see, but faith involves the assurance of things not seen. Paul said "we walk by faith, not by sight." That's not reasonable. That's not using your reasoning powers alone and deciding which direction you'll step because of what you see.
Heb 11:7 Noah was "warned about things not yet seen." Think about it. Nothing like the flood had ever happened before. It may be that rain still had never even happened before. Gen 2:6 says a mist used to rise up and water the earth. No one had ever seen a sea-going vessel like the ark.
2. Irrational
The ark defied human reasoning for another reason: It was big! and a big waste of time.
-(get an idea of the size of the ark) Look up. The ark was about 45' high. Our ceiling is fairly close to that. Then, look across the front of the auditorium. That's about how wide the ark was (75¡¦). Then, here's the tough part. The ark was 450' long. That's 1ƒ¢ football fields long! The ark had over 100,000 square feet of floor space - the same cubic footage as 500 railroad boxcars!
-Now, that's a lot of wood! That's a lot of time - maybe as long as 100 years for a crew of 4 men; a lot of cutting, fitting, coating, lifting. A lot of building permits and inspections! And where's the water for this thing?
Which obedience is "unreasonable": because it's something where we can't see the results, or it just plain sounds like too much work? We aren't building an ark. How's this fit us?
-How about financial giving? We often don't see the results of it serving ourselves. It's a lot of work for some. The world says that's not rational
-What about loving your enemies? Bless those who curse you! Pray for those who persecute you! We can't see how that's going to help us in any way. Why do it? That's not reasonable!
-What about Baptism. There's nothing spectacular about it! It doesn't change anything about our appearance. We can't prove by our senses that it means anything. The world will say it's not reasonable. But God says it's part of becoming His.
-Die to yourself, Jesus said. That's not reasonable! The way to life is to die to yourself? That doesn't sound like life.
Still, those are all matters of obedience. How can we do it? Just like Noah and his 3 sons could build a floating stadium! - "By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." (Heb 11)
And think about it, Noah didn't just build a boat big enough for he and the missus. He didn't build one just large enough for the whole 8 people in their family. Noah did everything just as God commanded him. - even when, by human reasoning it wasn't reasonable. Radical obedience. "Jesus was the one child who knew more than his parents yet he obeyed them."
Have you heard of people who were obedient to God even when it wasn't reasonable?
How do they do it? By faith! Strong faith in God enables you to be obedient.
II. When The Crowd Isn't
Noah was a "preacher of righteousness" to his generation. His faith in God was noticed. Peter says that world of his day chose to not listen. In fact, Heb 11 says he condemned the world by his faith. His obedience stood in such stark contrast to everyone else that the rest of the world was without excuse.
-But Noah wasn't the only one in history to obey when everyone else isn't.
-Remember Job? He was suffering without explanation. His children had died. He'd lost everything, including his health. And he remained obedient. His own wife chose otherwise. "Curse God and die!" she said. But Job chose obedience. He knew that was right.
-Remember Shadrach,... far from home -- in fact, home was destroyed. But they decided they'd remain obedient to God. Everyone else was bowing before the king's idol, but those 3 young men wouldn't. Even though everyone else around them had their face in the dirt, they were standing.
-Remember Daniel? His enemies had a law passed that made it illegal to pray, but Daniel kept praying, 3X a day, with his window open. No one else was in trouble for being obedient, only Daniel.
-I'll never forget the album cover of Keith Green's album called "No Compromise." It's a scene set in the ancient Middle East. There's a king, being carried on a liter by muscle-bound subjects. He's surrounded by several imposing, angry-looking body guards, who are pointing for people to bow before the king. Everyone around is bowing, face to the ground, except for one simple-looking guy. He stands, alone. The man next to him, with a panicked look, pulls on his robe, trying to get him to bow, but the obedient servant of the King of the Universe won't bow to a man. "No Compromise," it's called.
Just like it's easier to get in trouble when you hang out with people who are getting in trouble, obedience, when no one else is obeying, is hard! How can we do it? The same way Noah did it!
"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family."
1. Your friends decide to go against what all your parents told you to do. You're not supposed to go to some party, but all of them are. How can you still obey your parents?
Do you trust God to still be your friend? Do you believe Him that He'll stand with you when you stand alone? It takes faith!
2. When the crowd says, "C'm' on, everyone's doing it. Why wait?" How do you keep your sexual purity? It seems like you're the only person who hasn't given it away. After all, TV and movies pretty much assume that of everyone. How can you keep your purity?
Do you trust God to reward your obedience? Do you believe God that spiritual decisions are going to result in help and blessings? Do you believe God when He says He has good plans for you? - Plans for something better?
3. When you see everyone at your job stepping outside the boundaries on sick leave, and corporate stealing, and cheating the time clock - everyone - how do you remain obedient to God? How can you when you'll be the only one?
Do you trust God to bless your honesty and integrity? Do you believe God will provide you with what you need when you're honest?
4. When you hear everyone around you slamming on someone's character, how do you keep from joining in? After all, you're upset at her too, and she's done some damage to you. You know everyone else would agree with you. How can you keep from being a slanderer?
Do you trust God to protect the upright? Do you believe God when He says, "Vengeance is Mine - I will repay"? Do you have faith?
When the crowd doesn't obey - and when they'd feel a lot better if you'd join in with them - it's hard to obey, isn't it?
-God looked at the world in the days of Noah, it was 1500+ years old, so there were a lot of people around. It says, 6:5 "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time....6:12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." But Noah was able to be obedient even when the rest of the world wasn't.
Do you believe God when He says, (I Co 10:13) "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Do you believe it?
-Faith will enable me to be obedient when the crowd around me isn't.
III. When It's Most Necessary
Just how important is this obedience thing?
Think it through.
1. Noah's obedience saved his life. Ill - when a doctor writes you a prescription, obedience to his directions is pretty important. You may save your life. Noah did. Obedience is most necessary to you when it will mean the difference between life and death.
-Today, being obedient to God's call for life is just as necessary for you. Paul said his goal was to bring about "the obedience that comes from faith." You can bet that being obedient to God's call to come to Him is necessary for your life today.
2. Noah's obedience saved his family.
Moms and Dads, esp. Dads, I want you to take note of this. Not only did Noah save himself, but he saved his wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law by his obedience to God. Don't think for a second that your obedience to God is just a personal matter between you and Him -- It wasn't for Noah and Sons boat building Co.! Faith is most necessary when it spells the difference between life and death for family.
3. The Animals.
Noah's obedience also saved the animals -- God could have made them all over from scratch, but that wasn't His plan. What God planned was instead a lesson in obedience for Noah and for us. There are several examples in the Bible that show where God's plan is dependent on our obedience from faith. Like the next one:
4. Saving Mankind!
When Noah saved himself and his family, he also was saving the human race. When you say that we all have a common ancestor and you're speaking of Adam, you actually could go forward 9 more generations to Noah. And Mrs. Noah is the mother of all living! Here's the point: Noah's faith, that led to radical obedience, saved the human race from destruction. God could have started over, but in His wisdom God chose to teach a lesson of obedience for Noah, and for us.
-Now here's the lesson: God could have chosen another way, but He has chosen for His people today to be the way mankind will be saved. He's recorded the life of Noah to give us the lesson, and now it's up to us to deliver it!
How can I be obedient like that? How can I be obedient when it's most necessary -- when lives are in the balance -- hanging by whether I'll be obedient to God or not?
How can I consistently live out my Christianity?
How can I witness boldly that destruction is coming and there's a lifeboat to get on?
How can I be real and genuine and effective when the crowd isn't, when it isn't reasonable, but when it matters most???!
-You trust God, don't you? Do you believe His promises to stand by you and help you?
I need help being obedient to God. Do you? There's a faith that leads to obedience - radical obedience - build-a-floating-zoo-on-dry-ground obedience! And it's going to take more than a good upbringing to be obedient like that; more than determination, more than we can do on our own. It's going to take the obedience of faith.
Conclusion: A few centuries before Jesus a man named Alexander conquered almost all of the known world using military strength, cleverness and a little diplomacy. The story is told that Alexander and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified walled city. Alexander, standing outside the walls, raised his voice and demanded to see the king. When the king arrived, Alexander insisted that the king surrender the city and its inhabitants to Alexander and his little band of fighting men.
The king laughed, "Why should I surrender to you? You can't do us any harm!" But Alexander offered to give the king a demonstration. He ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a sheer cliff
The townspeople gathered on the wall and watched in shocked silence as, one by one, Alexander's soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff to their deaths! After 10 soldiers died, Alexander ordered the rest of the men to return to his side. The townspeople and the king immediately surrendered to Alexander the Great. They realized that if a few men were actually willing to commit suicide at the command of this dynamic leader, then nothing could stop his eventual victory.
Are you willing to be as obedient to the ruler of the universe, Jesus Christ, as those soldiers were to Alexander? Are you as dedicated and committed? Think how much power Jesus would be seen to have in our community if we would allow Him to exercise that kind of power in our lives!
