7 LESSONS FROM NOAH’S ARK
Luke 17:26-27; Heb. 11:7
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
1. "How was your game, dear?" Tracy asked her husband, Jack, after he had returned from playing golf. "Well, I was hitting pretty well, but my eyesight's gotten so bad I couldn't see where the ball went," Jack answered.
2. "That's not surprising," Tracy replied. "After all, you are 75 years old, Jack! Why don't you take my brother Scott along?"
3. "Because he's 85 and doesn't play golf anymore," Jack answered. "I know, but he's got perfect eyesight. He could watch the ball for you."
4. The next day Jack teed off with Scott looking on. Jack swung and the ball disappeared down the middle of the fairway. "Do you see it?" asked Jack. "Yep," Scott answered.
5. "Well, where is it?" Jack asked, peering off into the distance in search of the ball that was now out of his eyesight range. Scot looked puzzled; "I forgot."
B. TEXT
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27.
“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” Heb. 11:7.
C. THESIS
1. Tonight we’re looking back on one of the most cataclysmic events of human history; the flood and Ark of Noah.
2. Although thousands of years ago, the flood/Ark have many important lessons for us tonight; we’re going to look at 7 of them.
3. The title of tonight’s message is “7 Lesson’s from Noah’s Ark.” The first lesson is…
I. DON’T MISS THE BOAT!
A. OUR CLOSE CALL
1. One time, Angela and I and our 4 kids were catching a train in New Orleans. We had driven two cars because we had so much luggage. This was in the days before MapQuest and smart phone apps.
2. New Orleans is a strange place to navigate and we arrived at the train station at the last minute. The train was about to depart and I remember us RUNNING into the station, grabbing our boarding passes, and RUNNING down the length of the train to get on before the wheels started turning.
3. We would have missed our weeklong trip in one or two more minutes. It was scary close! If we had arrived and stood there watching the train pull out, we would have been devastated and probably gone back home to berate ourselves.
B. EARLY ARRIVAL REQUIRED
1. How much more terrible was it for those who missed getting on Noah's Ark? There were no last-minute arrivals allowed. God had Noah, his family, and the animals get on the Ark SEVEN DAYS EARLY, and then He "shut them in."
2. There were no rain clouds visible when he told them to get in. They got in by faith, when it looked foolish. They sat in the Ark for seven days, with no rain outside (Gen. 7:10). That must have been a faith-trying time!
3. Only eight people made it; millions drowned. God's method of salvation was thought foolish then; His method today isn't often accepted or popular, but it's still the only way to heaven.
4. If you're going to get into the Ark of safety, you need to get in now before the storm arrives!
II. PLAN AHEAD. IT WASN’T RAINING WHEN NOAH BUILT THE ARK!
A. BELIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE
1. A very interesting feature of this account was that the flood depended on rainfall. AND UP TO THAT MOMENT THERE HAD NEVER BEEN RAIN!
2. Now if I told you the world would be destroyed by a tidal wave of chocolate pudding, you would think I was crazy, because chocolate pudding doesn’t exist in the quantities necessary to cause a tidal wave (although we wish it did!).
3. For Noah it wasn’t just the uncertainty of building the Ark and all the animals coming to him, but even the means of the destruction had never occurred before!
4. Now we’ve never seen a rapture. The science community would tell you that such an event is impossible. They would have told Noah the same thing. But Noah didn’t care if it was impossible, he still believed God and began to make preparations.
5. A lot of people want to see signs; they want to wait until they see the sun darkened, the moon “dipped in blood,” and the stars exploding out of their orbits before they get right with God.
6. If you wait for signs, you’ll be too late. You must begin preparation now.
B. WHAT WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO
1. HUMOR: FINISHING THINGS
a. It’s like the guy who recently sought counseling for an issue in his life, and came back to me with this funny report; "My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start.”
b. “So today, I’m working hard at it. So far I’ve finished 2 bags of chips and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!"
2. “Planning ahead” means first, to make a place for yourself in God’s salvation. This embraces:
a. Repentance from sins and dead works, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;
b. Surrender of your own will and taking up your cross – accepting His will for your life and future; and
c. Following Jesus – adopting His character and obedience to the Father, becoming like Jesus.
3. Let’s plan ahead for eternity.
III. STAY FIT. NOAH WAS 500 WHEN ASKED TO BUILD THE ARK
A. IS IT TIME TO RELAX?
1. How do you think it feels to be 500 years old? Do you think that Noah, at 500, got tired by two o'clock? Did he have aches and pains? Did his knees creak? Like most older men, had his big chest drifted south to form a potbelly?
2. Certainly he had worked hard for many years and built up his farm and ranch until he was well situated. He undoubtedly thought, "It's finally time for me to be able to rest and enjoy the latter years of my life."
3. I’ve known a number of people who worked for the state who took an early retirement at 48 or 52 years old, and began enjoying a long, restful retirement.
4. Do you think it was a shocker when at 500 God asked Noah to build a vessel 1 1/2 million cubic feet with a capacity of 569 modern railroad cars?
5. The floor space of the Ark was over 101,000 square feet. It was the largest vessel ever built until the late 1800s. Noah had already served God and done God's will for 500 years. Surely that was enough! No! He stayed ready/willing even into his old age
B. STAYING SPIRITUALLY FIT
1. Noah wasn’t only fit physically, he was also spiritually fit, that is, he stayed in such a close relationship with God that he could be directed, daily, on the specifics of his huge task.
2. Noah stayed prayed up, sensitive, full of the Holy Spirit -- his mind filled with the thoughts of God, even though he lived in a corrupt and degenerate time.
3. Likewise if we want to be ready, we must stay spiritually alert and full of God’s Word and Spirit. There’s no room for dabbling in the world or participating in its filth and perversity. We must stay pure and holy, for God says, “Without holiness no man/ woman will see the Lord” Heb. 12:14.
4. John said, “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as He is pure” 1 Jn. 3:3. Are you spiritually fit for an assignment from God?
IV. DON’T LISTEN TO CRITICS; DO YOUR JOB.
A. KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON THE GAME
1. People will always find fault with the church and with Christians. Why? Because people aren't perfect and there’re always problems.
2. One rule of professional football teams is that they not watch TV just before or during playoffs. Why? Because the potential negative coverage by the sports commentators may affect the attitude of the players and make them not play their best. The lesson here is, don't listen to your critics!
B. NOAH’S EXPERIENCE
1. Although the Bible does not tell it, I have no doubt that Noah experienced scathing criticism by his peers. He was portrayed as a fool or insane. He was made an object of mockery and his ship -- built far from water (probably in the middle of a giant forest) -- was probably nicknamed "Noah's Folly."
2. How do I know this? Because human nature hasn't changed. Yet for all the criticism, Noah kept working on the gargantuan craft, to the last nail and the last bucket of tar.
3. When Nehemiah was rebuilding Jerusalem, many ridiculed him and tried to distract him from his mission. But he replied to them, "I will not come down (to talk to you), for the work I am doing is great!"
4. It’s the same with us; we must be doing the Master’s business. We must not listen to critics or let anything hinder us from accomplishing God's will for our lives and from winning people to Christ. That is our mission and we must bring it to completion!
V. THE ARK WAS BUILT BY AMATEURS, THE TITANIC BY PROFESSIONALS!
A. AN AMAZING CONTRAST
1. It's a strange thing that the greatest minds and technology were applied to make the Titanic. It was declared to be a ship that could not be sunk; the builder arrogantly said that not even God could sink the ship.
2. Yet for all their boasting and genius, the Titanic sank after only 4-5 days at sea. Compare that with the Ark of Noah. It was built by simple farmers who probably had no technical help building such a colossal structure.
3. The tremendous pressures and assaults of the water when the flood occurred must have put great stress on the Ark (not to mention that it had so many animals and cargo aboard).
4. Yet for all of its disadvantages the ark floated for over 13 months and perfectly preserved those it was intended to save! So will our salvation perfectly save us!
5. The world will always outspend and outflank us. They will always have a better press and the backing of politicians. Yet somehow the Holy Spirit still wins against great odds. The wise are made foolish. God will vindicate us.
B. THE HEAVENLY ENGINEER
1. Furthermore, the Ark was an engineering marvel. It was so constructed that the animals were mostly fed and watered automatically.
2. The animal waste (approx. 12 tons daily) would prob. flow into large central gutters and could be pushed out a trap door above the water line.
3. Almost half of the interior of the Ark held food and water to last for more than a year before the age humans and at least 16,000 animals! Although it was built by amateurs, the Ark was constructed by the greatest Creator of all.
4. Just as God knew how to take care of all those animals, He knows how to take care of you and has made provision for you each day of your life! You can trust in his perfect care. You are the apple of his eye!
VI. SPEED ISN’T EVERYTHING; SNAILS AS WELL AS CHEETAHS MADE IT ON THE ARK
A. UNUSUAL WINNERS
1. "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong...." Eccles. 9:11. We normally think that our future is determined by our efforts in the present. This is normally true, but God makes foolish the wisdom of the wise.
2. In Noah’s generation who was likely to survive? The rich and powerful. Yet they perished. History will repeat itself. The unlikely will be saved while the "most likely to succeed" will fail to enter eternal life.
3. In the “race” to get on the Ark, the human race (other that Noah’s) didn’t make it on while two snails, with their incredibly slow pace, did. So the escargot became the cargo!
B. TRUST WINS OVER EFFORT
1. The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees, who had rejected John the Baptist, that despite all their efforts at studying the Scriptures and keeping the Law of God -- that the prostitutes and ‘sinners’ were going into the Kingdom of God ahead of them.
2. How unlikely that criminal elements were gaining admission to heaven, while those laboring to be righteous, were excluded.
3. God still chooses those who depend on Him to save them over those who trust in their own goodness. The weak things to confound the mighty.
VII. NO MATTER WHAT THE STORM, WHEN YOU’RE WITH GOD, THERE’S ALWAYS A RAINBOW WAITING!
A. FAITH IN THE STORM
1. Some of you are going through terrible trials. Hell is assaulting you. The waves are going over your head. You're wondering if you're going to make it.
2. Do you think, in the mind of God, that the outcome of Noah and the animals was ever in doubt? No. God, by foreknowledge, knew (and foreordained) that Noah and the Ark would be kept safe and begin a new world.
3. It's the same with you. The world seems to be whirling around and uncertainties on every side, but be of good cheer, you of little faith, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom!
4. You can be sure that as long as you hold on to the nail-scarred hand of Jesus, then in the end there’s a rainbow and a bright future waiting.
B. WE ALL WONDER IF GOD’S FORGOTTEN
1. When it seems like everything’s going wrong and you feel like God’s forgotten you, it's hard to keep believing.
2. The Ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat on the 7th month, the 17th day (Gen. 8:4). But God let Noah and the animals sit in the Ark for another 8 months (Gen. 8:14-15) before He told them they could leave the Ark. 8 months of confinement!
3. Do you think Noah felt like God had forgotten them? I sure would’ve! But God WILL come through for you, just like He did for Noah.
4. There’s a beautiful rainbow – promise of blessing – waiting at the end of your journey. Keep the faith!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Royal Descendant
1. He was so different from the other boys in the school. He was always kind, helpful, willing, cheerful. When there was any rough play, or a fight, or any dishonesty, you could be sure he was not in it.
2. Why was he so different? His teacher determined to find out. One day after school she called him to her desk.
3. She said, "You must have a good mother and father." He replied. "I have no mother or father," said the little fellow. "I'm living with kind friends. If I tell you my story, you'll promise not to let the other boys know?" he queried.
4. Then he told the teacher of a little French school he once attended in Eastern Europe, how invading armies ravished his homeland, and how his mother and father, a prince and princess, had be led away from their stately home to the place of execution.
5. Just before they parted, his father had said to him, "Remember, dear boy, wherever you may go, that you are the son of royalty. Never stoop to anything unworthy of your high rank." The boy's tears flowed freely. The teacher laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
6. Now she understood. Though he might mingle with all types of boys on the playground, some rough and uncouth, he always remembered his father's last words.
7. He was a prince! Though you and I are not members of a royal family in that sense, we are all sons and daughters of the King of kings. [Edgar A. Warren, Signs of the Times, March 1964.]
B. THE CALL
1. Are you ready for the Rapture at this moment, or do you need a restart?
2. Assuming we all need a new visit to the wells of salvation (for a drink), let’s repent of our sins and trust in Christ for our forgiveness and holiness.
3. Next, let’s recommit ourselves to the work of Christ: the winning of lost souls. “God use us as your vessels!”
[The idea of this came from "Heartwarming Stories" listed on Godvine.com]
