Noah, A Dad That Saved His Family
#biblicalheroes
OKAY – this morning we are kicking off a new series for Summer 2016 called, ‘Heroes, Amazing Stories Of Faith…’
AND – what we will be doing from now until the end of Summer is looking at a different biblical hero each week to see what they can teach us(teach you and I) about our faith and about following after hard after Jesus…
R/L – I am ready to learn.
AND LISTEN – the bible is full of heroes, full of stories of men and women whose lives were recorded with the intent to challenge, inspire, encourage, motivate and sometimes even warn us in our faith journey.
IN FACT – there is an entire chapter in the New Testament that lists some of the Biblical heroes whose lives were intended to be a source of inspiration and encouragement to the church…
TO – endure, to keep moving forward – no matter what this world throws at us. BECAUSE – this is exactly what these believers did.
Check out – this words from Hebrews 11…
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;
They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them… - Hebrews 11:13-16
NOW – this great chapter of faith briefly recounts the stories of Able, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and mentions others like – Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel.
AND THEN – the God-inspired writer says…
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down,
especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
– Hebrews 12:1
NOW – I decided that this would be a great series of conversations for Summer 2016 for several reasons…
1. We need some heroes in our lives the we can emulate
2. We all need to be reminded of or to hear their faith stories again
3. Because each week kind of just stands on it’s own… (which is great for a summer series when so many go on vacations or go on mission trips)
BUT – let me say this even if you are gone I would encourage you to…
1. Still listen each week
2. If possible find a church to attend while gone
3. Remember to continue to give even when you are gone
Online giving…etc
NOW SINCE – it’s Father’s Day… I thought it would be great to kick off this series by talking about a Hero who was also a dad.
SO – a few weeks back I began my search for an example of a really great biblical Father… AND – do you know what?
I quickly realized that there are no examples in the bible of a dad who was perfect.
I MEAN – all had some ‘dad flaws’ except maybe Joseph the stepdad of Jesus. BUT – then again our info about Him is very limited.
For example…
• Adam – raised a son who wound up murdering his brother
• Abraham – the great father of Israel kicked his firstborn teenage son (Ishmael) a son he had with a woman who was not his wife into the wilderness with his mother Hagar, Ishmael was probably a rising freshman in High School at the time. I MEAN - Abraham just walked out of his sons life and never saw him again.
• Aaron - (you know Moses brother, the guy of golden calf fame) well his parenting skills or lack thereof lead to the death of his two sons….
• Isaac – made it obvious that he loved one son (Esau) more because he was hairy and like to hunt than he did his other son (Jacob) who preferred to stay at home more. And this let to intense hatred and separation between Esau and Jacob.
• Jacob – unfortunately fel;l into the same trap that he grew up in and he loved one son (Joseph) more than the others and this led to his brothers selling him into slavery and telling their dad that their ‘favorite’ son was dead.
• Samuel – the great prophet was such a permissive dad, letting his sons do whatever they wanted, so that when they were older they accepted bribes and perverted justice.
• And David – let me tell you, the great King, warrior, worshipper and song writer would never be a candidate for a Father of the year award. He had many sons with multiple wives (never a good idea)…
And when one of His sons (Amnon) raped his half sister (Tamar)…. David knew about it and did nothing.
AND SINCE – ‘dad David’ did nothing to Amnon, Tamar’s brother Absalom eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and he murders Amnon to defend his sister’s honor.
AND WHEN - David found out he did what he always did, nothing, except exile Absalom, and nevering talk to him for years… creating such hatred in Absalom’s heart for his dad that he eventually attempted to kill David and take the throne from him… forcing David to flee Jerusalem.
SO – if you are looking for an example of a perfect human dad, do not bother looking in the bible. I MEAN – we have dads…
• Who were way too permissive with their kids and fail to teach the value of discipline and the consequences of wrong actions.
• Who like cowards just walked out their kids lives
• Who see destructive stuff going in their kids lives but fail to act, they do nothing. And this lack of stepping up and parenting sometimes ended in death.
AND – to be honest I found it ‘somewhat’ encouraging to know that there are no perfect dads in the bible, and btw there are no perfect dads in this room.
BUT UNDERSTAND – though these dads were not perfect as dads or even in their walk with God they were still faithful.
CHURCH – do you here what I am saying?
Being faithful has nothing to do with being perfect.
GET IT?
AND – check this out, do you that all those ‘no so perfect’ dads that I mentioned, Adam, Abraham, Aaron, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, David… the only one not mentioned in Hebrews 11 is Adam…
NOW – in my search for a dad, to talk about on Father’s Day 2016 (and to kick off this new series ‘Heroes’) I thought long and hard. BUT - I didn’t really have to go all that deep into the bible in fact I found this dad in Genesis chapter 6…
AND LISTEN - it is what the writer of Hebrews says about this dad, specifically 4 words is why I chose him for our 2016 Father’s Day conversation.
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 comes by faith. – Hebrews 11:8
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family…
Noah built an ark to do what? to save his family
OKAY – a dad who saved his family, that seems like a pretty good dad to immediate – amen?
YEAH – I am pretty sure that every dad in this room wants to do that… save their family?
I MEAN – are there any dads out that who do not want to save their family?
NOW DADS – before you raise your hands that you want to save your family, let me give you some antonyms for the word save…
Loose, abandon, endanger, harm, hurt, waste
Make vulnerable, squander, throw away
QUESTION – dads raise your hands if you want to… Loose, abandon, endanger, harm, hurt, waste, make vulnerable, squander, throw away your family?
OKAY – good answer, now raise your hand if you want to save your family?
Good answer, me too…
AND SO – what we are going to do this morning is to see what the bible has to say about this ancient dad Noah and as we do we will unpack 5 key characteristics that enabled to God to use him save his family.
NOW – let me say a couple of things up front this morning…
#1 – I love being a dad. I really do. AND – my adventure into fatherhood 3 decades ago on March 20, 1984… (I was 12 years old @ the time)…
Fathers Day 1984
TODAY - I have…
Three daughters - 32, 24, 12
Two sons 10, 29 ( I am a dad, step-dad and an adopted dad)
I also have grandchildren (Zeb, Maciah, Asher, Micah, Cana)
#2 – I have always found that wearing the title of Father (one of the titles for our God) is an incredible honor, a huge responsibility and slightly overwhelming and intimidating.
#3 – Dads (despite what modern culture and our secular media says) we matter… A LOT!
QUESTION… What do
• 90% of homeless and runaway children
• 63% of youth who commit suicide
• 80% of all rapist
• 85% of children with behavioral problems
• 71% of all high school dropouts
• 75% of all teens in chemical abuse centers
• 85% of all youth in prison
• 70% of all girls who become pregnant as teens
Have in common?
THEY ALL come from homes without a dad.
YEAH - I know there has been a lot of debate on the importance of fathers in the home in recent years. AND - let me say up front that though many single moms can and often, do a great job - it still does not diminish the importance of dad in the life of a child…
I MEAN – it’s how the Creator of the universe wired, and set up the system….
Get It?
#4 – The we will unpack this morning or the very same characteristics that enable God to use anyone (which everyone should lean in and pay attention.
OKAY – let’s do this…
5 characteristics of Noah the enabled God to use him to save his family
Dads who save their families…
Make Themselves Available
UNDERSTAND - God was able to use Noah because he was available. Now, I know that's pretty obvious! He was available.
BUT - the fact is, as God looked at the entire population of the world (which many scholars believe was around 1 million people), He could only find one available person.
AND LISTEN – even though this characteristic is obvious
DON’T - underestimate it’s importance…
BECAUSE – a dad being available to essential is God being able to use them to save their family.
I MEAN – if a dad is not around his family, how could he possibly save them.
You know, the longer I'm a Christian, the more I realize that God does not need superstars. He simply needs ordinary people who'll say, "Lord, here I am (‘m available), used me”
I MEAN - look at the disciples. They were just a bunch of poor fishermen.
When they saw the courage of Peter & John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus….
- Acts 4:13
Peter & John were just a couple of ordinary guys (idiotes) guys who made themselves available to Jesus – and look what He did through them!
YES - God has always been actively looking for available people, that’s what we read in 2 Chron 16:9…
The eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
AND – let me tell you something fellow dads, we can be certain that God’s want to strengthen our hearts so that we can save our families... BUT – we need to be available – we need to be there for our kids.
Get It?
AND LISTEN - sometimes being available to our kids means that we have to give something else up…
He’s probably most known for shrinking his kids in the movies.
But Rick Moranis — star of "Ghostbusters" and "Honey! I Shrunk the Kids" — decided to leave acting so that he could focus more on his family and become a stay-at-home dad.
“When my kids came home, there was music, and there were lights on, and there were great smells coming out of the kitchen. And it was just a joyful place to be, and that’s what I wanted.”
Cary Grant was a big star in the 1950s, but he left his career to take care of his daughter.
Sean Considine
An NFL safety who retried early..
Two years ago, I spent 6 months away from my kids after they were born, and I said I’d never do that again. I have no interest, especially this time of year and at this time in my children’s lives, in being away from my family. I’m just not doing it anymore.
“I love football as much as anybody, and it’s been really great to me, but I’ve been gone for basically 2 years, and my wife and kids are at the point where I need to be around for them.”
In May of 2015 Google CFO Patrick Pichette walked away from a 7 figure salary to spend more time with his family.
NOW – it does not have to be that dramatic (leaving a career, turning down a promotion, it could be)
BUT - being available could simply mean… that as a dad you intentionally spent time with your kids…
Maybe sacrificing some of your personal and ‘hobby’ time.
DAD’s – are you available so that God can use you to save your family?
We need to avoid the cats in the cradle syndrome…
Dads who save their families…
Understand The Dangers
NOW - there were 2 very real and serious dangers that Noah’s family faced.
#1 The danger of living…
In A broken, sinful, evil and messed up world
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time… Now the earth had become corrupt in God’s sight, and it was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, and he saw violence and depravity everywhere.” – Genesis 6:5, 11,12
YEAH – it was a really messed up world.
Not a pretty picture, it was Sodom and Gomorrah multiplied over the entire earth…
Noah saw it. He lived in it.
AND – he spoke out against it… IN FACT – Peter in his letter referred to Noah as a preacher of righteousness.
AGAIN – the world in Genesis 6 was wicked, violent, evil and depraved…. And Noah knew that is was a very real danger for His family.
LIKEWISE – dads who save their family today need to recognize
the very real danger of living in a broken, sinful, evil and messed up world.
NOW SURE – there are obvious dangers’ like…
Car wrecks, violence, terrorists…. And the internet which needs to become a more obvious danger to us in regards to our kids…
This week I went to the website Covenant Eyes and read about the greatest dangers the internet possess to our kids.
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman… - Job 31:1
Here are the top 4 internet dangers…
Pornography
Repeatedly viewing pornography, especially from a young age, can radically shape one’s sexual attitudes and beliefs. Frequent exposures to sexually explicit material is closely linked to more permissive attitudes about sex, such as having multiple sexual partners, “one night stands,” cynicism about the need for affection between sexual partners, casual sexual relations with friends, and even mimicking behaviors seen in pornography.
Before the age of 18, 83% of boys and 57 of girls have seen sex acts online
Sexting
Sexting is sending or receiving nude or partially nude photos or videos through the Internet or cell phones. When teens engage in this risky behavior, many things can go wrong. These images are easy to forward on to others. At times, these images can be considered “child pornography,” and some teens have already been given felony charges.
• 20% of teens have sent or posted a nude or semi-nude image of themselves.
• Nearly 1 in 5 teens who receive a sext share it with someone else.
Cyberbullying
Bullying happens on both the playground and in the digital world. Hurtful words are exchanged. Rumors start easily and spread quickly. Profiles and e-mails are hacked. And these types of activities are common today:
• 1 in 5 teens say someone has written something about them online that wasn’t true.
• 9% say someone has threatened to use electronic communication (Facebook, e-mail, text messages, etc.) to tell others private things about them as a form of blackmail.
Predators
The Internet is a perfect forum to meet new people, but some with malicious intent can use it to “befriend” your child. Internet predators are expert manipulators, able to foster a relationship of dependence with a teenager. Most prey on a teen’s desire to be liked, their desire for romance, or their sexual curiosity.
Often a predator “grooms” a child through flattery, sympathy, and by investing time in their online relationship. These can then turn into offline relationships or, in extreme cases, opportunities for kidnapping or abduction.
• 76% of predators are 26 or older.
• 47% of offenders are 20 years older than their victims.
• 83% of victims who met their offender face-to-face willingly went somewhere with them.
DADS – if we want to save our families we have to be on our game and be aware of these obvious dangers and also of these other subtle dangers that this world presses against our kids…
LISTEN – there is a thief (the evil, satan, the great dragon) who longs to steal, kill and destroy the life that God has for your kids. AND UNDERSTAND – he comes after young people hard, because he knows that if he can get his deadly claws deep into their lives (into their soul,mind,spirit) then there is a high likelihood have them for their entire lives.
SO – this evil one, this father of lies, lies to our kids about….
What beauty is
What strength is
What success is
The dark one gets our kids to by his lies…
RESULT – they always like they do not measure up, like they are not good enough…
I love this shirt my daughter Mei-Leigh bought me to wear today.
(I want Mei-Leigh to know who she is and to be confident in who she is, so that she will not need some guy for her identity.)
The danger of living…
In Way That Is Against God
Noah knew that God’s judgment was about to be unleashed on the world… and he wanted to saved his family from that.
So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood… But 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. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you…. – Genesis 6:13,14,18,19
DADS – we must understand the very real danger of our kids living in a way that is against God and rejects God…
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… - 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9
QUESTION - what good is it if your son or daughter gains the whole world, but forfeits and loses their very souls…
DADS – we need to have a much greater concern for our kids walk with God then…
• what kind of grades they get
• how well they exceed at sports
• what college they go do
• what career field they enter
Dads who save their families…
Dare To Be Different
In Genesis 6:9 we read; "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God."
Morally, Noah was a man of deep conviction. He dared to be different. He was not afraid to stand out. He was not afraid to stand alone. He was not afraid of what other people thought of Him…
The fear of man is a trap… - Pr 29:5
AGAIN – the people of his time were morally bankrupt
YET - all those things did not influence Noah.
In spite of the fact that he lived in a terrible society, it says that he was blameless among the people of his time.
Noah dared to be different.
Noah did not buy into the world’s morals. Values or world view.
IN - like manner DADS…
IF – we want to save our family we nust to dare to be different…
B/L – we can not live like the world and expect to have any real chance of saving our family from it.
DADS… our kids need to see that we…
Speak, act, live, value, care, respond, love differently than the world does.
YES – our world is a mess, things are very upside down.
I MEAN – when there is such massive outrage over a gorilla being shot to save a 2 year old (nothing against gorilla)
And there is none over the 2,700 babies killed in the womb every day something is running amuck (wildly out of control).
SO DADS…
Will you like Noah dare to be different?
Dads who save their families…
Walk With God
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. – Genesis 6:9
AND LISTEN -walking with God is most definitely not something that will just happen by accident. NO – the chances of simply waking up one morning and finding ourselves mature in our faith is as likely as the UVA football team winning the nation championship..
NOW UNDERSTAND – it’s not that God doesn’t want us walking with Him… He does.
IN FACT – it’s one the things God did with Adam and Eve when He created them… Genesis 3 tells us that God would take walks with them in the cool of the morning.
Man, that had to be sweet…
BUT THEN CAME – the tree, the fruit, the serpent, the lies, the bite, the sin, the fall…
RESULTS – what was once so natural, so easy, what was once just a normal part of life… BECAME - difficult, unnatural and rare.
BOTTOM LINE – Dads in order to have a solid walk with God we are going to have to really want it, a lot.
AND – we will have to
Go after with all we got,
Pursue it with great passion…
AND DADS – I think we know what it is to pursue something.
I MEAN – have you ever pursued…
• A career
• A goal
• A person
• A hobby
I remember when I first begin pursuing my wife Laurie…
I still do.
Walk with God
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
– Jeremiah 29:11-14
What can a dad do to intentionally improve His Walk with God?
People (hang out with other guys who are walking with God)
Bible - read the Word on a regular basis
Jesus (connect to Him)
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a useless branch and withers. - John 15:5
Pray for One
One of the best ways to walk with God is to walk in the direction that He is walking….
DADS…
As we take our relationship with our Heavenly Father deeper, we will find that not only will we be more willing to be the dad we want to be, but we will literally be empowered to become
Dads who save their families…
Never Give Up
Genesis 6:3.
The Bible says that God delayed the flood for a period of time. "Then God said, `My Spirit will not contend with man forever.'"
He's saying there's a limit to His patience. There's a limit to what He'll put up with from mankind.
He’s saying that the clock is ticking on what He will take from a disobedient human race.
"My spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal. His days will be 120 years."
In other words after the decision was made to destroy the world by a flood, God waited another 120 years.
Here's the question: If you want to be used by God, could you maintain enthusiasm for a project that took that long to complete?
Do you think you could keep your motivation up? stay excited and keep on keeping on if you knew it was going to take your entire life?
I'll just bet there were many days that Noah hated to look at that ark. I bet there were weeks that he wanted to say, "I don't want to work on the ark anymore. I'm tired. I've done my duty. I don't want to get out of bed today. I don't feel like it." What an example of persistence, day in, day out, building, nailing, tar papering... whatever. For 120 years! I'm sure he thought, "I've worked on this thing for 50 years. God just give me my gold watch and let somebody else take over. I've done my share." BUT - Noah never gave up.
UNDERSTAND - Noah because he was a man of commitment. He never, never gave up. Every day Noah preached a sermon. He didn't stand up in a church behind a podium and give a speech but yet he preached a sermon -- the most effective kind of sermon -- with his life.
Every day, as he nailed those nails and built those boards and bent everything into shape, he was saying to the world,
"I believe in God."
That's why he stood out. For those 120 years.
DADS – who save their families don’t give up.
No it is not easy
Problems, pressures and people will make you want to through in your hammer and give up on building this ark.
But don’t give up!
B/S
DADS – God uses people who refuse to give up.
Who when they get knocked down they get back up again…
Emmitt Smith all time rushing leader (18,355 yards) that is a little over 10.4 miles… with somebody knocking him down every 4,370 times.
But every time he got back up!
Dads (Jesus-followers) don’t give up!
Yeah things you’ll never hear a dad walking with God say is
I give up!
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
– 1 Cor 15:58
It’s Father’s Day 2016…
FACT
Noah wasn’t perfect (Genesis end of Genesis 9 planted a vineyard and got drunk and naked)…
FACT
Noah saved His family
FACT
Noah was available
FACT
Noah understood the danger (he built the ark)
FACT
He dared to be different
FACT
He walked with God
FACT
He never gave up
FACT
Dads who follow in His footsteps will save their families…
