Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household.
Text: Hebrews 11:7. Hebrews 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. {moved…: or, being wary}
This is a salvation message, not personal but family. How many want their whole family to be saved? Its a message about a dad preparing an ark for the saving of his household.
I. The Danger
II. The Dad
III. The Deliverance
I. The Danger
A flood of deadly proportions was coming.
We all know the dangers of a flood.
If it doesn’t kill you it can still rob you of all you own. A whole lifetime of working and
saving can disappear in an afternoon of rain.
(Saved so as through fire)
The flood is here and it hasn’t stopped raining for the last two thousand years. There was a movie called the, “Perfect Storm,” satan has his battle plan up and working for the perfect spiritual storm.
In the Midwest a few years ago, there were rain storms that were called the storm of a millennium. (Storms that only come along once in a thousand years) Storm preparations that could have handled the storm of the year, or the storm of the decade, or the storm of a century, crumbled without mercy as the storm of a millennium came upon them. Volley, after volley of rain.
In the day in which we live it is not enough to have spiritual dikes that can withstand the storm of the year, the storm of the decade, the storm of the century, or even the storm of the millennium, we need spiritual dikes that can withstand the greatest storm of all time. satan ain’t playing anymore and neither should you.
The bible says that this is the age when everything that can be shaken will be shaken.
The bible says Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
Thank God that verse speaks of the deliverance, but remember this... before the deliverance comes the dilemma!
The flood we are facing will test your morals, your stamina, and your faith, can your dike withstand the coming flood? Can it protect your whole family? Heb 12:25-27
II. The Dad
You’re standing between them and the flood. At least your supposed to be.
How terrible it would be to rescue yourself from a flooding house and to stand outside drying yourself off thanking God you were saved, while some of your family were still trapped inside. Dad its your job to go back in the house and save the family!
Worse yet, it is sad to say that in the midst of a deadly flood some dads are turning on all the spickets in the house and adding more water, by their television habits, and their lifestyle. Television demands a constant struggle and vigilance, and it is very easy to let your standards slip.
Noah protected His family with his Faith
Noah protected His family with his Spiritual Hearing
Noah protected His family with his Fear
Noah protected His family with his Preparation of an Ark
Noah protected His family with his Faith
You can protect your family in a lot of different ways, but the greatest way you can protect them is by faith. “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.”
Faith saves, Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Note “thy house.” (Also note Acts 16:14, and 15 Lydia had her whole house saved, good verse for the mom’s who are acting as the spiritual head of the house.)
Faith protects.
Faith watches over.
Faith delivers.
Faith preserves. Noah protected his family with his faith. We have heard all about praying momma’s all our lives. Praying momma’s is another way of talking about protecting your family with your faith, its about time we heard more about praying fathers.
Dad’s claim your kids for the kingdom.
Dad’s protect them with your prayers.
Dads fight the devil in their lives by faith.
Dad’s be like Job and offer spiritual sacrifices on their behalf. Job 1:1-5. He called them to accountability, he rose early in the morning on their behalf, he offered sacrifices on their behalf.
Dad can your faith protect your family? Noah’s did.
By faith Noah. Everything Noah did, in reference to the threatened deluge, was done in virtue of simple faith or belief of what God said. It was not because he could show from the weather reports that things were heading to such a catastrophe; or because such an event had happened before, rendering it probable that it was be likely to occur again; or because this was the common belief of all men and everyone was in expectation of it. No, It was simply because God had warned him of something to come, and he put his trust in God’s warnings.
In regard to the circumstances which show the strength of his faith, we may make the following remarks. (From Barnes Notes:)
(1.) It pertained to a very distant future event.
(2.) There was no outward evidence that what Noah believed would occur.
(3.) The course of things was much against the truth of what Noah believed
4.) It is not improbable that when Noah proclaimed the approaching destruction of the world by a deluge, the possibility of such an event was strongly denied by the philosophers of that age. The fact that such an event could have occurred has been denied by infidel philosophers in our own times, and attempts have been gravely made to show that the earth did not contain water enough to cover its surface to the height mentioned in the Scriptures, and that no condensation of the vapor in the atmosphere could produce such an effect. It is not improbable that some such arguments may have been used in the time of Noah, and it is morally certain that he could not meet those arguments by any philosophy of his own. There is no reason to think that he was endowed with such a knowledge of chemistry as to be able to show that such a thing was possible, or that he had such an acquaintance with the structure of the earth as to demonstrate that it contained within itself the elements of its own destruction. All that he could oppose to such speculations was the simple declaration of God.
(5.) It is beyond all question that Noah would be subjected to much ridicule and scorn, he would be regarded as a dreamer; a fanatic; an alarmist; a wild projector.
(6.) All this would be heightened by delay. The time was distant. What now completes four generations would have passed away before the event predicted would occur, Youth grew up to manhood, and manhood passed on to old age, and still there were no signs of the coming storm
(Barnes notes)
Noah protected His family with his Spiritual Hearing
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
Noah had an ear for God. Spiritual hearing come from spiritual listening. The bible is not spiritual desert, to be eaten every now and then, it is to be your daily bread. Faith cometh by hearing... If you want to have the faith that can protect your children, you have to be a man/woman of the word.
Dad can your spiritual hearing protect your family? Noah’s did.
Noah protected His family with his Fear
Fear of fire is a good thing. It will put smoke detectors in your house, and a diligence about candles, and gas cans, rags by the furnace.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark...” If Noah had no fear of God, he would not have been motivated to build the ark that saved their lives.
I Wish We’d All Been Ready (Larry Norman)
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.
A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone,
I wish we’d all be ready,
Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one’s left standing still,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.
How could you have been so blind, (By faith, moved with fear)
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.
Dad can your fear protect your family? Noah’s did.
Noah protected His family with his Preparation of an Ark
“...prepared an ark to the saving of his house”
He made a plan (Better yet he followed God’s plan)
That plan included provisions for every member
He followed out that plan
He saw that plan through to completion.
All plans should include an understanding of the Role, the Goal, and the Mole.
Your Role is to be the lifeguard, the Goal is not financial, educational, social, but spiritual. Finally the mole is the enemy that actively seeks whom he may devour.
Dad can your preparations protect your family? Noah’s did.
III. The Deliverance
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark b; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Noah’s faith worked, it not only saved his household but caused him to be written into God’s will.
Close: How has this message spoken to you today? I’m dad, and I need to be saved. I’m dad and I need to be a better example. I’m dad and I need to be a better prayer warrior. I’m dad and I’m going to stand in the gap. Or, I am a single mom and I am feeling stretched by these responsibilities and please pray for me for strength.
