Title: God’s Dream Church
Text: Gen 6-8 and II Peter 2:5
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Introduction:
- This morning I want to talk about the church, and how wonderful it truly is.
- I believe Noah had the greatest church going.
- How many people knew that Noah was a Pastor?
- The Bible says, he was a preacher of righteousness.
- And I believe God shows us through Noah how a church is to properly function.
- Before we get into today’s text first let me explain what the church is.
Matt 16:18 says, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
- The greek word ekklesia (church) refers to a meeting of people called out and summoned together.
- In the N.T. it designates primarily the congregation of God’s people in Christ, who come together as citizens of God’s Kingdom (Eph 2:19) for the purpose of worshipping God.
- The word church can refer to a local church (Matt 18:17; Acts 15:4) or the universal church (Matt 16:18; Acts 20:28)
- So therefore as individuals we are the church, and when we come together we make one body or one unit.
- Like I mentioned before, there a local church which we are a part of, and the universal church, which is everyone who is saved that has died and gone on, and who is living around the world.
- God’s plan for the church is truly amazing. So what is the church:
- The church is presented as the people of God.
- The church is a people called out, also the church is the temple of God.
- The church is the body of Christ and the bride of Christ.
- The church is victorious over sin, death hell and the grave.
- The church is on it’s way to Heaven and the gates of hell can’t stop it.
- The church truly is a people with a future hope.
Transition:
- So the question is how can we get more people into the church. To experience this amazing family of God?
- Or how can we get people to experience body of Christ?
- Noah shows us how.
- Noah paints for us a picture perfect church.
- Now we all know that it was not perfect, but there are some things we can learn from this man and his church.
- Noah’s church is a church that we all need to model our lives from and our churches from.
- So lets look more closer at Noah’s church this morning.
Noah gives us a picture church by.........
Point 1: He was a man of Righteousness
- Amidst the widespread wickedness and evil of those days (vs 5), God found in Noah one man who still sought communion with Him and who was a righteous man.
- “Blameless among the people of his time” indicates that he kept himself separate from the moral evil of the society around him.
- Noah feared God
- This righteousness in Noah’s life came by God’s grace, through Noah’s faith and walk with God (vs 9).
- We must sincerely walk with God and remain separated from a perverse generation. (Vs 22;7:5,9,16)
- Noah was a man of faith.
- We find in II Peter 2:5 that Noah was a preacher. This is what Pastors need to be like.
- When I look at my life, I no that I am not perfect, even though my wife keeps telling me that I am.
- But I strive to live my life the way Noah did, and that being by faith and sincere devotion to God.
- I want to live righteously, which means right living. Living God’s way, according to the Bible.
- That should be our first and foremost pursuit among anything else.
- But that’s not the case in some people.
Research from Barna concerning Leadership:
The Deception of Effective Leadership
1. Most pastors are content with the way things are going in their ministry. A national survey among pastors revealed that a majority feels they are doing an excellent or good job in leading people spiritually in relation to 12 of the 13 areas of performance evaluated. (The exception was in the area of raising money for ministry.) In fact, the larger the church is, the more likely the pastor is to feel pleased with his performance as its leader.
Barna confessed confusion over that outcome. "Pastoring is a difficult job," he acknowledged, "and it’s important not to become discouraged by the magnitude of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged - after all, we know that we are aligned with the winning camp. However, it’s a bit troubling to see pastors feel they’re doing a great job when the research reveals that few congregants have a biblical worldview, half the people they minister to are not spiritually secure or developed, kids are fleeing from the church in record numbers, most of the people who attend worship services admit they did not connect with God, only 2% of the pastors themselves can identify God’s vision for their ministry they are trying to lead, and the average congregant spends more time watching television in one day than he spends in all spiritual pursuits combined for an entire week. "Pastors, alone, cannot be held accountable for the spiritual disrepair of America. But it’s worrisome when there is a strong correlation between church size and self-satisfaction, because that suggests that attendance and budget figures have become our mark of success. It’s troubling when our spiritual leaders cannot articulate where we’re headed and how the Church will fulfill its role as the restorative agent of our society. Maybe the comfort afforded by our buildings and other material possessions has seduced us into thinking we’re farther down the road than we really are."
- Holiness should be our desire. Living Right in the eyes of God should be our desire
- My desire is to see people getting saved and living out that faith.
- I want to see families restored, people healed, and receiving from God.
- It is my desire that people leave here understanding what’s been said, and sensing God’s presence.
- God spoke to Noah and gave him direction and where to go. Then his members helped achieve the goal from God.
Another reason this is a picture church is
Point 2: There was One Accord In the Church (vs 18)
- God saw something in Noah’s church and that was unity.
- God included Noah’s family in the ark. They must have been righteous people.
- But lets look a little deeper than that.
- God saw unity in the church, knowing that God could speak to Noah and his church would respond and do what God had commanded.
- There was unity to carry out God’s wishes.
- They all understood what God wanted and they followed it.
- Unity is important in the church. Jesus prayed in John 17:20, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through thier message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
- I am a firm believer in unity. I don’t believe we need unity in order to see God move. Jesus healed people when He was called a demon-possessed lunatic, by the Pharicees.
- But I do believe we need unity in order to see things accomplished for the glory of God.
- I don’t understand why nobody got saved under Noah’s ministry but I do know that his church was in one accord and the task was completed under the direction of the Lord.
- A question I ask myself is, would I listen to Noah and help build an ark? In the middle of no were. Think about it.
Another reason this is a picture church is....
Point 3: There was direction in the Church (vs 13-17)
- God had spoken and given clear direction as to what He wanted accomplished.
- God gives the dimensions of the Ark to Noah. Church that is specific direction from God.
- He directs Noah and church to build an odd object.
- I don’t know about you but to do what God had asked must have taken faith.
- The church today is lacking direction from the Lord.
- Is it the Lord’s fault? No
- I believe we need to do what God has commanded us to do. Go into all the world and preach the gospel, make disciples , baptize people in water.
- Now the tatics we use will be different, but the method will not change. And that being Jesus is Lord. The message will never change. The blood of Christ will forgive you of all your sins. You must be born again in order to enter into Heaven.
- God giving dimensions to Noah, is like God giving specific directions to a local church on how to reach it’s community.
- Are we listening, or are we watching T.V. Do we care? It’s time to seek the Lord for direction and ask the question to God, can we make a greater impact?
- I thank God for the faithfulness of this church, you have been faithful and still are, but can we make a greater impact, do we want to make a greater impact.
Another reason this is a picture church is
Point 4: There was vision in the church (vs 19-21)
- You are to bring in animals and food. You are to keep being faithful.
- Church that is not only direction but it is vision.
- The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Without a vision the people perish”
- We all need to be working toward one goal. It needs to come from God what that goal is.
- I believe the Great Commission is the goal for the church today.
- The great commission today is like building the ark thousands of years ago.
- We need to decide what we are going to do to accomplish the great commission.
- Just like what Noah needed to do in gathering the animals.
- And the question is not whether we are doing it, we are doing it, but can it be done better and easier.
- I believe yes. Can we be more effective in all that we do? Yes, when we work together.
- What’s are vision? We have the orders from God, the great commission, now how do we accomplish it? Are we using are full potential and everyone’s gifts?
- We must never lose our zeal to do more for the Kingdom
(Story of Oscar Schindler - Never lost his zeal to save more Jewish people from the holocaust. We need to have that same zeal and passion.
Another reason this is a picture church is
Point 5: There was purpose in the church (vs 18)
- God’s covenant with Noah and family
- The covenant was not to destroy the world again through a flood, but I also believe it was much more than that.
- God wanted to establish a Godly influence into the lives of there children. (Chap 8:15-17)
- God was going to use Noah and his family to establish again a Godly people who God knew loved Him.
- Church our purpose is to be a Godly influence in a evil world.
- We have a ball team, to be a Godly influence
- We have youth to be a Godly influence
- We have Sunday School, Kids Church, and Kid’s Klub, so that we can be a Godly influence.
- Can we improve on our ministries yes I believe we can. So we can be a greater influence.
- Lets not lose our zeal to be a greater witness church, but lets learn from God and obtain a generous plan from Him. Amen.
- That’s our purpose in why we do what we do.
- We come to church, for fellowship, but because like Noah’s family we want to be a Godly influence.
Finally the last reason Noah’s church is picture
Point 6: God was in control of the church
- A God controlled church, does not compromise with the world.
- A God controlled church does not measure success by how many people are here, and how big our ministries are, but rather if there is obedience, trust, and faith in God and submission to Authority.
- Someone needs to be in charge. When you have two in charge you have a two headed monster.
- The Pastor is the one who God has placed as the shepherd of His flock.
- Jesus is the chief shepherd, the Pastor follows thee shepherd which is Jesus.
- Peter in chap 2 of our text put submission of athority with the sinful nature if we don’t do it.
- The Pastor in charge must be a man of Righteousness. As well as the members.
- People sometime think, well what if the Pastor messes up the church, has an affair, steals the money, gives a bad name in the community.
- The Bible says, I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.
- God is building His church. When Jim Baker fell, Jimmy Swaggert fell, did that destroy the church? No
- God is building, lets work together, find what He wants and do want we can before Christ returns.
Conclusion:
- Noah had a plan from God and he followed through with that plan. Took about 120 years, but he and the church followed through.
- God told Noah that nobody but him and his family would enter the ark and they did.
- Well I believe God told me that He wants to fill this ark, before He returns.
- I believe God wants to restore marriages before He returns,
- I believe God wants to cast out demons before He returns.
- I believe God wants to save people from there sins, before He returns.
- I believe God wants to heal people from sickness before He returns.
- But not just here, but in all churches that call Jesus there Lord and Master.
- It all starts with:
1. Righteous Pastor and church
2. Unity
3. Direction for greater impact
4. Vision for greater impact
5. Purpose for greater impact
6. God needs to be in control
- Will you be that person?
Lets Pray!!!
