I. NOAH’S BELIEVING
THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD’S WORD
1) HE BELIEVED IN SPITE OF THE MAJORITY
The majority are not always right!
You will find, apart from Him, that nearly all the trust you place in men is a total loss. Therefore, neither confide in, nor depend upon a wind-shaken reed, for "all flesh is grass" {Isaiah 15:6} and all its glory, like the flower of grass, will fade away. [Thomas Kempis – Imitations of Christ]
2) HE BELIEVED GOD MEANT WHAT HE SAID
God always does!
1Pe 1:25 “the word of the Lord will last forever.”
2Sa 22:31 “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless”.
3) HE BELIEVED IN THE CERTAINTY OF FULFILMENT
Even if it did seem rather unusual!
Ps 119:89 “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
4) HE BELIEVED ENOUGH TO ACT
God says it – I believe it!
Psalm 119:160 “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”
2Ti 3:16 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the faith and correcting error, for re-setting the direction of a man’s life and training him in good living.” [JBP]
II. NOAH’S BUILDING
THE APPLICATION OF GOD’S WORD
1) HE BUILT IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT
He acknowledged God’s word to be true, by acting on it and building. He did not try and explain it away, but lived it out!
People today try and explain Noah away, but the Lord Jesus spoke of him as a real person!
Lu 17:27 “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.”
James 1:21 & 22 Humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. 22 And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. [NLT]
2) HE BUILT AN ARK
He followed the instruction given to him by the Lord, and even though it took a long time, he saw it through.
Often this is where failure comes, in not following through to the end. In the p[resistant continuing to the completion of the task, that is where the victory lies.
This also proves whether we really believe, or not. Noah was so convinced of the truthfulness of God’s word to him that he kept on building the ark, even though there was opposition from the unbelieving crowd.
Php 3:14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
3) HE BUILT AN ALTER
Noah had his priorities right, for the first thing we read he did on coming out of the ark was to build an alter, for thanksgiving, and for worship.
Noah was a man of active faith. Faith and Works went together with Noah!
Jas 2:20 Do you not see, O foolish man, that faith without works is of no use? [BBE]
III. NOAH’S BENEFITING
THE ADEQUACY OF GOD’S WORD
Because he Believed and Built; because there was Faith and Works; Noah reaped the benefit. He found God’s Word adequate to his needs. He was safe.
He received
1) GOD’S BLESSING
Genesis 9:1 And God gave his blessing to Noah and his sons,
God’s blessing always enriches us, it never makes us poorer.
2) GOD’S COVENANT
Genesis 9:11 "Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." [NKJV]
God’s covenant was established with Noah.
All this because of believing faith in action.
God help us to
a) ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S WORD TO BE TRUE, and
b) APPLY GOD’S WORD DAILY IN OUR LIVES, and so prove the
c) ADEQUACY OF GOD’S WORD FOR OUR NEEDS.
