Faith Like Noah: The Power of Prompt Obedience

Transcript

Welcome to the podcast. So in our last episode, we talked about how to hear from heaven, right? We talked about how to hear clearly from heaven and how important it is to do that. For us, a word from God can be the difference between us walking in the blessing or the curse. It can be the difference between us being safe and protected or being subject to harm and danger. A word from heaven is foundational for us as God's children. And today, I wanna talk to you about a man in the scriptures that heard clearly from heaven and how important it was to him and his family's life. Remember last week, I told you hearing clearly from heaven, that can be the difference between life and death for you. And I want us to look at this account in scripture that really proves how big of a deal a word from God can be. And we're gonna talk about Noah, Noah and his family. So if you would, this is of course a story that all of us are familiar with. We've all heard it from childhood, I'm sure. But if you haven't, man, buckle up. This is an interesting story here about a man named Noah. Turn with me if you would to Genesis chapter six. That's where we find the account of Noah in the scriptures. And I wanna start in verse nine, listen to this. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the Bible says. You know, to be righteous means to be in right standing with God. That's what that means, to be righteous. And you, as a born again believer, if you've put your faith in Jesus and what he did for you, you are now the righteousness of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. So you're just like Noah was back then. He was a righteous man. You are a righteous man. You are a righteous woman if you're a saved new covenant Christian. It goes on to say there, he was a righteous man. He was the only blameless person living on the earth at that time. Think about that. He was the only righteous person on the earth in his day. And he walked in close fellowship with God. I think that's key. I think that's important to recognize. You know, when you understand that you're righteous, you're in right standing with God, you don't run from him, you run to him. You want to be in fellowship. You want to have a close relationship with him. Remember Adam and Eve when they sinned and their righteousness left them, their right standing with God left them, they hid from God in the garden. Remember that? But this tells us that Noah, he walked in close fellowship with God. He had a close relationship with him because of his right standing. He knew he was in right standing with God. And you know, you and I can be the same way today. Verse 10 says, Noah was the father of three boys. He had a boy named Shem, a boy named Ham, and a boy named Japheth. Now this is verse 11. Now God saw, listen to this. God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world for everyone on the earth was corrupt. Some translations say wicked or evil. Verse 13, so God said to Noah, he said, I've decided to destroy all living creatures for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I'll wipe them all out along with all the earth. Now God is giving divine insight into his plans to his righteous friend, his righteous son, Noah. You know, that's one of the important things to you and I recognizing our relationship with God and walking in fellowship with him is that we will have insight to what's to come. The word says the Holy Spirit who dwells in you will show you things to come. And God told Noah, this is what I'm about to do. I'm about to destroy the earth because of the wickedness and the evil that's present. Verse 14, he tells Noah, he says, build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout the interior. Make the boat 450 feet long. Now think about that. That's as long as one and a half football fields. That's how long this boat is, how big it is. This is massive. It's like a big cruise ship or something. Make it 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Leave an 18 inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side and build three decks inside the boat, a lower one, a middle deck and an upper deck. This is details, friends, this is details. I've told you before. I told you last week, God delights in the details of your life. He's willing to give you the details that you need to be successful. With his word, with his plan comes the details for you to succeed. That's one of the advantages of you being in close fellowship with him. Verse 17 says, look, I'm about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on the earth will die, but I will confirm my covenant with you, Noah. So enter the boat, you and your wife and your sons and their wives and bring a pair of every kind of animal, a male and female into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Listen to verse 20, I love this. Pairs of every kind of bird and every kind of animal and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground will come to you. They're gonna come to you to be kept alive and be sure to take on board enough food for you and your family and for all those animals. Listen to verse 22, it says, so Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded. He commanded him. Ooh wee, that's a big verse right there. Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. Remember last week we talked about, it's one thing to hear a word from God. That's one thing. It's another thing to actually do it. Obedience is key. That's why the scriptures say the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land. You know, those details, they matter. God's instruction, his word, his details for your life, they matter. He told Noah to put an 18 inch window underneath the roof all the way around the boat. That 18 inch measurement mattered. What if he had made the window, what if he had said, you know what? I like big windows in my boats. I want to have a window that's four foot instead of 18 inches. What would have happened? I don't know. The rain probably would have blown in there and flooded the ark and sunk it. I don't know what would have happened, but the details matter. God knew that there needed to be an 18 inch gap, an 18 inch window underneath that roof to allow fresh air to come in. And I'm sure to allow the odors and stale air to escape. Praise God, you can only imagine what that was like. So the details matter. And verse 22 says, "'Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.'" That's such a big verse. And he's such a great example for us. And so we're gonna break this down a little bit, this story, this account of Noah. And the first point I wanna make here is that we can hear God's voice in a noisy, dark world. I mean, the Bible tells us that in Noah's day, he was the only righteous man left on the planet. Everybody was evil. Everybody was out for themselves. They were doing crazy stuff. The world was full of evil, full of darkness. Noah was the only righteous man left on the planet. And you know, we talk about today how crazy things can be sometimes in our time, but it's not near as bad as it was then. It hasn't gotten to that place yet. I mean, we've got some messed up stuff going on, but it's nothing compared to what it was like in Noah's day. And Noah, despite the darkness in the world, despite the evil, he was able to hear God's voice clearly. And friends, you and I can as well. We're righteous. We're in right standing with God. We've got a good relationship with God, just like Noah. And you can hear clearly from him. God still speaks. Even in a world that's turned away from him, he still speaks. Now, what was the word that God gave Noah? Let's talk about that. The word that he gave him was he said, look, I'm about to destroy the earth with a flood. But if you will build this boat and you'll build it the way I asked you to do it, if you'll obey, if you'll listen to me and trust me and believe me and be faithful and do what I tell you to do, I'm gonna spare you and your family from this flood. And not only that, I'm gonna have covenant with you. I'm gonna be in agreement with you and I'll protect you from this coming destruction. You will have immunity from this. And then he gave Noah a bunch of details about how to build the boat, right? But the word was, I'm about to destroy the earth. I'll spare you because of your covenant with me if you'll do what I tell you to do. Now let's look at how Noah responded to that word. How are you gonna respond when God gives you a word for your life? Noah is a good example for us to follow. The first thing we see is that Noah responded in faith. He responded in faith, didn't he? Noah heard God's warning of the coming judgment and he responded in faith. He believed God was gonna do what he said he was gonna do. Which is interesting because Noah had never seen rain or a flood. Did you know that? Let me turn over there, Hebrews. Let's turn over there to Hebrews chapter 11, tells us this. I mean, God told Noah, I'm gonna destroy the earth with rain, with a flood. Noah didn't even know what that meant. Verse seven, it says, this is Hebrews 11 verse seven. It says it was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith, Noah condemned the rest of the world and he received the righteousness that comes by faith and through faith. His faith, Noah's faith led him to take God's word seriously. He trusted God. He knew God loved him. He knew God cared about him because of their relationship. And here's a good question for you today. Here's a good question for us. Do you take God's word seriously? Do you take it seriously even when it challenges your understanding? You know, so often God will ask you to do something that you just don't understand in the natural how it makes sense or how it's gonna pay off. Do you trust him? Do you take his word seriously? Let me ask you this one. Do you prepare for what God says is coming? Even if other people mock you, even if other people are ignoring what God says, do you prepare? Are you ready? And so again, how did Noah respond to this word from God? He's a great example for us. The first thing he did is he responded in faith. The second thing he did was he responded with complete obedience. Remember Genesis 6.22 says, Noah did everything just as God commanded him. His obedience, it was thorough. It was consistent. He followed every instruction. I mean the details. He did it perfectly. Sometimes, well not sometimes, all the time, we just need to do what God tells us to do the way he tells us to do it. And it's easy to say that, but when you can't understand why sometimes it can be challenging, can it? We have to trust God. Noah trusted God throughout this process. I mean, think about those animals. Remember we read there a while ago that God told Noah, he said, you're gonna have two, a male and female, of every kind of animal on the planet. Every creepy and crawly, everything that flies. I guess he didn't have sea animals on the boat. So I mean, let me just flip back over there. Genesis chapter six. Let's get clarity here on what this says. He says in verse 19, bring a pair of every kind of animal, a male and female, into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird and every kind of animal and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. Now think about this. That took a lot of faith to believe that. You know, I always thought that Noah, I'd never really caught that scripture where it says the animals would come to him. I always thought Noah had to go out and gather them. Have you ever thought that? Maybe as a kid, you thought Noah went out and herded all the animals. Man, that'd be a job, wouldn't it? Can you imagine trying to catch a bald eagle or a chicken hawk? I mean, a chicken's hard enough to catch. You ever try to catch a chicken? Can you imagine catching an eagle or a cheetah or a bobcat? I mean, a house cat's hard to catch. But I always thought, you know, Noah had to go out and catch these. He didn't. God brought the animals to him. And there's such a great lesson there. When God tells you to do something, he will make sure that he does his part to help you get the job done. Noah didn't have to go out and get the animals. They came to him. And Noah trusted God. You know, he obeyed despite no visible evidence. Noah obeyed God despite no visible evidence or popular support from the people. You know the people all thought he was crazy out there building this boat. It's never rained before. But true faith is shown through obedience and not just agreement. It's one thing to agree with God. It's another thing to obey. So here's another question for you. Are you selective in your obedience or are you fully committed? Are you selective? You obey just the things that you understand or the things that make sense to you? Or are you fully committed? Noah responded to God's word with faith, with obedience and perseverance. And he is, like I said, a great example for us. And then here in conclusion, and then here in conclusion, let me ask you this question. Are you safe in the new covenant arc? Are you safe in the new covenant arc? You know, just like Noah was offered a covenant that would spare him from destruction, you and I, we are offered a covenant of safety as well. I'm talking about us. In God's word, we've been warned about the coming end of this age, haven't we? God's word tells us that there is a coming end to this age. We're told that there's coming a moment when Christ will return in the blink of an eye. And sadly, friends, so many of us will be caught unprepared and out of the safety of the new covenant. The Bible says it will all happen quickly, just like it did when the rain came in the days of Noah. The scriptures warn us about this. Turn with me to Matthew, the 24th chapter. You know, in Noah's day, man, people, you know, they were playing golf or having barbecues and weddings and feasts and watching sports or whatever they did back then, I don't know. But all of a sudden, the rain started dropping. And again, they had never seen rain like that. But friends, the moment the rain started, it was too late. Noah and his family, they were already, they had obeyed God, they were in the safety of the ark. But now all of a sudden, the waters start to come. And the time of the end is at hand. And then it's too late for them to get in the ark, to get in the boat. Well, the Bible tells us that when Jesus comes, when this age ends, when Christ returns, when the trumpets sound, it'll be just like it was in Noah's day. People will be out doing stuff, man. You'll be out golfing with your buddies. You'll be out watching football or shopping with your girlfriends or whatever it is you're doing. And all of a sudden, the trumpets will sound. You'll hear a trumpet and it'll be like that raindrop hitting those guys in the head in Noah's day. And at that point, friends, the time of the end is at hand. There's no time to build the ark at that point. There's no time to come into covenant with Christ at that point. Listen to this in Matthew 24, verse 37. It says, when Jesus returns, when the son of man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up until the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way it will be when the son of man comes. Oh, friends, here's the beautiful thing. If you're listening to this message, you have time to step into a covenant of protection. What is our ark of protection? As new covenant believers, what is our ark? It's Jesus and his finished work on the cross. Jesus, having faith in God, having faith in what Christ did for you, places you inside the safety of the new covenant. John chapter 10, verse nine, Jesus said, those who come in through me will be saved. He's paid the great price. You know, Jesus, just like Noah, he endured the persecution. He endured people mocking him and making fun of him and not believing what he said. But friends, because he paid that price for you, you and I can be ready that when the trumpet sound, it's not a scary time for us. For Noah and his family, they were safe inside the ark. They had nothing to worry about. For you and I, when we're safe in covenant with Jesus, we have nothing to worry about. When you hear about all this stuff that's going on in the world and the talk of the end times, there's nothing for you and I to be afraid of. As new covenant Christians, are you safe in the new covenant ark? And here's my final question for you. Will you trust? Will you obey? Will you walk with God like Noah did? And this is a call to faith for all of you who haven't responded to God's provision for you. Put yourself in Noah's shoes. Here's a word from God for you. I've paid the price for you. Amen. Jesus paid the price for your redemption. It is like an ark that you can climb into and it's your place of safety. God wants to have covenant with you just like he did with Noah. He wants to bless you just like he did Noah. And he wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to walk. He wants to walk in fellowship with you just like he did with Noah. And you can have that, amen. You can have that kind of relationship. And so I know right now, there's a lot of crazy things going on in the world. There's war right now with Iran and Israel. And of course, Bible prophecy, there's a lot going on right now that points towards the return of Christ. And a lot of people, we talk about that and they think we're crazy. But people thought Noah was crazy too. And so friends, I'm pleading with you. I'm begging you, if you haven't made that choice to pray that prayer, to come into this covenant, surrender your life to Christ. Listen to this word that's being declared out to you today and receive it. It's a word for you. Take it, hear it, and act on it. And start to live your life in full fellowship with the father, amen. Amen, let's pray. And then we're gonna be finished here for today. Father, I thank you for this great example of Noah in the scriptures. And we know there's a lot of types and shadows in the Old Testament that apply to us in the New Testament. And this is one of those types and shadows. Noah is a great example of Christ for us, him building that arc of safety and protection. Christ built that covenant of protection for us. And we just ask that as we come to you today, Lord, that you would hear our prayers. Lord, we just come to you today and say thank you for this great example of Noah for us in the scriptures. His faith in you, his trust in you, his obedience to your word and to hearing your voice led to his protection, it led to his safety, and a covenant of relationship with you. And we want that, all of us want that, Lord. And so I just pray over each person listening that they would make a decision right now to put faith in you, to come into this arc of protection, this covenant bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. Lord, we're so thankful that you endured for us. Just like Noah endured in those days for his family, you endured for us, for your family. And Father, we just repent of all of our sins. We turn to you, we ask you to be our Lord and Savior. We thank you for the price you paid on the cross. We thank you, Father, that you raised Jesus from the dead. And that because of that, he's our big brother, he's our family, and you want to have relationship with us and lead us through this life in a way of provision and protection and favor. And Lord, we receive that. I ask you to be my Lord and Savior and to heal me from all unrighteousness. Lord, I thank you that we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus. We thank you for it, we honor you and praise you in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Well, thank you for taking the time to listen to the podcast. I'll talk to you soon, but until next time, be blessed.