Scripture: Genesis 5-9
Noah’s
ark is one of the most recognizable stories in all of scripture. Why?
It is a story of faith, of romance, of nature, of destruction, of sin,
of redemption, of hope, of promise, of miracles. It is beloved by Children and
adults and it is debated by scientists and geologists and theologians. It was even famously made into a comedy
sketch 50 years ago and will be familiar to many of you; and never heard by
others. (PLAY VIDEO: Bill Cosby – Noah and the Ark. https://youtu.be/bputeFGXEjA)
What do you believe about the flood
and the ark, and even Noah? Did he
really exist and did it really happen or was it just a kind of an Old Testament
parable or metaphor? There are those who
say the ark has been discovered in modern day Turkey and people like Bill Nye
the science guy who argue, how then did the kangaroo get from Turkey across an
ocean to live only in Australia?
You really can’t argue
that God said it and I believe it and that settles it for me. (song)
Faith is the essence of things unseen
The substance of things hoped for
God's word has said it and I believe it
For the miracle has happened to me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
Though some may doubt that His word is true
I've chosen to believe it, now how about you?
God said it and I believe it
And that settles it for me
The substance of things hoped for
God's word has said it and I believe it
For the miracle has happened to me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
God said it and I believe it
and that settles it for me
Though some may doubt that His word is true
I've chosen to believe it, now how about you?
God said it and I believe it
And that settles it for me
I cannot prove how
kangaroos got to Australia any more than someone can convince me that carbon
dating something to millions of years ago is accurate. The only way to prove that is for someone to
have an object, live for a couple million years and never letting the object
out of your site and then use the dating technique. Besides which, even if there are things on
earth that are millions of years old does not mean they have been here for more
than several thousand years? WHAT? Absolutely, the creation story answers the
question – which came first the chicken or the egg? – the chicken did. God
created the animals of the field – not embryos that require parentage in many
cases to bring about the birth even for an egg to keep it warm and feed the
baby chick once hatched.
Here is how we answer most any question
related to creation, flood, or anything that requires a date – “God created
things with TIME in them” In
other words – a 6 thousand year old rock can be dated
6 million years because just like Adam being created as a man – not a fetus, so
to, the rocks and trees and hills and oceans were all created with time in them
– as much time as determined by God. If
I can believe that God created things with time in them, I certainly can
believe that in the aftermath of the flood the same God made a way for a kangaroo
to find its way down under. Were the two
animals of each kind (actually 7 of each clean animal) a sign of Noah’s
faithfulness?...but God also silently replenished the earth after the flood.
Certainly a possibility.
Gen 6:5-22
The Lord saw how great man's
wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil all the time.
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart
was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have
created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move
along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made
them." But Noah found favor in the
eyes of the Lord.
9 This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons:
Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now the earth
was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the
earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 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. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and
coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is
to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within
inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and
upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life
under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything
on earth will perish. 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.
You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to
keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal
and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to
be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store
it away as food for you and for them." 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
THE
MESSAGE
Gen 6:5-13God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil — evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds — the works. I'm sorry I made them." But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting — life itself corrupt to the core. God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.
Genesis 6:22 Noah did everything God commanded him to do.
Noah’s unique journey
has similarities to ours - it is a journey of faith.
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.
Like Abraham with Isaac, Joseph with
his brothers, Elijah with the prophets of Baal, these were all great acts of
faith. Though we similarly have a journey of faith, Noah’s journey stands out
unique in an overlooked often missed way.
It took Noah 120 years to build the ark.
Funny how the storms of life hit and
people blame God or don’t feel God is with them through it, but God had called
them years earlier to study his word, to learn to pray, to be part of a local
church. The reason they aren’t equipped
to handle it, isn’t God’s fault, they simply failed to put hammer to nail and
build the ark over the past decades.
It is like taking Xango. Xango Juice is a blend of mangosteen with
juice concentrates of eight other fruits: and has been shown to be rich in
anti-oxidants. You take an ounce a day
and more when a cold is coming on - in every case I have not gotten the cold. However,
when I am not taking it daily and start taking it when a cold is coming on -
all bets are off. Why - the effects are from regular usage not a lot all at
once. - Like prayer and bible reading and church life. You may have an event 10
years from now in which you will need God greatly and wonder where he is when
he invited you to participate in life with him more starting today and every
day but you failed to do so.
For 120 years Noah and his family
received ridicule but he was undeterred.
There may have been days of wondering - we don’t know if this was a
single conversation in a day or over those years - it may have been that one
conversation and Noah never stopped believing and acting on that belief, and
God counted him righteous because of that kind of faith. A living faith. A faith that acts on who God
is / not on who we are - and that creates a unique journey in life.
CONCLUSION
1 Peter 3:10-22For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager
to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.
"Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your
good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer
for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the
body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to
the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the
days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in
all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves
you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good
conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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