Lessons
From Noah
Don’t
Quit
Genesis
6:1-14a HCSB When mankind began to multiply on the earth
and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of
God saw that the daughters of man were beautiful, and they took any they chose
as wives for themselves. 3 And the LORD
said, "My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are
corrupt. Their days will be 120 years."
4
The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterwards, when
the sons of God came to the daughters of man, who bore children to them. They
were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
5
When the LORD saw that man's wickedness was widespread on the earth and
that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the LORD regretted that He had made man on
the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7
Then the LORD said, "I will wipe off the face of the earth: man,
whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of
the sky--for I regret that I made them."
8
Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These are the family records of Noah. Noah
was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with
God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and
Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and
the earth was filled with violence. 12 God saw how
corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, "I have decided
to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of
them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 "Make yourself an ark of gofer wood.
I.
Noah’s Legacy
A.
There
are some important lessons we can learn from Noah
1.
Don’t
miss the boat.
2.
Remember
that we are all in the same boat.
3.
Plan
ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.
4.
Stay
fit. When you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big.
5.
Don’t
listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6.
Build
your future on high ground.
7.
Speed
isn’t everything; the snails were on board with the cheetahs.
8.
When
you’re stressed, float awhile
9.
Remember
the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.
10. No matter what the
storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.
B.
His
life was one of faith, righteousness and endurance that still has a legacy
today.
C.
Noah
is one of the greatest men in the Bible. Noah’s life is a measuring stick we
can look back to, to see how we are doing.
II.
Noah’s Days
A.
The
“Days of Noah”
·
Luke 17:26-27 HCSB "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in
the days of the Son of Man: 27 people went on
eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah boarded
the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
B.
Those
will be the most wicked and spiritually careless days ever.
C.
We
are rapidly approaching those days and many Christians are getting caught up in
it.
D.
Signs
of last days – hearts of many grow cold, evil men and seducers become worse,
perilous times
E.
Noah
was a “just man”, “Perfect in his generation” and “walked with God”
F.
We
are encouraged by Noah to live a godly life in an ungodly world.
III.
Noah’s Persistence
A.
God
told Noah to build an ark – 540’L x 90’W x 54’H
B.
The
ark had to be built to God’s specific details without power tools and precut, treated
lumber.
C.
During
this time Noah was mocked, ridiculed, called crazy and insane, etc. (it had
never rained)
D.
For
over 100 years, Noah labored, no quitting, not getting discouraged and only 8
people were saved.
E.
Noah’s
work encourages us to be faithful to what God called us to do, don’t give up.
We may be ridiculed and mocked for what we believe and for what the Word of God
teaches, but we must be faithful to it.
·
Jude 1:17-18 HCSB But you, dear
friends, remember the words foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ; 18 they told you, "In the end time there
will be scoffers walking according to their own ungodly desires."
·
2 Peter 3:3-4 HCSB First, be aware
of this: scoffers will come in the last days to scoff, following their own
lusts, 4 saying, "Where is the promise of His
coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
have been since the beginning of creation."
F. Noah didn’t quit, because he believed what
God told him (FAITH NOT FEAR)
·
Hebrews 11:7 HCSB By faith Noah,
after being warned about what was not yet seen, in reverence built an ark to
deliver his family. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the
righteousness that comes by faith.
IV.
Noah’s Rest
·
1 Peter 3:20-21 HCSB who
in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah
while an ark was being prepared; in it, a few--that is, eight people--were
saved through water. 21 Baptism,
which corresponds to this, now saves you (not the removal of the filth of the
flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
V.
Conclusion
A.
Don’t
give in to the spiritually careless attitude of the world, that’s what happened
in the days leading up to Noah. The sons of God, morally pure people, began to
give in to the spirit of the age (1-4)
B.
Just
as Noah built a vessel that enabled his family to escape the judgment of God,
Christ is building a vessel that will escape the judgment that is to come;
·
1 Corinthians 3:9 HCSB For
we are God's co-workers. You are God's field, God's building.
C.
Keep
on working for God, it will pay off in the end.