Message 12/27/2018
Jack Abeelen
Growing Thru Grace
Hebrews 11:7
Noah
By faith Noah....divinely warned of things not seen as yet...moved with godly fear and went to work.
Context: Reviews Hebrews 10. This is a Hebrew fellowship ready to go back, to quit on their faith.
Let us draw near. Let us hold fast. 18 or 19 examples, then non-named examples.
Genesis 6 & 7
The generation of Noah was as bad if not far worse than ours. 6:5 "Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually..." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah walked with God. Had three sons. All flesh had corrupted its way. The end of flesh has come upon me.
Darkness in Noah's day was everywhere...yet in the midst of all these people, easily 6 billion people in the day of Noah, there was one shining light in the desert. Perfect in his generation
Noah is the first person in the Bible to be called righteous. "that which God accepts" and the first one associated with the word grace.
Abel, Enoch and Noah were in the minority---
In his faith, Noah will preach to everyone who will listen, for a generation and then another....
"moved with godly fear" "became an heir"
By faith Noah being divinely warned moved with godly fear.
True biblical faith has to have something to believe in the Lord God and then must act upon it. It has both a promise of deliverance and a warning...
Heard about from God something he had never seen---it had never rained. He was told about something about which he had no understanding.
Before flood 900 years, after was 120, then dropped to 70 or 80.
True faith believed and began to build. 100 miles from Babylon between the Tigris & Euphrates, in the middle of the desert. Builds it for 120 years...long time for a project...one job, build a boat. At great personal expense, gave time, no boat building experience. Don't tell the Lord you don't know what you are doing---think of Noah! Noah knew nothing. Never got encouraging word from anyone, yet he pressed on every day, every month, every year, every century....sun shined, skys clear, no rain showers to encourage him, but remembering God had said....
talk about waiting on the Lord. None of us have ever been stretched that far. We usually give God a week and then argue with God. Wait. Maybe you don't understand. He had to have struggled with the doubts, he isn't any difference from us. Suffers the mockery of this generation...violent demon-driven men whom God said he would destroy in judgement.
godly fear...not dread but respect and honor for God
Godly fear produces serious obedience...there is a cautiousness when we want to do what God wants.
Attitude (godly fear) lead to the action (build ark).
Make of yourself an ark of gopher wood....a million and a half cubit space...the same proportions made their boats the most stable (British in building battleships Dreadnot--conclusion: God knows how to build a boat). Noah and family will board a boat without rudder, sail, mast, anchor, huge door he didn't know how to close. Basically built a boat that couldn't close the hatch, but that didn't concern him. He was faithful, he was diligent...showed that faith perseveres even when you don't understand what you are doing
Noah accomplished three things:
1. He saved his household. Beneficiaries of his faithfulness. The entire family got out alive
2. He condemned the world around him, witness, message
3. Noah became an heir of the righteousness which comes to us accordingly to faith. Given a right standing that only faith can provide.
It was not the building, it was the response of building that shows itself in faith.
By the building he condemned the world....it was a warning....living example of what was coming
Peter 2 said "God did not spare the ancient world, but he saved Noah," who was "a preacher of righteousness."
Such a big boat gave Noah a reason to preach and others to criticize. Lunatic, eccentric, had a great long-suffering heart. Peter mentions his long-suffering heart.
Noah took the brunt of God's patience. God was reaching out in patience. Methuselah is a picture that God is willi o wait....in the day, in the year Methuselah came to faith, he died, and the flood came.
We have all the prophecies, data...
"As it was in the days of Noah....that's how the coming of the Son of Man will be" so you watch.
population explosion, demon revival
Move us to serious behavior, convince us God is right and produce an action that will save us and have an impact on others (even though it may be less than we hope).
Our culture equates goodness with performance, so grace is a hard concept for us. Good/bad is about behavior and performance. Religion gets a hold of that....how good do I have to be before God accepts me. We want to get as close to the line as we need to be accepted and no more. Religion draws the line that defines the standard. We rewrite the law, make it doable. Would do what was doable. Have to be better than Pharisees (most holy outwardly) but then says what about the heart. They've ruined the law...God never intended it to make you feel good about you. Jesus took it from the exterior and applied it to the heart. The law was to devastate the would be performer, that he couldn't engender himself.
Law sets true standard....you'd have to be like Jesus to measure up. The law was tutor. The law pushes you forward, breaks your heart, leaves you empty-handed.
Noah found grace....(not merited).
In our generation we also have an ark to build....God will enable us. Judgement is waiting at the door (he thinks). Peter 2
It will never be the majority, but thank God for us grace for those who do. And may we not believe we only have faith when we see results.
No comments:
Post a Comment