Sunday, 8th October 2017
Pastor Bruce McDonald
Genesis 6:5-8, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
It says in Genesis that the Lord regretted that He had made human beings and wanted to wipe out human race, but Noah found favor in His eyes. Ps Bruce reminded us that the world we live in right now is also a generation, which troubles the Lord’s heart, there are many prophecies about the end times, in Luke 17:26-27 it says, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 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.”
In Noah’s days, people were doing ordinary things, but they were not preparing themselves for an end, and what is more scary is that the same is happening today. The end will come, because what God said He will do will happen without doubt, but just like how Noah found favor in God’s eyes, we can also learn how to please God in this end time.
1. Noah kept a standard when everything was falling apart.
Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.“
Noah was not like everyone else, he walked with God, he was walking to a different sound inside him. The world might tell us to do this and that, but only those close to God can hear the small voice, which guides us to the right direction, to a future we have not yet seen or understood.
2. Noah had the ability to hear the voice of God and to move into strategic actions.
Noah was able to make the ark according to God’s specific instructions. All the measurements and plans for the ark are specific for a reason and Noah might not know the reasons behind everything God asked him to do but he did it anyway.
3. Noah was futuristic.
At the time, everyone thought Noah and his family were crazy, but Noah was living for the future. He knew God had a plan for him and he lived to that plan. We must believe that we are living today for something important in the future.
4. Noah had the capacity for long and sustained action
Having a long and sustained action is an issue of character. Noah was willing to be steadfast and patient, he had a plan and he did not give up. Noah started well and he finished well. So if we decided to follow God’s plan, then we should stay with it until we see the end result.
5. Noah had the ability to build God’s design and pattern.
Not only did Noah build the ark, but he also built it according to God’s design and pattern. It took 100 years to complete the arc and the arc was able to hold all the animals for one whole year! It was a great accomplishment and it would be impossible if Noah didn’t work in partnership with God.
6. Even Noah loved but, it did not stop the flood, but he was not destoryed.
God’s end will come, we can’t stop God’s judgement, but we can be prepared to go through it. Noah was preaching while he build the ark and for 100 years, only his family was saved. However from this we can see that God was very patient, He waited until the ark was completed.
I Peter 3:20, “to those who were disobedient 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.”
Today, God is also waiting for His church to be ready for the end times. Are we prepared?