Sermon Title: Desperate To Be Saved (Genesis 6-7)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
Imagine a world so terribly corrupt and wicked that, “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
Evil all the time.
Imagine that.
We could blame the Nephilim who so corrupted God’s ordained created order when they intermarried and procreated with human women – which speaks to, perhaps, a time when demons were spirits with physical bodies in some form or shape; which is not hard to imagine for it is clear that Satan took on the physical body of a serpent when he tempted Adam and the woman.
However, the reality was a catastrophic breakdown in the separation between the godly and ungodly family lines of the human race; with godlessness leaching and overtaking the descendants of Seth; resulting with God's judgment that was solely concerned with humans, and not demons - when He said, “My Spirit will not contend [remain] with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3), for He “saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth” (Genesis 6:5a)
Filled with a prevailing pattern of wickedness that comprise of lust, violence and destruction (ref: Genesis 6:11-12), Mankind was so utterly corrupt that:
“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.” (Genesis 6:6-7)
This was a world of darkness, and a terrible departure from God’s created order for human beings and society.
Bear in mind that the human’s propensity to sin and wicked proclivities today draws semblances to what was happening during the days of Noah in Genesis 6.
Never think that we are not as bad.
In fact, at the very least, we are as bad.
And yet, even as these inclinations remain upon the human heart, there was a man who “found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8)
Like his ancestor, Enoch, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:9)
The Covenant, Command and Commission
“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.
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around.”
Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
17 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.
18 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.
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
20 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. 21 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. (Genesis 6:13-22)
To Noah, God was not only real to him, He was right at the very top of his relationship list.
It had to be so, because God revealed the most terrible judgment of death and destruction ever in the history of Mankind to Noah – that included the destruction of all his family and friends - along with the precise, divine blueprint for the re-population of the earth – and still, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22)
He did not argue, beg for mercy on behalf of his relatives; nor did he dwell on the pending doom – he simply did everything just as God commanded him.
Why?
God superseded everyone in his life.
His focus was simple; there was only one thing to do – obey God.
And his resolve to obey God was reflected in the completion of this impossible task.
Everything about the ark was impossible.
The ark was to be coated with crude oil-based pitch – which when pronounced in Hebrew, resembles closely the word for ‘atonement’ – inside and out; which, by a slight stretch of imagination, is symbolic of the lifeblood of the earth.
The ark was designed and built as an enormous floating and water-proof container - transcending the storms of life and impermeable to the waters of condemnation against a wicked race; designed and built without a rudder nor propulsion of any form - guided entirely by the divine control of God through wind and waves.
For ventilation and view, there was literally only a hole in the roof with no windows anywhere else, to which Noah and his family could only look out, and up, into the sky.
God knew what was about to happen.
The ark – and its inhabitants - would be the only thing in the world that would survive His destructive wrath inflicted upon every human being and living creatures on the earth.
Crustal plates of the earth would open up and flood the entire surface of the earth with boiling water heated from the core of the earth – which, till today stands at around 5200 degree celsius.
But for Noah and his family, the only place they could really see was the sky.
God was not only shielding them from the global destruction, He was helping them keep their eyes lifted up to the heavens - so that in spite of anything or everything, their eyes and hearts would rest solely upon Him.
The impossible made possible because Noah obeyed God completely
“The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
4 Seven days from now I will send rain (cause it to rain) on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. (Genesis 7:1-9)
God established a covenant with Noah and his family; and gave them a command and a commission – enter the ark, be saved from the destruction; and keep Creation alive.
“Noah did all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5, cf Genesis 6:22).
Have you done everything that the Lord commanded you?
Through Christ, God has established a covenant with us that promises us redemption and restoration unto His eternal Kingdom – God’s wrath no longer remains on us. (Ref: John 3:36)
We are given a Command – enter Christ and be saved from the judgement of God’s pending wrath that will lead to destruction and renewal of Creation. (Ref: “Remain in me...” John 15:4)
We are given a Commission – to make disciples of all Nations. (Ref: Matthew 28:18-20)
Are we doing everything just as God commanded us?
Have you entered Christ, our Ark?
Have you entered Christ with His Church?
Noah’s commission to “bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive” was indeed an impossible task (Genesis 6:19); but Noah fulfilled his commission because God commanded the animals to come to Noah and enter the ark. (Ref: Genesis 7:9)
Our task to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) may seem impossible for us; but remember that just as God helped Noah fulfill his commission, He will help us fulfill ours.
When God gives us a commission, He gives us His Commitment to help us see through our mission.
Who closed the doors on Noah and his family?
“10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.
15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.
Then the Lord shut him in. (Genesis 7:10-16)
Who closed the doors on Noah and his family?
God.
Not Noah, God.
Who entombed Noah and his family in what really seems like a ‘floating coffin’?
God did.
They had to die in order to live; so do we. (Ref: Matthew 16:24-27, Luke 9:23-26, John 12:25)
Our blessed assurance is that we know that Christ is the Ark; just as He is the Door.
“I am the gate (door); whoever enters through me will be saved.
They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:9-10)
Safe through the flood
“17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.
18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.
20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.[23
21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.
Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:17-23)
Imagine what was Noah and his family going through as the floodwaters destroyed every living being and thing that walked the earth.
An account of a couple who went to Phuket, Thailand, for their honeymoon over the Christmas holidays in 2004 reflects a much smaller, but similar event and its aftermath.
They were out at sea snorkelling with other tourists on a beautiful Sunday when they were told that something terrible had happened on land, and they were instructed to stay out at sea till further notice.
They continued snorkelling till everyone was tired and hungry. Hearing no word from land, they headed back inadvertently to witness the complete devastation of the coast from the ravages of the Tsunami that happened a few hours earlier.
When they were still quite a distance from shore, there were met with the curious sight of furniture floating on the waters; followed by floating bodies of those who perished in the deadly waves.
Over the next few days, the air of death, and the wails of those in grief distressed them deeply; but what really traumatized them till this day was the stench of decay that filled the air.
This was not exactly a global disaster; but almost 230,000 people died in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami - making this one of the single, deadliest disasters in modern history.
Now imagine again what Noah and his family experienced.
With no windows on the ark, they couldn’t see what was going on outside; and most likely, even had problems seeing inside the unlit three-storied ark.
However, they had the rest of their senses about them.
They could feel the heat emanating through the walls of the ark from the outside as they drifted, engulfed by the boiling waters that initially spewed out of the earth.
They could hear the cries and screams of people outside the ark as they were boiled alive; or subsequently, drowned.
In the days that follow, they could smell the putrid stench of boiled flesh and then, of decaying flesh.
To Noah and his family, all these people who were dead or dying were family and friends.
It was an extremely difficult experience.
These were the same people who doubted, ridiculed or even persecuted them constantly over the few decades that it took to build the ark; but Noah knew exactly the reason why they are perishing – they were not righteous in the eyes of God.
What they held dear in the world in the present must be completely released in favor of what God was going to give them in the future.
When they entered the ark, they had absolutely no idea how long they would be held in for; or what the world would even look like after the devastation.
And yet, they obeyed the Will of God; rather than bend to the whims, and influence, of Man.
What did they have going for them?
Faith that God would fulfill His Promise; faith that God was in absolute control.
Noah had faith that God would fulfill His Covenantal Promise to Him and his family – a faith established from the most important and serious relationship in his life.
Noah also recognize that they had absolutely no control over their lives, much less their well-being. They had no control over where they were headed, when they would be let out, or even how the world would be after the flood.
Noah found favor in the eyes of God because he had faith that God was in absolute control; and that He can be utterly trusted to keep His Promise to save him and his family.
Here was a desperate man in a desperate situation; who knew that he was in the direst need of God’s Salvation.
The greater the desperation; the greater the faith.
As Noah and his family were hearing all the screams of agony and literally, living in the experiences of death, what was running through their minds?
In the darkness of the ark, they would likely be in a state of “fear and trembling” – literally working out their salvation (Ref: Philippians 2:12)
They knew that they were sinners as well.
In their heart of hearts, they knew well that they were no different from those who were perishing; and yet, they were saved by the Holy God.
They knew well that they had done nothing to deserve such salvation, but here they were – saved by His Grace and Mercy.
They knew well that to be truly righteous, they could not do it on their own; they needed God.
They began to learn that they could take nothing for granted.
In the darkness of the ark, they - who were desperate to be saved, who knew that they desperately needed God – were saved and found themselves deep in the palm of God’s very hands; the safest place in the entire universe.
In every sense, the earth was being recreated; formless and empty, yet again.
And darkness was over the surface of the deep.
But as Noah and his family was floating over the waters, who was there with them?
The Spirit of God – who was “hovering over the waters” from the very beginning! (Genesis 1:2)
True faith in God is birthed in the Presence and Work of the Holy Spirit; and fully occupies the human spirit that is desperate for His Salvation.
Today, what do you have going for you?
Do you recognise that this is a defiant, wicked world already condemned to the wrath of God?
Are you desperate to be saved?
Is the Lord Jesus Christ your greatest need and only hope for Salvation?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
In spite of my sinfulness, I believe that in Christ – I have found favor in Your eyes and made righteous before You.
May I always be found walking faithfully with You – just as Noah was.
Holy Spirit, transform my paradigm that You, O God, will always be at the very top of all of my relationships – my most important and most serious; that in my life, there is only one thing to do – and that is, to obey You.
Lord, I have been covered inside and out by Your blood shed for me; and in Your redemption, I would indeed transcend the storms of life; having been forgiven of my sins, Your Righteous wrath does not remain in me.
As I remain in You, may my life be guided entirely by Your divine control.
May my eyes, and heart, rest solely upon You.
May Your impossible Commission of making disciples of all nations be made possible because of my obedience to trust entirely on the Promises of Your Divine Presence and Power.
Lord, help me fulfill all that You have commanded of me!
Christ, You are my Ark; You are the Door, You are my Shield and my Strength; in You alone, I have life – and life to the full!
Thank You for keeping me safe through the flood, Lord!
Grant me a deeper measure of faith that You would fulfill Your Promise of Redemption and Restoration; and the knowledge that You are in absolute control of my life.
Lord, I am desperate for Your Salvation!
Draw me deeper into the reality of Your Presence and Love; that even right now, I would find myself deep in the palm of Your Hands.
Lord Jesus, I declare that You are my greatest need; and my only hope for Salvation.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!
Imagine a world so terribly corrupt and wicked that, “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
Evil all the time.
Imagine that.
We could blame the Nephilim who so corrupted God’s ordained created order when they intermarried and procreated with human women – which speaks to, perhaps, a time when demons were spirits with physical bodies in some form or shape; which is not hard to imagine for it is clear that Satan took on the physical body of a serpent when he tempted Adam and the woman.
However, the reality was a catastrophic breakdown in the separation between the godly and ungodly family lines of the human race; with godlessness leaching and overtaking the descendants of Seth; resulting with God's judgment that was solely concerned with humans, and not demons - when He said, “My Spirit will not contend [remain] with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3), for He “saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth” (Genesis 6:5a)
Filled with a prevailing pattern of wickedness that comprise of lust, violence and destruction (ref: Genesis 6:11-12), Mankind was so utterly corrupt that:
“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.” (Genesis 6:6-7)
This was a world of darkness, and a terrible departure from God’s created order for human beings and society.
Bear in mind that the human’s propensity to sin and wicked proclivities today draws semblances to what was happening during the days of Noah in Genesis 6.
Never think that we are not as bad.
In fact, at the very least, we are as bad.
And yet, even as these inclinations remain upon the human heart, there was a man who “found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8)
Like his ancestor, Enoch, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:9)
The Covenant, Command and Commission
“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.
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around.”
Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
17 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.
18 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.
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
20 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. 21 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. (Genesis 6:13-22)
To Noah, God was not only real to him, He was right at the very top of his relationship list.
It had to be so, because God revealed the most terrible judgment of death and destruction ever in the history of Mankind to Noah – that included the destruction of all his family and friends - along with the precise, divine blueprint for the re-population of the earth – and still, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22)
He did not argue, beg for mercy on behalf of his relatives; nor did he dwell on the pending doom – he simply did everything just as God commanded him.
Why?
God superseded everyone in his life.
His focus was simple; there was only one thing to do – obey God.
And his resolve to obey God was reflected in the completion of this impossible task.
Everything about the ark was impossible.
The ark was to be coated with crude oil-based pitch – which when pronounced in Hebrew, resembles closely the word for ‘atonement’ – inside and out; which, by a slight stretch of imagination, is symbolic of the lifeblood of the earth.
The ark was designed and built as an enormous floating and water-proof container - transcending the storms of life and impermeable to the waters of condemnation against a wicked race; designed and built without a rudder nor propulsion of any form - guided entirely by the divine control of God through wind and waves.
For ventilation and view, there was literally only a hole in the roof with no windows anywhere else, to which Noah and his family could only look out, and up, into the sky.
God knew what was about to happen.
The ark – and its inhabitants - would be the only thing in the world that would survive His destructive wrath inflicted upon every human being and living creatures on the earth.
Crustal plates of the earth would open up and flood the entire surface of the earth with boiling water heated from the core of the earth – which, till today stands at around 5200 degree celsius.
But for Noah and his family, the only place they could really see was the sky.
God was not only shielding them from the global destruction, He was helping them keep their eyes lifted up to the heavens - so that in spite of anything or everything, their eyes and hearts would rest solely upon Him.
The impossible made possible because Noah obeyed God completely
“The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
4 Seven days from now I will send rain (cause it to rain) on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. (Genesis 7:1-9)
God established a covenant with Noah and his family; and gave them a command and a commission – enter the ark, be saved from the destruction; and keep Creation alive.
“Noah did all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5, cf Genesis 6:22).
Have you done everything that the Lord commanded you?
Through Christ, God has established a covenant with us that promises us redemption and restoration unto His eternal Kingdom – God’s wrath no longer remains on us. (Ref: John 3:36)
We are given a Command – enter Christ and be saved from the judgement of God’s pending wrath that will lead to destruction and renewal of Creation. (Ref: “Remain in me...” John 15:4)
We are given a Commission – to make disciples of all Nations. (Ref: Matthew 28:18-20)
Are we doing everything just as God commanded us?
Have you entered Christ, our Ark?
Have you entered Christ with His Church?
Noah’s commission to “bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive” was indeed an impossible task (Genesis 6:19); but Noah fulfilled his commission because God commanded the animals to come to Noah and enter the ark. (Ref: Genesis 7:9)
Our task to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) may seem impossible for us; but remember that just as God helped Noah fulfill his commission, He will help us fulfill ours.
When God gives us a commission, He gives us His Commitment to help us see through our mission.
Who closed the doors on Noah and his family?
“10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.
15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.
Then the Lord shut him in. (Genesis 7:10-16)
Who closed the doors on Noah and his family?
God.
Not Noah, God.
Who entombed Noah and his family in what really seems like a ‘floating coffin’?
God did.
They had to die in order to live; so do we. (Ref: Matthew 16:24-27, Luke 9:23-26, John 12:25)
Our blessed assurance is that we know that Christ is the Ark; just as He is the Door.
“I am the gate (door); whoever enters through me will be saved.
They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:9-10)
Safe through the flood
“17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.
18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.
20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.[23
21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.
Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:17-23)
Imagine what was Noah and his family going through as the floodwaters destroyed every living being and thing that walked the earth.
An account of a couple who went to Phuket, Thailand, for their honeymoon over the Christmas holidays in 2004 reflects a much smaller, but similar event and its aftermath.
They were out at sea snorkelling with other tourists on a beautiful Sunday when they were told that something terrible had happened on land, and they were instructed to stay out at sea till further notice.
They continued snorkelling till everyone was tired and hungry. Hearing no word from land, they headed back inadvertently to witness the complete devastation of the coast from the ravages of the Tsunami that happened a few hours earlier.
When they were still quite a distance from shore, there were met with the curious sight of furniture floating on the waters; followed by floating bodies of those who perished in the deadly waves.
Over the next few days, the air of death, and the wails of those in grief distressed them deeply; but what really traumatized them till this day was the stench of decay that filled the air.
This was not exactly a global disaster; but almost 230,000 people died in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami - making this one of the single, deadliest disasters in modern history.
Now imagine again what Noah and his family experienced.
With no windows on the ark, they couldn’t see what was going on outside; and most likely, even had problems seeing inside the unlit three-storied ark.
However, they had the rest of their senses about them.
They could feel the heat emanating through the walls of the ark from the outside as they drifted, engulfed by the boiling waters that initially spewed out of the earth.
They could hear the cries and screams of people outside the ark as they were boiled alive; or subsequently, drowned.
In the days that follow, they could smell the putrid stench of boiled flesh and then, of decaying flesh.
To Noah and his family, all these people who were dead or dying were family and friends.
It was an extremely difficult experience.
These were the same people who doubted, ridiculed or even persecuted them constantly over the few decades that it took to build the ark; but Noah knew exactly the reason why they are perishing – they were not righteous in the eyes of God.
What they held dear in the world in the present must be completely released in favor of what God was going to give them in the future.
When they entered the ark, they had absolutely no idea how long they would be held in for; or what the world would even look like after the devastation.
And yet, they obeyed the Will of God; rather than bend to the whims, and influence, of Man.
What did they have going for them?
Faith that God would fulfill His Promise; faith that God was in absolute control.
Noah had faith that God would fulfill His Covenantal Promise to Him and his family – a faith established from the most important and serious relationship in his life.
Noah also recognize that they had absolutely no control over their lives, much less their well-being. They had no control over where they were headed, when they would be let out, or even how the world would be after the flood.
Noah found favor in the eyes of God because he had faith that God was in absolute control; and that He can be utterly trusted to keep His Promise to save him and his family.
Here was a desperate man in a desperate situation; who knew that he was in the direst need of God’s Salvation.
The greater the desperation; the greater the faith.
As Noah and his family were hearing all the screams of agony and literally, living in the experiences of death, what was running through their minds?
In the darkness of the ark, they would likely be in a state of “fear and trembling” – literally working out their salvation (Ref: Philippians 2:12)
They knew that they were sinners as well.
In their heart of hearts, they knew well that they were no different from those who were perishing; and yet, they were saved by the Holy God.
They knew well that they had done nothing to deserve such salvation, but here they were – saved by His Grace and Mercy.
They knew well that to be truly righteous, they could not do it on their own; they needed God.
They began to learn that they could take nothing for granted.
In the darkness of the ark, they - who were desperate to be saved, who knew that they desperately needed God – were saved and found themselves deep in the palm of God’s very hands; the safest place in the entire universe.
In every sense, the earth was being recreated; formless and empty, yet again.
And darkness was over the surface of the deep.
But as Noah and his family was floating over the waters, who was there with them?
The Spirit of God – who was “hovering over the waters” from the very beginning! (Genesis 1:2)
True faith in God is birthed in the Presence and Work of the Holy Spirit; and fully occupies the human spirit that is desperate for His Salvation.
Today, what do you have going for you?
Do you recognise that this is a defiant, wicked world already condemned to the wrath of God?
Are you desperate to be saved?
Is the Lord Jesus Christ your greatest need and only hope for Salvation?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
In spite of my sinfulness, I believe that in Christ – I have found favor in Your eyes and made righteous before You.
May I always be found walking faithfully with You – just as Noah was.
Holy Spirit, transform my paradigm that You, O God, will always be at the very top of all of my relationships – my most important and most serious; that in my life, there is only one thing to do – and that is, to obey You.
Lord, I have been covered inside and out by Your blood shed for me; and in Your redemption, I would indeed transcend the storms of life; having been forgiven of my sins, Your Righteous wrath does not remain in me.
As I remain in You, may my life be guided entirely by Your divine control.
May my eyes, and heart, rest solely upon You.
May Your impossible Commission of making disciples of all nations be made possible because of my obedience to trust entirely on the Promises of Your Divine Presence and Power.
Lord, help me fulfill all that You have commanded of me!
Christ, You are my Ark; You are the Door, You are my Shield and my Strength; in You alone, I have life – and life to the full!
Thank You for keeping me safe through the flood, Lord!
Grant me a deeper measure of faith that You would fulfill Your Promise of Redemption and Restoration; and the knowledge that You are in absolute control of my life.
Lord, I am desperate for Your Salvation!
Draw me deeper into the reality of Your Presence and Love; that even right now, I would find myself deep in the palm of Your Hands.
Lord Jesus, I declare that You are my greatest need; and my only hope for Salvation.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.