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Thursday, June 23, 2011

23rd June 2011 SOME LESSONS FROM NOAH’S ARK



Heb 11:7 "It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God who warned him about something that had never happened before. By his faith he condemned the rest of the world and was made right in God’s sight."
This week I’d like to share 5 lessons we can learn from the Bible story Noah’s Ark (Gen 6-8)

1) We can blindly obey God if we trust Him fully :-


Did you know that before the flood which destroyed the whole earth in Noah’s time, there were no seasons? It is only after the flood that seasons originated. Gen 8:22 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” God called Noah to build the ark at a time when there were no Seasonal changes.Let alone flood,there were not even rains at that time. It must have taken a totally blind obedience on the part of Noah for him to obey God. For 100 years,Noah and his three sons and families worked hard to build the ark. He did not limit his activity to merely building but also preached to the people of his day for many years warning them to turn from their evil ways and reminding them of the coming wrathful judgement of Jehovah God. Noah did everything God commanded him to do and this pleased God.
We see in Gen 6 :3 that God waited one hundred and twenty years for the people to repent of their sins but they would not do so. It is only after that long patient waiting that the Lord finally decides to destroy them but only after ensuring the safety of Noah and his family.
Lesson: When God tells us to do certain things we can obey him without question & doubt. God is faithful and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.

2)Blessed are you when men reject you :-
When Noah was building the Ark in obedience to God, many people may have  laughed at him, mocked him and even called him mad. However Noah faithfully continued to do what God had commanded him. Many times when we do what God has called us to do, we may have to suffer the ridicule of others. They may insult/ slander/ mock/ accuse us and may even call us insane but we need not worry.
Luke 6:22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you, insult you, and slander you because you are committed to the Son of Man”.
 Isaiah 51:7 "Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.”
 1 Peter 4:14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Lesson :We are indeed of another world, heaven is our homeland , Christ our identity and we are here on a temporary assignment and so we needn't be discouraged when faced with Rejection!

3)The foolishness of the Lord Vs The wisdom of the world:-
While Noah preached to the people of the coming wrath and the need for repentance, he surely must have got sneers and cold looks ,others may have even given him a piece of their mind saying “We don’t need your advice. Get a life will you/ Leave us alone /Get lost we don’t need to hear this.” Some may have said behind his back what many say behind our backs today: “He thinks he is so smart….Who needs his advice?….what a loser!….who does he think he is?”The reason they speak like this is because they think only from a human point of view. From their past experience, the people of Noah’s times had never seen rain and so they couldn’t accept what he was teaching but just because it was beyond their understanding, didn’t mean that it wouldn’t happen.
Same thing applies today, when we teach about the Second Coming of Jesus/the Rapture and the Coming Judgment, many reject this teaching because they cannot understand or imagine it with their human mind but these things can be explained and understood only by Faith.

1 Corin 1:27 : “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong”
Mathew 11:15 : “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”.


Lesson : The foolishness of the Lord is wiser than the wisdom of the world.


4)Chosen out of this world but sent into the world:-  

When Noah went out to preach to them about the coming wrath of God and how they had to turn away from their wicked ways, many may have surely mocked him by saying “Hasn’t this guy got anything better to do? Why can’t he mind his own business? Why is he trying to preach to us?”
Often in our evangelistic attempts to share Christ, we may have also had to hear similar comments. The truth is that there is really no better thing to do on this earth than to share the Good News that Jesus is alive and is soon coming back for us- His Bride! When we are on fire for the Lord, we will have an unexplainable concern and burden for perishing souls. Our aim is not to show that we are righteous but to show anyone who thirsts the path to righteousness and that is JESUS CHRIST.

Isa 52:7:How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Phil 3:8,9: “ I consider everything else worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with Him”.

Lesson:We need not be ashamed of our attempts at evangelization,God does not need our ability but our availaibility.We are Ambassadors of Christ and just like an Ambadassor always carries a message from his country,we too have a message from Heaven!


5) Our Faith in God’s promises and God’s Faithfulnesss in  fulfilling His promises:-

It was neither a cloudy sky nor the smell of the coming rain that prompted Noah and his family to enter the Ark. A clear sky is all they saw when they entered the ark. Why then did they go in? The only reason they entered was because they believed what God had said. What about the people outside the ark? The invitation was open and for all and yet they refused to enter the ark, they refused to accept the way of escape which God had provided for them through Noah and so they were destroyed.Maybe as the rain poured,the people outside banged on the door of the Ark in remorse and regret realizing their mistake as they saw the waters covering the earth rapidly for the first time in their lives…but by then the God Himself had shut the door and it was too late!
 Jehovah God can be trusted to fulfill all His promises. Even now He has provided us with a way of escape through Jesus Christ by gentle reminders through his faithful servants and yet there are many outside refusing to enter and be saved!Just like God waited patiently a hundred and twenty years before he shut the door of the Ark,He has extended His mercy towards us for some more time but this will not be forever.Though He is a Loving and Merciful Father, He is also a Holy and Just God who will always keep His promises.Will you make Jesus your Lord and Savior and thus save yourself from the coming destruction?Or will you ignore this great salvation and think that you can escape?(Heb 2:3)
Rom 2:4 : Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind He has been in giving you time to turn away from your sin?”

2 Pet. 3:9,10: "The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise to return,as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent. But [the day of God's judgment] will come as unexpectedly as a thief."
Lesson : Let us learn from the mistake of the people of Noah's time,let us hearken to the gentle voice,accept the invitation,make Jesus our Lord and save ourselves from the coming judgement!
Have a blessed week,
Take care,God bless,
Sparky Laurie

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