Fact-Checking Your Lifestyle - Part B

Noah's righteous wife cutting down those trees put nails are putting wood pieces together to China to glue it together hold it together all of that is an act of obedience rebuked their lifestyle.

His righteous lifestyle was a rebuke to their wicked ways of black looks always blacker right next to every day we face a choice to conform to the world to stand out as a beacon that points to Jesus today, unconnected skip-Skip shares how you can live with the bold and unyielding faith. Just like Noah did that at the end of today's program Skip and his son Nate share some encouragement with you so you can make a lasting impact on the world. You know you so see the doesn't grow right away takes time to harvest self. Don't be discouraged.

Now while you're selling this, let it grow. Watch what's going to happen and that your parents or children's life. Thank you, skip, be sure to stay tuned after today's message to the full conversation now want to tell you about a special resource that will help transform the way you pray in the way you live Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China said it is possible to move men through God by prayer alone and down to other nine books on prayer said God shapes the world by prayer, the more training there is in the world, the better the world will be and Billy Graham said to get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees here Skip I say you know the Bible says that we will experience God's peace. When we pray, and it tells us to pray about everything. We want to help you know how and what to pray. What to expect.

That's why were offering. Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days by Kay Arthur when you give to support this ministry. Prayer is meant to the game of peace and joy in our hearts, Lord, teach me to pray is our thanks when you get $25 or more today to help keep this ministry on the connecting you and others to God's work, call 800-962-1888. Get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer Chapter 11 Skip starts the Lord was sorry that he had made man on their and he was great in a sardonic this quickly explained that his anthropomorphic statement is in Africa more prison. That's God expressing himself so humans can understand it. God never does things differently or go all shocks or shouldn't of done it that way.

I really sorry. Let let me take a different tack. God does not repent. He is not a man that he should repent.

This is simply a human way of stating it so we get the emotion the God was grieved by what he saw on the choice of that man had made so the Lord said Bruce up I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Both man and beast, creeping thing, and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And then he gives a brief genealogy of Noah in the next verse, so except for Noah there were no God seekers on the earth they went from bad came to worse regattas destroy everybody so as Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the very first time in Scripture.

The word grace appears and appears with Noah, God is going to show grace by lifting him off the earth in a box and is going to save Noah in that box and his family and by saving know what he's gonna save the world.

By the way, the only other terms.in the word arc is used. The root word in Hebrew for arc is literally box because he was a rudderless ship so really was like a ship like we know it was that was a big box and is when Moses mother Jaco bedmate a little basket or arc for Noah, and put them down the Nile River. So like that God use an ark to save Noah to save Moses and God use Moses to save the children of Israel like that God saved no one so that God could use know to save the earth and restart the population and arc a box so he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, the living Bible says, but Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Think of your life being a pleasure to the Lord. Garlic she was all you are, you know you are a treasure to him. You are so valuable to God that he wouldn't spare his only son, but he gave them up for us all.

That's how much God treasures. I hope that you, you're not only a treasure to God. I hope you live a life you become a pleasure to God. Like Noah, where he looks he was on so please diamond in the rough diamond in the black coal dust of disobedience of the human race is what shows us one single person can stand alone and one person can make a difference. One of my favorite stories about the Roman Coliseum is from around the year 400 A.D. the Roman Coliseum of impact for decades for actually couple centuries where people would be watching humans fighting these humans fighting, humans killing humans killing bees bees killing humans all for entertainment value. In the Roman Coliseum. One day a Syrian monk came to the Coliseum, saw what was going on, jumped his seat ran down the aisle jumped out onto the floor of the Coliseum and waved his arms a Christian monk from Syria waved his arms and said in the name of Christ forbear in the name of Christ forbear to the word stop this senseless violence and order was given from the legions of Rome to thrust him through with the sword and kill him. They killed him on the floor the Coliseum's blood drained in the sand. Something happened. The games went on that day, but as the months went by.

Because of that one man in that one incident.

It's so dark. The population of Rome that the games of the Coliseum dwindled in numbers of people who went they didn't become as popular and eventually after several months they were stopped altogether because of one man saying in the name of Christ forbear one person can make a difference.

So the fake news is one person's actions don't matter. Who cares if I live this way. Everybody's live in our way. It matters. The real news the faith check is one person's life matters. It can spell on a whole example for people who were watching and it can change a culture like you did with telemarketers. The Syrian monk, so no witness or deterioration of me take you to a second thought. Noah walked in submission back to our text in Hebrews 11 is best if you just have a place setting at both at this point in verse seven is that by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear, prepared an ark when no I received a warning from God. The judgment was coming.

All Noah had was God's work. All Noah had was God's promise.

This vomiting monitors for the year. I first got even tone how it is that I'm in a do it because if you decide it's gonna rain. Notice that what's rain that rained yet.

I'll explain at a moment he set out to destroy the earth. And so build an ark and then he went on to explain how he was going to do it so all he had was God's word. The question is, would he obey it. What would you do with that word was says by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved us in motivation with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, God told him to do something because something was going to happen that it never ever happened in the history of the world. The world was going to be destroyed.

Verse seven the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth.

Both man and beast, creeping thing, birds of the air, for I'm sorry that I made them down. Verse 13 God said to know the end of all flesh is come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Verse 17 and, behold, I myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under heaven all flesh which is in the breath of life. Everything that is on the earth shall die. Verse 22 thus Noah did.

Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did go to them to bring floodwaters on the earth know it's gonna rain now that it never rained before I mentioned up till this point the Bible tells us the earth was there were no polar caps were no extreme temperatures or was a mild universal temperature on the surface of the year.

The Bible says the earth was water with the mess that came out of the ground so there was this temperate temperature around the globe. And so that's how it was watered and never had the cataclysm of rain before and so this was new. This is all brand-new and what God says is I'm in a bring water down from heaven and he brought it from the earth and heaven and I'm in a drown. Every single person on planet Earth, except eight were in this little box. This then is the most remarkable event of judgment ever.

Up to this point. Certainly in the Old Testament God is enacting his right of capital punishment on the creation that he made that a flood was the second major catastrophic event in history or second greatest cataclysmic event in history. The first being creation soak creation gave us the first earth.

We don't know that is what post-flood that flood gave us the earth as it is today.

So those two events creation and the flood inform us as to the earth and its units in its present in his present place an end and that's the world that we know and experience the post alluvion world.

After the flood. Now back in Genesis chapter 6 in verse 14 God says make for your self and our Hebrews 11 he says he prepared an ark are back in verse 22 of chapter 6 last verse. Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did a please please grasp this. This is a demonstrated an incredible demonstration of faith cutting down the first tree was a demonstration effect. Think of all the trees to make this huge arc does as he was moved with godly fear. Back in Hebrews chapter 11 verse seven he was moved with godly fear.

What that means is he had reverence for God is the fear of God holy reverence for a loving God holy reverence about humble submission to a loving God. He was moved with godly fear.

In other words, God's revelation was enough to prompt his demonstration. God's revelation of the future was enough to prompt Noah's demonstration of faith. God said it, he did it. He honored God's word.

God did not have to give them a second warning, he didn't have to give them a sign from heaven. I think God speaking to you is like a sign in and of itself, so God given information is in the destroyed he said is going to destroy by water.

So he did everything God told to not reinforce it enough to give him a son. There was a time when not the IRS on a man a letter and the envelopes that second notice on the front of the envelope second notice, IRS (you all back tax. If you don't pay by this time and are willing to come and get what he went to the IRS office and he said I didn't even know I had to pay this. I never remember seeing the first notice. Otherwise I would've paid and the IRS as well. We ran out of first notices and besides that, we discovered that second notices are far more effective than first notice what God did have to give him a second notice God to set I'm to destroy the earth, and he prepared an ark and God gives him in this chapter blueprints for the ark, its dimensions are given. That's important is Noah know how to make a mark that size about that size of box that size.

He didn't know Marine architecture. He had no expertise in displacement of water.

The ark was 450 feet long, so that's one and 1/2 football fields long. It was 75 feet wide that seven parking spaces wide roughly and it was 45 feet high, which is between three and four stories high. It was the biggest vessel ever built until the 19th century noted far bigger built since then but it was the biggest vessel ever built until the 19th century just the sheer magnitude of this project must've been overwhelming. It took know the Bible says 120 years to build it it at three decks 15 feet high with rooms and over 100,000 ft.² of deck space 1,400,000 ft.³ of storage space, the equivalent of 522 standard railroad boxcars capable of holding 125,000 sheep no cheaper uses the animal because the sort of a medium-size animal are so much smaller and so much larger than 125,000 animals plus Noah and his family could safely easily be aboard the ship afloat this box so he witnessed the deterioration he walked in submission of third he warned of devastation.

I want you to go back to Hebrews 11 verse seven. I want you to notice the way the author writes this by faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen move with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. By which he condemned the world, by which he condemned the world, how did how did he do that by what means did Noah condemned the world by two means. Personal despite building the boat despite building the ark. As I said it was a demonstration of faith to cut down the first tree three concentric. That's a lot of work. Just a good gallantry because Connecticut trainers there who really don't on Bill and Ellen about what about a pretty big boat.

Why does building that thing for 120 years, showed his faith in God's promise and just building that was a testimony to the people of his generation, and he in Genesis 69.

Again, it says Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations and no walked with God. Just his lifestyle. Just his obedience to God. In verse 18 of the chapter 6 because of them will establish my covenant with Noah was a righteous life cutting down those trees put nails or put in wood pieces together to China to glue together hold it together all of that is an act of obedience rebuked their lifestyles. His righteous lifestyle was a rebuke to their wicked life sub black looks always blacker when you put some light next to the young men of Athens. One of them said to Socrates. I never liked being with you because whenever I'm with you. You show who I am. It's hard to be next to somebody who's perfect.

Noah was not perfect coming he send all mentioned that just a moment, but he wasn't perfect but he did walk with God and compared to the generation which he lived. He was blameless, so he obeyed God's word. He's working on a 15,000 ton ship in the middle of the desert because God said do it and justify building that boat and living a righteous life.

So I believe God said this on a do it was a rebuke to them so this building the boat and one number two by preaching through nearby preaching well. Second Peter chapter 2 verse five says God did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly, so people must've asked Noah what you doing I building an ark.

Why, because God said so whose God, the God who created heaven and earth, the God of Adam and his wife in the God of Seth and the God of Abel Nagata V-neck you know that Noah would've been the subject of conversation by everybody, certainly around that area of the world they were talking about him was 120 year building project and you know that they heard Noah preach and they saw the ark going up and they probably's laughed and scoffed at him, but imagine the look on their faces. The first time a raindrop fell never happened before. They'd never seen rain all of a sudden what's that and then another and then another and another. And then so much water and don't you know when that ark started just lifting up a little bit off the earth.

The panic that set in all of the lifestyle in building the boat. All of the preaching of the coming judgment now being brought to bear back to that minority report thing. It is possible for the entire world at large to be wrong.

The majority is not right.

In fact, the majority is seldom right, third to the last verse in the book of first John chapter 5 it says we know that we are of God, little children listen to this part and the whole world lies in this way of the wicked one. The whole world lies in the sway of the wicked. When I think of knowing in his generation. Eight people really one who was walking with God brought his family in with him against the whole world. The goddess for the whole world lies in the sway of the wicked one so I building about them by preaching, he became this this testimony of warning of devastation. I remember the preaching started before Noah preaching started with Enoch who had a son named Methuselah, whose name means when he is dead. It shall be sent, it was his name, was a prophecy of the coming flood. Because the year Methuselah directors 969th year, the year he died is the exact year. If you do the chronology the timetable that the flocking when he is dead. It shall be sent, so that's when the preaching began, and it really be really continued in the building and the preaching of Noah, so he witnessed deterioration. He walked in submission.

He warned of devastation I give you a quick fourth point here.

He won a reputation now that's a one verse back in verse seven by faith Noah, being divinely warned the things not seen. Move with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became the heir of the righteousness which is according to Plato that's really the thrust of what this author is all about. In this chapter, giving examples of people who are heirs of the righteousness of faith back to know what Noah back to Genesis chapter 6 verse eight Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Chapter 7 of Genesis verse one got to come into the ark, you and all your household because I have found you righteous before me in this generation the world found Noah ridiculous God found Noah righteous year and not your saved come aboard the ark. Why was he righteous because he received grace. Why was he righteous simply because he believed he believed that God was going to judge the world before God judge the world. He believed rain would destroy the world before rain ever happened. He built the boat to prove his faith. Faith without works is dead. He would save.

I built the ark. He was saved by faith. He was an air of the righteousness of faith but that faith produced works and obedient lifestyle Skip Heitzigs message from the series venture. Now let's go in the studio with Skip as they share some encouragement with so you can make a lasting impact on the world. It is teaching. We saw how God can use one person to make a world of difference. Skip, there may be someone listening right now who being the only Christian in their family or in their workplace might feel that they just make a difference for Jesus even if they try. Can you share some encouragement for that person.

Yeah.

First of all recognize that the majority opinion isn't always the right opinion. In fact, usually it's the wrong opinion just because a lot of people believe in one thing doesn't make it right in first John chapter 5, John says we know that we are of God, little children in the whole world lies in the sway of the wicked one is quite a statement and it's an all-encompassing statement.

So given the fact that the world is often wrong when it comes to God, and you have a unique opportunity to shine the light in darkness, realize the darker it gets, the more noticeable the light and right now I'm I'm talking to people who are who are sowing seed you're you're selling right now your your speaking truth into the lives of people in you know when you so see the doesn't grow right away takes time.

It takes a harvest season so don't be discouraged. Now while you're sowing the seed let it grow.

Watch what's going to happen and that your parents or children's life and end of the Lord's going to bring a harvest it's good so in answer that they probably are making a difference even if they don't think Thanksgiving needs. We live, hearing amazing stories about how labs around the world are being impacted to this ministry and you are a vital part of making that happen.

Your support helps expand the reach of his ministry some more listeners can connect with God's word and the gospel of Jesus Christ to continuing our partnership to visit connectwithskip.com/donate to give now that connectwithskip.com/donate or you can call 890 288-800-9288.

Thank you for connecting more people to tune into my Skip shares how God works powerfully in your life you choose to live so Skip presentation of connection communications changing through