The Lonely Man

The situation you were speaking the truth but nobody was listening to the worldwide global flood is coming and everybody's going to drown does not get an a macho hundred years of preaching and at the end of it. Nobody has bought it. Say you're disappointed knowing is a man of great faith, not because people responded to his voice, but because he responded God's trying to encourage anyone who would listen to joined and even when Noah and his family boarded the ark. They were walking away from their trials. The jeers of those who heckled him were replaced with funder and lightning and the pain of living with unbelievers was doubled by the heartbreak of knowing that they were being destroyed even though nobody outside of Noah's family responded to the truth.

Noah was faithful, and God commands him for that faithfulness. Today Stephen looks at what really made Noah's obedience to God so heroic. Let's get started now in this session I want to make two more observations about this man's face with Hebrews chapter 11 verse they want you to notice is that Noah's faith is going to be demonstrated by perseverance in the midst of mockery you look at chapter 11 and go back to verse seven were told by faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence, prepared prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. I noticed, by which he condemned the world, and became an air of righteousness which is according to say that ours, Noah's actions are going to reveal his genuine faith in the word of God which would be the gospel and his actions did you notice by them.

He condemned the world, I would think about that for Genesis informs us that for 100 years.

Noah was building the ark is periodically preaching to the crowds the time to mock them and can you see him turning around on that scaffolding and its four stories high, periodically preaching to them inviting them to be saved from the wrath of God and in that those who don't will perish in the coming flood.

I mean can you imagine how foolish that must have sounded to his generation got this 18,000 ton barge sitting in your back pasture that was going on everybody's radar. I mean, this is going to be on Ripley's believe it or not tour you could just see tour buses pulling up and they had tour buses. I mean everybody's got to see this and can you imagine the conversation what are you doing I'm building in our what's in our well and never seen one before, but according to the blueprints it's flat bottom barge, carafe with sides and roof and it flowed on a flood going to float on water.

Yes, no, you're 100 miles away in the nearest body of water will God will bring the water okay if he does let's just assume he does. Why is it so bad.

Well it's gotta be this big because you hold up a pair of every species of land animal which breeze through the nose or nasal passage ON you around the mall know God's going to do that how I don't I don't know. I'm not sure what to take care of thousands of animals on that boat will I really don't know that either one of us know people. We breathe through her nose to except during hayfever season, what about us what you're invited to come and join me.

There's plenty of room for hundreds, if not several thousand that I'm hoping will believe and what if we don't will die all said that God giving everybody that doesn't by your story about this boat and animals, and a flood is going to be killed by the judgment of God. That's right, you can imagine at that moment you know that the tone of the conversation is going to change.

Why because no one is delivering a message of potential judgment by God upon people. We've already been told. Do not care about God. Genesis chapter 6 verse five is Artie informed us that the thoughts and plans of everyone was entirely given over to evil continually. That's the description of Noah's generation try warning your world the way Noah worn his apostle Peter informs us that the next worldwide cataclysm is going to be not water but what fire the end of human history fires going to destroy the earth.

The guys you remake a new heaven and a new earth second Peter chapter 3 and then just before the creation of this new world judgment to take place and all who refused to believe the gospel message will be cast into an eternal lake of fire.

You mean to tell me that a billion Muslims and 2 billion+ Hindus and a lot of other people are going to face the judgment of God. If they don't believe your gospel is that what you're saying no. That's what God said and I'm just repeating this warning actually easy to miss the fact that Noah was a messenger of rescue. It is actually easy to miss the fact that everything Noah is doing is calculated to say after dinner to see the gospel has two sides to it. One of rescue and then the other. Obviously if you're not rescued judgment listener worldwide global flood is coming and everybody's gonna drown does not get into the RN and nobody believes him nobody beyond his immediate family. They mocked him. Imagine 100 years of preaching and at the end of it.

Nobody bought it to say here disappointed knowing is a man of great faith, not because people responded to his voice, but because he responded God's voice right. Are you willing to persevere in your faith even when surrounded by mockery. Are you willing to be a lonely man a lonely woman or young person you understand that even though your message is an invitation to rescue. It's also a message that surfaces sin and calls causes people to confront their guilt. Do you understand that you expose people when you shine the light. I felt sorry for that one little kidding standing right in front that's figured all that because there's close mentally put them right there. The world put alight right in front of their eyes and it hurts you only show the way you bother people with the message or delivering Alcibiades was a brilliant, yet ungodly young man living in Athens during the days of Socrates ran a red 400 years before the birth of Christ. One day the pieties said Saturdays.

Please, I hate you so for every time I meet you.

You show me what I historians say that one of the godless men live in Athens was a man by the name of Arista. The is even nicknamed Arista. These righteous eventually.

However, the leading citizens just didn't want him around. In fact, the court of Athens voted to exile in the center Malayan. One of the men was asked why he so voted that way and he responded because I am tired of hearing Arista. These called righteous. What does that make me are you willing to stand alone. Are you willing to persevere in your faith even in the midst of mockery I've ever been called goodie two shoes that phrase on the Y came to me when I'm studying this text, some ancient Hebrew, probably Ms. Rose reading but that every goodie two shoes. The skin on my thought about that do not receive the sort of people, the writing comments were people godly people good people I know I do were the phrase came from inside the little digging and found that it originated in children's story about a little orphan only had one shoes all tattered beat up a wealthy man in kindness gave this little orphan girl a pair of beautiful new shoes and and she was so changed because of this gracious gift that she wanted to live up to her new shoes for her life to match her shoes and so people would refer to her got in a deriding fashion, but simply as there she goes goodie two shoes. She was so remarkably changed after receiving the gift I could never think, obviously, should we all having been given by our father, the gift of forgiveness the shoes of the gospel.

Should we not live up to them. But when we do remember the danger of a godly life is. It means exposure to your world you live in ethical life and and it may not be appreciated.

You do the right thing.

It may not be wanted, you might be a lonely man or woman is a freshman getting a job working on an assembly line making microwaves. They come down. This assembly line. This conveyor belt and I was given the job of a guy they moved to another part of the lineman and the job was just to simply take a little motor attached a couple brackets to it and stick a fan on bolt down and then handed to the assembly line and I watched this man do it in and is kinda nervous because he got it done just in time to hand it to the guy on the on the lineman. I thought Mme. I'm not going to be able to keep up. So the first hour. This kind of sweat knit and I finally figured out I reposition stock a certain way I can limit my movements for efficiency and I can get this thing done and I found the that halfway through my shift, I was getting way ahead. In fact, I had gotten to the point where I had stacked on top of my desk. These motors and for the rest of my shift. It was it was just boring. I just stood there and handed them to this guy realize what I can do is position and so he had to do was just turn and grab whatever he wanted to grab it and I went down the line to help people that needed help. I didn't know that the guys place I take it was absolutely infuriated with what I had naďvely exposed. He made it seem like he could just get it done in time I will never forget.

He came over to me. At one point his face was beet red and he said why are you trying to make me look so bad and I was stunned. The note said that thought had crossed my mind later on one wall there is your line every time you shop the word wanted to get busy lazy sluggard, but I didn't. It was bigger than I was inside my mouth shut so you do the right thing and sometimes it backfired. Make waves. You live the life of of honesty and purity and trust in Christ you you demonstrate that kind of faith and then you're going to need to get ready to demonstrate that faith midst of those waves you have created faith demonstrates perseverance in the midst of mockery, make another observation about faithful Noah. Secondly, faith is demonstrating patients in the midst of silence. Now don't you don't underestimate the task God called know to do just because we know the end of the story. Yeah, big boat. You know animals flood great really worked out a slowdown God is asking no one to believe in something that's never happened. He's asking Noah to buy into something that is unimaginable. And here's the point that is so staggering to me. For the most part after the initial visit by God where God gives him instructions tells him about the flood this coming the animals and gives in the blueprint for the most part after that initial meeting that effect from that point until 100 years later, Noah has no further word or visit from God not know about you, but if I did put it up predicament. I like God to show up at least once a year on the anniversary of his first visit.

Hang in there Stephen you can do it. I'm going to keep my word. I mean at least a year out maybe 510 would be nice hundred hundred remarkable to me to think that he did this when God was silent, and then we have the record of God coming at the end of 100 years to get to chapter 7 of Genesis and God tells Noah to enter the ark with his family and they obey and then most people read far enough to get this thing they're told to wait in the ark for seven more days of silence were not told why there seven days could have been a period of mourning for the death of the patriarch's death would bring the judgment. We don't know if they were morning Methuselah's death seven days. Can you imagine the neighbors in the animals on the family they get on door shots. They want nothing day to nothing. Day three not take over five days since by now the neighbors.

They got a barbecue going outside the ark and and or playing badminton and volleyball and can you imagine the Noah jokes.

Can you imagine the flawed jokes.

Can you imagine the blasphemy against the God of no there sitting in the ark with every reasonably recorded in Scripture, it was nothing but silent.

Then some raindrops begin to fall and dance off the sand next to people mocking sizzle off the top of that barbecue grill people looked up and according to the Hebrew text.

What we do know is that suddenly the springs of water under the earth's surface wrapped in the judgment of God came since the lens of our focus isn't on the flood, but on Noah.

Let me fast forward the DVD the end of the flood turnover to Genesis 9. Noah picks up life back on the planet.

He exits the ark is back to farming. God not only records the successes of biblical heroes.

He records their sin. Genesis chapter 9 we read the first mention in the Bible of the word wine and at its introduction. It means trouble.

In verse 20 were told. Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.

He drank of the wind became drunk. Now there are some commentators that I read this as well for another note is doing and and just drank too much snow. I think he knew what he was doing yet drunk and uncovered himself in the tent in his drunkenness, he just shut his clothes and embarrassing display ham, the father of Canaan. Verse 22, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid upon both her shoulders and walked backward in covered the nakedness of their father.

The key to understanding this text is that no one is failure is going to reveal the condition of his three sons parts told us that for some time. He had evidently resented his father's faith in his walk and now he sees his father's failure and instead of helping his father retain some mockup of dignity he rejoices and he goes out without having is that he says those brothers doing mock some interesting to me that all of the human race sends from not only Adam but no right. Both Adam and Noah send while partaking fruit. Noah, the fruit of the vine and out of the fruit of the tree and as a result, each of them became naked had to be covered by someone else for their actions will lead to a curse in mankind is been affected in some way ever while on the start of analogy. Let me give you some relative to the ark of Noah and the gospel of Christ before we wrap it up first. If you study the story you'll know. In fact, we looked at this text in Genesis 68 I believe were told that Noah found grace in the eyes of God love that phrase he found grace in the eyes of God. It was because of the grace of God that Noah found his place of safety on that art rescued from the coming wrath of God. So We Also Find Our Pl. in Christ. The ark of our salvation. How by grace alone. We are rescued by grace in Christ and the coming wrath of God will not touch us right.

Ephesians 289 is another. The ark symbolized God's atoning work for mankind. In fact, if we take in just a little more time, which we did. But I want to bring up is one particular fact the Hebrew word for pitch that tar -like substance that Noah was commanded to cover the ark with its the same root word, fair use for atonement in sacrificial system later.

That's the word used in a very real way, the word atonement first appears in the Bible in relation to know was our in the ark. Mankind is covered from the wrath of God is another analogy, the ark was strong enough to handle the waves in the storm that pounded against it for more than a year. Jesus Christ is strong enough to carry us a fleet through the storms not only of life, but protect us from the storm of God's wrath, he is our shelter. No matter what wins may below. He is our work of safety is another in online and studying this was only one door that ark is only one way in only one way to safety is the judgment of God came on like with the allegedly talked about earlier today Noah wasn't feeding a guy out of the running of the latter with a holy punch through the ark to feed king.

The king Goggin and his sons is only one door and you had to go in saved is only one door that leads to everlasting safety from the wrath of God. Jesus said I am the way, say with me the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except by me. John chapter 14 verse six Jesus Christ said I am the door. If anyone enters through me. He will be say John 10 have you been say the answer to that is, have you gone through the door of Christ entered through the door into the one it was both the door and the ark of your salvation. I can remember knowing full well that I was not saved as a teenager I didn't want to give my life to Jesus Christ. But I knew I wasn't safe either. I knew enough about the Bible.

I believe the Bible was true and that's what scared me because I knew was true. I knew the Christ could come at any moment for his church rapture wafers that's on, except over 17 I was. I was afraid I was terrified of being left behind left behind as God began to pour out on the earth's bowls of judgment that occupy most of the book of Revelation. Revelation 310 only through chapter 19 I was afraid because I knew I was not safe as a teenager I would get out of bed at night it tiptoed down the hallway look in on my little brothers shared a room. I would quietly open the door to see if I could make out the silhouette of their bodies and then when I could hide tiptoed back down the hallway in the my bedroom and try to sleep you enter the ark by faith in Christ because of the grace of God and you're not only save think of it this way you are also safe.

Let me give you two final timeless truths from the biography of this hero of faith. First of all, faith is trust the word of God, even when it seems impossible even when it seems impossible.

Beloved. Faith is not a leap into the dark is walking in the light of God's word even when all around grows dark. Secondly, faith is obedience to the will of God, even when it requires everything there was no middle ground. It was all or nothing and gave everything Amy Carmichael that Irish missionary to India for some 60 years. When she got over there. She never came said there is much talk in the church, but so much shallow. She would write and I quote her.

I wonder if it's because there are so few who are prepared to be like a pine tree on a hilltop alone in the wind forgot that is the testimony of this hero faith. 11. As demonstrated in this man's life is perseverance in spite of the scorn of unbelievers in the silence for the most part silent of God that Stephen Devi today's Bible lesson from the life of a lesson called the lonely man living a life of faith doesn't mean living a life that's free from doubt or discouragement.

If you haven't already done it. I encourage you to open up your copy of heart-to-heart magazine and read today's daily devotional in today's devotional we reflect a little further on a proper perspective on doubt and discouragement.

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