When God tells us to do something we would’ve done anyway, it’s pretty easy to obey. But what about when the Lord’s instructions are a little bit “out there” or take us beyond our comfort zone? That’s what Tony Evans will talk to us about as he takes a look at the life of Noah.
Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, chaplain of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and author of over 100 books, booklets & Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.
the hallmark of a hero bravery integrity
selflessness they saved the day
ask for no reward and ride off into the
sunset the Bible also tells the stories
of heroes but they are always brave good
or selfless in many ways they’re people
just like you and me missing the mark or
dropping the ball what is it that in
Abraham or a sermon or a Moses have in
common that we should be telling their
stories even today what makes them
heroes abraham believed God and became
the father of many nations
Sarah believed God and became a mother
in her old age Moses believed God and
became the delivery of the people in
bondage they’re all connected by virtue
of their great faith the harm
[Music]
one of the great Old Testament
illustrations is Noah one verse is given
to him in the Hebrews chapter 11 verse 7
and here’s what it says by faith Noah
being warned of God about things not yet
seen in reverence prepared an ark for
the salvation of his household by which
he condemned the world and became an
heir of the righteousness which is
according to faith were introduced to
Noah as the illustration of faith at
work now this event occurs in Genesis
chapter 6 remember this is an Old
Testament figure given to New Testament
Christians to teach us how to live by
faith we’re told something about Noah in
Genesis 6 verse 9 these are the records
of the generations of Noah Noah was a
righteous man blameless in his time Noah
walked with God
we’re saying nor was a righteous man he
lived to please God he was a blameless
man he had integrity with people and the
reason he could be righteous and the
reason he could be blameless had to do
with his walk he walked with God
he says Noah walked with God he was on
the same page that God was Ord and trust
me when you walk with God he’s walking
with you nor walk with God and we’re
told that he was a man of righteousness
blamelessness and spiritual integrity
and character he wasn’t perfect that
shows up later on in his life and in his
story walking with God is called
pleasing God pleasing God means to make
God smile to make God happy nothing
pleases God more than to see somebody
walking by faith making their decisions
based on their relationship with God
bringing God to bail on all their
decision-making now God becomes real to
you but here’s what’s interesting
it is the context in which he walked
with God because the first eight verses
of Genesis chapter 6 lets you know what
the world around him was like when he
was walking with God it says in Genesis
chapter 6 verse 1 it came about that men
began to multiply on the face of the
earth and daughters were born to them
that the sons of God saw that the
daughters of men were beautiful they
took wives for themselves whomever they
chose then the Lord said my spirit shall
not always strive with man for ever
because he also is flesh nevertheless
his days shall be 120 years the Nephilim
were on the earth in those days and also
after words when the sons of God came
into the daughters of men they bore
themselves children those were the
mighty men who were of old men of renown
then the Lord saw that the wickedness of
man was great on the earth and that
every intent of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually the Lord
was sorry that he had made man on the
earth and was grieved in his heart the
Lord said I will blot out men from whom
I have created from the face of the land
from the man to the animals to the
creeping things and to the birds of the
sky for I am sorry that I have made them
Noah was walking with God when nobody
else was Noah was the exception to the
world rule he was watching out of step
with the culture because he was marching
to a different drum beat it says the
whole world had become wicked what was
some of the wickedness what if you were
to read the scriptures you would find
that there was immorality violence
looting this vulgarity profanity lying
killing blasphemy and then it hit the
bottom demon-possession so the fallen
angels who are sexless infiltrated evil
men who had relationships with women
producing a demonized population you
need to understand how demons work
demons work because they need a vehicle
through which to express themselves
because their spirit beings the angels
fallen angels so they need a vehicle
that’s why when Jesus
cast the demons out of the end Fame man
they asked could we go into the pigs
because they were unclean and so give us
a place to reside we need a house to
express ourselves through shame now the
problem is not only the sin that brought
about the addiction the reason why it’s
so hard for addicted people to get over
the sin is they not only have to try to
deal with the sin but the demonic
amplification of the sin because the
demons have gone into a garbage
environment and made themselves at home
there that’s why it is an addiction
because it has been demonically
infiltrated that’s why when people try
to deal with the sin without dealing
with the demons they wind up right back
at it because the spiritual was
unaddressed in whatever the addiction
happened to express itself to me that’s
why the wall cause of addictions the
Bible calls it a spiritual stronghold
the spiritual stronghold of pornography
the spiritual stronghold of gambling the
spiritual stronghold of whatever it
happened to be drunkenness because there
has been a grip by the demonic world he
says the demonic world had gripped the
culture but here’s Noah who was a
righteous man a blameless man who walked
with God meaning he’s the odd man out
he’s the weirdo he’s the crazy man
because he wasn’t conforming to the
culture be not conformed to this world
he wasn’t agreeing just because
everybody else was going in he wasn’t
doing it just because everybody else was
doing it his goal was not to be popular
with the world in which he lived because
the world which he lived was not popular
with God he saw himself as pleasing God
not pleasing the culture but uh when you
in a world like that that’s a lot of
pressure that’s pressure some of you
work in pressured environments
you’re under pressure to do this to act
that way to go with them to be there to
submit to this and you’re under pressure
you’re being squeezed some of you are in
educational institutions that’s
squeezing you and pressing you cuz cuz
you’re the odd man out if you’re walking
with God and they are see it’s easy to
be a Christian here this morning there’s
no competition in the house everybody
here basically agrees with everybody
else
and even if you don’t you gonna fake it
because of the environment in which you
are in but once you leave here and go
back to family and friends and work and
and environments you’re gonna feel
pressure when you try to be a Noah in a
secular world in this post Christian era
there used to be a time when we grew up
when the Christian worldview dominated
so even if you weren’t a Christian you
respected the Christian worldview that
is the pre-christian era we live in the
post Christian era and now Christianity
has become persecuted all around the
world we’re now in a post-christian
environment where that value system that
ethic is no longer accepted as the
respected norm and the more serious you
are with your walk with God the more
awed you will look like not because
you’re trying to be weird not because
you’re trying to be different it’s that
you just are different Noah watch this
walk so close to God that he was the
only one God was talking to he was 11
saying being warned of God
since we’re hanging out together I’m
gonna see the reason some of us don’t
hear from God as we too far God wants to
speak to you but he wants to speak to
you because you’re walking with him you
hanging out together you’re in close
proximity so he speaks to the mine and
bring thoughts that you didn’t think
bring perspective you didn’t have bring
an orientation you weren’t about because
you’re close enough that you can hear
his voice speaking to you and woe to the
Christian who spends their Christian
life never having heard the voice of God
God says Noah verse 11 of Genesis 6 now
the earth was corrupt in the sight of
God and the earth was filled with
violence God looked on the earth and
behold it was corrupt for all flesh had
corrupted their way on the earth then
God said to Noah the end of all flesh
has come for the earth is filled with
violence because of them and behold I am
about to destroy them with the earth
make for yourself an ark of gopher wood
you got to be kidding me you’ve got to
be kidding me God talks to him I’m gonna
destroy the world and I want you to make
a boat now let me explain something
Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah built an ark
when he hadn’t seen anything meaning
he’d never seen a flood it hadn’t rained
up to this point because the earth was
was warded from underneath so God is
warning him about something he’d never
seen he lives a hundred miles away from
an ocean what in the world do you build
a boat a hundred miles from the water
you gotta put the boat on so let me give
you a signal
when God is close enough to you to speak
to you and what he tells you is weird
makes absolutely no sense that mean
you’re ready to something big the
weirder God gets in leading you the
bigger the thing is he’s involved with
he’s going to destroy the whole world
he tells Noah build a boat on dry land
even though you’ve never seen rain you
don’t know what a flood is and trust me
let me tell my big this boat is because
God gives the measurements in the
chapter to use our foot and yard
measurements the measurements God gives
in the chapter for the ark is one and a
half football fields long that’s how big
the Ark is one and a half football
fields long it is four stories high so
it’s higher than this church building
and it took him a hundred and twenty
years to build it the scripture says 120
years some of you been saying I’ve been
waiting on God for a long time
and I have seen it rain yet I haven’t
seen a flood yet I didn’t see anything
yet but what we find out in the
scripture is it says that Noah as soon
as God told him verse 22 of Genesis 6
thus Noah did according to all that God
had commanded him so he did then let me
tell you what we do we do some of what
God tells us to do to walk by faith
involves completely what God tells you
to do the work he’s called you to the
obedience he’s demanded of you but
remember that obedience is coming
because you’re walking with him if
you’re not walking with him and told to
obey Him
obedience becomes an irritation if
you’re walking with him obedience
becomes a natural outgrowth that’s why
some people like obeying God and some
people hate obeying God even though they
may be doing the outward thing they may
hate obeying God because they haven’t
been walking with God the folks who love
obeying God out of the folks who are
walking with God so you need your walk
to appreciate the obedience even with
the obedience doesn’t make sense nor
exercise faith when he went out and
chopped down the first gopher wood tree
and he was gonna spend a hundred and
twenty years obeying God without seeing
anything I don’t know this but I’m sure
they had to be days when he said tired
of traffic trees I’m tired of putting
this thing together his huge boat on dry
land but not only that
guess what second Peter says second
Peter says that Noah was a preacher of
righteousness talks about the second
Peter 2:5 1st Peter 3:20 Noah is a
preacher of righteousness so washes now
Noah is chopping down trees during the
day because he has to work during the
day to see what he’s doing
and he’d going to town to preach at
night maybe he only got a three word
sermon it’s going around it’s gonna rain
God told me to tell you it’s gonna rain
it’s dad was right all I know is you
know wet stuff coming down from Earth
and it’s gonna rain God told me to tell
you it’s gonna rain you talked about
looking like a fool he worked and he
witnessed Paul says I am not ashamed of
the gospel it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone who believes if
you can put placards on your car
placards on your lawn about who you’re
voting for in the election then why are
you an undecided voter when it comes to
standing up and proclaiming your faith
in Jesus Christ it says he proclaimed
his faith in other words on your job if
you were accused of being a follower of
Christ would there be enough evidence to
convict you or would you be found
innocent of all charges
he was crystal clear where he stood the
atheists aren’t silent the folks
teaching your kids evolution and there
is no God they’re not silent so he
worked by day he witnessed by night and
he walked with God that’s how he rolled
Hebrews 11 says he prepared his art in
reverence reverence that’s a worship
word ah to all God to fear God you know
you remember though you know whistle
while you work
he worship why he worked so he out there
chopping down go verges I praise you I
give you glory I don’t see no rain but
I’m praising you I’m giving you glory
I’m I’m putting up this wood just like
you told me and I’m gonna bless your
name in the middle of the work even
though I don’t see any results of the
work I don’t see what you do it I’m
give you glory you worship while you
work he says he built his ark in
reverence and then it says holy horses
men and then it says haul your horses
Kingdom men he built the ark for the
salvation of his family because a job of
a real man is to save his family the job
of a kingdom man is to save his family
Kingdom men don’t walk away from their
families don’t abandon their children
don’t sit home while she goes to work
and he does nothing no no no he was out
working he was out working and it was
clear that if nobody else believes me I
would make sure my family believes me
I’m gonna make sure my wife’s walking
with me I’m gonna make sure my children
walking with me because a real man
delivers his family even if nobody else
believes it Noah built the boat and he
saved his family he says that’s gonna be
these seven other people and they’re
gonna see my faith at work they ain’t
gonna see me sending in the church they
gonna see me leading them the church
ain’t gonna be saying when they have a
Bible question ask your mother I’m gonna
discover the answer myself and I’m going
to I’m gonna best I can give it to a
wife cuz I’m responsible for my family’s
salvation I’m responsible to leave my
kids to Christ I’m responsible because
the definition of a man is you’re
responsible even if you’re not to blame
you can’t walk with your Heavenly Father
and let everybody else dictate to you
cuz they’re your friends you’re walking
with God and it says and by his walk he
condemned the world Hebrews 11 says
verse 7 he condemned the world he
condemned the world with his work and
his witness and then it happened 120
years later
with all the silence plop plop plop
water coming down from the sky North
says to his family it’s time mr. Lyon
looked at mrs. Lyon and went wrong
[Applause]
mr. bird looked at mrs. bird sweetly d20
nor was given instruction without
knowing how God was gonna pull it off
how are we gonna get all the animals
into the ark in fact got you asked me to
build an ark and you all of all the
instructions you gave me you gave me
nothing related to navigation so how do
I know where I’m going in fact how am I
even gonna get to water because he
didn’t know how all this was gonna work
how is all this school work getting the
food to feed all these animals 49 God
may not give you all the information but
do the work of obedience he’s called you
to do until he shows you how he plans to
pull it off
all of a sudden crystal clear that the
one man was right and the civilization
was wrong okay it became crystal clear
it took a while I know some of you want
to give up some of you want to quit
you’re trying to live the Christian life
nobody’s buying it nobody’s believing it
maybe ladies guys are rejecting you
because you won’t compromise your
standards maybe maybe maybe folks are
leaving you because because you won’t
hang out with them and do what they’re
doing and yes you’re going to fit but
there is coming a day when God will make
it inextricably clear where he stands
and if you’re walking with God he’s
standing with you and they came a day
when they begin to realize no one’s walk
with God was the truth their rebellion
against God was a lie and they found it
out too late because the floods came the
Bible declares that one day Jesus is
coming back it says as it was in the
days of Noah shall it be when the Son of
Man returns we are seeing the days of
Noah right before us we’re seeing the
demonic
we’re seeing the the compromise of
values we’re seeing the rebellion
against God we’re seeing the dismissing
of God from the culture we are in the
days of North the Bible says when you
see those days look up your Redemption
draweth nigh you will be the one who
will because I love this I’ll just
mention it it says that he had to seal
the boat with pitch pitch keeps the
water from getting into the boats of
Ceylon he sealed the boat with pitch the
Hebrew word for pitch is the root word
for atonement
so he sealed the boat with the atonement
of pitch guess why you’re gonna be safe
for eternity you will be safe for
eternity because the Hebrew word for
pitch is atonement and the blood of
Jesus Christ seals the eternal destiny
of anyone who comes to God by faith in
the finished work of Jesus Christ and so
Jesus is your Ark of safety God has an
ark for you to build he’s waiting on you
to obey and to obey Him completely not
partially if God says do this and you
only have done this much that he will
move he will not move until obedience
has been completed until faith has been
fully exercised that’s why as we go
through the Hall of faith and we learn
from these folks I had a sister who I
was talking to my office and she said I
want faith but I don’t have it I don’t
have it and I looked at her and I said
then piggyback off of mine because I got
enough for both of us
you better hang out with somebody who
does have faith when you don’t have
faith grab ahold of their faith ride
their backs until it’s transferred to
you because God has integrity and he can
be trusted even though he’s confusing at
times one of the old television shows I
love was something called early edition
it was this man who got tomorrow’s
newspaper today he got tomorrow’s
newspaper today so he saw what was
coming the day before it came because he
had the early edition the day before the
actual event he could do things to make
changes because he knew what was coming
tomorrow no one knew what was coming
tomorrow he walked in light of it today
if you are a believer in Jesus Christ
you know where this thing is going so
why don’t we walk with God today so that
we can hear his voice be prepared for
what he wants to do in this life and
reward us in the next life because like
Noah we walked with God save our
families condemned the world and then it
closes by thing and he became the heir
he was the beneficiary because his
family was saved and protected may God
help us as a church collectively as
individuals personally to be known not
for our buildings not for our program
not for our resources not for that that
that all that’s good but to be known for
one dominant factor those folk walk with
God may that be what we’re really known
for
[Applause]
[Music]
like Noah we’re all called upon to
exercise faith in the most inconvenient
times Noah had never seen rain and yet
he was to act based on what God said
even though it made him look very
foolish not only that but faith is often
anti-culture
he had to go against the whole community
in which he lived and the world in which
he existed
faith will make you seem like a loner
sometimes it’ll make you make others
think that you’re a fool but we see at
the end of Noah’s story that he was not
the foolish one those who rejected him
were actually the foolish ones so you
walk with God even if it makes you hard
in the culture as long as you’re obeying
God even if it’s something you’ve never
experienced before seen before expected
before because God cannot be put in a
box he will blow your mind let him blow
your mind and if you have to build an
ark on dry land if you have to do
something you’ve never seen heard of or
you’ve seen anyone else to do before
it’s okay because when you obey God by
faith you set yourself up for not only a
miracle but the covering of your own
family even when there’s destruction and
the culture taking place all around you
obey by faith even when it makes you
seem like you’re being foolish
you
the Bible tells stories of people that
today we call heroes they sought to
inspire humanity for over 3,000 years we
also have a story and is connected to
these heroes by virtue of our faith
my CD series heroes of the faith include
12 sermons in two bodies but you can
have that will get the amount whether
it’s my way of saying thanks for helping
us with God’s words to a world indeed
visit our website at Tony
or request your copy today
you