Thousands of years ago, after creation and the fall of man, an ugly scene is unfolding in the world. Sin has bombarded the universe, as temptations drive mankind to their deepest desires of the flesh. Murder, lust, violence, lies, gossip have all made taken their first breath into the newly created universe. Humanity was escorting itself away from God's instruction and warning of judgement, right into the enemies deceptive grasp. The grasp that is disguised as comfortable and pleasing, yet, in reality, was dragging humanity straight to the gates of hell. Humanity was blinding itself, not looking to life after death; only dwelling in the 'now'. Evil (anything that goes against God) was the king of humanities throne.
The One who created humanity, looked at humanity, not just their actions, but their heart, and was disgusted. The Father of it all, saw that evil was on the heart and mind constantly. God was grieved that he had made man, this man that had so soon neglected Him. Pain filled His heart as he said to Himself mournfully, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air -- for I am grieved that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7)
But someone found favor in the eyes of the Lord, in the midst of all the sin and evil of humanity. Noah.
In the midst of all of this destruction and evil, one man stood out. This man did not conform to the ways of the world. He held onto his love for God, and chose the narrow path. He was a righteous man, blameless among the people of this time; and he walked with God. (Genesis 6:9) Walking with God is no easy task. This means he would have lived by faith in God, trusted in God's promises, made every effort to live a holy life, and enjoyed a deep relationship with God. His life was devoted to the forsaken God of the universe. Daily trying to convince people he encountered to turn from their wicked ways, and embrace the Only True God. Day after day, laughter and mockery was thrown back at him, but this didn't stop him from serving God. Everyday, he spent time talking to God, pouring his life out to God, for this is what walking with God is. One day in Noah's time spent with God, the Creator had had enough of humanities constant rejection of Him. He tells Noah that he is going to destroy the earth in a flood, but he will make a covenant with Noah, a covenant that would protect Noah from the coming wrath.
Can you imagine what must have been going through Noah's head at this moment. God was going to destroy the world in a flood... A flood... Rain had never fallen from the sky before, in the history of the universe, they had never experienced bad weather, much less a flood. God was telling him to build a boat on dry ground. Not just any boat, a giant boat, to fit animals of all kind in it. He was to build a boat, on dry ground, for a flood, when it had never even rained before... But Noah did it. How could he have known what to do, or that the flood was coming?? He spent time with God. He walked with God. He had spent enough time with God that he recognized the Lord's voice. There is no way that Noah would have heard the voice of the Lord if he had never spent time with God before.
Hebrews 11 is notorious for being called the 'Hall of Faith' chapter in the Bible. Noah is among the inductees to this chapter. It reads, "By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear, constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." (Hebrews 11:7) Noah's actions proved his faith in God. As a result of his faith, and his faith in action, he became intimate with God. Noah had a relationship with God, spent time daily with him, but the intimacy in his relationship came when he acted out what he believed. He believed that God was true, and just, and he acted out his faith by building a boat on dry ground. "By this..." He "became an heir of righteousness THAT COMES BY FAITH". You don't build a big structure to float on water, when there is no water to float on around, without hearing some kind of divine instruction! Noah's faith in God, and Noah's actions that proved his faith, saved him!
If you truly desire a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus, spending time with him will not be enough. We are to be servants to God, meaning that we are not ourselves, but belong to God. If the master of the servant tells him to do something, and the servant merely listens, but doesn't do what was instructed, what kind of servant is that? Jesus is the groom and the church is the bride. If a man and wife were to spend time together, as need be, but the man or the wife never did what the other asked, what kind of relationship would that turn out to be? In James 1:22 the Word says, "Don't just listen to God's word, do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." The truth can not be any clearer. What if Noah, always spending time with God, would have heard the command and warning of the Lord, but not built the ark? That would be foolish. What is stopping us from doing what we hear and learn from God? Is it people's opinions? What if Noah would have not done what God instructed him to do because of people's opinions? Noah, in the face of persecution, and mockery, and humiliation, continued to hit nails, and saw wood. He didn't let people's opinions keep him from doing what God had called him to do.
When we decide to actually do what God says in his word, and what he speaks to us, (to hear from him, you have to first spend time with him) people will take notice. Go into the eyes of the people that were living in the time of Noah, go into what must have been going through their minds. Seeing this humungous structure being built. Imagine hearing the words of God repeated through Noah, that destruction was coming through a flood. You have never seen rain before, more than likely, never seen a boat before. These people demanded an explanation of what he was doing! If we live a life of not just hearing the Word of God, and become doers of the Word of God, people will demand an explanation of our lives. They will see a difference, they will see that you are determined. As Followers of Christ, we are called to live a life that makes people demand an explanation! I have a hard time believing that, as a follower of Christ, our lives can look the exact same as people who have not accepted Christ, except for the fact that we go to church, and read our Bibles. What kind of example are we setting?? That makes Christianity just a hobby, instead of a life changing, lifestyle that demands an explanation.
Today, humanity is the exact same as it was thousands of years ago in the day of Noah. Sexual immorality everywhere you look, violence all the time, murders everyday... Does that not sound like the world today? "Just as it was in the days of Noah, it will be in the days of the son of man." Luke 17:26. There is going to be another judgement on the world, the book of Revelation describes that. Just like in the days of Noah, there is an ark that is beckoning anyone to get on it. This ark is only found in the saving grace of Jesus. If you are reading this, and are not a follower of Christ, take this time right now, to get on the ark, to accept Christ as your Lord. Do not ignore the warning like people did in the days of Noah. Today is the day for repentance. If you are a follower of Christ already, we are in the final stretch. Do not let people's opinions stop you from putting legs to your faith, from putting your faith to action. Tell people about the ark of grace found in Jesus.
"As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God"
Psalm 42:1
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