Good morning and happy Wednesday. By far the weirdest spelled day of the week. I can never figure out that ‘n’ in there. Well, you guys missed out. Yesterday was Tuesday and as you probably guessed it, yep, Tacos happened. Oh, sweet tacos. Also yesterday there was a little sod laying going on around here. We’ve been tossing around what to do with our completely un-landscaped backyard and we decided to just hold off a bit longer on the big fix and just put some lipstick on the pig. So, I went and got 30 squares of St. Augustine turf and laid it in the huge bare patches. I like laying grass like this. It’s like God’s carpet. Bare ugly spot? Drop in a big beautiful square of green grass and bam! It looks awesome. What a super easy way to fix grass! As far as I could see there was only one problem. I had to do it myself. And my back feels it this morning. I ended up a few pieces short so back I go this morning to get a few more. If you want to hang out (and lay sod) come on out, I’ll buy you all the water you can drink.
This morning we are in Genesis chapter 7 which is the flood of the world. Chapter 6 lays out the state of man in that day and God’s decision (and need) to eliminate the problem. (if you missed yesterday's study, catch it at the5MC.com) He chooses a flood to do the job and here it comes today. But in God’s wisdom He chooses to save a male and female of every animal that will repopulate the Earth and one small family. Noah, his wife, his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth and their three wives. The four women are never named in the Bible but there is much conjecture about their names in Jewish and secular historical writings. I did a quick google search and found quickly two websites that had completely different names for them. The point? If it’s not in God’s Word it’s not guaranteed to be true. God’s Word has been tried, it’s true and it’s guaranteed. Be very careful adding to it or subtracting from it. We’re not given their names and that’s OK, it’s God’s intention.
So, Noah and his family are chosen by God to man the ark and care for the animals. Not only will the animals repopulate the Earth but Noah’s sons and daughters-in-laws will do the same. But how did this family of 8 come to be on this floating zoo as it rains for 40 days? Noah was chosen by God. Noah was chosen for his righteousness.
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:9)
“Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.” (Gen 7:1)
So it’s clear here that God chose Noah because he was righteous in His eyes. But what is righteousness before God? Righteous literally means to do right. It’s spelled out for us right there in the first 5 letters. To do what is right before God. Now as we look at righteousness this morning you need to be very careful to not only see this as physical acts. We can try to do good before God, but we can never do or be good enough. ““None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Rom 3:10-12)
So now your saying, “whoa Nelly!, hold the bus!” How could Noah be righteous when God’s Word says right here that no one can be righteous. I’ve got one word for you…..FAITH.
Noah was counted righteous in God’s eyes for His faith in God. By faith Noah built the ark:
“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)
We also see this same scenario play out in the life of Abraham in Genesis 15:6:
“And he believed (had faith) in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6, italics mine)
So God counted Noah as righteous in His eyes because of Noah’s faith. Noah listened to God and he walked with God, but more importantly, He believed God. And as a result, he was obedient to God. God could use Noah because he listened.
Have you ever been out in public and seen the family that is on the struggle bus? The parents seem out of control, the kids are running around like sugar-fueled demons and the whole scene is just chaos to behold. The parents yell at the kids, but the kids don’t even listen, they’re just doing their own thing. You know kids aren’t the only ones that do this. Adults do this probably more than kids. We just don’t do it to our earthly parents.
You see, when we grow up, we think we’ve “made it.” We’re free. No more parents, no more rules, no more boundaries, we can do whatever we want whenever we want to. Come on be honest. When you were about 16-17 didn’t you say, “when I grow up and get my own place I’ll do whatever I want!” Of course you did, we all did. But guess what? We never outgrow our father. Our Heavenly Father that is. He is our dad and will always be our dad. He is always looking out for our best, protecting us, guiding us, leading us in the proper direction. But do we listen? Are we like the crazy kid in Wal-Mart laying on the floor kicking and screaming because he’s not getting what he wants? If God calls our name and gives us directions are we listening or are we tied up in oursleves and our own selfish desires? God can’t use us if we don’t listen to Him.
Today as you move through this life, keep quiet and keep your ears open for the voice of God. It’s not a question of whether or not He is speaking, it’s a question of whether or not you are listening. As God speaks, He is looking for His Words to fall on “active” ears. Ears that are perked up and ready for His call. And beyond that when His Words fall upon you, He is looking for an obedient heart. A heart that will not just hear the Words but act upon them. When God sees the person that is open to His Words and ready to act upon them, He sees a righteous one indeed. That’s what He saw in Noah and Noah saved the human race. He built and ark when there was no rain on the Earth. He built a boat that was far from any body of water. He spent 75 years building a boat that no one saw the need for. And why? Because he was listening for God’s voice and when he heard it, he acted upon it. He did it because he was righteous before God in faith.
In your journey to hear and act upon God’s voice today recall these:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom 10:17)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
God bless your personal time with Him in His Word today. By doing so you are well on your way to a richer, more abundant walk with God.
May God bless you with Spiritual growth today.
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