Saturday 13 November 2010

Noha-rest; a guide


The word Noha means: rest; a guide

A. A strong foundation

Enoch had a son called Methuselah:
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
In the Book of Encoh , it tells that God took Encoh to the heaven and told him all about the time from Creation and also about the end of the world.
In the New Testament, in the book of Jud this is said about Enoch.

Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Methuselah had a son called Lamech.
Lamech had a son and he called his son Noah.
Lamech prophesies about his son
Gen 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

Here we see a pattern of faithful fathers, who believed in God and lived with God.
This gives us an idea that Noah was raised in a family of believers, were the foundation of faith was laid in the heart of Noah, even when he was a child, which latter helped him to act upon his faith in God in building the Ark.


B. But something terrible happened, man refused to obey God
Genesis 6:5-6
Man did only evil continually
They did nothing pure, nor noble, nor good, nor honorable
Man had become a festering sore
The Bible teaches that a man can become so morally reprobate as to go beyond the point of return
Hebrews 6:4-6
This was happened to those in the days of Noah

C. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8)
Noah was a great man who lived in the midst of runaway immorality

D. It is possible to live righteous in the midst of unrighteousness
1. Daniel did it
2. Abraham did it
3. Moses did it
4. Jeremiah did it
5. Paul and Silas did it
6. Remember Exodus 23:2 … this includes our kinfolk


Let us now for a few moments look at the life of Noah.

A. NOAH WAS A MAN OF COURAGE
1. Noah was courageous because he stood alone against the world
2. Noah was courageous because the odds did not stop him
a. He spoke boldly in God’s name
b. 2 Peter 2:15
3. Noah preached many years without a single convert
a. Only his family heeded his preaching
b. And we think we have it tough!!!
4. Noah to his eternal credit did not become discouraged nor did he begin to doubt the message.
a. I see many becoming discouraged today … but Galatians 6:9 says …
b. Noah kept sowing the seed, but saw it fall only on hard ground
c. We need to remember 1 Corinthians 3:6
5. It would be great if we could convert the whole world!
a. But Jesus said … Matthew 7:13-14
b. We need to be like Noah, and do our part and let God take care of the rest
6. In the midst of wickedness, we must do as Noah did:
a. Preached righteousness
b. Taught truth
c. Defend the faith
d. Sow the seed
e. Don’t worry about the results

B. NOAH WAS JUST AND PERFECT
1. Genesis 6:9
2. To be just (or righteous, as other versions have) is to do what is right
a. Psalm 119:172
b. 1 John 3:7, 10
3. Noah was perfect
a. Not sinless, but blameless
b. How was Jesus made perfect?
1) Hebrews 5:8-9
2) Though Jesus did not sin, He was not made perfect until He obeyed
c. How was Noah perfect?
1) He obeyed God
2) Because Noah was just and perfect he was said to “walk with God”



C. NOAH LIVED BY FAITH
1. Hebrews 11:7
a. Notice that Noah “moved” with godly fear and “prepared” and ark
b. Action describes the faith of Noah
2. If Noah would not have been a man of action, he would not have been a man of faith
a. Faith must obey
b. Vain faith does not obey
3. James 2:22, 24
a. Faith produces works of obedience
b. No man was ever blessed on account of his faith until that faith manifested itself in acts of obedience

D. NOAH HAD GODLY FEAR
1. Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah “… moved with fear”
2. This is another thing that moved Noah to obey
3. Noah was one who knew the majesty of God, and knew He was to be reverenced in Godly fear
4. To be godly means:
a. Love God
b. To be a follower of God
c. To emulate God
5. To have godly fear means:
a. To have respect and reverence for God
b. Being unwilling to do anything that would cause God to be displeased



E. NOAH WAS OBEDIENT TO GOD
1. Obedience is the one word that best describes the life of Noah
2. One can not be courageous, just, faithful, and have godly fear unless they are obedient
3. God told Noah to build an ark and gave him exact dimensions and a list of materials to be used
a. “And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him” (Genesis 7:5)
b. Noah was given a pattern and he obeyed – plain and simple
4. Today we have been given the dimensions and materials to be used in the present day ark of safety – the church
a. How it is to be constructed
b. What it is to be made of
c. How to take care of it
5. What would have happened to Noah’s ark had he not obeyed God’s plan? – It would have sank!
6. Today if we do not build the ark of safety according to God’s pattern, it too will sink!
7. Noah was saved through his obedience, and will we.

Noah is an example we should emulate:
1. Courageous
2. Righteous
3. Faithful
4. Full of godly fear
5. Obedient
B. 1 Peter 3:21
1. Water cleansed the world of filth in Noah’s day
2. Today the waters of baptism will wash away the dirt of sin if we have :
a. Believed
b. Repented
c. Confessed the name of Christ
Let us all strive to be more like Noah