“7. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
You may be familiar with the story of The Great Flood and the accomplishments of Noah. We look back and see Noah’s obedience and the big things he accomplished through his faith in what God told him to do. As believers, we set out with the same mindset to do great things for God, just like Noah did. Take a hunter for example. Every year, we see someone shoot a big monster buck. It flies around social media as maybe being the biggest deer that will be killed in the season. For days and years the hunter begins to dream about what it would be like to kill one that big! There are times when a brand new hunter gets an unusual opportunity at a giant, but for the most part, it takes time, work, knowledge, and experience to sufficiently kill big whitetails. Preparation is always a factor that leads to the day of success. Its starts with the time to purchase your hunting license on the internet, but also spending time in the yard tuning in your hunting equipment making sure it will hit the mark your aiming for. Right now is a good time to have out a salt lick and trail camera to see what’s living on your hunting grounds. We all dream about the day when that big monster will take his last breath, but don’t forget about the time and preparation that in necessary for the big day to come.
Looking at the Christian walk we can easily make a similar comparison. We have a lot of believers walking around wanting to do big things for God, just like Noah did. The God of the Bible is the God of order. As we read through the scriptures we can see that every word is perfect and in its right place. Noah was complete in his service to the LORD. As we stand today, we are still talking about what Noah did, but please realize there are some things mentioned about Noah that we need to pay close attention to. Vs 8 is where it has to start for anyone: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The word grace means unmerited favor. We all deserve hell because of our sin, but Jesus Christ died so we all can be saved. Faith in Jesus Christ must be present. All of our works for Him will never amount to anything if we don’t trust him as our personal Lord and Savior. The main thought we want you to see today actually comes from vs 9: “and Noah walked with God.” We will never do anything for the Lord until we learn to walk with Him. Let me ask you: How is your walk with God? How is your time with Him? Think about your spouse, child, or friend for a moment. What is the best thing about your relationship? Is it being separated, or is it being together? Time together is what makes every relationship real. You might say, I really enjoy time away from them, its sad to say that many people have this exact relationship with people they say they love, but the truth is, that’s not a healthy relationship. Its a relationship that will eventually severe if it doesnt get fixed. There are many Christians today that have been caught up in all the do’s of the Christian life and they are missing out on the most important step in the Christian walk. That is walking with God. If you have been passing out tracts, faithful in church, or loving your neighbor, those are all good things, but how is your walk with God? How is your time with Him? God wants that close relationship with you and sometimes the only way to have it is to turn off the TV, turn off the cell phone, skip archery practice for a night, and find a quiet place where you can talk to the Lord and study His Word! There is not an amount of work that you can do that will make God love you any more or any less. He loves you just like you are. Don’t get so focused on the big things if your not walking with Him day by day. Everyone wants to see the greatness, but remember, first comes grace, then comes growth, which is walking with God!
Memory Verse Week 7/4/21
Genesis 6:9
“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
