Daily Archives: November 7, 2009

Genesis 7:23-24 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

The Lord Jesus said that in the days of Noah the people were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matt. 24:38). In other words they were just getting along with their lives, ignoring the strange little man in their midst who was building a massive boat with nowhere to sail it. Perhaps they had grown used to seeing him working and preaching, and as nothing ever seemed to happen they had chosen to assume he was wrong about his dire predictions. But the judgment fell and as the Lord Jesus reminded His hearers, “so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matt. 24:39). Noah’s faith and faithfulness are powerful reminders to God’s people to look for the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus. Noah still has something to say to God’s people when they are tempted to settle into lives just like the unbelievers!
So the righteous judgment of the offended Lord fell. But in the midst of the horror sailed a man and his family secure in the serenity of a faith which had released the resources of grace. So has it ever been throughout human history.

Many centuries after Noah’s voyage another man of faith set sail in very different circumstances. William Carey was a pastor and a shoemaker (presumably he thought that if tent-making was good enough for the apostle Paul, shoe-making was good enough for him). He had published a remarkable tract with the resounding title, “An enquiry into the obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathens,” and followed it with deeply felt sermons seeking to awaken the churches to the needs of the unreached peoples of the earth. He had been roundly criticized for his efforts by church leaders but undeterred he set sail for India on the premise that he should “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” He had very little formal education but this did not stop him from teaching himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Dutch, and French before setting out for India where he subsequently learned Bengali, translated the entire Bible into Bengali, and helped in producing Scriptures and related materials in no less than forty different languages and dialects. During his forty years’ ministry he buried his wife and all his children in India, but he persisted in his conviction that God had called him, that he should obey and trust Him, that he should use his God-given skills for the blessing of God and man, and that one day he would land safely on the shores of Glory as surely as he had previously landed in India and Noah before him had landed safely on Mt. Ararat.

One of the great advantages of men of faith like Noah and Carey is that they inspire others to learn what it is to trust and obey in order to discover the riches of blessing that are stored up for those who will launch out into the deep.

Noah’s faith and faithfulness are powerful reminders to God’s people to look for the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus. Noah still has something to say to God’s people when they are tempted to settle into lives just like the unbelievers! As children of God we much remain diligent in our daily walk of faithfulness. Don’t allow people to cloud your faith as you prepare to an ark of holiness. ~KP

Genesis 7:23 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.

The blessing Noah’s faith released in his own life (in a very real sense he was saved by faith) also spilled over into his family’s experience. “Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive” The faithful expression of his faith as he preached righteousness to his contemporaries “condemned the world” and that was a blessing, because the people were exposed to truth even though they chose to ignore it. Then there is the benefit we receive from his faith as we read the account and are led to examine our own faith. Like Abel, “he being dead still speaks” (Heb. 11:4).

When we begin to exercise our faith, it will be a blessing to even those who don’t believe. Sharing the Word is a blessing to the lost—even those who reject it are blessed with a choice. Walk in the faith of God and watch the release of blessing poured out upon the love ones who walk along side you. Faith is like a water fall—it’s hard for people to be around you and not get wet. ~KP

Genesis 7:17-22 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

Noah was described by God as “righteous before Me in this generation” (Gen. 7:1). This was a delight to God but in all probability an irritant to Noah’s society. It is impossible to please God without sometimes displeasing those who are opposed to Him. Paul said, “We are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life” (2 Cor. 2:15–16).

My dad often used to observe, “Isn’t it strange that the same sun that melts wax, hardens clay?” He would hasten to explain to me that the sun’s properties do not change but the properties of the different materials on which the sun shines are revealed by its heat. In the same way Jesus showed that the same seed scattered on different places will produce entirely different results. Not because the seed alters but because the seed reveals what kind of soil it has landed upon. Whether it be the sun shining, the seed landing, the word being preached, or the glowing testimony of a believer the same rule obtains. There are those who will warmly respond to the vibrant testimony of a Godly man or woman, and there are others who will become infuriated by the same testimony from the identical person. This is a demonstration of what is inside the heart of the hearer and observer of the testimony and also an indicator of the spiritual destiny of those whose hearts are either warm or cold to the truth however presented.

All of us would much prefer being a “fragrance of Christ” rather than an “aroma of death,” but unfortunately we are not free to choose which we will be because this is determined by the reaction of others to what we say and do. By building his ark Noah offered salvation to those who would respond in faith. To those who entered with him it was a blessing and a delight, but to those who refused it must have been the most awful statement of loss and dismay as it disappeared into the mists.

As you exercise our faith in Christ, don’t be surprised if you find some who will oppose you. Your faith in God exposes and rebukes the unfaithful. Never allow anyone to keep you under the dirt when you faith is root in the Word and reaching for the Son. It is our God given responsibility to grow and offer salvation to the lost—those who accept find The Light—those who reject delight in unfaithfulness. ~KP

Genesis 7:16b went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

When Noah took his big step of faith into the ark, “the LORD shut him in” suggesting that Yahweh was gently but firmly assuring Noah that he had done the right thing and that he was indeed secure. But Noah’s faith had already been in evidence for a considerable period while the ark was being constructed. And his faith had to persevere during the year-long flood because strangely there is no record of God speaking to Noah during that period. He had to go on trusting through thick and thin, whether he could see and understand or not.

Our faith in God brings us into a unique relationship with Him. We are wired to trust only what we can see or reason in our minds—even then we feed people with a long handle spoon. However our relationship with God is base on trust of the unseen and unknown. A relationship of trust in God is to be as Noah—the willingness to be shut in your situation and let God work. ~KP