Address to the Parents

Address to Parents

Genesis 6:1-9

Theme: God uses the life of Noah to impact his family.

Welcome to Mountain View Baptist Church. We are delighted to have you here along with our guests and the singing group from WCBC. It is a wonderful privilege to be in God’s House and your presence makes a difference.

Welcome to our first time guests. Thank you for being in church today and please allow us to connect with you. Be sure to stop by the welcome center below the steps to the left.

If you were to ask people on the street what is the biggest problem in our world today, you would get a host of issues. Economy, the border crisis, or the fear of war. However, there is something many are missing today and it is the home. The family is in crisis today. As I go on ride alongs with the deputies, most of our calls are domestic in nature because families are struggling. We could give many reasons for the problem, but today, this passage focuses on one answer to family problems.

Noah was called to live for God in a world that was totally pagan. Noah is an example of a believer who lives right in spite of the world around him. The description of the culture was filled with every imaginable sin and degradation. This wickedness was so out of control that God was grieved at the conditions. God’s mercy line has been pushed beyond its limit. The Lord made a decision to destroy man to start over. BUT God had one man that loved Him. He had one man that desired to please God and obey God. God found one man who sought Him rather than his own pleasures and comforts.

The name Noah means rest. Noah knew that no matter what was going on around him, he could rest on the promises of God.

God asked Noah to do something He never asked anyone else to do. He was to build an ark to deliver those who would be judged by the waters of the flood. Not only was the task momentous, it was also unusual and never been done before. Noah built the ark with God’s help and completed it. His family was invited to get into the ark. Why would a family get into the ark. It has never been done before and now they were to get into this huge structure with animals because God said He was going to judge the earth. Noah invited them to get in and they went into the ark.

What would cause them to obey God? What would cause them to trust Noah? Why would the family get into the ark?

There are three distinct marks of Noah who was a husband, a believer, a father, and a community leader. They are found in verse 9.

Mark 1. . .

A just man v. 9

The word just means he was innocent and upright in his life. Dictionary says it is behavior which is according to right and fair. He was a devoted believer in the Lord. This comes out of verse 8-he found grace.

In order for a man to right with God, he must have grace. Grace is something we cannot earn, but it is freely given to us. The Bible makes it clear for a man to be right with God and know he is on his way to heaven, that he must receive the gift of eternal life.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Ephesians 2:8)

The word saved means to be delivered from the penalty and judgment of sin which is death in hell. God provides forgiveness and acceptance through the death of his Son. Here in the Old Testament, God communicated this truth through the ark itself. Mankind is under the judgement of God. Anyone who gets into the ark will be saved from the judgement on sin. Jesus is the ark of God to deliver man from sin.

In the Old Testament there those who were looking forward to the cross, there are those in the New Testament looking to the cross which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The only way Noah would be just was because of what Jesus would do for him. His belief had a dramatic effect on his behavior. What you believe will be seen in your actions. In the book of James he records for us belief effects your actions

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2:17–18)

The reason his family would get into the ark because of what they saw in the life of Noah. His life was a living testimony to God’s power.

Let me remind you parents, children learn more by what they see in you than what they hear from you.

Children gravitate to authenticity and being genuine. They saw in Noah a living and genuine faith.

Mark 2. . .

A perfect man

This certainly does not mean without sin. It means he was without fault or blemish. He was honest and a man of integrity.

This means they saw him in the good times and they saw him in the bad times. He kept a loving spirit and a dedicated heart to God. His spiritual walk with God was not influenced or pressured by the world around him, but only by God above him.

Perfection here is not sinless, it is wholeness or faultless. He did not cheat on his work hours, he was honest before others, and would fulfill God’s will. He did what he said he would do. This is missing many times in believers. We should do what we say we are going to do. I will return your call, I will be there at 9:00 am and arrive at 9:15.

This refers specifically to his standing before others. What do others see?

What do your children see? I read about a pastor who one day went to visit absentees from church. He knocked on the door of one house and there was no answer. The second door, a little 8 year old boy answered the door. “Is your dad home?” The little boy said just a minute. When he returned, he said, “May dad said to tell you he is not home.” Children pick up on things like that. When they get older, they will do the same thing and often worse.

Children are very aware of what is going on in their parent’s lives. The home is the supreme microscope of our life. God sees all of this when He looks into the life of Noah.

Noah was a man who knew what God wanted him to do and how he was to live in this terribly wicked society. Parenting today is demonstrating to children how to live in this world without compromise.

Integrity means when God looks into your life, he sees a complete and whole Christian. He sees a person who has a heart that is dedicated to God. The New Testament addresses this thought for the Christian

“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;” (Philippians 1:10)

“Integrity is the doing the right thing when no one else is watching.” (unknown)

An honest man would choose to do right even if it is inconvenient. Noah choose to do right and believe me it was not convenient. His impeccable character caused his family to be willing to follow him into the ark. While they may not have understood all that God was asking or what was going to take place, his children knew as a parent, they would trust him.

When children see an authentic Christian living out the Christian life, they will be willing to follow the Lord.

When I was a young teenage believer, the church I attended was amazing. It wasn’t the music or the building or the preaching, but it was the people that were genuine. Godly women and men who lived what they believed. I would see grown men on their knees at the altar weeping for their families to get right with God or know the Lord as their Savior. This ignited a fire in my heart to know God more. In my very weak faith, it urged me to want to have that kind of relationship with God. Little did I realize the seed of the ministry was taking root in my heart through the influence of those church members and my Godly grandmother who prayed for me daily.

Mark 3. . .

A Godly man

The idea to walk with God was learned from his grandfather Enoch walked with God Gen. 6:9. Enoch walked with God and was suddenly taken to heaven and rescued from impending judgment of the flood. Noah walked with God and was taken safely through the judgment.

Enoch modeled a godly way of life for Methuselah who passed it on to his son Lamech and Lamech shared it with his son Noah. Generation after generation is a family faithful to God.

Walk with God means our daily life is purposed to please and honor God. A man or a woman who walks with God their children will follow after them. Walking with God means it is not something we put on and off, it is what is built within our spiritual DNA. Your walk means your eyes, your hands, and your feet are not focused on this life but honoring God with these things.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (Romans 6:12–13)

It is one step at a time that God directs us to follow Him. He will guide us and lead us into obedience to Him. He built the ark and those who got in were saved by God. Because Noah was obedient to God, his “house” wasn’t destroyed when the rains came. This walking with God built great character in Noah’s life and also built a godly family in the process.

What about your life? Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? Without Him there is no eternal life or home in heaven. God shows us we need His grace to forgive us of our sins and begin a new life with God. Will you turn to Him today?

If you are a Christian, what is your relationship with God like? God is looking for a just dad or mom, a perfect (a person of integrity) dad or mom, a godly dad or mom. The start maybe today when you come to decide you want to make a difference in your home. It starts with you. May God help us to be Godly men and women.