Walking With God When the World Is Not

Introduction

(Show video of the ark exhibit to help display the immensity of the task)

Have you ever been asked of God to do something that seems impossible? Have you ever experienced something in life that seemed insurmountable?

I’m sure the answer to these questions are yes.

There are two realities Noah will face in our text this morning.

First, the immense task of building a massive boat to survive a global flood. This is why we watched that quick video of the Ark exhibit to get a feel of the immensity of the task. The task is beyond him. Not just to build, but to gather supplies and eventually animals.

Second, to walk righteously with God in a world that is so wicked that “every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time…”

Perhaps greater than ministry or life tasks, greater than providing for our family, greater than walking through insurmountable events of our life is learning to walk with God when others are not. When the world is in fact deeply opposed to it.

We will see in Genesis 6:9-22 a man who walks with God that leads to the impossible being done through him.

Contextual Work

V.8-13

We are told in verse 8 that Noah found favor with the Lord. We learned that those of Seth’s line called upon the name of the Lord for a time. Noah, was one of those.

And so, we are told more about who Noah is. He is a righteous man, blameless, and he walked with God. He fathers 3 sons and more will come about them later.

Comparative to Noah is the world, which recaps what we learned from earlier in Genesis 6. It is corrupt. It is filled with corruption that leads to wickedness or violence as some translations use. God’s plan is restated to wipe out all of creation to eradicate sin.

But, back to Noah for a moment. What does it mean that Noah is righteous and blameless and that he walks with God?

Righteous= Noah was right in his conduct, moral as it relates to God’s standard. We know some form of sacrifices has taken place as worship and perhaps Noah has done so for the sin he has still committed.

Blameless= We hear this and we think without fault. This is true of Noah with the caveat provided, “among his contemporaries”. Among all people on the earth, Noah was blameless comparatively to them.

But the word means more. It means whole or complete. To better understand, Noah’s righteousness encompassed the whole of his life. It wasn’t just partial righteousness or compartmentalized.

Walked with God= Noah carried a relationship with the Lord. One in which he communed with God. He obeyed God. He didn’t just come to God when he needed. He didn’t just use God for blessing. He carried an enduring, close, personal relationship with God.

The world, however, dove deeper into sin and brokenness. Spinning out of control if you will, spiraling back into chaos that once filled the earth before God established order in creation.

(Express how difficult it would be to live in this world; relate it to our world)

V.14-22

The salvation of Noah and his family is presented. An ark, a flood, and a covenant. God instructs Noah to build this massive boat. Roughly the length of 1.5 football fields. It would about as tall as a four story house or apartment complex. It’s cargo hold would be similar to 450 modern, standard semi trailers.

Did he build this alone? Doubtful. He likely was helped by his sons. Did he face ridicule for this? We are not told, though it is quite probable. Did Noah preach while he built? Our text does not tells us, but 2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher of righteousness.

Here is what we do see- very specific instructions by God on how to build this boat. More will come of that later. The telling of why he is to build this boat. Along with instructions on what to take.

We are also told that God makes a covenant with Noah. This covenant? A covenant of grace, protection, providence, and hope that through him the earth will be reestablished.

I like how Dan Darling put it,

In a way, Noah and his family would serve as a sign that God had not given up on humanity, that the fragile seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15 would yet endure.

What is a covenant? It is a pledge of sorts. God pledges via His plan with the ark to extend grace, protection, provision, and a new start.

Finally, the text ends with a sort of book end of Noah’s righteousness. He did everything the Lord commanded Him. Every last detail a prescribed by God, Noah obeyed.

Themes of Genesis 6:9-22

Cultivating a walk with God is essential

Noah learned how to walk with God. It was told of his great-grandfather Enoch, we are told in chapter 5, walked with God. Something that was extended down through the generations. Enoch cultivated this walk and taught others to do the same.

What does it mean to cultivate a walk with God?

I think it means surrender. To say with deep conviction, not my will by Yours be done. To say, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be according to Your Word.” It means to take up our cross daily, denying ourselves, and following Him.

I think it means developing a heart devoted to and for God, not just the things of God. It means believing and pursuing a heart that says, “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.”

It involves for us the Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, service, etc. But the heart of a walk with God is surrender and devotion. I have only recently come to see this on a deeper level.

In John 15:1-5 Jesus speaks of being the Vine and explicitly says we are the branches. What does the branch do on the vine? Nothing. The branch is completely dependent upon the vine. It cannot make it’s own nutrients. It cannot even produce fruit without the vine.

Jesus even says to us, “you can do nothing without me.”

Andrew Murray taught me,

If I am something, then God is not everything; but when I become nothing, God can become all, and the everlasting God in Christ can reveal Himself fully. That is the higher life.

Cultivation only comes from communion. Abide in Me, Jesus says. Noah had to abide in God. The world around Him certainly was not doing so. Imagine living in a world where it seems everything around you is trying to pull you away from the Lord? Imagine a world that is increasingly becoming dark, full of sin that it is bending everything toward having no need of God. That actually sounds familiar.

Cultivating a walk with God is no easy task, but it is absolutely essential. Murray says further,

If you are not willing to sacrifice time to get alone with Him, and to give Him time everyday to work in you, and to keep up the link of connection between you and Himself, He cannot give you that blessing of His unbroken fellowship. Jesus Christ asks you to live in close communion with Him.

The result:

We can say, “I am utterly given up to the Vine, and the Vine can give me as much or as little sap as it chooses. Here I am at it’s (His) disposal and the Vine can do with me what it (He) likes.

I cannot tell you exactly what cultivation looks life for you. Everyone is different. Right now for me, it means most mornings with at least one day that is extended for a few hours of worship, prayer of examination, prayer for the Holy Spirit’s filling and caring of needs, Scripture study, and a book to help shape my mind and heart. I am spending nearly and hour and half minimum in this time, but up to 3 hours.

I can tell you I have noticed a difference. Am I busy? Yes. Is there a lot to be done? Yes. Before I was doing a lot of it in my own power. Because I was doing what Andrew Murray writes,

Oh, we find the Christian life so difficult because we seek for God’s blessing while we live in our own will. We should be glad to live the Christian life according to our own liking. We make our own plans and choose our own work, and then we ask the Lord Jesus to come in and take care that sin shall not conquer us too much, and that we shall not go too far wrong; we ask Him to come in and give us so much of His blessing. But our relationship to Jesus ought to be such that we are entirely at His disposal, and every day come to Him humbly and straightforwardly and say: Lord, is there anything in me that is not according to Thy will, that has not been ordered by Thee, or that is not entirely given up to Thee?…Bring everything into relationship with Jesus…

Noah is just and ordinary guy, living extraordinary in the world by being ordinarily faithful. The world needs more ordinary Christians cultivating walks with the Lord that impact the world before we need more superstar Christians or preachers.

Walking with God leads to righteousness.

I must first caveat this theme by saying that righteousness begins in the cross of Jesus. I have no righteousness apart from Him, neither do you. One must first be justified, that is declared righteous by the life, work, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Romans 3:24–26 “24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.”

However, once we are regenerated into new life by the redemption of God through Jesus, we become new creations in Him. Noah didn’t have Jesus yet, but he had faith of the Messiah to come and he pursued the Lord who granted to him righteousness.

From the faith Noah carried and the walk he maintained with God, righteousness living or godliness followed in his life.

How do we walk in righteousness as Noah did with a world around him that cared nothing for righteousness?

We walk with God. I used Titus 2:11-14 last week, but in it Paul speaks that we are called to deny godlessness and wordly lusts, that we are saved as God’s own possession who are eager to do good works.

As our walk with God increases in depth, so does our desire for good works and a decrease for godless things.

Walking with God leads to fuller obedience.

Noah did not follow the world around him. Noah obeyed the Lord completely. How long did it take to build the ark? We don’t know, but it is guesstimated somewhere between 50 and 75 years.

I imagine he got blisters, maybe even hurt a time or two while construction happened. I bet there was times accidents happened that challenged his timeline.

I wonder if he ever thought to cut corners. Add his own flair to the project. Did he still have to provide for his family while building? I bet so.

As the world around him possibly scolded him, jeered him, told him he was crazy. I’m sure he stood out like a sore thumb just living differently than his neighbors by not participating in their unrighteousness.

His faithful obedience likely looked extremely radical, setting aside a giant boat in his backyard.

Here is a fact: The obedience of Noah was not easy and a life of faithfulness never is. Walking with God and being obedient is not guaranteed our best life now.

You know what is guaranteed? Provision. Endurance. Presence. Comfort. Guidance. More faithfulness. Peace. Growth. Love. Hope. At times, blessing from God. Grace.

Jesus spoke to His disciples and said in John 15:9–10 “9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

Obedience and walking with God are reciprocal. We walk with God and obedience comes. We obey and depth in our walk increases. In fact, obedience brings joy.

A Final Word

A final word on these themes before I get to Christ connections. None of these are done in our own power. We can’t.

Noah is in the most impossible situation I can think of. A world full of sin, godlessness, wickedness, opposed to God. A plan and task that would overwhelm anyone. The narrative of Noah defies the common adage- God won’t give you more than you can handle.

Apart from a deep relationship with God, this is more than he can handle.

How are you walking with the Lord? Is it in utter dependence and surrender? Is it in partial surrender? Is it with a plan of your own and sprinkling some prayers, church attendance, and devotional reading to bless it?

If you desire more of your own walk, dive deep into the well of life found in Christ Jesus.

Christ Connection

There is actually quite a bit in this text that points to Jesus.

Jesus is our righteousness

Noah as representative of Jesus presents righteousness leading the way to salvation. Again, not of his own ability.

Jesus we are told and know is our righteousness.

1 Corinthians 1:30 “30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption”

Philippians 3:9 “9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.”

I said last week that Noah stands in the gap of between God and humanity, but Noah is unable to stand complete in righteousness. It is only Jesus who is able to do so for us.

The Way of Salvation is through the cross

There are several allusions made toward the ark of Noah and the cross of Jesus. Many over church history have done this.

The clearest Scriptural connection is 1 Peter 3:20–21 “20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

Here Peter relates the idea of the ark along with the idea of the flood to baptism pointing to salvation. Now, though Peter says baptism saves you, it is attached “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” a way to say through the work of Jesus to bring salvation.

It is only by way of the cross that salvation can be made. Last week, I used these Scriptures that relate to this as well:

1 Peter 2:24 “24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Galatians 3:13 “13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

A couple of others allusions I have come across:

Pitch- the word is closely tied to atone. Both have a basis word meaning covering or to cover. The idea presented is that salvation is our covering.

In the case of Jesus, His shed blood covers sin. Matthew 26:27–28 “27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

1 John 1:7 “7 If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Hebrews 9:12 “12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”

2. One door- This one might be a bit of a stretch, but I find it curious that the Lord specifies only one door to be placed on the ark. Some of connected this with Jesus’ word about being the Gate in John 10. It is only through Jesus (John 14:6) that one can be saved.

A quick word

As with the parables and metaphorical language in Scripture, we must be cautious not to stretch the allusion or analogy too far. But, Scripture affirms Noah as a type of Christ and the things related to Noah bear similarity to that of Jesus.

Conclusion

Noah presents to us what faithfully walking with God looks like and what it leads to, especially in a world that is not walking with God.

Noah called upon the name of the Lord, sought the Lord, walked with the Lord. From that flowed in his life righteousness and obedience.

Is your life characterized by a pursuit of righteousness and obedience? If not, perhaps you are not walking with the Lord.

Is your life looking more like the world? Can people tell you walk with God?

When Moses came off the mountain after experiencing the presence of God, the glory of God shown off of him. It was so much he had to wear a veil around the people. I think too often we have a veil on our faith. A veil of the world that camouflages us to look like the world around us. A veil that covers the glory of God that is supposed to shine through us.

Noah also presents God’s saving grace. His just judgment does come, but He didn’t end it all. God granted salvation through Noah. Sin, death, and brokenness do not have to be our end. Salvation is found in Jesus. Hope is found in Him. Security in this life and the next.

Why would you continue to run into a brick wall when the open door is right there? So it is for the one who does not enter through the door of salvation that is Jesus.