Untitled Sermon

"The Mess In Noah's Ark"

(KJV)

12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

Some of you may agree with me some of you may not, the church is not a perfect place.

Its not perfect because there are no perfect people. If you joined the church, believing that the church is perfect…..

We’re striving for perfection, but none of us are there yet. A theologian described the church as the “Fellowship of the Flawed. Matter of fact the church can get messy sometimes.

As flawed as the church might be, as messy as the church can get. Its still better to be inside the church than outside the church. But the Church is still the best place you can be in.

Just ask Noah and his family, ask Shem, Ham and Japheth, as messy as the Ark can get, when the storms came, and winds blews, and the rain, it was better tin the Ark than outside the Ark.

I don’t believe there dog, a cat, rabbit, a snake, a squirrel, regardless of the mess, did not appreciate being in the ark than outside the Ark.

I don’t believe there was man, woman boy or girl, when the door was shut, would have cared about the mess just as long as they were in the ark.

All I’m trying to say is Sometimes the church can get messy, but I’d rather be in the church than outside the church. THE MESS IN NOAH.

Have you ever asked the question,

Why is there so much mess in the church? I have pondered this question and have come up with three major reasons as to why there is so much mess in the church.

The first reason why there is mess in the church is because there are some wanna be Christians in the church. Everybody in the church anit church.

Some folk are just!

· members of the church, and not subjects of the Kingdom

· some have been dipped in the water; but have not been washed in the blood!

· Some have their name on the church roll; but not written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

· I’m talking about Wanna Be Christian, singing in the choir, praying in the Deacon's corner, moaning with the Mothers, preaching in the pulpit, counting the Lord's money and opening the church-house doors, who simply have not been born again.

The church today is not the only entity that have bee inflitratrated by Wanna Be’s

There were wanna be Jews. That’s why God told Solomon, If my people, The conjunction “If” suggest an alternative possibility. A possibility that some folk who claimed to be a people of God were not God’s people at all. So God told Solomon, if my people who are called by name name, they humble, pray seek my face turn from their wicked ways, they are my people, then I will hear them and heal their land.

But it’s the wanna be’s that keep stirring up mess.

The Bible says ( KJV) "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Just as it is natural for the troubled sea to cast up dirt, it's natural for those who are not saved to keep stirring up mess!

Secondly, there are too many carnal Christians in the church!

Carnal Christians have been born again, but they arer not growing in the knowledge and grace of the Lord. In other words they are baby Christians. It don’t matter how old you are or how long you ben in the church, you can still be a baby Christian.

These spiritual babies take on the same characteristic physical babies

· When they don’t get there way, they will fuss and fight

· When they get upset in a heartbeat, when they get upset they will close their hymn-books, close there Bibles and close their mouths

· You know they are babies, these are the folk who walk on the other side of the just so that don’t have to speak to you.

· When they still cant get their way they'll go home get on the phone, on facebook, twitter, talk about the church, and everybody in the church.

They’ll stay away, weeks, months, sometimes years, but just as soon as they calm down, they come back to church, smile in your face, like nothing ever happened!

Paul told the church at Corinth, envy, strife and divisions were signs of carnality.,

It's all right to be born again, but you need to grow. You ought to grow daily, you ought not be the same on tommorrow as you are on today.

All I’m trying to say: A whole lot of mess would be eliminated if some of us would just put down our pacifiers and grow up! Paul said, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things!" ( KJV)

The third major reason why there is mess in the church, is because there are no perfect people in the church.

Everyone us, I don’t care who you are, we where a sign on our back: “Under Construction” That's why, when you see a brother or a sisters stumble, don’t shift into judgmental gear. Don't be so quick to pass judgement! The song writer said, Please be patient with me. God is not through with me yet, But when God gets through with me, I shall come forth as pure gold!

But we still got folks who are desperately searching for the "perfect church." Well, I got news for you! You won't find the perfect church on this side of Glory! And if you were to find the perfect church; you would mess it up when you joined! THE MESS IN NOAHS ARK.

Well preacher, If the church got wanna Christian, If the church got some carnal Christians, If there are no perfect people in the church, If the church can get messy every now and then.Tell me how do I deal with the mess in the church Well I'm glad you asked, because I've got two helpful tips!

First of all, keep yourself clean!

Make sure that you are right! Make sure yournot the causing the mess

· In the choir

· On the User Board

· On the deacon

· In the axillaries

Keep yourself clean. How are you going to tell somebody about living holy when your life is a big cesspool. Clean up your own mess, and when your mess is clean, then you can help somebody else clean up theirs.

Secondly – Sometime the best way to deal with mess is to simply leave it alone!

One thing I've learned about mess is that if you don't stir it up or step in it; it doesn't smell so bad!

If sister so and so comes to you , talking guess what I heard about bro so and so and sister so and so. Anit nothing wrong with telling them I don’t want to hear that mess. l

Leave it alone, don’t stir it up , because if you stir it its going to smell. THE MESS IN NOAH’S

CONCLUSION

In our text tonight the bible tells us that the days of Noah were dark and dismal days! In those days, the wickedness of man was so great that God was sorry that He ever made man! And the Lord decided that He was going to destroy man by bringing a great flood!

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord! So, the Lord instructed Noah to build an ark, for the saving of his household. And despite the fact that it had not rained for years, Noah was obedient and built the ark out of gopher wood, some 450 ft. long, 75 ft. wide and 45 ft. deep! All the while preaching for men to repent because it was going to rain!

You know the story. Noah build the ark, and when he was through, He called the grasshoppers; and they came! He called the lions and they came, he called tigers and bears; and they came! He called the birds of the air and even the creeping things; and they came!

But, when Noah began call men, they would not come! You know what they said. Noah; "First of all, we don't believe it's going to rain! You been preaching day in and day out, and it hasn't rained yet!

Secondly Noah even if it rainS, we don't want to come into your ark because it's just too messy!

You've got chickens, pigs and cows: it's too messy! You've got camels, giraffes and gazelles; it's too messy!" YOU GOT LION, TITGERS AND BEARS, ITS TWO MESSY

Well, you know the story of how the rain began to fall! They started knocking on the windows and knocking on the doors! When the water started rising, they discovered that it was more of a mess on the outside, than it was on the inside!

That's where I'm going to leave you tonight! It may be some mess in the church, but it's more mess on the outside than it is on the inside!

There may trouble in the church, but its more trouble on the outside than on the inside,

There maybe mountains to climb in church, the mountains are higher on the outside than on the inside.

winds of confusion will blow sometime, but it blows stronger on the outside than on the inside.

And I don’t care how strong the winds may blow, I want to tell you tonite, I want you to know church will stand. I know the church will stand.

In Matthew 16th Chapter when Jesus came into the coast of Cessarea Phillip.....

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”....

· It may be a mess somtime ... but the gates of hell…

· It may be troubled somtime... but the gates of hell..

· It may be toilsome sometime, but the gates of hell….

· It may be wearied somtime.. but the gates of hell…

· It may be worn sometime, but the gates of hell…

· It may be challenging sometimes, but the gates of hell

· It may be problematic sometime, but the gates of hell

· It may be ardous sometime, but the gates of hell…..

· It may be strenuous sometime, but the gates of hell

· It may be difficult to but the gates of hell…….

· You may talk about the church, but the gates of hell..

· You may slander the church, but the gates of hell….

· You may criticize the church but the gates of hell..

· You may disparage the church, but the gates of hell….

· You may be little the church, but the gates of hell

I don’t care what you do, stay with the church.

I don’t care what going in your life, stay with the church

Yes, the Church may get messy

The Church has landed many a thousands

The Church, has landed the:

· drug addict, drug pusher……pimp and the prostitute, lyer and bitebiter, theif,

· Church has landed me and you

I don’t know about you I got saved in the church

· I didn’t get saved in a bar

· I dint get saved in a pool hall

· I didn’t get on a street corner

I got saved in the church, I thank God for the church, do you thank God, Do you thank God for Church

THANK YOU LORD,