Noah … and me? Walking Closely With God
Genesis 6
5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”
- What does the Bible say was God’s motivating characteristic for this judgment?
- Was it jealousy? Impatience? Anger or vengeance? It was grief.
Tyler Staton:
“God created a world that was very good, created people to live in paradise, the union of heaven and earth, entirely apart from death sickness and pain. The Satan / the Serpent is believed by God’s creation and creation is corrupted. The world we live in is a product of the lie our ancestors believed. All of our trouble is the result of the Curse sold by the Satan, bought by our ancestors. Not because God willed any of it, but the consequences of the curse are of the furthest reaching variety. Living outside of Eden has consequences, sin and death have infected the world - making this the world we chose, not the world God made. How does God feel about all this chosen suffering? Regret and deeply troubled, the suffering of His creation. From elation to grief by Genesis 6.”
Genesis 6
8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.
The Story of Noah
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 5.23-24
23 Enoch lived 365 years,
24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.
- Enoch, Noah both walked with God - “halak et elohim”.
- For Jesus’ followers today, this is imperative, especially as we see wickedness increase on the earth.
- We’ve been repeating our pattern for following Jesus:
- Be With Jesus, Become Like Jesus, and Do What Jesus did.
Genesis 6
11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence.
12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.
13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
14 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.
15 Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
16 Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.
18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.
20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive.
21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
- We begin with following - being with Jesus
John 1
35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples.
36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”
37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus.
41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Matthew 7
17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.
19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.
20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
John 14.9
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.
11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
1 John 2
3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
1 Corinthians 1
4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.
5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.
6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.
7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Philippians 1.6
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 2.12
Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
1 Corinthians 3
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.
6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
1 Corinthians 15.58
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
- It is clear and obvious that Jesus has commands for our lives and God has a work for each of us. People do spiritual gift tests, and personality tests, and we’re so eager to know what the work is God has for us.
Before we go to Home Depot and buy our tools for building an ark, remember, God is not flooding the earth again.
Where do we begin, then?
Well then, what should I be doing, or how can I begin to know? We start with:
Be With Jesus:
John 17
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.
23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.
26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
- We will not learn to walk closely with Jesus like Enoch and Noah and we will not learn to work diligently for the Lord if we’ve never learned to sit quietly with Jesus and learn from Him.
- We cannot become like someone we do not know.
A lengthy quote from Dallas Willard:
“The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds … this is THE fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practicing the presence of God is to DIRECTand REDIRECT our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our practicing, we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God [that is, we will be constantly distracted by a million other things]. But these are habits – not the law of gravity – and can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us.
Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north … If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the polestar of our inward beings.”
- Decide to Always Choose Jesus
JMC says:
“He’s talking about turning God into a habit … I recognize that turning God into a habit may sound about as inspiring as turning romance or laughter or poetry into a habit. In a culture that equates authenticity with spontaneous emotions, habit is a tough sell. Bt show me a person’s habits, and I will show you what they are truly most passionate about, most dedicated to, most willing to suffer for, and most in love with. And I will show you who they will become.”
From Marjorie Thompson, a conversation between a 18th century priest and an elderly peasant who sat alone for countless hours in the quiet of the church:
“What are you doing? Asks the priest. The man said “I look at Him, He looks at me, and we are happy.”
I will not walk closely with God if I will not sit quietly with God.
Begin there. Using Philippians 2.13, ask God to give you the desire to Always Choose Jesus.
- Ask him for from my guts desire for His company and love and the power to sit still in it for more than a stolen moment.
We have many tools to help with the Pause app, Lectio 365 prayer app.
Kallistos Katafygiotis: The most important thing that happens between God and the human soul is to love and be loved.
