Noah's Example

Peter referred to Noah as a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5) and pointed out how God preserved him alive from the judgment of the great flood which destroyed the ungodly.  Pastor Drew shared this morning at Calvary Chapel Sydney how Noah testified of this coming judgment in two primary ways.  The first was with words as a preacher of righteousness for over a century.  God had told him plainly in Genesis 6:13, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  Believing this to be the case, Noah warned others.  The second way he demonstrated his belief was through the building of a massive wooden ship.  As he was commanded he built the enormous ship and loaded it with provisions for a voyage - nowhere near a large body of water on dry land.

Ultimately the word of God was fulfilled, and Noah and those who sought refuge in the ark were preserved.  All the people and animals which exist to this day are evidence of God's salvation.  The Bible makes it abundantly clear a future day of judgment is coming, but with the daily grind of life the evidence of this future calamity can be lost on us.  We are like the fabled townspeople so fatigued by the boy's false alarms of "Wolf!" we ignore obvious paw prints and dead chickens - sure signs wolves are around.  How many times has the "end of the world" been predicted and nothing has happened?  Do we dare believe judgment will indeed come on the unsuspecting world?  Peter certainly thought so, and based on scripture so do I.

2 Peter 3:1-7 reads, "Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For this they wilfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."  Forget global warming:  there is consuming fire reserved for the future of this world and all its inhabitants, and only those who are born again through faith in Jesus will be preserved.

IF we believe this to be true, the sense of urgency and focus of purpose which marked the life of Noah should mark ours.  It is good to be reminded of our mortality and to continually re-align our perspective according to God's Word, for it is easy to drift off course.  A small lapse of focus can have disastrous consequences for a pilot or driver, it is the same for us.  We only have one life to live on earth for our Saviour's glory.  It is imperative that we be about our Saviour's business on our earthly pilgrimage, seeking and obeying Him faithfully.  We might not have the opportunity to preach from a pulpit, but the manner and aim of our lives speaks plainly to all who observe.  The prophet Ezekiel was directed by God to say and do many things people inquired about, and may our lives also be a curious testimony of God's love, salvation, and future judgment so they too might discover and worship Him.