Sermon for October 10th (Noah)

Today you will be hearing a lot about a man named Noah who was made famous by building a big boat called an ark. But while it’s easy to focus on the animals and the logistics of 40 days and 40 nights of rain, I believe that this story is about something much more relevant to most of us. But first, how about a quick review from last week. The story about Cain and Abel. I know, I know, sorry to bring that back up again, but understanding that story makes a big difference in how we understand this story about Noah. Now, if you weren’t here last week, please feel free to go back and listen to the sermon online (off of our website) or read it on my blog as well at home. But for those of you who were here the pressure is on!

Why did God favor Abel and his offering and not Cain? Just to make it easier I’ll make this multiple choice: God favored Abel because: A. God likes sheep fat more than whole wheat grain. B. Abel brought the firstlings of the flock while Cain brought grain. C. Abel tried harder than Cain. Or D. God favored Abel because of Abel’s faith. The answer is: D. God favored Abel because of his faith. How do we know? That’s what the text in Hebrews 11 says. It wasn’t Abel’s offering that God favored, it was Abel’s faith that mattered.

So, it’s a new week and we’ve got a new hero of the faith to look at: Noah. Now, how did Noah find favor? (We always find a way to get confused at this point. We tend to forget all the lessons we learned from Cain and Abel.) There are two verses that we must line up, one against the other, to figure this out. First, verse Genesis 6, verse 5, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Every inclination? Every inclination. All the time? All the time! Even Noah? Well, is he part of the earth? Yes. Wouldn’t he have the same inclinations, the same thoughts and the same heart? Yes. “All have fallen short of the glory of God.” Even Noah. So please don’t forget that part when you read what verse 9 says, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”

“Noah was a righteous man”, correct, but before we ever hear that Noah was a righteous man, we hear that, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” in verse 7. Noah found favor with God BEFORE we are ever told how righteous and blameless he is! And just like Abel before him, Hebrews 11 says this, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” It does NOT say that God picks the most righteous man on earth to build an arc. It does NOT say that there was only one good guy left on earth so God had to pick that one. “By faith Noah, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” God chose Noah just like he chose Abel.

Now, I am sure that Noah was a great guy because the Bible says it is so. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time”. I hear about these people all the time! Well, sure he doesn’t believe in God, “But he is a great guy!” “I’m not sure if he believes in Jesus, but you’ll never hear anyone say anything bad about him!”

Martin Luther explained that we each have two different reputations. We look one way to the world around us, our community, our family and so on. And we look one way to God. We have one kind of righteousness in the eyes of the world. A “civil righteousness” he called it. So we are good fathers and mothers, or we are awful cooks, or we are shady businesspeople, or we are great athletes, or we are generous givers. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time.” Good job Noah! But in God’s eyes, we don’t look good because of what we do, but because of faith in God alone. In God’s eyes, he saw that every inclination of the thoughts of people were only evil all the time. Bad job Noah and bad job all of us! “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Not by how he acted, but by faith in God alone. And this is really interesting. After the text says that “Noah was a righteous man and blameless among the people of his time” it says this, “and he walked with God.”

For the next several weeks, I am going to be focusing on different aspects of your walk with God. Last week, I talked about trust. God favored Abel. Abel trusted in God’s choice. This week, I’d like to talk about another important part of your faith walk, a part that Noah was really good at. Listening. Noah listened to God.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about the story of Noah and the ark. Do you know what Noah said when God called him to build the ark? Nothing. Do you know what Noah replied when God told him that it was going to flood? Nothing. Do you know what Noah said when God made a covenant with him to never flood the earth again? Nothing. That’s because in this Bible story, Noah has no speaking parts. God does all the talking. Does that mean that Noah was mute? No. After they left the ark, Noah got drunk one night and passed out naked. When Noah found out that one of his sons had told his brothers about it, he spoke up very clearly and cursed his son. Pretty messed up, huh? But remember, Noah was not a perfect hero of the faith, he simply listened when God spoke to him.

Try this for a moment. We are going to pray to God . . . in silence. We are going to ask God to speak to us and then we are going to listen to him. For all of you in Sunday school, you should know how this works. You’ve been learning about the prophet Samuel. When the prophet Samuel was just a little boy, he heard God’s voice and was told to say this, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I’m sure that many of you pray and tell all your troubles to God, you ask him for things, you thank him for things, you praise his holy name . . . but have you ever taken the time to listen to what he might have to say back to you? This might be a good time to start. Let us pray, “Speak to us, O Lord, your servants are listening.”

Imagine if you took thirty seconds, a minute or more after you prayed to listen to what God had to say back. Maybe you would hear a still small voice, maybe you would simply have a feeling inside you pulling you in a direction that you couldn’t resist, maybe you won’t hear anything. Your God is a living God, a God who spoke the world into existence and continues to sustain you with his breath of life. He is still speaking. Are you listening?

Noah listened to God. He didn’t just HEAR God, he heard and followed—he listened. Some people worry that they might hear their own voice and their own ideas, or worse, the voice of an evil spirit, not God, when they pray. This is certainly a possibility. How might you know the difference? John 14, “Jesus said, The Holy Spirit will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” And again in John 16, “He will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Jesus and the Holy Spirit say the same things.

For example, if you ask God for guidance about staying faithful to your wife and you feel certain that you hear a voice say that you should have an affair instead, then you can be 100% certain that this is NOT the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God does not contradict himself by saying “Do not commit adultery” in one place of scripture and then change his mind later on. But when you are struggling with temptation, you may also hear a voice say, “I will not leave you or forsake you.” That might not be the answer you were looking for, but it might give you the strength to stay committed and the assurance that you are forgiven for even strong temptations. Noah was favored by faith alone. But when he listened to what God commanded him, he became a hero of faith.

The story of Noah’s ark isn’t really about animals is it—it’s about God’s mercy and Noah’s listening. How might you involve listening into your walk of faith? Besides having some silent time at the end of a prayer, how else might you listen? Coming to church and staying connected with the ministry of word and sacrament is important. When you hear the forgiveness of yours sins, when you are challenged or strengthened in the words of a faith talk, song or sermon, you are listening and walking with God in faith.

But reading the word of God, studying the Bible daily, might be the best way to listen to God. I don’t mean simply “skimming” the text, but expecting the words to speak to you. Whenever you open the pages of a Bible, you are in the presence of a living God who is still speaking and you have the opportunity to be changed. God loves to hear from you in prayer, but in the words of the Bible, God is speaking directly to you. Comforting you when you are distressed, judging you when you are sinning and warning you of times to come. Noah was favored by God, and God warned him about things not yet seen. That’s great. But I am also thankful that Noah listened. In holy fear he built an ark to save his family. God might have something to warn you about, but you’ve never listened to what he has to say. Take the time to listen.

Listening does not just mean hearing, but trusting and acting on the words you hear. Trusting God is an important part of faith, like Abel, but listening to the words God speaks might save you one day, like it did Noah. In the words of the prophet Nahum, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; he protects those who take refuge in him, even in a rushing flood.” The Lord promises to speak. He has chosen to be your God and favors you because of faith alone. But remember the story of Noah. When God speaks, you have the chance to listen. It might make a really big difference for you and your family some day. Amen.

"How to Read the Bible"

Last week, you heard why the Bible is so important. It is the container that holds the story of Jesus Christ: his birth, death and resurrection. The Bible’s message is inspired by God so that you might know both God’s will for your life and learn the story of your salvation. But just knowing that the Bible is important doesn’t make it any easier to read, does it? If you just open your Bible and read whatever is written there, it MAY be exactly what you needed to hear, but it may also really be confusing. That’s why you not only need a good reason WHY to read your Bible, but you need to know HOW to read it.

I learned a song in Elementary school that went like this: “Johnny could only sing one note and the note he sang was this: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” That’s how many of us read the Bible: like Johnny one note. Do you use the Bible as a guide when you need to make important decisions? Wonderful! Does the Bible help you to grow in your relationship to God? I hope so. Does the Bible encourage you to live your life with integrity? Those are all good reasons to read the Bible. . . but they are still just variations on a theme: Ahhhhhhhhhh! The Bible calls this note: the Law.

The Law says, “Do this!” and it is never done. The Law demands that you do this and then act that way and stop doing something else or else you are not following God’s will. When you heard the Ten Commandments read this morning, what did you do? Well, you probably started making a checklist, marking off those commandments you have done well in keeping and those you have failed miserably at. Reading the Ten Commandments will often lead you to the sin of pride (because you think you are doing so well!) and then to despair (Because you can never be perfect). Following all of God’s laws is absolutely a requirement for a Christian, but if you only read that one note in the Bible, “Do this!” “Don’t do this!” “Do this!” then you will only hear one word from God. “You have not done enough.” “You will never do enough.” “And you have done much that ought not to be done.”

In the Bible, words of law are conditional. If you do this, then you get this, “If you are willing and obedient, then you shall eat the good of the land.” The law demands, “You shall not murder.” The law tells you what to do, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” When you hear the law, you look at yourself.

The Bible has many words of law in it; however, the law is not the only word. When you read the Bible, or hear the words spoken, it is absolutely essential that you recognize not only the demands of God, but also his promises. This is the message of Galatians chapter 2, “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The Gospel says, “Believe this” and everything is done already. The gospel makes you look at Jesus Christ alone who died to save you. When you hear the message each week or when you read the Bible, be careful to distinguish between when you are hearing the one note of the law and second note of the gospel. What are you being called to do by God and what is God doing for you.

In Elementary school, for gym class, I had to learn to square dance. I didn’t want to do it. I liked the girls well enough, but I did not want to “do-see-do” with them. And yet, if I did not do it, then I would receive a bad report card. Those were the conditions: dance or else! In Junior High where I attended over in Griswold, we also had dances. We all got to listen to our favorite top-40 songs with our backs glued to the cafeteria walls. As a guy, if you got up the nerve to ask a girl to dance, then you would be teased by the guys and giggled at by the girls. Those were the conditions. And, if you did get up the nerve, like I did, you would either get rejected or feel her palms wedged against your shoulder blades as she made it clear that you would not be getting any closer than arms length that night. Those were the conditions: “do it this way or else”. That’s the law. And you can’t escape the truth of this reality even if you don’t like it.

On the other hand, when I was in college, I met someone who changed the rules on me. My wife, Kristy. We fell in love. And so, dancing was no longer in the realm of the law, but now held a promise. Because I love you, therefore I want to dance with you. I didn’t even need to ask . . . we’d just start dancing sometimes for no reason at all. No conditions. That’s the gospel.

Two lovers don’t ask, “Do I have to dance with you? Do I have to kiss you?” Because of course the answer would be, well, no, you don’t HAVE to. But when you are in love, don’t you want to? When you fall in love, no one asks about whether they have to or not—they get to! There are no conditions anymore, just faith and trust in the object of one’s affection. The gospel says believe this and everything is done already. Because I love you, therefore I want to dance.

In the baptismal service this morning, you heard both laws and promises. For example, Kristy and I were told to teach Micah the Lord’s Prayer and bring him faithfully to church. If we follow these demands, Micah will grow in obedience to the will of God. However, is his eternal life based on our ability to carry out these orders? No. For that, we must trust not in the law, but in God’s promise that Micah has been named and claimed by Jesus Christ today.

The Bible is a book of life, but the two notes, the demands and the promises, speak about two different lives. Your life here on earth and your eternal life. You life here on Earth is under the power of that first note, the law. You may not like it, but you must “Do things” and “Not do things.” If you do not do your homework, then you will fail. If you try to dance with the prettiest girl in the class, then you will be giggled at. If you do not do your job, you will be fired. If you do not trust in God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength God will be angry. When you follow the law, you become a good husband, a good mother, a good friend or a good citizen.

However, Paul says in Galatians chapter 2, “We know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” Following God’s demands cannot give you eternal life by themselves. Thankfully, you now know that there are two words in the Bible. Not just demands, but promises. “The life you now live in the flesh you live by faith in the Son of God who loves you and gave himself for you.” It’s not about what you have done, but about what Jesus Christ has done for you. Not because he had to, but because he loves you.

When you read the Bible and you hear that you must do something, do it for the sake of your family, your friends, your world and your respect for God’s authority. The Law says, “Do this!”, but you aren’t doing these things for yourself, but for others. However, when you hear a promise, stop what you are doing and just listen and believe the words of eternal life from God. God promises, “Because I love you, you have been chosen for eternal life. When you come to believe that, for you, everything is done already. Amen.