What do you know about Noah?

this weekend, we are going to have two messages of speaking on Noah.

Scripture reading: Genesis chapter 6-7

in these two chapters, we see a record of Noah's life and work, which changed the age. my favourite verse will be Genesis 6:8, which says, "" during that time, the age was really dark, and God was about to send the flood as a judgement upon that evil age. but He had mercy and favor on Noah, so God gave Noah the vision of the ark. Noah and his family built the ark, and was saved from the great flood. Noah can be considered as a man, used by God to turn the age. 

even in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus, the apostle Paul and Peter all mentioned Noah. 

Matthew 24:37 For just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Matthew 24:38 For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark,

Luke 17:26 And even as it happened in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man:

Luke 17:27 They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, having been divinely instructed concerning things not yet seen and being moved by pious fear, prepared an ark for the salvation of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

1 Peter 3:20 Who had formerly disobeyed when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared; entering into which, a few, that is, eight souls, were brought safely through by water.

2 Peter 2:5 And did not spare the ancient world but guarded Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

from the record in the Bible, we can see that Noah's life and work did not change the age. 

God's Economy

what does it mean when we say "God's eternal economy"? God's eternal economy is the eternal plan He planned in the eternal past. in the history, man fell again and again because man did not exercise his spirit, rather overexercised his soul. God created man according to His image and likeness, in order that man would express God and represent God in His authority. God's economy is how God worked out His plan so that He can fulfill His purpose. 

Genesis 6:3 And Jehovah said, My Spirit will not strive with man forever, for he indeed is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.

Genesis 6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 And Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart.

in Genesis chapter 6, when God looked at man, He was so disappointed because man has fallen into flesh, only thinking of evil thoughts. so, in such a situation, how would God still work out His plan??

although man fell into such a condition, God cannot be defeated. therefore, in such a dark age, God raised up a man Noah to change that age. 

in the whole chapter of Genesis 6, this may be the greatest verse.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the sight of Jehovah.

that time, the enemy was happy when God decided to wipe out that generation of man, and it seems that Satan was winning the victory. but we have such a wonderful verse in the chapter "BUT" Noah found grace in the eyes of God, and this man turned the age. even in the history of Israel, Israel people fell again and again, but there were always a few people, a minority, who would be raised up and used by God to turn the age, for example, Daniel and his three companions. even today, God is still raising up such people, who would find grace in the Lord's eyes, to change the age.

the life that turns the age:

1. this life is life which inherits all the godly ways from the forefathers. 

a. Adam's way of salvation

b. Abel's way of offerings

c. Enosh's way of calling: enjoy the Lord by calling on His name

d. the forefathers' living and begetting

e. Enoch's way of walking with God

today, we need the same kind of living, inheriting all the ways of how to enjoy and go on with the Lord, from all the dear believers before us, so that we can accomplish God's purpose. today, people in the world try to improve the age. but the age does not need improvement, rather, it needs to be changed by people like Noah. so Noah inherited all these things from his forefathers. such a tremendous heritage. therefore, Noah must be very satisfied with this, enjoying God, enjoying calling on the name of the Lord, enjoying living and begetting. but the question here is, while Noah was satisfied, was God satisfied??? NO! God was not satisfied, because God needed someone to turn the age; God needed someone to terminate this crooked age. How can God be satisfied while His purpose was not yet fulfilled? God needed someone to build the Ark. God needed the Ark. we need to see that God also has His own need. 

John 17:21 That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

 in John 17, in the Lord's prayer, the Lord prayed that the believers may be one, that the world may believe that the Father had sent the Son. so here, we can see that God needs a testimony in this earth. the Ark was a testimony in type, that the believers are all built up in oneness as the Body of Christ. without this testimony, God cannot be satisfied. the Ark in Genesis was a picture, of the church as the Body of Christ, and the Bride of Chirst, for His pleasure and His satisfaction. 

 

so, it may seem that we can be satisfied with many things. but actually, we can never be truly satisfied, until we enter into God's heart desire and God's need. He needs the Ark. He needs the church. He needs the Body of Christ. He needs the testimony of genuine oneness of the believers, built together in Himself. 

 

we need a revelation:

1. the world is evil.

2. God has a positive work to end this age. 

 

the Ark Noah was building was in the physical realm. but today, the Ark God is building in the spiritual realm. today, the church as the Body of Christ is the fulfillment and reality of the Ark. 

Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord;

Ephesians 2:22 In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.

Noah paid a high price to build the Ark in his age. for us today also, we need to pay the price to build today's Ark, to suffer despising, misunderstanding, etc. in the 120 years of building the Ark, Noah preached righteousness to the people, but no one believed and no one would help the building. so in the end, only Noah, Noah's wife, the three sons and three daughters-in-law entered into the Ark and got saved from the flood, the judgement. Noah was able to endure because he saw the vision God gave to him. so if we want to be today's Noah, we need, first to see what Noah saw, then we would be able to do what Noah did. we need to see today's revelation, what God intends to do today. 

 what is the work of Noah?

1. preaching righteousness: Noah preached righteousness and protested against the evil age. 

2 Peter 2:5 And did not spare the ancient world but guarded Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2. Noah built the Ark according to God's revelation by faith, against the tide of the age. 

so what we can take away from the messages? 

1. we need to find grace in the eyes of the Lord. how can we do this? by looking into the eyes of the Lord. one of the most simple way to look into the eyes of the Lord, is to call on the name of the Lord. while we behold the Lord, look into His eyes, He will be grace to us, and this grace will stregthen us to stand against the evil age. 

2. we need to see the vision. Noah received the revelation from God, concerning the destiny of the evil age, concerning the need to build the Ark, and even concerning how to build the Ark. so for us to be today's Noah, we need to have this vision. Noah was able to endure for 120 years, because what he saw sustained him to go on with the building of the Ark. if we do not have the vision, it will be easy for us to be blinded by the world, and it will be hard, or even impossible, for us to give ourselves fully for the building work of the church, which is today's Ark. 

3. while Noah was building the Ark, he suffered a lot of despising and mocking from his peers. it is the same with us today. after we get into the church life, while we are building the church, people, even our family members, those who we love and who are close to us, will mock at us. we should not expect bright future filled with welcoming from people. No. they will only despise and mock at us, because they cannot understand what we are doing. 

for more detailed reading, please see Life Study of Genesis msg 29 The Life and Work that Changed the Age

to listen to the broadcast, please see msg 37 and msg 38