Perform: Outlive your Life
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
The seventh step to our journey of moving FORWARD is Perform: Outlive your life. If we want to reach and realize God’s dream for us this year, we need to have the audacity to do it, to carry it out, to accomplish it, act, execute it even if others are not with us.
In this message, I want us to learn how to live our lives in such a way that the result will even outlast our very lives. I am talking about living a life that will outlive us on earth and leaving a lasting legacy for other generations to come.
Brethren, no matter how successful you are today and so happy, if you are not performing for long-term investments for eternity, you are simply living like the rest of humanity, pouring out your life that will amount to nothing when you die.
Today’s character to study comes from the Old Testament. Someone who lived in the old, old, world, yet his life is always remembered to this very day and even in the next generations. I am referring to Noah in the Book of Genesis.
The Old Testament wouldn’t be complete without the story of Noah’s Ark. Now, did you know that there were people who actually thought that Joan of Arc was related to Noah?
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE I LEARNED FROM NOAH’S ARK
1. Don’t miss the boat
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat
3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark
4. Stay fit. When you’re really old, someone may ask you to do something really big
5. Don’t listen to the critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done
6. Build your future on high ground
7. For Safety Sake, Travel in Pairs
8. Speed Isn’t Always An Advantage. The Snails were on board with the Cheetahs
9. When You’re Stressed, Float a While
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals
11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting
Now, let’s retell his story and learn 5 lessons about Performance that Outlive our Lives.
1. Noah found Rest in God.
Noah and his family lived in a world at a time when almost everyone is wicked and evil.
Genesis 6:5 NIV
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.
Remember in the subject Psychology, they teach us that we're made up of three basic faculties: Mental or intellectual part, Emotional part, and Volitional part or the will. Basically, it's your mind, your heart, and your will. Those three things basically are the personality of a man. What is man? He is intellect, emotion, and will.
Now, look at the verse again and notice how sin has affected the 3 faculties of man:
"The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination” (Will) "and thoughts” (Mind) “of his heart” (Emotions) "was only evil all the time.”
Do you know what’s this called in Theology? It’s called the Doctrine of Total Depravity of Man. It means that all humanity was affected totally by the corruption of sin. Now, before we go any further, let me explain that "total depravity" is not what most people think it is. Sometimes you hear people talk about somebody who's "totally depraved," and what they mean by that is they're as bad as you can be.
Now "total depravity" does not mean that every man is as evil as every other man. It is not every man being as evil as he can be. It is not every man lacking any good virtue. "Total depravity" simply says that man in his totality is affected by sin in every part or faculty of his soul: in his mind, in his heart, and in his will. And we're all sinful, the Bible says, and we're capable of things that really surprise us on occasion.
So God saw the wickedness that prevailed in the world and He was so grieved that He decided to wipe them out completely and probably do a recreation.
(6) The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. (7) So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them."
God was “grieved,” another translation says “regretted.” Does this mean that God regretted creating humanity? Was He admitting He made a mistake? Of course not, God does not change his mind because He is perfect (1 Samuel 15:29). Instead, He was expressing sorrow and grief for what the people had become and done to themselves, as a parent might express grief over a rebellious child. God was sorry that the people chose sin and death instead of a relationship with Him.
But there was one man who stood out, made a difference, and caught God’s attention.
Genesis 6:8
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Noah is distinguished from the rest of humanity. There was something with Noah that caught God’s attention. Noah found favor, literally, grace in God’s eyes.
How many of you here today have found grace? I don't mean a girl. I mean, grace. You have found grace. How many of you have found grace? You know what it means to have the grace of God in your life. Grace is God's undeserved favor in your life. Grace is totally undeserved. If you think you deserve grace, you haven't got it 'cause grace is something God gives you. You don't deserve it at all. It is unmerited favor. Grace is God giving you what you don't deserve. And if you’re a Christian, that is, you’re born again, it’s the result of God's grace. Amen? Hallelujah for the grace of God.
Now, notice what it says about Noah. Living in this generation of wickedness, the Bible says, "Noah found favor". I don't know how he found it. God gave it to him. There's no explanation of how he found it, but if you wanna know the secret to Noah, here it is: "He found grace". The unmerited favor of God was extended to Noah, and Noah became the man that he was. He didn't deserve grace because of his good works.
Now here’s an interesting note. Noah means “rest.” Sin brings chaos and restlessness. Grace brings peace and rest. Noah was born when everyone seems restless and chaos with all sorts of weariness and wickedness. In fact, Jesus prophesied the end-times “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matt. 24:37). But Noah found favor with God and so he found rest for his soul.
Noah’s life was prophetic.
Genesis 5:29 NASB
Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.”
Lamech expects that Noah will bring both rest and comfort from the painful toil of working the soil (see 3:17–19). Noah is pictured as a type of Christ who is the true "rest and comfort" of men under the burden of sin (Matt.11:28).
In a generation where there’s a pandemic of wickedness and weariness, Noah found rest in his God. And it was all sheer grace. That’s where performance begins. Performance starts with a rested soul in God.
It’s so hard to perform God’s will if our soul is so unrested and unsettled. It’s so hard to hear God’s voice when we are restless.
Psalm 62:1
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
2. Noah lived Righteous in his Wicked Generation.
Genesis 6:9 NIV
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
Genesis 6:9 NLT
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time,
Genesis 6:9 TLB
Here is the story of Noah: He was the only truly righteous man living on the earth at that time. He tried always to conduct his affairs according to God’s will.
Now being “righteous” and “blameless” does not mean that Noah never sinned (the Bible records one of his sins in 9:20ff). Rather it means that Noah had a “right” standing before God and man.
The Hebrew adjective used to describe Noah is the word TAMIM which literally means being innocent, having integrity, living in accordance with the truth. This word describes Noah as morally different from anyone else in his generation.
Noah did not allow the evil ways of his day to influence his life and rob him of fellowship with God. He stood out as the only one who live “right" when everyone seems wrong. Morally, Noah was a man of deep conviction. He dared to be different from everyone else. He was not afraid to stand out. He was not afraid to stand alone. He was not afraid of what other people thought. He wasn't out to win a popularity contest but only to please God.
In spite of the fact that he lived in a terrible society, it says he was blameless among the people of his time. He was not afraid to walk with God alone.
Noah was not afraid to stand alone. While everybody else was doing what was wrong, he remained blameless among the people of that time. Noah was available and he was willing to be different. He was willing to stand out in a crowd. He wasn’t afraid to be right even if it was not popular at his time.
3. Noah maintained a Close Relationship with God.
Noah loved God more than anything else in the world, even when no one else did!
Genesis 6:9 NLT
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
Noah’s performance was simply a byproduct of his personal relationship with his God.
4. Noah completely Responded to God
God was grieved with the wickedness of man, and God says, "Here's what I want you to do. I'm gonna destroy the earth by a flood, and I want you to build an ark.” But Noah had no clue what an "ark" is. There had never been one before. And this ark wasn't some little boat. It was a monstrosity of construction, built kind of in the shape of a coffin, and if you're gonna have two of every kind of animal of the world in it, then it's gotta be a big place.
God gave him the dimensions, God gave him the instructions, down to what he should put on the inside of the ark and on the outside of the ark, including the door and the window, and all, and the Bible says…
Genesis 6:22 NLT
So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
God told him not only to build the ark but also to persuade people to repent and enter the ark to be saved. The Bible says he did it for 120 years, 120 years!!! Every day, he preached the Gospel, and he built the ark. He did exactly what God called him to do, exactly what God called him to do. It doesn't say he did some of the things the way he wanted to. It says he did everything as God commanded. Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Not some, not partial. He did all. It was unconditional obedience.
Obedience is simply the performance of faith. You say, "I've got a lot of faith in God." How much do you obey God without question? That takes faith. Faith is following instructions even when it doesn't make sense. The dream God gave Noah didn't make sense at his time. It didn't make sense for several reasons.
Noah’s Gigantic Problems:
1. There was no rain until the time of the flood. In fact, the word “rain” or “flood” don’t exist at that time. The whole atmosphere of the earth was different prior to the flood. Some scientists have explained that's probably why they lived longer in those days. In the Old Testament before the flood, people lived several hundred years sometimes. But after the flood, they lived like we do -- 80, 90 years. The life span was shortened. That's why the first time Noah and his family saw drops of rain or rainbow, it blew their mind. Nobody had ever seen a rainbow before.
So here's Noah building an ark in the middle of the desert and they say, "Why are you doing that?" and he says, "Because it's going to rain" and they say, "What's rain?" It didn't make sense.
2. Noah was at least 500 miles from the largest body of water -- the Mediterranean Ocean. How is he going to get it 500 miles across the land? That didn't make sense.
3. But the greatest problem was how in the world was Noah going to round up all those animals? If it’s hard enough to persuade people to enter the “ridiculous” ark, how much more can he round up all the animals to enter in. That's simply absurd.
But Noah believed in God and simply performed as instructed.
Genesis 7:5 NLT
So Noah did everything as the LORD commanded him.
What If Noah Was Born in Our Time?
Some Possible Excuses of Noah
1. First I had to get a building permit for the Ark construction project, and your plans didn't meet building code. So I had to hire an engineer to redraw the plans.
2. Then I got into a big fight over whether or not the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system.
3. My neighbors complained claiming I was violating zoning by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning department.
4. Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the Ark because there were no more trees to cut. Lumber ban.
5. Then the carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Commission before anyone would pick up a saw or a hammer.
6. Then I started gathering up the animals, and got sued by an animal rights group PETA.
7. Just when I got the suit dismissed, DENR notified me that I couldn't complete the Ark without filing an environmental clearance
8. Then the DPWH wanted a map of the proposed flood route. And the BIR has seized all my assets claiming I'm trying to avoid paying taxes by leaving the country, and I just got a notice from the state about owing some kind of use tax. I really don't think I can finish your Ark for at least another 120 years,''
Big problem. No. Gigantic problem. But in all of these, Noah didn’t complain or made excuses. From Genesis 6-9 you won’t find any mention that he argued, or he complained. The bible simply said, And Noah did everything to last nail, to the last inch, to the last stroke as God commanded him (period).
One of the real tests of faith in life is how do I perform God's will accurately? Do I follow His instructions even when they don't make sense? Do I follow His instructions even when I don't understand them?
Noah found rest in God. He was righteous before God and man. Noah responded to God’s call completely.
Here's the point: If you learn to perform whatever God tells you to do even when it seems absurd, then God will bless your life. You're going to live a life that even outlives you.
5. Noah’s Faith is forever Remembered through a Rainbow.
Because of Noah’s obedient and excellent performance, God Rewarded and memorialize him with a covenant and a sign that outlives his life.
Genesis 9:
(12) And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: (13) I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (14) Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, (15) I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. (16) Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (17) So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
This covenant had three parts:
(1) never again will a flood do such destruction;
(2) as long as the earth remains, the seasons will always come as expected;
(3) a rainbow will be visible when it rains as a sign to all that God will keep his promises.
The earth’s order and seasons are still preserved, and rainbows still remind us of God’s faithfulness to his Word.
Every time you see a rainbow, you will remember the faith and obedience of Noah whose legacy outlived his life.
Conclusion
Our days are all numbered, and we’re moving so quickly from today to tomorrow. All our pleasures and possessions are temporary, but the legacy we leave will endure forever. I have quoted this quite often and I will still quote it again:
WE HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE AND IT WILL SOON PASS.
ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST.
Like Noah, live in such a way that God finds favor in you. Stand out in the crowd and let your light shine. Let’s perform well and outlive our lives. Amen.
