NOAH - THE CONQUEST OF CIRCUMSTANCE - - Gen: 6:5-6; 11-12

1. INTRODUCTION

A. Noah is one of the greatest characters in all the Bible.

1. He is seldom appreciated because we have enveloped him in a fog of ridicule.

2. He is not enshrined in the hall of fame of Bible characters because He got drunk and exposed himself.

3. But people forget one thing - there was no fermentation of the grapes prior to the flood. Noah had drunk of the fruit of the vine before and had never become drunken.

B. He stood against the stream of evil and corruption in his generation and dared to be different.

1. The background of his deeds and acts are found in our text. Gen 6:5-6 and Gen 6:11-12.

2. In the midst of moral decay and violence stood one man.

3. He did not stand with - but he did stand against it.

4. He pled with the people to turn from their sin.

C. Let any man stand up against the sins of his generation and he will be branded as a crank.

1. Jesus knew this when He said to his disciples - If the world hate you, you know it hated me before it hated you.

II. Noah Saw the Danger of the Present

A. He saw the present sin of the cities and the wickedness of the people.

1. He didn't deal with future perils but with present problems.

2. Noah was not a bombastic reactionary nor a chloric troublemaker - his very name meant "rest."

3. It suggests that he was a quiet and peaceful person.

B. Consequently no one looked for any trouble from him.

1. They expected that he would loyally and meekly go along with their plans.

2. Yet this quiet humble man stood up when he had to.

3. He was a solitary figure against a multitude.

II. Noah is the Example of a Man who Conquered His Circumstances.

A. What kind of circumstances did he conquer?

1. Noah's generation was materialistic. It was the fruit of Cain who was a Deist.

2. They had a religious conception of God but failed to have any present vital experience with Him.

3. God was remote, even removed so they had very little respect or reverence for him.

4. Is that unlike the spirit of our generation. 96% of our population believe in a god but few have any vital relationship with Him.

B. They lived as they pleased and went to the limit of their desires.

I. They indulged the flesh and neglected their spirit.

2. They gloried in human might and physical virtues.

3. The scripture says there were giants in the earth, mighty men, men of renown.

4. Our II World War came from the same conception.

5. Hitler and Mussolini glorified the physical. They talked about supermen and a super race.

6. With the increase of the human came a decrease of the Divine.

III. Noah Refused to Compromise His Principles

A. He believed and preached of a God of integrity and righteousness.

1. He believed in a God who created man not a Cod created by man.

2. In other words Noah refused to follow the ideologies of his time.

B. There was also social corruption as well as religious corruption.

1. The scripture says, all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

2. That corruption included the basic fabric of society - I refer to the institution of marriage. They were married and were given in marriage.

3. The sanctity of marriage was disregarded and was only treated as a physical convenience.

IV. Noah Kept Himself Clean in the Light of God

A. The Bible says; he walked with God and was a just man and perfect in his generation.

1. To walk with God means he lived in the very consciousness of God's presence.

2. It means he followed God's purposes for how can two walk together unless they be in agreement.

B. Finally Noah was a man of Faith

1. By faith, Noah being warned of God prepared an ark.

2. Faith is that force which makes it possible to withstand the pressure of circumstances that come upon us.

3. Noah's faith could not save his generates but it did save him and his family from the present corruption and the consequences of future judgment.

4. Noah did not have a great influence on his generation but he did influence his family. That is always our greatest responsibility.

5. The first responsibility any of us have is to our family.

C. Noah did not succumb to the evils of his time because he had a God' eye view of life.

1. He saw the future as well as the present and he decided to live with eternity's values in view.

2. When Professor Joad, the English philosopher, was conversing with a certain Indian sage, Joad happened to say something in praise of one of the technical marvels of our generation. "Yes," replied- the sage, 'you can fly through the air like birds and swim in the sea like fishes, but how to walk upon the earth as man you do not yet know!"

D. Noah was not a superman, He was just simple enough and humble enough to trust God.

1. Through God's grace he was strong enough to live above the popular tempo of the times.

2. Noah set an example for all of us - walk with God, be a man of conviction, have the courage and strength to stand up for the truth.

3. Be the witness and testimony to your generation.