Westside Church of Christ

Mom grew up in the shadow of the depression, and it profoundly affected her. She would hang on to leftovers till they turned green with mold. She washed and reused Styrofoam plates. She was definitely shaped by her history. My father-in-law was a product of the same era, but it affected him in a very different way. He refused to eat leftovers. He grew up eating them, a lot. So, he wanted fresh cooked meals every time. The same experience produced opposite responses.

The Israelites and Egyptians saw that first hand. The Red Sea was their common challenge. The Israelites marched through the midst of it on dry land. The Egyptians charged into it and drowned. The difference? Faith (Hebrews 11:29). Moses followed the Lord’s command and a people were liberated through a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The wave of a staff and the power of God was unleashed. Deliverance resulted. Pharoah had horses and chariots. The Israelites had the Lord. The outcomes were very different.

Noah grew up in the darkest of times. People had turned away from the Lord. Their minds were saturated with wickedness. They pondered and loved evil. It consumed them. Yet, there was that one righteous man. God noticed that solitary soul who had not been consumed by his environment. A flood was coming. What would happen to the people? It depended on their choices.

It was a long time. Days turned into weeks, months and years. Noah built. People lived. Very few listened. It was their choice. It still is. Judgment was coming on a sin-filled world and there was but one hope; a righteous man with the Lord’s blueprint. He followed it to the tee. Nothing else could work. Life went on as usual, and he continued to build.

He gathered up the appropriate number of animals, his wife, their three boys and their wives and got on that enormous boat when God told him to. It’s a recurring thought. The Lord said it, and Noah did it. God shut the door, and they waited. A week later the rains came. It poured and poured and poured. Forty days and forty nights worth. Animals drowned. So, did people. All of them. Every single one of them who did not get in that boat. That was the consequence of their decision. They had a choice. Same event. Different outcomes. Only eight survived. Eight!

Everyone is heading to the same destination. One day our heart will beat for the last time. Our days on earth will be finished. Then will come the encounter with the Lord. He has told us and has provided a way for that to be the most joyous occasion imaginable. Or the most horrible. We are all racing toward eternity when we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). Then we will go to our forever home. Where will yours be?

Call to Praise: 1 John 5:1-6

His word on it: Hebrews 11:6

Sermon: “Conquering Faith”