A Life of Faith - Lessons from the life of Noah

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on September 25th 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

A Life of Faith - Noah

We've been going through Hebrews 11 for a few weeks now. How many of you did Precise Writing when you were in school? If a prize is to be given for Precise Writing, it should be given to the writer of Hebrews. 

Hebrews 11:7 - 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.

Many verses from about Noah from Genesis chapter 6 we're condensed into just one verse in Hebrews. 

Noah was one of the greatest men in the Bible. Genesis chapter 6 talks about the Ark, animals and many more things. Doesn't that sound fun? But it actually talks about salvation. 

Genesis 6:9 - This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Think about this. If it is about you, what would be written. This is the account of ______. 

So Noah was righteous, blameless and walked with God. He had a right relationship with God. It must be the same with us too. Our hearts and actions need to be right with God. 

What was the state of the Earth during Noah's time? It was evil. 

Genesis 6:5-6 - The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

In Genesis chapter 1, each time God created something, he said it was good. When he made Adam and Eve, he said it was very good. 

Those days, people used to live for 900+ years. God saw the wickedness of people. 

Genesis 6:7 - So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

The people created by God became evil and wicked. God regretted that he made human beings and he decided to wipe them away from the face of the Earth. 

What else was bad? 

Genesis 6:1-3 - When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Who are these sons of God? They are the fallen angels. Those days, along with the humans, fallen angels lived too. They married humans and gave birth to the Nephilim. 

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

The Nephilim were mighty in size, strength and wickedness. 

Angels look like humans -

Hebrews 13:2 - Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Job 1:6 - One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

Job 38:7 - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Genesis 6:11‭-‬13 - Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

God saw that the Earth was corrupt and was filled with violence and wickedness. So he said to Noah that he was going to put an end to all the people. 

Genesis 6:14‭-‬16 - So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.

So God told Noah to build an ark which is big, huge and massive with many rooms. The ratio of length, breadth and height was the ideal ratio for ships. That was the largest vessel ever built till the 19th century. 

1. Noah was a man of faith

Hebrews 11:7 - 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.

Noah was a man of faith. From verse 7, what can we say are the things that were not yet seen? Rain! There was no rain during those days. But when God told him about the rain, Noah believed Him And started to work. 

The destruction that God spoke about was not a local flood. It was the greatest destruction in the whole world. The greatest ever. 

The Bible talks about another destruction. 

2 Peter 3:7 - By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Now, it takes great faith to build such a big vessel. He built it in holy fear. 

If you compare now, people in Christ will be saved towards the end just like how Noah's family which was in the Ark was saved. 

Matthew 24:37-39 - As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

People during Noah's time didn't know about the flood till the last minute. It is going to be the same when Jesus comes again. 

Ephesians 2:8-10 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

It is not works but faith that is needed for salvation. And then the works follow salvation.

2. Noah preached God's righteousness

2 Peter 2:4-5 - For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;

Noah's life shows walk of faith and works of faith. 

How many converts did Noah have? Just his family. 

We need to share our faith with people. Our responsibility is to be faithful in how we live and also preach the gospel. 

God said to Noah not only to build the ark but bring two of all the living creatures. 

Genesis 6:19 - You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.

What would Noah have thought? How could he bring in all the wild animals? 

Genesis 6:20 - Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.

God said they would come to Noah. And they did come. 

Genesis 7:8-9 - Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.

The whole ark had a covering. The covering was made of pitch so that water doesn't seep inside the ark. 

The pitch represents the blood of Jesus.

2 Peter 3:3-7 - Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

There's another judgement that's coming up. It is not going to be by water but by fire. 

What's our response? 

i.) Am I saved?

ii.) Am I doing the works of faith? 

Salvation is now. If there's anyone who hasn't put their faith in Jesus, today is the day. If you have already put your faith in Jesus, put your name in the verse account of ___ and ask about your works. 

One day you will be rewarded for your works of faith. 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

A Life of Faith - Lessons from the life of Enoch - Part 2

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on September 18th 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

THE WALK OF FAITH 

We’ve been in the series on the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11: 1-6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

We’ve been going through this passage and talking about the great heroes of the faith. Today we are looking at the life of Enoch. There are just 4 verses written about Enoch. In Genesis 5 there are many people who are mentioned, but only 2 are commended- Noah and Enoch. When it talks about all the other characters, it just speaks of them living, having children and dying. But there is something different about Enoch. 

“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭5:21-24‬ 

Q. What is so special about Enoch? 

1. Never experienced death: The amazing thing about Enoch is that he never experienced death. The Bible tells us that Enoch didn’t die but God just took him. 

Enoch represents a type or generation of believers who will not see death. It may be us, but we don’t know.  “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:50-52‬.

For those who have trusted in Jesus, they will not die but be caught up with him. 

2. He pleased God - Enoch may not have walked with God always. Because it says after his son was born he walked with God. He named his son methuselah which means “when he dies judgement will come”. He lived the longest on earth. The day he died, the flood of Noah came. Enoch must have had an encounter with God and then onwards he walked with him. 

Q. What does this tell us about God - that God is patient. He wanted to bring judgement but he gave methuselah the longest life of all the people mentioned in Genesis 5. He waited to bring judgement on the whole world. 

Q. How many years have we walked with God? 

We might think the world is evil today, but the world was so evil at that time that God destroyed the whole earth. We all want something written on our tombstones. What would Enoch’s tombstone have said if he had died? What was Enoch known for? He pleased God. That is the highest accolade we could aim for. Nothing else matters in the end. There were 2 Enoch in the Old Testament. The other Enoch was so powerful that a city was named after him. The Enoch we see in the Hebrew passage is not him. 

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭

Enoch was prophetic and he proclaimed the word of God to the people. We have got to be people who will boldly proclaim the word of God - the grace as well as the judgement of God. We need to tell people that they don’t have to face judgement by believing in Jesus alone for their salvation and eternal life. 

Q. What does it mean to walk with God? 

1. Communication - Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship with God. Hebrews 11:6- “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” ‭‭

And God is a He and not an it. He is a person and we can have a personal relationship with Him. When we come to him believing that he exists and seek him, we will be able to have a relationship with him. Gen 3 tells us that God used to meet with Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden.

2. Agreeing with Him - When you walk with someone you are agreeing. “"Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? ‭‭Amos‬ ‭3:3‬. So we need to ask God, does my life please you? Ask, God I’m planning to do this… do you agree with this? 

3. Looking for ways to please him - Jesus identified himself with sinners even though he was not a sinner. Then the father says this is my son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased. We can do things to please or displease God. He loves everyone but he is pleased when we obey him and do what pleases him. We have a great opportunity to please God every day. 

We have an opportunity to walk with God like Enoch every day. It starts with just having a quiet time with him, with believing he exists and seek him. Sometimes it will cost us a lot, but it is a chance to please Him!

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

 

Know, Show Grow - Book Release

 

We are excited to announce our first book release.

It gives us great joy to announce the release of Navaz DCruz’s first book titled “Know Grow Show”, a devotional based on John 15.

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4

Change of cosmic proportions was standing on the cusp of history. Jesus knew that what He said in these last hours would be critical to the survival of His ragtag crew. It was crucial for them to understand their identity, destiny, and the way they could get there was by staying in intimate connection with Him.

John 15 is a part of the last conversation Jesus has with His disciples. It is one of the most challenging passages of scripture that takes us into the heart of what  He wants for each of us. Jesus wants us to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. It is only from that place that we can love others as Jesus does and go on to produce lasting fruit.

 

 

This book is about discovering your intimacy, identity, and destiny in Jesus through John 15.

We cannot produce lasting fruit without abiding in Jesus. We all produce fruit in our lives, by design or default. To produce fruit that will last into eternity takes intentionality. It comes from a delightful abiding in Jesus’ presence that transforms us from the inside out. 

Two things are required of us as Christ followers: to love God and love people. Neither can truly happen without the other. This devotional helps us to journey into our own hearts and into the heart of God.

Some of the topics covered in the book are:

• How the orphan heart disconnects us from God
• Jesus came to restore us to the Father
• What is remaining in Jesus?
• Is Pruning a punishment or a reward for growth?
• What are the consequences of not remaining?
• The two most important commands are capsulated in John 15
• Why is loving one another important?
• The cause of love, the composition of love, cancer to love and the cure.
• Cultivating lasting fruit in our lives and many more related topics.

The book is available on various online sites like Amazon and Kindle, Flipkart, and Notionpress. 

International readers, please visit your country's Amazon website.

Please leave a review on these sites once you have read the book. Thank you.

A Life of Faith - Lessons from the life of Enoch - Part 1

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on September 11th 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here. To listen to the worship please click here.

A Life of Faith - Lesson from the life of Enoch - Part 1

Last week, we looked at Hebrews chapter 11 and we saw the great heroes of Faith. We looked at just one of them and that’s Abel. Turn with me to Hebrews Chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:1-6 - Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Last week we looked at the life of Abel. We looked at his life of faith.

Hebrews 11:4 - ⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.

Cain offered a sacrifice and Abel offered a sacrifice. But the Bible says hat God was not pleased by /cain’s sacrifice but pleased with Abel’s sacrifice.

What was the difference between both the sacrifices?

Genesis 4:2-7 - Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?

Here we see that God was not pleased with Cain’s offering but he commended Abel’s offering.

Abel brought the first fruits to God. He brought the fat portions from some of his flock. Cain gave leftovers. That was one difference.

How does that apply to us today? When we give to God in our tithes and offerings, are we giving to God our first fruits or are we going to take care of all our expenses and then give whatever is left?

Secondly, we looked at the spirit in which Abel gave. He gave the fat portions. This means generosity because fat portions are the best portions. Cain brought just some of the fruits of the soil – “God, here are some bananas.”

The result was that Abel was commended hundreds of years later by the writer of Hebrews. What he did was good, and he entered the Hebrews Hall of Fame. Cain was not commended, and the result was that he was cursed.

Genesis 4:11 - Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, 

So, there were 2 brothers and they had 2 different sets of actions.

There’s another bit which I didn’t cover last week. Let me touch upon it a bit.

This is not explicit in the text, but it is implicit in our view of the rest of the scripture.

The offering that Abel gave was a sacrificial lamb. In Leviticus and Numbers, God gave more understanding, and we realize that people sacrificed a lamb as sin offering. So, one of the things the commenters said was that when you give a sin offering, you are acknowledging to God that you are a sinner and God says without the shedding of blood there’s no forgiveness of sins. So, what Abel did was that he recognized that he was a sinner, and a sacrifice needs to be given. For us today, do we need to slaughter a lamb? No!

Jesus was the spotless lamb that was already sacrificed in our place.

This morning we are going to look at Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5 - ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 

WOW! All these people’s names are listed here in this chapter because they did something. They knew their God. They had faith and they did something. What did Abel do? He offered and acceptable sacrifice. What did Enoch do?

He was commended as one who pleased God.

Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

What did Enoch do to please God?

In Genesis chapter 5 we observe this –

Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died. Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died. Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died. Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died. Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:21-24 - ²¹ When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. ²² After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³ Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

WOW! All the other descendants of Adam lived, had children, and then died. But Enoch was special. He walked with God. Hoe long did he walk with God? For 300 years. That’s a long walk. God was pleased with him because he walked with him. God was so pleased with him that he didn’t let him suffer death, but he just took him with him to heaven. Wow! Amazing!

The Bible speaks about other people who walked with God. It speaks about Abraham.

Genesis 17:1 - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty^[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

Genesis 48:15 - ¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
    all my life to this day,

In pre-history, Genesis 6:8-9 - ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Adam walked with God at one time.

Genesis 3:8 - ⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

So, the custom was that God, Adam and Eve walked together in the garden but when sin came, Adam and Eve were cast out.

Now, the question for us is this – Are you walking with God?

One of the ways we please God is by walking with God. What does it mean to walk with God?

As we don’t have enough time to cover this, let me just give this as an introduction for our next Sunday.

God was pleased with Enoch because Enoch walked with God.

We see that the great heroes of faith – Abraham walked with God, Noah walked with God, Enoch walked with God and other walked with God.

What does it mean to walk with God?

In the New Testament, walking with God is taken a step further. For Adam it was literal – walking with God in the garden. For us it is spiritual – walking by the Spirit.

Let me just give a couple of things what it means to walk with God.

1.     We are close to God – Speaks about intimacy and relationship with God. Sometimes, I go for a walk in the park. There are dozens of people walking in the park. In a way we are all walking together. But are we really walking together? No, there’s no connection at all. With God it is about closeness, connection, and relationship. We need to have a relationship with God. That relationship comes with faith in Jesus Christ alone.

John 14:6 - ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 

2.     Communication – Speaking to God. Abraham, Noah and all the others communicated with God. Now, today, we are privileged to the whole Bible. One of the way God speaks to us is through Bible. If you want to develop your relationship with God, we need to be a people who are reading His Word. God speaks to us through His Word. As Christians, we need to take time everyday to communicate with God.

Mark 1:35 - ³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 

Jesus fellowshipped with God early in the morning.

In order to walk with God, we must develop a relationship with God, read His Word. Read one chapter a day. God’s Word is the Living Word. You may not remember what you read but it is planted within you.

3.     Prayer – Talk to God – We pray for different thigs that are posted om the groups. We pray for our families. Prayer cultivates humility – saying “God apart from you we can do nothing”

We will continue this next week.

Just to conclude, God was pleased with Enoch. What was so special about Enoch? Enoch walked with God. God wants you to walk with him as well. It starts with your relationship with him, it continues with reading His Word and then we talk to him based on what he says and bring our needs before him. It results in us being obedient to him. That’s the full cycle.

If you have neglected reading God’s Word or Prayer, I understand that we go through seasons. But come back to God. He’s waiting to walk with you and talk with you.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.