But God

 

My primary text is the shortest verse in the Bible. Many of you already know the reference: John 11:35. “Jesus wept.” But before I focus our attention on those two words, let’s also remind ourselves of what the Lord Jesus said a few chapters later: (John 14:1-9a)

 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

 “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

 It is this text, along with a slew of other passages of Scripture, that tell us Jesus and the Father are ‘One.” Said simply, Jesus IS Almighty God in human flesh. In the words of Isaiah, Jesus IS “God With Us” (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23).

 

And so, it is important that we view the ‘Jesus wept’ passage in John 11:35 in context with what I just read in chapter 14. If you remember the story about Lazarus, when Jesus learned of His friend’s illness, He and the disciples stayed a few more days where they were. When they finally arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had already died and was in the tomb for four days. When Jesus witnessed the grief of Mary, and Martha, and the other mourners, John tells us in two simple but profound words: “Jesus wept.”

 

We must never gloss over those two words. They are saturated with evidence of God’s passion and compassion for you and for me: “Jesus wept.”

There is not a person in this room who does not know life and suffering are nearly synonymous. Job – who certainly had his share of suffering – Job said it very well when he remarked: “Man is born for trouble as sparks fly upwards.” (5:7) A few chapters later he adds: “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.” (14:1)

 

And so, life being as it is, I think it’s normal to ask, “Where is God in all of it? Where is He in all the trouble and heartache and loneliness and sadness?”

 

I used to think He was always there, in the shadows – as it were – ready to come to us, ready to comfort us. But over the years I think I have come to know Him more accurately. He is NOT in the shadows as we suffer loss, and rejection, and heartache.

 

He is there, right alongside us. Right ‘With Us.” His arm is around our shoulder. He weeps as we weep. THAT is what John 11:35 demonstrates for us. He is not in the shadows as we mourn. He is embracing us – and He is weeping with us.

Here is another important text that dovetails with this truth embedded in the shortest verse in the Bible. It’s from Romans 8: “But you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ . . . . For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. . . .And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son . . ..”

 

Listen, please. Unless and until we believe – REALLY believe – that our omnipotent Father God is not only ABLE, but that He DOES cause all things that come into our lives – all things, all things – unless we believe God causes all things that come into our lives to work together for good to those who love Him – we will never be able to come to a place of peace and assurance in the face of the most desperate trials. Or even the simplest.

God is not in the shadows. He is so near to us, especially in our heartbreaks, that we can almost sense His body warmth if we pay close enough attention. The history of God’s affectionate interactions with His children fills the pages of Scripture. For the sake of time, let’s look only at the story of Leah. You will find it in the book of Genesis, beginning in chapter 29. I’ve referred to it before, but because the principle of this story is timeless, I share it once again.

Leah always lived in the shadow of her younger sister's beauty. When Jacob visited the family, Rachel's beauty captured him – so much so, he agreed to work her family's farm for seven years as payment to marry her. But on the eve of the completion of that seventh year, Rachel's family pulled a classic bait and switch. When the new groom awakened the next morning, he found himself lying next to Leah. If Jacob still wanted Rachel, he'd have to work another seven years.

 

He did, but it's not difficult to imagine how Leah felt – unloved, unattractive, unwanted, knowing her family had to trick Jacob into her marriage bed. Yet, the story grows more poignant. Scripture tells us: “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb . . . and (she) gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, ‘It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now’" (Genesis 29:31-32, NASB).

Can you almost hear the wistful yearning in her voice? "Now my husband will love me."

 

Have you ever been there? Desperate for the one you love to love you in return? Was it – or is it – a parent’s love? A Spouse’s? A child’s? Then you know some of Leah’s heartbreak. She hoped the birth of their son would change Jacob’s heart. But it did not.

 

Have you ever been there also that you thought to yourself if you only did this, or that, or whatever it might be – if you only did something more, the one you wanted to love you would then love you? But it didn’t work, did it? Of course not, because real love doesn’t work that way, and that’s why their love for you remained as elusive as it had been before you did whatever it was you did to gain their love.

 

But, back to Leah. She conceived again. And then, again. Listen to her hopeful cry: "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons."

 

Yet even after six sons, it was Rachel who remained the light in Jacob's eyes. Leah hungered for her husband's embrace and gentle touch, she yearned for a kind word, and to know in the core of her being that her husband loved her. Yet, Jacob remained hardened to her heartache and insensitive to her sorrow.

 

But God  . . . .

 

Christian, those two words are critically important words to remember as we live lives that sometimes seem hopeless. “But God” can help us focus on the omnipotent and omniscient One who knows all our tears and confusion and doubts and fears and loneliness. Those two words, “But God” should remind us that the One who loves me and you beyond our human capacity to comprehend – that He never abandons us or turns away from us, especially in our darkest and loneliest hours.

 

“But God” are the two words that bring Leah’s story to an astonishing and unexpected conclusion.

 

I’ve read those chapters in Genesis dozens of times, but several years ago my eyes froze at the list of Leah's six sons – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Then my eyes fixated on two: Levi and Judah.

 

While Leah lived in her sister’s shadow, she couldn’t know that eternity would measure life and death through her own offspring – and not Rachel's.

 

Levi and Judah: ancestors of Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Ezra, Ezekiel, Zechariah . . . on and on the list would grow. All of Israel's religious and political leaders would trace their ancestry through her womb. All of them – including Jesus, the Messiah.

 

God tells us through Jeremiah, by the way, another of Leah's descendants, "For I know the plans that I have for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

 

Hope.         

 

The same God who authored the life and the outcome of Leah’s story also tells us through St. Paul: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15)

 

That's what Leah's story is all about – great, inexpressible hope. And confidence. And perseverance. It’s about God beside us, about God who loves us, and who knows our deepest hurts. It’s about God who turns all things to the good for those who love Him, who trust Him, who are called according to His incomprehensible purpose.

 

Let’s go back a moment now to John 11:35 and to what Jesus said later in that 14^th chapter of John’s gospel: “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father.”

 

When the Holy Spirit inspired John to include the story of how Jesus wept with those who wept at the grave of Lazarus, God did so to ever remind His children – you and me – that He, meaning Almighty God, that He is not unaware of our tears. And that He – God – whom we know as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – that God most surely weeps with us.

 

It is through the stories of Lazarus and Leah – and dozens of stories like theirs – God asks us to trust Him in our loss and grief and heart break – to trust Him that He is not in the shadows, waiting for us to call Him to come close.

 

We don’t need to call Him close because He is ALREADY close – as close as our breath. As close as our skin. He promised to never leave us alone in our loneliness or confusion or grief. And God never breaks His promises.

 

Where was God in all we’ve been through? Where is God in all we’re going through? What trials and emotional storms trouble you today? I have my own as surely as you have yours. And I must ask myself over and over again – as you must ask of yourself the same questions: Will I BELIEVE God not only KNOWS my pain and loss and heartache – but that He actually weeps with me? And – and just as important – will I choose to believe that He WILL cause my circumstances to turn for good – even if His plan causes me pain?

 

The right answer to those questions holds the seeds of a life-changing fruit.

Let me close this message with the words of a centuries-old hymn by Catharina von Schlegel. I refer to this hymn because it dovetails so well, I think, with today’s message – the theme of which is trusting God in all of life’s circumstances – the heartaches and the joys, the loneliness and the companionships.

 

1. Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last

 

Noah and Us

Chapter five of Genesis gives a typically brief overview of Adam and Eve’s descendants. Such brevity is a characteristic of the Biblical writers because God gives the reader only what is necessary to eventually come to faith in Christ. For example, John tells us at the end of his gospel: (John 21:25) “There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

 

So, as I read this short text in Genesis five, please pay attention to Noah’s genealogy as it begins in verse 28: (Genesis 5:28-32) “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years and became the father of [Noah] . . . ³⁰ Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. ³² Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”

 

To summarize: Noah’s father – Lamech – had other sons and daughters. That means Noah had brothers and sisters. Furthermore, while we know Noah and his wife had three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) that information in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean they didn’t have any other children. And while I agree it’s unwise to argue a point from silence – it is because the biblical writers often gave us only that information God deemed necessary for us to know, I think it’s possible – even likely – that Noah and his wife had other children besides the three mentioned.

 

I titled today’s message, “Noah and Us,” and I hope to make two important points today about the man. The first revolves around his worship. The second, around his fall. Each point should speak to each of our hearts.

 

First: Noah’s worship. In telling the story, I think Moses purposely slows the reader down so we do not miss the point of that altar

 

Genesis 7:17-24 – “Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth . . . ¹⁹ The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered . . . ²¹ All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.”

 

We move now to chapter eight: But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided . . . . ⁴ In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible. Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.”

At this point, Noah sent out a raven to determine if the ground was yet dry. Then he sent a dove. After the second time he released the dove, it returned with a freshly picked olive leaf. Noah waited another week before sending the dove once again, and a short time later, God told Noah it was time to leave the Ark with his family and all the animals.

 

Now, verse 20 of chapter eight: “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

As I said last week, Noah and his family lost everything they had. More to the point, they lost everyone they loved – their siblings, their cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and neighbors. They might have even lost their other children who persistently and obstinately refused to bow their knee to their Creator during the multiple decades Noah preached and pleaded with all of them to repent. And many of us understand their heartache because we ALSO have preached and pleaded with our loved ones who still remain outside the Ark of Christ.  

 

It’d been about a year since the floodwaters destroyed everyone they cared about. And if you think after a year that Noah no longer grieved the massive loss of life – and especially of his family and friends – then it is likely you’ve never lost someone you love. Grief like that goes on and on and on. For years.

But – and this is the point I want us ALL to catch – when the grieving Noah left the Ark – what was the first thing he did? He built an altar and he worshiped.

 

We must not read this story too quickly because if we do, we will surely miss the anguish, the despondency, the heart-wrenching misery of the man. But what he did next should speak volumes to us about faith. Noah built an altar. And he worshiped.

When I reflected on these passages in preparation for my message, a few other names in Bible history came to mind – names of godly ones who exemplify this same kind of faith and devotion to God as Noah. Job is one of them. Listen to this text in the first chapter of that Old Testament book:

Job 1:13-21 Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,   messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”  While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”  Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

 

I read that slowly because we all need to feel – as best as it is possible to feel – what Job lost. All in the same day. One unthinkable tragedy after the other, without time to even catch his breath.

 

But listen to this next verse: “Through all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.”

 

Oh! We’ve got to get this. Noah and Job were REAL people. People who lived in history. People with families, and friends. People with emotions of grief and love and fear. People just like you and me in this sanctuary.

Now listen to the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk. On the eve of the Babylonian invasion of Israel, an invasion which would result in the slaughter of untold multitudes of men, women, and children, the prophet wrote words that can only be described as utter submission to God:

 

(Habakkuk 3:16-18) “I heard, and my inward parts trembled. At the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones. And in my place I tremble because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us.”

 

But he continues: “Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”

 

In it all and through it all – “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”

 

How many times have you read through the Psalms and seen that same kind of faith expressed? Multiple times. How often have you read the last half of that 11^th chapter of Hebrews and seen that same kind of expression of faith? Multiple times.

 

Noah, with a dagger still in his heart, still hearing in his memory the desperate cries for help after God closed the door of the Ark and the waters flooded around them – Noah did what many would call ‘lunacy.’ As soon as they left the Ark, he worshiped God.

 

Faith. Directed toward our Creator. Faith that He does all things well – even when we hate what has happened; Even when we cannot understand what has happened.

 

Faith – in many ways, the same kind of faith many of you have demonstrated when you lost people you loved. Instead of blaming God and walking away from Him – as MANY have done – here you are. And you should know that God is pleased that you are still here with Him.

 

I am encouraged by what St Peter wrote in his first epistle to those who were – at the time of his writing – enduring their own faith-testing struggles and suffering. I hope you also will be encouraged to keep on keeping on by what he wrote: (1 Peter 1:3-7)

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us  . . . ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you . . . even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof [genuineness] of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

 

How often does God let tests enter our lives so that WE might know the ‘genuineness’ of our faith?  I think it happens more often than many of us realize.

 

Christian! Keep on keeping on. We’re not going to build an altar of stone, but we can build an altar in our minds, as St Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, and place ourselves on it as “a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

 

An altar in our mind which occupies the epicenter of our thoughts. An altar where we will worship even when we don’t understand what has happened – or like what has happened. An altar where we say with Job – even if we don’t at the moment ‘feel’ like saying it: The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

 

My self-allotted time for this message is coming to a close and before I end it I want to turn our attention if only for a short time to my second point about Noah. The first point centered on the altar he built. This one centers on his drunkenness. It is this point which acts like a kind of bookend to his devotion to God because as Noah was, so also are we. Noah loved the Lord, but he stumbled and fell into sin. And WE also love the Lord and, well . . .  you know the second part of that sentence.

 

Look with me at verses 20-21: “Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.  He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.”

 

It takes three years or so to plant a vineyard and be able to drink its fruit. That means it was three years since Noah and family left the Ark and built an altar to worship God. I think it’s very safe to assume Noah maintained his close relationship with God even to this point in the narrative. We find in Ezekiel that Noah was a righteous man (Ezekiel 14:14-20). And as we’ve already seen in this sermon series, God called Noah righteous in that 11^th chapter of Hebrews.

 

If we think otherwise because of what Noah did – then what confidence can any of us have in our own salvation? How often have YOU sinned in the last 24 hours? Does that mean God has cast you aside?  Of course not. Your repentance always restores your relationship with God.

 

So, Noah got sloppy, falling down, shamelessly drunk and naked. We don’t know why he threw off his clothes. Maybe he vomited on them. Maybe the wine made him so warm that he wanted to cool off. But the point is, Noah sinned. Solomon wrote (Proverbs 20:1) “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.” And St Paul lists drunkenness as one of the ‘deeds of the flesh’ which will lead a person to eternal damnation (Galatians 5:21)

 

Noah was an old man by this time. Six hundred years old. And one could flippantly say of the man – “He should have known better.”

Yes, one could say that. But we ought to be very careful because there’s not a Christian on this planet who doesn’t usually ‘know better’ when he or she falls into sin. Listen to this list of the deeds of the flesh that God warns us against in Paul’s letter to the CHRISTIANS at Galatia: (5:19-21) “Sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

Do any of the sins in this list speak warning to our hearts? Sure, they do. And here is the point of application: Noah was an old man when he got falling-down drunk. And so please hear this: NO ONE in this sanctuary is ‘too old’ that Satan is done trying to tempt you to sin.

 

You and I MUST be ever on our guard against Satan’s subtle – and sometimes not-so-subtle – temptations to do what we ‘know better’ not to do. And we ought to often remind ourselves of the Lord Jesus’ warning to His disciples: (Mark 14:38) “Keep watching and praying, so that you will not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 

Noah found favor in God's eyes because of his FAITH – not because he was perfect. And you and I find favor in God's eyes because of our FAITH – not because we are perfect. And so we ought to often ask the Holy Spirit, in the midst of our imperfections, to continue working in us whatever is necessary to move us toward – as the writer to the Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 12:14) – to move us toward a maturing “sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord.”

 

Noah worshipped God even while suffering unspeakable grief. And with God's help – so will we. But Noah also sinned against God. And so do we. Which is why we must daily seek the Holy Spirit to keep us vigilant against our own sin nature. St Paul’s counsel to the Christians at Rome is good counsel for us as well: (Romans 15:4) – “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

 

Noah’s story is certainly a story of warning. But his story is also a story of hope. But that is not surprising, is it? God's word is always a source of warning to us – and it is always a source of hope.

 

So, Christian – get to know God's inerrant and infallible word better day by day.

                   

More Lessons from Noah

 

As we continue working through Genesis, we saw last week in those first several verses that God was sorry He’d made mankind because (Genesis 6:5) “Every intent of the thoughts of [Man’s] heart was only evil continually.” But, as we also saw last week, (Genesis 6:8) “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

And so, beginning with verse 18 of this sixth chapter, God gave Noah instructions for the Ark’s construction: “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

With those words, chapter six ends. But we must now also look at the first verse in chapter seven. (Genesis 7:1) “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household.”

Do you remember from last week’s message how much time elapsed between God's initial command to Noah to build the Ark and when He told Noah it was time to enter the Ark with his family and all the animals?  Probably close to 100 years. Let that sink in. It was nearly a full century.

 

We dare not gloss over that point. Noah endured God's SILENCE for nearly 100 years. And I think it is safe to assume that during that time, Noah endured the mockery and sneers and blasphemies of his community. I wouldn’t be surprised if families traveled for miles to vacation in the area where he was building the boat just to see the crazy man and his family hammering away.

 

Let me repeat this for emphasis: Noah endured all of it after hearing from God ONLY ONCE. But once was all he needed. God had promised to establish a covenant with him after the flood that would destroy humanity.

 

One promise. One time. And nothing more for decades.

 

Of course, most of you know Noah is not the only godly person in history who endured desperate trials while God remained silent. Job is only one of many. We don’t know how long he suffered his physical and emotional heart-rending agonies and the ridicule of his so-called ‘counsellors - but we know he DID endure. St James tells us in his epistle: (5:10-11) “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

 

And, much closer to our time, is Mother Theresa of Calcutta. After she received God's call to India FIFTY years earlier, Theresa wrote in her memoirs before she died that she’d only heard God’s voice one more time in all those 50 years that she labored among the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. Only one more time.

 

In a letter published after her death, she'd written: "I just long and long for God... The torture and pain [of not hearing from Him] . . . I can't explain."

 

It’s tempting to ignore this side of Mother Theresa and focus instead on her selfless service to India’s poor and the joy with which it seemed she lived.

But to ignore her ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ – as some might call it – to ignore the sense of emptiness she felt would be a terrible mistake.

 

We naturally shy away from the harsher realities of following Jesus, not wanting to examine them too closely, unless we ourselves get overwhelmed by fear that such things can and might happen to us.  We MUCH prefer preachers and authors who tickle our ears and tell us things we want to hear – things of soft pastel colors and pleasantly fragrant aromas. We want a Christianity that only brings joy and laughter, not times of emptiness and pain. Yet, to refuse to engage with the reality that ALL faithful Christians WILL have times in the wilderness is dangerous.

 

Why? Because there WILL be times of wilderness, as even our Lord endured. There WILL be times when we look to heaven and cry aloud – as the Psalmist cried: (Psalm 77)

“My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted. When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah. You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak . . . Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
Then I said, “It is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

 

We’ve all been there – and if we haven’t – then wait awhile. The time will come when we earnestly seek Him, we earnestly pray– and heaven remains silent. And while those times might not last 50 years, they are an inevitable part of the faithful Christian’s journey.

 

But those times of silence are never the end of the story for the child of God. God answered Job out of a whirlwind in chapter 37 of his book and continued for the next five chapters. You can read it yourself some time. And God did answer the Psalmist. Read the entire 77^th Psalm and see what he discovered.

 

And Noah? Moses tells us in Genesis 8:1 “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.”

 

Is God silent to you about something? Then what sustains YOU? What  sustains you even after all the decades of having heard the promise of His second coming, of His redemption and salvation, promises you’ve heard pastors and teachers and from the Holy Spirit Himself as you’ve read from God's word again and again?  

 

What is it that sustains you despite – for some of you – despite failing health and dwindling finances? What is it that sustains you despite the unanswered prayers and the ongoing dismissal and ridicule of your family and friends as you continue telling them the gospel message – that being, the Ark of Christ is their only hope for salvation when God brings His judgment.

 

Noah found favor in God's eyes because of his faith. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us of that in that 11^th chapter of his book, and if it has been a while since you’ve read that 11^th chapter, please – make time to do so sometime soon.

 

Noah found favor because of his faith – and YOU also can be ASSURED that you also find favor in God's eyes because of YOUR faith – despite feeling you’ve not heard from God for a long time and despite the scoffing of so many people.

 

But there is yet much more in today’s text, so let’s move on: God told Noah to build the boat. He told him to gather food for his family and the animals. God then brought the animals to the Ark, and then . . . . God closed the door. Listen to Genesis 7:14-16 –

 

“On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,  they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him . . . . And the Lord closed it behind him.”

 

Let that last clause sink in for a moment. Let the finality of that terrifying statement occupy your thoughts for a while later today. God. Closed. The door.

 

It ought to be a most sobering thought, a terribly mournful realization that Noah, his wife, their sons and their sons’ wives listened to the terrified screams of their families and friends and neighbors at the base of the Ark as the waters surged around them. They had to listen helplessly to the cries of their brothers and sisters and cousins and friends – all of whom scoffed at Noah’s century-long pleading for them to repent and be saved from the coming judgment.

 

And then – God Himself shut the door. There was nothing Noah could do any more to save them.

 

And there is a grim lesson there for you and me in 2024. Listen to Jesus in Luke 13:24-25 - “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’”

 

The statistics ought to frighten every man and woman who stands today outside the Ark of Safety which only is found in God's eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Those statistics are ‘one out of one,’ and that means there will come a time in the life of every person – EVERY person not yet in the Ark of Christ – when God shuts the door to further opportunity for safety, for hope, and for eternal life.

 

Whether death comes simply with ‘old age’, or it comes as the result of an accident or an illness – or the second coming of Christ, which I believe is imminent – one day known only to God, their door to eternal life will close. Forever.

 

For very good reason God warns again and again throughout Holy Scripture, as He does here in 2 Corinthians 6:2b: “Behold, now is “The acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation.”

Let me pause just a moment here. I know many of you have been praying for your loved ones for years. Probably for decades. And some of them seem more resistant to the gospel message today than they have ever been. And you might get to thinking, “What’s the use in praying anymore?”

Please – don’t think that. You and I are in a SPIRITUAL battle for the souls of our loved ones. And I counsel myself as much as I counsel you: Keep at it. Keep praying. Don’t give up.

And while we are praying for our loved ones, consider also this point: What about us? What are WE doing with Jesus? Are we striving to follow Him each day in obedient faith? Are we daily striving to KEEP Him Lord of everything we watch on television or in the movie theater? Is He Lord of what we read and what we say and what we do?

I memorized this passage some time ago and I call it to mind quite often: (Luke 16:10) “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” 

Consistent faithfulness in LITTLE things, like picking up a piece of candy wrapper that you dropped on the floor. Or not fussing about someone who’s sitting in your seat at the dinner table. Or being sensitive to the Holy Spirit when He tells you to not say what you are about to say.

Listen: Practicing obedience in LITTLE things will lead to practicing faithfulness in the big things. But consistent disobedience in ‘little’ things will lead to disobedience in big things. That’s just a spiritual law.

God provided Noah’s ark as the only means of salvation for a world steeped in sin, whose rebellion had finally brought God to the end of His patience. And in similar fashion, God has provided in His Son, Jesus the Christ, the ONLY means of salvation for a world steeped in sin, whose rebellion is surely bringing humanity close to God's so-called ‘breaking point.”

Scripture says it in many ways, but this text in Ecclesiastes strikes me as the most succinct (Ecclesiastes 7:2): “It is better to go into a house of mourning that to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart.”

 

As I speak with people here and there, I have to wonder if so many keep themselves so busy because in keeping so busy they don’t have to think about eternity.

Please, brothers and sisters, let never be said of us that WE were so busy trying to escape reality that we MISSED all that God has prepared for us.  Let it never be said of us that we were so busy that we did not focus our attention on eternity.

One day God WILL shut the door. May the Holy Spirit PLEASE help each of us, as St Jude urged his readers (Jude 1:21-23), to “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”

And may the Holy Spirit also help us to keep trusting God, even in the silent wilderness; To keep praying for our loved ones, especially those outside the Ark of Christ; And to keep practicing obedience to Him, in the little things and in the big things.