Together Through the Storm
Hebrews 11:7 (ESV):
7By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear con structed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
A newspaper reporter phoned a story to his editor about an empty truck that rolled down a hill and smashed into a home. The editor was unimpressed and told the reporter he didn't want to run the story. But then he heard these words, "I'm glad you're taking this so calmly. It was your house."
I know we can all laugh at this story, but the reality is that tragic events often happen in our lives when we least expect them. There is no denying that whether we like it or not, we will all encounter adversities or storms in life. Jesus Himself plainly expressed this truth to His disciples prior to going to the cross. In John 16:33, he said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
As much as we hate to go through tribulations or troubles in life, Jesus clearly impresses to us in this verse that He won’t prevent them from coming to us, but rather, He will care for us as we go through them to help us overcome them.
This morning, as we continue our sermon series on the family, we would like to study “Together Through the Storm.” Have you ever wondered why life’s troubles are often referred to as “storms?” Perhaps, the best explanation behind this metaphor is because, just like in our weather, storms come unexpectedly, and they are intense. If you fail to prepare before they show up, they could be very devastating. Of course, in terms of the weather, nowadays, there are better technologies available to predict big storms. In life, we don’t have the benefit of these technologies. And
so, we have to make sure we are constantly preparing before the storms come. However, in our preparations, we should include our families as well. This is the reason why I believe this sermon is important to all of us.
Is your family prepared for the coming storms? In the Bible, Noah and his family were blessed to be able to prepare for the coming of the storm. I’m sure we are very familiar with the story of how God commanded Noah to build a huge ark so that he and his family would be saved from the coming of the big storm that would last for 40 days and 40 nights. In our main text found in Hebrews 11, Noah is commended for his great faith in responding to God’s command. As we all know, Hebrews 11 is considered the Hall of Faith, where great heroes of the Bible are named be cause of their great faith in God that they have demonstrated. As we study Noah's family in particular, let’s focus on three ways we can prepare our families to go through storms victoriously:
I RELY ON GOD’S CONTROL OVER LIFE’S STORMS
One essential characteristic of storms is that they come from God, and He alone can control them. If you go back to Hebrews 11:7, the text explicitly refers to this truth, “warned by God concerning events as yet unseen.” In other words, although Noah has never seen a storm yet in his lifetime, God gave Him a warning about its coming. If you go back to the Book of Genesis, where you will find the entire story, included in this warning was the command to build the enormous Ark. Meaning, the warning was given so adequate preparations could be done for them to survive the storm.
The same can be said about all of us. God has given us sufficient warnings in the Bible concerning the storms which are going to come in our lives. For example, one of the passages we need to be familiar with is found in Ro mans 5:1-5 (ESV):
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Je sus Christ.
2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
As you read these verses, Paul highlights in these verses some special blessings we receive after we are saved by faith. Here are they:
♦ “We have peace with God” - We are reconciled to God, and we will no longer be treated as His enemies. ♦ “Access by faith” - We can now go straight to God in prayer. No more need for priests or mediators. ♦ “Hope of the glory of God” - We look forward to our glorified existence when we will look exactly like Jesus Christ.
♦ “Sufferings that will produce endurance and character” - He will give us sufferings so He can produce the mature character we will all need on earth while waiting to go to heaven.
I intentionally broke down the passage in this way, so you will understand that we should see the storms of life as blessings from God. Hopefully, when we understand it in this way, we will never allow our storms to lead us to doubt God’s care and love for us. You see, God is using these storms to work for us, not against us.
How many of you have seen the inside of a huge eagle’s nest? When a mother eagle builds her nest, she starts with thorns, broken branches, sharp rocks, and a number of other items that seem entirely unsuitable for the project. But then she lines the nest with a thick padding of wool, feathers, and fur from animals she has killed, making it soft and comfortable for the eggs. By the time the growing birds reach flying age, the comfort of the nest and the luxury of free meals make them quite reluctant to leave. That's when the mother eagle begins "stirring up the nest." With her strong talons, she begins pulling up the thick carpet of fur and feathers, bringing the sharp rocks and branches to the surface. As more of the bedding gets plucked up, the nest becomes more uncomfortable for the young eagles. Eventu ally, this and other urgings prompt the growing eagles to leave their once-comfortable abode and move on to more mature behavior. Just like the mother eagle, God knows exactly what He is doing when He allows storms to come into our lives.
So, the best response to God during our storms is to continually trust Him knowing that He is totally in control. And as we trust Him, let’s also be sensitive to how He is growing us through our storms. I can guarantee you that God will be your protection and power through your storms if you trust in Him.
Psalm 46:1-2 (ESV):
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present[b]help in trouble.
2Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
Just like this Psalmist, let’s stop being afraid; instead, continue to trust in the God who will protect and empow er us to go through the storm victoriously.
II RENDER YOUR COMMITTED OBEDIENCE DURING LIFE’S STORMS
The next phrase in the text I want to highlight is - “in reverent fear constructed an ark.” This simply means that
Noah demonstrated his faith in God by obeying Him in building the ark He commanded. If you notice, in my heading, I wanted to emphasize that it took commitment on the part of Noah to follow through in constructing the ark. Why? It was because that ark was huge:
♦ 450 feet long
♦ 75 feet wide
♦ 45 feet high (About four-story building high)
♦ It took 120 years to construct.
How many of us would take on a project like that and faithfully stay in it until it is done? One more thing I wanted to emphasize is the commitment of his entire family to help him build the ark, even if it was solely revealed to Noah and not to everyone. Consider it, how many of you will commit to helping your parents build an ark based on what God told them? You know, I realize that when we are going through a storm, we would need the unwavering support of every member of the family. No one should bail out and abandon the family. That’s exactly what you see with Noah’s sons and their wives. With the enormous storm that was coming, they all helped until they finished the project.
Today, our storms can come in varied kinds and intensities. But what kinds of storms can we anticipate? I be lieve the life of Job can help us with the different kinds of storms we can encounter. I would like to assume that we are all familiar with the beautiful story of Job. If not, I encourage you to read the Book of Job. Here are the different trials he experienced:
A. Loss of property and livelihood (Job 1:14-17)
B. Loss of children (Job 1:18-19)
C. Loss of good health (Job 2:7-8)
D. Loss of a happy marriage (Job 2:9-10)
E. Loss of close friendships (Job 2:11-13; 4-37)
There is no doubt that all of these could be devastating, but if we remain steadfast in our faith in God, just like Noah and his family, we can experience God’s victory. Listen to these wise comments of Dr. John B. Pearrell:
“Faith always leads to ultimate victory. As Christians, we are on the winning side. If you had seen Christ on the cross, in pain and great agony, at a time when the skies were darkened, and even God Himself turned away His back upon Him, it would hardly have seemed like a victory. And yet it was precisely this act that won our re demption.”
This statement is a great reminder for us when we are going through our storms in life. Let’s not lose sight of the victory that God has prepared for us over our storms. Let’s keep trusting Him!
III RECEIVE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LIFE’S STORMS
Lastly, let’s focus on the last part of the verse, “for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
As we examine these words, it is evident that Noah’s faith, which led to the building of the ark, was blessed by the Lord that he and his family survived the storm. Let’s make sure that we provide no confusion - Noah’s family sur vived the storm, not because of their great personal efforts, but because of their faith in God. This interpretation is consistent with the context of the chapter. And because of their faith, the Lord rewarded them with three blessings:
A. The Preservation of the Family
While Noah was building the ark, he also kept warning everyone regarding the coming
storm. Peter talked about this in 2 Peter 2:5 (ESV):
5if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with sev en others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.
The phrase I wanted to emphasize is “a herald of righteousness.” In other words, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Throughout the time that they were building the ark, Noah, for 120 years, faithfully preached that the people repent from their sins before God’s judgment comes. No one responded except his wife and his three sons and their wives. As a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus, that’s worth all the effort. I believe that for Christian parents, the salvation of their children will always be considered their greatest accomplishment in life.
B. The Perishing of the World
The reference in the text to Noah condemning the world simply means that the faith that Noah exemplified became a direct condemnation to the people who were given the chance to respond to the offer of salvation but ig nored and rejected it. So, Noah’s life served as a testimony against them, making them even more guilty of their con demnation. No one among those who perished can give the excuse that faith was not possible because Noah lived it.
C. The Positional Righteousness
Lastly, according to the text, there’s the reward of becoming an heir of righteousness. What does this mean? Well, certainly, it refers to the positional righteousness Noah received because of his faith in God.
Earlier, when we read Romans 5:1-2, we read the theological term that is used in the New Testament for it - “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith[b]into this grace in which we stand, and we[c]rejoice[d]in hope of the glo ry of God.” Notice the word “justified” found in verse 1. This word is then described in verse 2, saying, “Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” So, what is the doctrine of justification? This doctrine is defined as the act of God declaring a sinner a righteous person based on the righteousness of Jesus given to Him. Then, Paul proceeded to describe this act by saying that despite our sinfulness, we are able to enter the Holy throne room of God all because of His grace toward us. Imagine a sinful man standing boldly in the holy presence of God. How is that possible? It is possible only by God’s grace.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, positional righteousness is declared by saying - “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Remember, when Jesus went to the cross, His ultimate purpose was so He could take our sins and substitute them with His own righteousness.
Listen, I know we don’t enjoy going through storms. However, God allows them into our lives because He wants to impart to us some special blessings. I trust we will have Him speak to us and show us what He wants to shape in us. C. S. Lewis, in his book, “The Problem of Pain,” said:
“God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Acknowledging that life will always have storms, how are you preparing to go through storms victoriously? Are you preparing your entire family to go through storms? The truth is that Satan will do his best to draw us away from Christ so that He can destroy us through our storms. I pray that knowing that storms are coming, we will draw our whole family even closer to Him, the protector and preserver of our lives in times of storms. Let me close with the lyrics of the praise song “Still”
Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
Find rest, my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
If some of us are going through storms, I pray we will know what it means to be still and know that we can trust in God. Please know that only He can make us soar above storms.
June 11, 2023/Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana