Walking In The Favor of God – Part 3

In a world that was sinful and wicked, what was it that set Noah apart?

As he concludes his series on “Walking in the Favor of God,” Dr. Stanley uses both the story of Noah’s obedience to God and examples from his own life to help us discover how we can listen to, trust, and obey the Lord. When we make wise decisions that honor and bring glory to God, we’ll find His favor in our own lives. For more messages from Charles Stanley!

Today…….I am asking all my prayer warriors to say a prayer that may help others. So many people are hurting right now. Many are struggling with finances and need jobs. Some are facing foreclosure and don’t even know how they are going to make it from week to week..

Many are lonely. . Many are heartbroken. . Many are facing sickness and health is fading. . Some are dealing with difficult family members. Many have lost HOPE.. Tonight, let us put our prayers and faith together decree and declare breakthrough over our families. Financial miracles WILL take place. Jobs WILL be found. Our Bodies WILL be made whole & sickness WILL flee. Marriages and relationships WILL be restored. Family members WILL find Jesus. Heartbreaks WILL be healed. JOY WILL be restored and HOPE WILL be found. In Jesus Name. Amen!!!!!! Keep God First…….

Somebody might ask, well, why would God destroy the world after he took such pains to make it so beautiful to begin with.
And in the book of Genesis, God’s description of what he created was awesome.
But think about this 10 generations after that, Noah came along.
So 10 generations have gone by since the creation since Adam and Eve.
Well, what happened in all of those 10 generations?
Well, I look back for example and think, well, I’ve lived through two, a little over two and I can see what’s happened in this country in two generations.
If a generation is 40 years, that’s what we sort of consider. Look what’s happened in this country.
It is an unbelievable.
No one would have imagined we’d be where we are today from where we were 80 years ago.
And then of course, go back further than that.
And so let’s go back to 1620.
That would be compared to where Noah was for the creation of thereabouts all the way back to 1600.
Think about all the changes that have been made, all the advancements we’ve made, but also all the things that have happened that have not been good.
So let’s say 10 generations have gone by.
I can look back and see what a difference in America today than it was as a kid growing up.
Because I remember on Sunday you didn’t do anything, you didn’t play ball, you didn’t go swimming.
You reverenced the, the Lord’s Day and people took care of each other.
They didn’t have everything we have today and there was more respect for one another.
People were more considerate of each other. A lot of things were different.
So look at that and then look at today, that’s just 80 years, but go back 400 years.
And so we say, well, why would God destroy such a beautiful earth?
And here’s the reason because the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually.
Will you watch the television, listen to the radio and listen to the people talk?
Does that sound a lot like this? Every intent of the thoughts and of his heart was only evil continually.
The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart.
That is God was broken hearted.
The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to the birds of the sky for I am sorry that I have made them.
And so it’s very dismal, very discouraging.
God said, I’ve created all of this now, I’m sorry, let me ask you a question.
Have you ever felt like when you were praying or maybe something that you were praying about?
And God said, I’m sorry, you’ve done that.
I’m sorry, you’ve done that because God doesn’t like to chastise anybody.
And so in spite of all the evil going on the next verse says, but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
And these are the records of the generation of Noah, Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time and walk with God, righteous, blameless and walk with God.
Somebody says, well, does blameless mean he never sin.
No, that two Hebrew words for uh sin and one of them, which indicates that a person sins occasionally.
The other one indicates that a person is just a sinner, just, just lives that kind of life.
And so the scripture says, the earth was corrupt in the sight of God and the earth was filled with violence.
God looked on the earth and behold was corrupt of all the flesh. It corrupted their way upon the earth.
And God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come.
So one family, one man and all their other. So think about this for a moment.
Suppose you and your family were the only family in Atlanta.
And God said to you, I’m gonna destroy everybody in this city and in the surrounding counties, everybody, you and your family are gonna be the only ones left.
What would you think? What do you think?
First of all of your friends, your family, and you think, why would God do such a thing?
Well, the reason God did what he did is because the scripture says the wickedness of men was great on the earth and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually.
That is how bad it got. Now, let’s think about this for a moment.
Suppose we in this country and around the world, suppose we continue to move in the direction we’re moving away from God with the intent of our heart, seeking pleasure at any cost, mistreating each other, killing each other, all kinds of atrocities that go on.
Let’s suppose we keep doing that for a couple of generations. Where will we be? We can’t even imagine it.
But that was what was happening in the days in which the Bible says that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord that is, he looked at Noah and he saw a man who was absolutely different and God reached down and spoke to his heart and gave him a command which he of course followed.
So I ask you this question, if God were looking for righteous people today, would you fall in that category?
Could you say that you are living a Godly life?
A holy life, a righteous life or would you be caught up with a crowd that Noah was having to deal with while he was a blameless man?
The days in which he lived were full of sin and wickedness to the point that God said, I’m sorry, I made them.
And therefore, here’s what I’m gonna do as a result of it.
So when I think about Noah and think about how long he lived and then God said, can’t put up with any more of it.
But he found one man, that man had three characteristics that all of us should have in our life.
And that is that we do what we listen to Him, we what trust Him and we obey him.
So think about this, if I listen to Him, I’ll know what to do if I trust him, that means I know it’s gonna work out, right?
And if I obey him, I’m gonna be blessed.
If I don’t listen to him, I am not gonna trust them and I’m not gonna obey him.
So what does that tell you about people around us today?
They’re not listening to God, they’re listening to all kind of stuff but not to God.
Now people say, well, I don’t believe the Bible.
Well, if you look around you and read the word of God, you’ll start believing it because God’s already pictured for us.
What evil and wickedness and sin is all about and the kind of effect that it has.
And so God said, there’s one family that I’m going to save and that’s Noah and his family.
So I want us to think about that for a moment.
And um the scripture says that Noah walked with God and he listened to God and therefore God saved civil civilization through one family and that is through the family of Noah.
Not because he was perfect, but because he listened to God, he trusted God and he obeyed God.
So I think about what Noah was confronted with living in a civilization in a time when everything around him was wicked and violent, disobedient and reckless.
And God said to him, Noah, I’m gonna destroy the whole earth but you and your family, I’m gonna save, don’t you think Noah would have said well, now why me and God said to Him?
Because I see in you what I’m looking for and I am going to save you out of all of this.
So let me just ask you this question.
Would you, could you say, and could it be said of you that according to the way you’re living your life?
Now, whether it’s in your family or whether the people you work with or play with, would they think of you and say one thing I know about Him, about her, they listen to God.
So think about this for a moment. Who do you know that knows you?
Who would save you? He listens to God.
She listens to God who among your friends or people who know you would save you.
They, they listen to God because they talk about prayer.
And I think they’re listening to God who would say about you that we listen, we trust, we obey that those three simple characteristics.
That’s what people think about when they know you, you have a family.
So people know you, you work with people so they know you, you have friends and so they know you’re pretty good when they think about you.
Do they think about you in terms of Godly qualities, all the rest of the world?
She dresses well, he drives well, they live well. He makes this, that and so forth.
Or do they think of you in terms of someone who listens to God?
Trust God and obeys God.
Could they say that about you or do you want people to say how well you dress and how good you look and how rich you are and where you live and what you drive and, and, uh, you just have, you got class about you.
I’d rather be a holy person than a classy person because class doesn’t mean anything spiritual.
It fits the features of the world. But can they say of you?
I know that that person listens to God.
They trust God because I’ve watched how they react in situations and circumstances and I know that they obey God.
Can you give me any three other characteristics that you can replace one of these? No.
Why did God make it so simple?
Because that’s the way he wants us to live a deep intimate relationship with him that we’re listening and not only listening, but we’re trusting Him, not only trusting, but we’re obeying him.
What would your Children say about you as parents?
What would your people you work with? What they do?
They do, they see any of that in you when Jesus talked about our testimony and that witness think about this does not the unbelieving world have a right and what they understand it and that’s not the issue, don’t they have a right to expect from us who talk about being a Christian followers of Jesus that we are the kind of person who listens to God.
Do you live the kind of life that they would say you?
I can tell you one thing about that person. They’ll know everything about Him.
But I can tell you, I believe He or she listens to God and they certainly trust God.
They’ll walk in with Him. They’re obeying God.
Isn’t it interesting that sometimes the people who are supposedly our closest friends when they are living in sin, they don’t like our company and they don’t know why?
Because I’ll tell you why. When those three characteristics are characteristic of you watch this people who are living in sin and disobedience to God are not going to be all that happy being around.
You are working with you or being called your friend. Why? Because you’re walking on two levels.
One is walking in darkness, one’s walking in light.
And the problem Noah had was he was walking in light, obeying the living God.
And all of a sudden, God said, here’s what I want you to do.
So I want us to think for just a moment about what went on in Noah’s heart and mind and life when God told him what he wanted him to do, and we talked about uh the whole issue of building the Ark and all the things that took place with that.
And I think about what he had to deal with personally knowing what God said to him, I’m gonna, I’m gonna destroy everything that you see and I’m, I’m gonna save you and your family because you’ve listened to me, you’ve trusted me and you’ve obeyed me, but everybody else is gone.
Wonder what they were thinking about this man who was totally different morally spiritually than all the rest of them.
So think about it for a moment, what he was thinking, think about the mental conflict he had.
And yet God said, here’s what I’m gonna do and he knew it was the truth.
How do you live and you, that kind of a society for that period of time.
It took him a while to build this Ark for 150 ft long and 50 ft wide and three stories high and so forth.
I don’t know how long it took him. What he want to. I want you to see is this.
He had to live with this in his heart, in his mind, in his emotion.
They are all going to be destroyed and my family and I are going to be the only ones left.
And you see, there was any question in his mind about it because he learned to listen to God and to trust God and to obey God.
So it wasn’t a matter of maybe it’s gonna happen, maybe God will change his mind.
It was a subtle issue. Here’s what God was gonna do.
And so you and I live in a time when we see weakness on the increase and we thankful.
Yes, but this is the United States of America. Yes, it is.
And so while we rest in our sense of security, watch this, the only security you and I have is our personal relationship with God.
That’s the only thing we have. And then I think about, for example, they get all these animals in.
I don’t know how God did that. Somebody says, well, how could that have happened?
I don’t have an answer and I’m gonna give you some answers. I don’t know.
But somehow God over a period of time, he got all the animals in there and was finally finished and, um, it’s gonna start raining and it’s not gonna stop for 40 days and 40 nights.
Now, when we have a little spell of something for about three days, we have a fit and the Bible says, not only did it come down, it came up, Noah was locked in by the grace of God because listen carefully because he listened to God because he trusted God because he obeyed God.
Listen carefully. Those three things can save you from heartache, troubles, trials, difficulties cost your life, listen to him, trust him and obey him.
Do what he says. It was not enough for Noah to listen to God or to trust Him.
But obey. And oftentimes many people say, well, I’m, I’m living a Christian life.
I’m doing what God wants me to do. Is that right?
Well, the issue is not what you know, but the issue is, are you obeying what God’s told you to do?
Watch this. Obedience has sharp edges, very sharp edges.
I do or I not do I do what he says. I don’t do it.
I can’t obey God and sort of cut off the side.
I can’t obey God and just compromise this area. Well, I did almost everything you said.
No, obedience is obedience and people don’t even like to think about it.
But obedience is, should be a part of our daily life and it should be a priority in our life.
You never know when God’s gonna close your door.
When you’re gonna be called home when you have to turn your back up on everybody.
And so there he was, can you imagine what they must have felt when they heard the cries and the calls of their friends?
And it rained and kept on raining.
And then all of a sudden that big old boat moved just a little bit because there was enough water in that to move it.
40 days, 40 nights, it was not a drizzle, but it was pouring rain from above and coming out of the earth.
Until finally, it was not a sound.
The only sound was on the inside of that boat.
And then for almost a year, that’s why almost a year they lived in that boat.
How many times do you think they woke up at night?
Wondering what about so and so, but they knew what happened to so and so they were all destroyed because they sinned against God and that sin had to be so definite and deliberate that it wasn’t a matter of them just not being very good.
It was wicked and evil. And God said it was so bad that he was sorry. He made the earth.
The days went by, the weeks went by, the months went by and finally, after God had accomplished what he set out to accomplish the arc landed, God told him when he send out a bird, you remember and see what was going on.
The bird came back finally, one came back with a leaf. God said, now you can go out.
And one of the first things Noah did was to build an altar.
Don’t you know that was some altar big altar, thanking God for what has happened.
The scripture says, he built an altar to the Lord and took up every clean animal and so forth.
And scripture says that God said to him, I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done while the earth remains sea time and harvest cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.
That is it will never happen again that way.
But he didn’t say he wouldn’t do it by fire, which when you come to the New Testament, that’s God’s view.
And so when I think about that and think about what God said, he said, I establish my covenant with you and all the flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood.
He didn’t say that fire, neither shall there be again in a flood to destroy the earth.
God said this is the sign of the covenant which I’m making between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all successive generations.
And then here’s what he did to remind them forever.
He showed them a rainbow.
And when I think about the rainbow, I don’t know what you think about it.
I think about it in two ways. How beautiful. It is.
But I think about what God said by this time, you’ll know that I will never do it again.
Let me ask you this. Do you listen to God?
Do you trust him? Do you obey Him?
Life isn’t like it was then. But on the other hand, it’s just like it.
I, no, I don’t, whatever you’re doing, whoever you are, whoever you are.
God requires that we obey Him. That means we must trust Him.
And God has offered salvation to every person whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, you should be saved.
If you will to confess and repent of your sins, you will be saved.
You say, well, I’ve got plenty of time. No, you don’t.
You don’t know how much time you have.
You don’t have as much time as you think you do.
And the question is this, don’t you think it’s time?
You got honest with Him about the fact that your lifestyle is one of sin, disobedience, rebellion against God?
It can be sophisticated rebellion, a just pure evil rebellion. But you’ve turned your back on God.
You don’t need God. You don’t need the church. You’re not even interested in anything spiritual whatsoever.
And you think that somehow some way you’re going to get through the judgment of God and somehow you’re gonna sneak through.
No, you’re not is no escape of God’s judgment and there is nothing to keep you from rejoicing.
When you have Christ in your life, you don’t have to be afraid of anything.
God put the rainbow in the sky to remind not only Noah and his family, but all of us watch this, whatever God promises.
That’s what He’ll do. Has there ever been a flood like that since? No? Why?
Because God said He wouldn’t have, I want you to think about this.
You have professed to be a child of God following the Lord Jesus Christ having professed that everybody who knows you, everybody you work with, live with everybody around you has a legitimate right to expect you to be different, not perfect, different but not just different but spiritual because you have professed to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus.
So the world has a right to expect us to be different. Watch this.
And when we are not, we’re a disappointment even, even to people who don’t even think about God because they know what we say.
The standard is obey God. If God’s people would make it a habit of listening, trusting and obeying, I’ll tell you what would happen.
The churches would be full of people because they would see the difference that there is something within us that’s different.
And therefore they, they would want who we have or what we have.
And God gave Noah an awesome promise.
And then he put it in the sky to say you can count on it.
He’s given us something better than a rainbow.
And according to this, I can trust them in life and trust him in death.
According to this, I can trust him every day.
According to this, I don’t have I ever have to be disappointed with God. Maybe disappointing myself. Not God.
I read this. I know my name is written in the lamb’s book of Life.
And that means that no matter what happens, I’m going to heaven when I die and nothing can change that.
Nothing. Nothing, nothing on earth can change your relationship with God.
I think about how many people who own one of these.
This is the Bible, how many people own them and never open them, own one and never open it to find out what God’s thinking, what he wants to say to you.
Listen, I don’t know many times in my life when I’ve opened the word of God that he didn’t say something to me.
It may have been something I didn’t want to hear something I want to hear or something I was elated to hear, but listen to listen carefully.
God wants to speak to you because God loves you. And proof of that is look at the cross.
It was demonstrated his love to us not only with a rainbow thousands of years ago, but at the cross just a couple of 1000 years ago or so to say what I love you.
I’ll save you. I’ll bring you home to spend eternity the earth of me.
Could you give me, give God any excuse for not beginning this day?
Whoever you are and whoever you are, give me an excuse acceptable for not listening to him, trusting him or obeying him.
What do you teach your Children? Same thing. What about God?
Have you learned to trust him? Have you learned to obey?
Not until you learn first of all, to take time to listen to Him?
Do you listen to Him? Do you listen to Him?
Expecting Him to speak to you? Trusting Him?
I’ll tell you how we know whether you trust Him or not, whether you obey Him or not.
And that tells you whether you’re trusting Him or not.
Somebody said, oh, I trust God, no doubt in my mind. Well, why do you live the way you live?
Because you’re not trusting Him when I think about a portion of the scripture where our lesson is so descriptive, so imaginable, so true, so characteristic of how God works and what God desires for us right up front in the Bible with noah threefold lesson.
I want you to listen to me.
I want you to trust me and I want you to obey me.
Is that asking too much? But I ask you, is that your lifestyle?
If it is not ask yourself the question, why? Amen?
Father. We pray the Holy Spirit would speak to every person seated here who is unsaved.
They’ve been too busy to talk to you and listen to you. They sin in their life.
They don’t wanna give up, speak to every person father to remind them as it was in the days of Noah.
So it shall be in all of us, all of our days.
All of us will one day die and face you.
And I pray that the person seated here who’s never trusted Jesus as savior heard about him, thought about him, believed about him, sort of but never trusted you as savior that today this morning they will make that decision to ask for your forgiveness and to surrender their life to you.
Learn most of all we wanna be able to answer this in the affirmative.
Am I listening? Yes. Am I trusting? Yes. Am I?
Yes. And father impress upon each of our hearts.
There is no other correct answer not, maybe not sometimes. Yes.
And I pray that you will sink this simple message into all of our hearts because it’s a daily message and we need to hear it daily because you’re speaking to us daily.
We bless you. We praise you.
We thank you for the word of God that gives us direction for our life. In Jesus name.
Amen.