BECOMING A FRIEND OF GOD – Part 4
“The Examples of Noah and the Servant Girl”
Pastor Mike Barnett
Hebrews 12:1 (pg. 852) says:
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us.
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This morning
we are going to study a couple of more heroes of the faith that were considered
“Friends of God” to see what we can learn from their life example.
The first one is recorded
in Genesis 6:5-22 (pg. 4) which says:
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth
had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had
made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7
So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face
of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and
birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is
the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among
the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah
had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the
earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12
God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had
corrupted their ways. 13 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. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress [a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it
with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to
build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. [b] 16 Make a roof
for it and finish [c] the ark to within 18 inches [d] of the top. Put a door in the side of
the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am
going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens,
every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will
perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you,
and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives
with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all
living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 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. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to
be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
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Noah was
selected by God to build the ark because of the way he lived – He consistently
obeyed God and lived for him.
1) FRIENDS OF GOD ARE
PEOPLE WHO ___________________(OBEY) HIM.
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Noah was not
afraid to stand out in a crowd.
·
He was not
afraid to do something for the first time.
·
It must have
been strange to build such a large boat far from any sea or river that could
float it.
·
And it had
never rained liked this before, so nobody could even imagine a flood.
·
Noah and his
family were mocked and ridiculed, but they just kept on building anyway because
that is what God asked them to do.
·
When you step
out in faith and obey God – you may be ____________________(mocked) and ____________________(ridiculed)
for it but do the thing God ask you to do anyway – that’s what Naoh did and he
was blessed because of it.
·
Don’t allow
the words: “________________________________________”(It’s never been done
before) prevent you from doing what God asks.
·
Noah’s
obedience didn’t benefit just him – it also saved his family.
·
Your
obedience to God will just not benefit you, but will also
_________________(bless) those that come after you for
______________________(generations) to come.
Genesis 7:1-5 (pg. 5) says:
1 The LORD
then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I
have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with
you seven [a] of every kind of clean animal, a male
and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to
keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4
Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty
nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have
made." 5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded
him.
·
No one will
ever again fulfill the special role Noah did, but you don’t have to be a Noah
to make an impact on your world.
·
Each of us
can make the place where we live ___________________(better) than it was when
we ___________________(found) it.
·
Think about
how you can improve your corner of the world if you obeyed God.
2) FRIENDS OF GOD MAKE A
DIFFERENCE FOR ________________________(FUTURE) GENERATIONS.
·
You can make
a difference for future generations.
·
Noah had
never seen a rainbow before until after he had followed through on what God
asked him to do.
·
God placed
the rainbow in the sky as a covenant to humanity that he would never again
destroy the world again with a flood.
·
The next time
you see a rainbow, remember that ______________(one) person can make a
difference.
·
The next time
you see a rainbow, think of God’s promise to you: You can make a difference!
ILLUSTARTION:
Once a young man observed
a man in his eighties planting an apple orchard. The old man lovingly and
painstakingly prepared the soil, planted the tiny saplings, and watered them.
After watching for a while, the young man said, “You don’t expect to eat apples
from these trees, do you?” “no,” the old man replied, “but somebody will.”
·
Your actions
can empower and help those who come behind you in future generations.
·
Because of
God’s covenant with Noah, we can be assured that we are safe from the world
wide destruction of a flood.
·
We are still
receiving the benefits that came from one man’s life of righteousness.
ILLUSTRATION - Byron
Scott Story:
While at a Pastor’s
Conference recently, I bumped into an old friend I have not seen in nearly 12
years. At the time I was a pastor on staff of a Southern
That’s my the Apostle Paul says: 1 Corinthians 11:1 says:
1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 2I praise you for
remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed
them on to you.
1 Cor. 9:24-27 says:
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the
prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run
like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No,
I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I
myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
·
When you
serve people or influence them positively – and encourage them to pass along to
others what they have received – you create a chain of impact that can outlive
you.
·
Too often we
fail to recognize our importance to God and ____________________
_________________(future generations).
ILLUSTRATION – Going back
to the gift store three times!
Because of the church
families generosity we were able to make a little family vacation out of the
Pastors Conference in
·
I was
modeling the “Rebecca And Then Some Principle” that we looked at last week to
my kids because one day they are going to be married and I want to give them a
healthy example of how a man loves his wife as Christ loves the church.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says:
For the eyes of the LORD
range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed
to him.
·
God is always
looking for someone to stand in the gap for Him not only in big ways but is
seemingly little ways also.
·
That was the
case for Noah – God was discouraged with the people He created. Yet Noah found
favor in God’s eyes and caused Him to save humanity.
·
Because of
his friendship with God, Noah changed the course of history.
3) FRIENDS OF GOD CAN
MAKE A _________________________(DIFFERENCE) AT ANY _______________(AGE).
·
Some people
want to put restrictions on themselves according to their talent, intelligence,
or experience.
·
Others worry
about their age.
·
But with God,
one person can always make a difference, regardless of circumstances or
situation.
·
Age means ________________________(nothing)
to God – He can use you when you are ______________(old) and He can use you
when you are ______________(young) if you allow Him to.
ILLUSTRATION: When Jesus
fed the five thousand, a boy provided the loaves and fishes.
John 6:1-13 says:
1Some
time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is,
the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they
saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a
mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Feast was
near. 5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to
Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He asked
this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7Philip
answered him, "Eight months' wages[a] would not buy enough bread for each
one to have a bite!"
8Another of
his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here
is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will
they go among so many?"
10Jesus
said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that
place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus
then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as
much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12When they had all
had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are
left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13So they gathered them and filled
twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who
had eaten.
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YOU ARE NEVER
TOO _______________(OLD) OR TOO _____________________(YOUNG) TO MAKE A
___________________________(DIFFERENCE) FOR GOD!
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In the case
of Noah, when it began to rain and he entered the ark, he was six hundred years
old!
·
Some of you
this morning might be saying….well that is great that God used Noah to make a
difference, but God can never use a person like me to impact others.
·
Well lets
turn to 2 Kings 5:1-3 to see another example – the example of a little girl
whose name is not even mentioned in the scriptures, but her legacy lives on
because of her faith in God.
2 Kings 5:1-15 (Pg. 263)
says:
1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of
2 Now bands
from
4 Naaman
went to his master and told him what the girl from
7 As soon as
the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God?
Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to
be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"
8 When
Elisha the man of God heard that the king of
11 But
Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out
to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over
the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and
Pharpar, the rivers of
13 Naaman's
servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to
do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he
tells you, '
15 Then
Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him
and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in
Israel."
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This little
girl was a slave owned by Naaman, a powerful and highly respected man.
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Not only was
Naaman an outstanding general, the commander of the Syrian army and a trusted
companion of the king, but he was a great warrior.
·
If there had
been a “who’s who” in
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There was
only one stain on his resume: He was a leper.
·
For him to
have achieved and maintained his position as military commander despite that
affliction, he must have possessed unmatched skill.
·
This little
girl had grown up in
·
Naaman would
have been considered an outcast had he lived in her native country of
·
In his native
country of
·
Naaman
probably got depressed at times, was lonely and sickly due to the disease he
lived with.
·
This little
servant girl had a heart to help Naaman any way she could – she probably felt sorry
for him.
·
She decided
to tell Naaman’s wife about the prophet Elisha who had a reputation of being a
man of God who had the power to heal people.
·
This young
servant girl could have remained silent and remain safely anonymous, but
instead she spoke up to Naaman’s wife.
·
She acted
even though she was small.
·
Many times we
_________________________(discount) what we can do for God and others because
we think we are too young, too small or too powerless to make a difference.
·
Let’s
consider the servant girl’s situation:
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She was a
slave, the lowest anyone could be in social standing.
·
She was an
outsider, a Jew living in
·
She was
young; why would a powerful leader like Naaman listen to her?
·
She was a female in a male –dominated culture.
·
By the
standards of the day, she had nothing going for her – no power, no position, no
possessions.
·
THE ONLY
ASSET THE SERVANT GIRL HAD WAS HER ____________________(FAITH) AND THAT WAS ____________________(ENOUGH).
·
As God told
the apostle Paul:
“My grace is sufficient
for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness”. 2 Corinthians 12:9
·
The young
servant girl acted even though what she should do was small.
·
As a member
of the King’s court, Naaman had access to the best physicians in the country –
he most likely tried every available treatment for his leprosy to no avail.
·
In the midst
of all this activity, what the servant girl could do must have seemed rather
small to her.
·
After all she
could not heal Naaman, nor could she ease his pain.
·
All she could
do was make a suggestion to her mistress, yet she did not let the seeming
insignificance of that act stop her.
·
Instead of
being _________________________(discouraged) by what she couldn’t do, the
servant girl _______________(did) what she could do.
·
She acted
even though the stakes were not small.
·
The girl took
a huge risk when she expressed her faith that God could heal Naaman through the
prophet Elisha.
·
If he had
gone to Israel to be healed and come back still sick – and looking foolish – he
would no doubt have punished her, maybe even put her to death which was not far
fetched in that culture at the time.
·
In fact, when
Naaman received permission from his king to leave
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When