Sermon Central
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Never Give Up, Never Quit
Contributed by Gene Gregory on Jan 15, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: This message emphasizes the importance of persistence and of never giving up when God gives you and assignment.
STANDING AGAINST THE WORLD
- Read Genesis 6:5-7:24
I hope you have been reading through your Bible with us,
if so, you will recognize this as some of what we read this past week.
Chapter 6 tells us that after the time of Cain and Abel and Seth, that the world and all mankind in it, kept getting worse and worse all the time.
- Read 6:5.
I. THE WORLD THAT SICKENED GOD
That’s a pretty sad commentary on the world that men’s thoughts were on evil all the time. There was no room for thinking about how you could help other people. There was no time to think about how you could make the world a better place. There was no time to think about how you might serve others, or help your neighbor, or improve things for the children in your area, there was nothing but thinking about how you could get more and about how other people could help you. It was a very selfish and hedonistic time. Sounds a lot like what we see our society increasingly becoming.
Things were so bad that God, according to verse 6, regretted making man. The word translated as regretted carries the idea of grieving like a person does over the loss of a loved one. That’s how saddened God was by what He saw.
My friends never think that your sin does not impact God. Never think that your decisions make no difference to Him. While what you do or do not do does not change whether or not He loves you, it does please or hurt Him, much like it does your parents.
God regretted, or God grieved.
II. THE MAN THAT PLEASED GOD
In the midst of all He saw, there was one bright light. There was one exception. There was one who stood apart. There was one who was not self-absorbed. There was one who was not rebellious. There was one who did what he knew was right and avoided what he knew was wrong. His name was Noah.
- Read 6:9
Oh my friends, it may seem sometimes that no one notices when you live right while others do not. It may seem sometimes that no one cares when you arrive at work on time and put in a full day’s work when others do not, it may seem that it will never benefit you when you build that job with the right materials, never trying to cover up or hide shoddy work; but there is One Who sees everything. There is One Who doesn’t miss a thing.
The Bible says that God is so observant that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without Him seeing it. God is so observant that He knows how many hairs you have on your head. He sees it all, and He saw Noah. He said, “There’s a man that’s different. There’s a man with integrity. There’s a man who wants to please Me.”
Oh, can you imagine being so different that God picks you out? In the midst of that world of selfishness and depravity, there was a man who was different, so God gave him a job.
III. THE JOB GIVEN BY GOD
Did you notice what God did for Noah because of His faithfulness? God gave him a job.
Don’t ever think that if you are faithful and obedient and diligent that God is going to give you a vacation or a retirement package. God gave him a job, because He knew that Noah was faithful and will do what He called him to do without delay or excuses. If you see someone who is doing nothing for God, it isn’t because God’s not given him anything to do, it’s probably for one of 2 reasons; either he’s not in God’s employ, or he’s not finished the last assignment God gave her to do. Either He's not one of God's children and he's not been given a chore, or he's not done or completed or been working on the last thing God told him to do.
God gave him an assignment. Notice if you will the assignment God gave him. First, it was an:
1. Impossible assignment – Ah, Noah, I want you to build a boat that’s 450 feet long, and 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Can't you hear Noah presenting his reasons why he couldn't do what Gos asked?
a. Ah, God, I've Never built a boat … I tried to build my wife a spice rack one time and it didn’t turn out all that well. How in the world can I build a boat, and one that massive and my carpentry is supposed to be so exact that it will hold back water?
b. Ah Lord, You said I'm supposed to gather these animals … Lord, the boys and I have been duck hunting a couple of times and I know how to work duck call, but how do I call a Tranasaurous? … I have no idea where to find a Hippo, and certainly don't know how to get him to follow me home. And ah, God - How do I tell a boy snake from a girl one?
