Just Surviving? Genesis 9
Jeff Russell Friendship Baptist Church, Langenselbold, Germany
The other day I greeted a friend outside the mailroom. I asked, “How is it going?” He said, “We’ll, I’m survivin’.” His statement told me a lot about himself. 1)that he was honest. he wasn’t going to say the usual “fine” when it wasn’t, 2) he gave me an indication that while things weren’t as he hoped the would be, he was giving ithis best efforts to keep his head above water, so to speak. 3) That while he was just surviving, and because all his efforts were focused on the present just to manage his
world, he didn’t have much or any resources to consider for the future. Now for this
person, just surviving was a temporary situation. But for many people, perhaps even some in this auditorium this morning, they have been in the state of just surviving for so long it has become normal. In fact if we ever get to the point where we are doing just a
little better, we start feeling uncomfortable.
Sometimes the effort to do more than that
is exceeded by our desire to “just get by.” And its a temptation that increases the older
we get or the more we become established where we are. I can remember when I was
in my twenties, I’d always want to live on the edge, to push the limits, to challenge
authority, and to prove wrong the people who told me that I just couldn’t do it. But the
temptation to maintain the status-quo is a swelling whirlpool that grows stronger with
every passing year. And while we admire those that survive, but its the desire to
continue on and live beyond that is not only the measure of our character, it is also the
measure of our faith.
It is not that God does not want us to enjoy life- He does. But He also knows
that the moment we let down, we start on a downward slope towards death and
destruction. Its effects are even more devestating in the church than it ever could be
individually. We begin this by looking at the life of Noah in Genesis 9. Now, with all
respect to Noah, Noah was a survivor. He was a survivor because he trusted God and
looked to God for power and for strength to overcome the ridicule when building the
ark. By faith, Noah endured the horror of seeing his home and those of his neighbors
destroyed by rising waters that disappeared beneath the tumultuous waves of the wrath
of God. By faith, Noah survived the shere boredom of life aboard that boat shared with
animals of all different kinds for forty days and forty nights. Noah didn’t have a Game
boy on board nor could he sit down and pop in a video tape or a DVD. He didn’t even
have 24 hour CNN that he could watch for excitement. That really was brave, wasn’t
it. Now most people think that it was an admirable act of faith to obey God and to
survive the flood and the experience of the ark- and it was. But for Noah, and for the
rest of us, the real test of Noah’s faith and dependence upon God lay not just beneath
the threatening clouds of doom before Noah got on the ark- no, friends, it was
afterward. It was after Noah and his family set foot on Mt. Ararat did the real test
come.
In chapter 9, God told Noah: “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring
forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” It was not just an admonition
to procreate children, but also to be in pursuit of a better life than what Noah had
known before the Flood. Noah enjoyed the brilliant rainbow as a reminder of God’s
covenant promise with Noah and all people after him that God would never destroy the
Earth by water again. But the spiritual journey was not ending- it was actually just
beginning. And I am certain that Noah understood that, at least at first. And he lost no
time getting to work and becoming as industrious in his new home as he had been
working on the ark as it says in verser 18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of
the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. You
ask, why did Moses remark here that Ham is the father of Canaan. We will see that in a
minute. Things were going well, the ark is unloaded. Mrs. Noah sets up her household
and they all get to work. But in verse 20 things begin to change And Noah began to be
a husbandman, and planted a vineyard. Nothing wrong here, Noah is still hard at work.
But in 21. it says And he (Noah) drank of the wine, and was drunken. And he was
uncovered within his tent.”
Now many will point to this verse and point out the evils and dangers of
drinking. I would agree with that. I personally have never seen anything good yet to
come out of a bottle of beer, wine, Jack Daniels or anything you might prefer to have.
But that is not the focus of the teaching here. The point is that somewhere along the
way, Noah got to the point where he let down. Somewhere Noah started thinking only
of himself. He decided he had had enough of the hard work and the back-breaking
labor that he had known getting ready for that ark experience. Now it was time to sit
back and enjoy life. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life, except Noah went a little
bit too far with it. This one whom Genesis 6:8 says But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. was found by one of his sons, passed out and exposed for all the world.
This Noah-says Matthew Henry, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk
in sober company.The shame and embarrassment of Noah being seen in this condition
caused him to lash out and actually curse one of his children, Ham- one who had shared
the labor of building the ark- him he condemned to slavery and servitude, and the
relationship with his family was never the same after that-all because Noah went from
trusting God to just surviving. Many scholars teach about Ham’s lack of respect for his
father that caused him to be cursed, and that might well be. Shem and Japeth, Ham’s
brothers-out of love and respect for their father saw to it that Noah did not remain in
that shameful condition. But it is still clear to us that for whatever failings Ham had as a
son, it was out of response to Noah’s failing as a father.
Such stories are countless to recall in Scripture. David, also favored by God so
much that he was entitled “the man after God’s own heart,” was brought low when
David let down. He had gotten to the point where he felt he had fought enough battles
and it was time to sit back and relax. David must have thought, “After all I am fifty
years old. I’ve paid the price. Its time to let somebody else pay their dues- I’ve certainly
paid mine.” That was when he peered over his balcony and saw Baathsheba. And my
friend, all of the hellish intrigues and battles that David fought up until then could not
compare with the trouble David fell into after he had entered into adultery with her.
Again, David’s problem, like Noah’s problem was just in surviving, letting down in his
focus upon God and faith in God.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Do you know why Hebrews says
that? Why is God so displeased when we are without faith? Because faith is always
looking to Him. Faith is always turned outward. I don’t care how much faith you think
you might have-even if its just a little bit, it is focused on God and God says He will
bless it. Isn’t that what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 If ye have faith as a grain of
mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and
it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Why shall nothing be
impossible to him? Because those who believe a mountain can’t be moved are not
God-focused, they are inward focused, and never see what might possibly, by faith, lie
beyond the walls of their own hearts! Christian author Ron Macintosh once said that
“Survival will always be the thief of revival.” And that is the honest truth.
When pastor Doyle Searcy was with us a couple of months ago, giving us the
presentation about his missions trip to India, he told the story of how his own church
was depleted of just about all its membership after the drawdown and when the base
closed in Frankfurt. They had only 25-30 people actively attending. They did have a
sizeable amount in the bank, but it wouldn’t be long before they would deplete this in
just paying the bills and covering red ink. But then they were given a challenge-an
opportunity to support a mission work for $200 in Romania confronted them. At the
business meeting someone asked the question, “Do we have the money to help this
church?” Pastor Doyle said, “If you are asking if we have the money in the bank right
now to send them $200-yes. But if you asking if it will enable us to make our
budget-no.” The man responded- well, I don’t care. I think we ought to do it anyway.”
Pastor Doyle said with tears in his eyes, “I praise God for this church. Because if we go
under, it will be because our heart is open to God and our arms are open up wide to the
world.” And you know, God blessed that church. It now has four times that many
members and recently gave 10,000 marks to fund the mission trip to India the Pastor
told us about. I’ve seen it like this in other churches, also. The best place that a church
can be in is when it has no other choice but to trust God by faith not just to survive but
to keep on going. As soon as it stops doing that it will turn inward and it will die.
Maybe not right away, but instead of life-giving attitudes of assurance, and victory, and
fruit and joy it gives into the temptation of the comfort zone. Hey we’ve got enough
money lets not rock the boat! It will start thinking about itself all the time, about its
facilities, its programs, and everything is only about me, mine, and ours. In the
meantime the community around it is lost and dying and going to a devils hell without
Jesus and the people in the church don’t have a care in the world. They don’t care
about missions. They don’t care about evangelism. All they want is to have their needs
met and be satisfied- JUST SURVIVE.
The story is told of a nice little church on a street corner with a big sign that said
in large letters, JESUS ONLY. But then one day a big windstorm came and blew away
part of the sign and it read, US ONLY. And my friends, that is a statement of our
generation if ever I read one, because we’re not interested in what God wants, and
we’re not interested in what people need. We just want US ONLY.
And my friends when we stoop to have that kind of attitude-its not only an
attitude that displeases God, its an atittude that God will bring down judgement upon.
Amos 6:1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of
Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel
came!Jesus says even what he has will be taken away from him. Matthew 25:29 For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him
that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.Without faith and
continual focus on God, we turn inward. And I will tell you how you will know a bunch
of inward looking-thinking people when they start fighting among themselves. When
they have a heart full of covetousness. When they start staking out territory saying,
“This is mine and your’e not going to have it.” And one day they wake up like Noah
and realize that in their stupor of selfishness it has been taken all away. Or they will
find that a significant part of their life, like Noah’s boy, Ham, is cursed or taken away.
Why does this happen? Because they are not turning and looking to God. They think
that the word Service is should be spelled “Serve-Us.” They are not looking at the
fields and seeing that they are white unto harvest. They are not responding to the call of
the Master Jesus Christ who asks “Where are there workers to gather in from my
harvest fields.”
My beloved, the principle that God works in is faith. And if we have faith to do
with already what He has commanded, we will more easily see and understand our way
clear to do greater things. Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. And
that is faith that will take our eyes off of ourselves and onto those people for whom
Jesus has died, and may have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Its more than
just about us or our needs. Its about Jesus. Its about what He wants. I tell you.
Being in the surviving, instead of the faith mode is what Jesus was talking about in a
parable that He taught in Matthew 6:19 Jesus told the parable of the rich farmer who
got to this point when he said: “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said
unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall
those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Many feel as though we need to find or build a larger building, or one that is
more comfortable. And then we sit back and wander where all the money is going to
come from. I tell you where its going to come from, friends, but it won’t come the way
you think it might. It’s not going to come necessarily from the depths of people’s
pockets inside or outside this church. Its going to come out of response to need. Not
the need for having a new building, but responding to the needs of people for whom
Christ died. Its going to come by binding the hurts and dressing the wounds of people.
Its going to come because we obeyed God and trusted Him in doing what we should be
doing right now. Its going to come when we get outside these doors and win the lost to
faith in Jesus Christ. Its going to come when were laboring in those harvest fields, not
sitting back and enjoying the harvest. That was what got Noah in trouble. Resting on
his laurels. That’s what got David in trouble, and that is what gets Christians and
churches in trouble all the time. Let’s not get into that kind of trouble! Let’s stay out of
an attitude that wants to have Ease in Zion. Let’s never get so prideful that we say, “We
can sit back and take it easy” because the minute we do that we have had it! What are
we to do? What should I suggest? There are hundreds of things we could do to serve
the Lord as we minister to the needs of people. Jesus said in Matthew 10: 42. “And
whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only
in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
People will remember that, my friends. And the response of faith is more refreshing
than the drink itself. What kind of church do you want to be in 2001? one that just
survives another year, or one that moves on faith?
