Noah: The Ark Builder — Kate Palka, 4th August 2024 | LOVECHURCH Bournemouth
Summary
TLDRIn this church talk, Kate explores the story of Noah from the Old Testament, emphasizing the moral degeneration of humanity leading to the Great Flood. She discusses the faithfulness of Noah, the construction of the Ark, and the divine judgment that wiped out sin. The talk also touches on the significance of the rainbow as God's promise to humanity, and draws parallels between Noah's Ark and the salvation offered through Jesus Christ, highlighting the enduring presence of sin and the need for divine intervention.
Takeaways
- 🎤 The speaker, Kate, is a long-term member and servant of the congregation, and she will be discussing the story of Noah from the Old Testament.
- 🌊 The story of Noah is well-known, but the talk will delve deeper into the narrative, focusing on Noah's faithfulness and God's heart towards His creation.
- 📜 The script references a survey conducted among the congregation members regarding their beliefs about the Noah's flood, revealing a nearly unanimous belief in the event's occurrence.
- 🌧 The flood is considered a real event in the biblical narrative, not just a children's story, and is seen as a response to the widespread wickedness and sin of humanity at that time.
- 🙏 Noah is depicted as a righteous man who found favor with God, in stark contrast to the rest of humanity, and was chosen to build the ark as part of God's plan.
- 🛠 The ark's construction was a significant task, with detailed instructions from God, and it was more akin to a modern cargo ship than a simple bathtub toy.
- 👨👩👧👦 Noah's family, consisting of his wife and three sons, were with him on the ark, and they were tasked with caring for the animals during the flood.
- 🌍 The flood's extent is a topic of debate, but the speaker leans towards interpreting the biblical account as a global event, citing Jesus' teachings as support.
- 🕊 God's mercy is highlighted through the story, showing a shift from judgment to promise, and the significance of the rainbow as a symbol of God's covenant with Noah.
- 🔄 The theme of sin and its consequences is recurrent, with the speaker drawing parallels between the world of Noah and the present day, questioning if there is more or less evil now.
- ✝️ The ultimate hero of the biblical narrative is Jesus Christ, who, like Noah, provides a means of salvation and escape from sin, fulfilling God's covenant in a new way.
Q & A
Who is the main speaker in the script and what is her topic of discussion?
-The main speaker in the script is Kate, and her topic of discussion is the story of Noah, an Old Testament hero, and the lessons it holds for understanding God's heart towards His creation.
What is the significance of the survey conducted by Kate?
-The survey conducted by Kate is significant as it gauges the beliefs of the congregation regarding the historical reality of the flood during the time of Noah, the extent of the flood, and the comparison of evil in the world then and now.
What does the term 'zacha' imply in the context of God's remembrance of Noah?
-In the context of God's remembrance of Noah, 'zacha' implies an active engagement, meaning that when God remembers, He acts according to His covenant promises, which involves doing something in response to that remembrance.
What is the biblical account of Noah's name and its meaning?
-Noah's name, as mentioned in the script, means 'rest' or 'comfort'. It is linked to the hope that he would bring comfort amid the labor and pain caused by the cursed ground, as stated by his father Lamech.
What was the task God entrusted to Noah according to the script?
-According to the script, God entrusted Noah with the task of building an ark. He provided Noah with all the necessary information regarding its size, layout, and building materials.
How long did it take to build the ark according to the script?
-The script mentions that it took between 55 and 75 years to build the ark.
What does the rainbow symbolize in God's covenant with Noah as per the script?
-In God's covenant with Noah, the rainbow symbolizes a promise that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. It represents reconciliation, peace, and God's faithfulness to His promises.
What is the connection between Noah and Jesus Christ as discussed in the script?
-The script discusses the connection between Noah and Jesus Christ by highlighting that Jesus is a descendant of Noah and that He is the sinless man who fulfills the promise and covenant God made with Noah, providing a means of salvation through the cross.
What was the duration of the flood as described in the script?
-The script describes that the flood lasted for 150 days, and Noah stayed in the ark for a total of 370 days.
How does the script describe the world before the flood in the time of Noah?
-The script describes the world before the flood as filled with wickedness and evil, where every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time, and people were ignoring God and His laws.
What is the significance of the phrase 'God remembered Noah' in the script?
-The phrase 'God remembered Noah' in the script signifies God's faithfulness to His covenant promises. It indicates that God acted to save Noah and keep His word, showing His mercy and love for His creation.
Outlines
🎤 Welcoming and Introducing the Speaker
The script begins with a warm welcome for attendees to take their seats for the main event, emphasizing the importance of listening to the upcoming talk by Kate. The speaker, Bruce, briefly introduces Kate as a long-term and well-respected member of their congregation, highlighting her significant contributions to the church community. Bruce also mentions a humorous anecdote about Noah, the Old Testament hero, whom Kate will discuss. He prays for Kate, asking for divine guidance and wisdom in her speech, and ends with a light-hearted note about a lost key found in the restroom.
🌊 The Story of Noah and the Deluge
This paragraph delves into the story of Noah, exploring the context of his world and the divine task assigned to him by God. It discusses the moral decay of humankind from the time of Adam and Eve, leading up to Noah's generation, where people were living without regard for God. The narrative describes God's regret in creating humanity due to their wickedness and the decision to cleanse the Earth through a flood. Noah, found to be righteous and faithful, is chosen by God to build an ark to save his family and a remnant of animal life. The paragraph also touches on the survey conducted by the speaker to gauge the audience's beliefs about the historical flood and its implications.
🛶 The Construction and Significance of the Ark
The speaker provides a detailed account of the construction of the ark, as instructed by God, emphasizing its size and the materials used, which were unlike the simplistic depictions in children's bathtub toys. It clarifies that the ark was more akin to a modern cargo ship with three decks. The paragraph also discusses the duration of the flood, the experience of Noah and his family during the 150 days of rain, and their faith in God's plan despite the uncertainty and hardship. The speaker reflects on the audience's beliefs regarding the flood's extent and its coverage of the entire Earth, as revealed by the survey results.
🌈 God's Covenant and the Promise of the Rainbow
This section focuses on God's act of remembering Noah, signifying His faithfulness to His covenant promises. It explains the biblical concept of 'zachah', which means to act in accordance with His promises. The speaker describes how God's mercy led to the end of the flood, the receding of waters, and the salvation of Noah and the creatures on the ark. The rainbow is introduced as a symbol of God's promise never to destroy the Earth by flood again, symbolizing peace and reconciliation. The paragraph also discusses the ongoing presence of sin and evil in the world, despite the flood, and the need for divine intervention and redemption.
🕊 Reflections on Sin, Salvation, and the Ultimate Hero
The final paragraph brings the discussion full circle, reflecting on the enduring nature of sin and the necessity of divine salvation. It draws a parallel between the ark, which saved Noah and his family, and the cross, which offers salvation to all who believe in Jesus. The speaker emphasizes that Jesus, as a descendant of Noah and without sin, is the fulfillment of God's promise and the ultimate hero. The paragraph concludes with a call to faith, stating that those who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved, and God's promise to remember His people through the symbol of the rainbow.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Noah
💡Flood
💡Ark
💡Covenant
💡Righteousness
💡Sin
💡Redemption
💡Rainbow
💡Survey
💡Judgment
💡Worship
Highlights
Introduction of Kate as a long-term member and servant of the congregation.
Kate's talk focuses on Noah, an Old Testament hero, and his significance in biblical narratives.
Humor about Noah being older than the speaker and the audience's reaction.
A prayer for Kate's speech to be filled with God's words and to inspire the congregation.
The congregation's familiarity with the Noah's Ark story and its common misconceptions.
The survey conducted to gauge congregation's belief in the Noah's flood and its results.
Explanation of the moral degeneration of humankind from Adam to Noah's time.
Noah's unique faithfulness to God in a generation filled with wickedness.
Description of Noah's background, family, and his role as a farmer post-Ark.
The divine instruction for Noah to build the Ark and the detailed specifications provided by God.
Contrasting the Ark's actual construction with the common bathtub toy misconception.
The duration of the Ark's construction and the time spent by Noah and his family inside.
The theological debate on whether the flood was global or local and the congregation's divided views.
Jesus' teachings linking the days of Noah with the coming judgment of all mankind.
The concept of 'zacha' in Hebrew, signifying God's active remembrance and covenant keeping.
The rainbow as a symbol of God's promise and reconciliation with humanity post-flood.
Reflection on the presence of sin and evil in the world today, compared to Noah's time.
The ultimate divine intervention through Jesus Christ, the sinless descendant of Noah.
The invitation for salvation through faith in Jesus and the promise of God's remembrance.
Transcripts
okay everybody if you could take your
seats
please take your seats for the main
event everybody please sit down um
listen we're going to listen to Kate
which is going to be a wonderful talk so
if you can break up your individual
talks we're going to have a listening
talk thank you everybody grab your
seats we've got the wonderful Kate with
us today Kate's a long-term member of
our congregation many of you know her
very well wonderful servant of our
congregation she's asked me not to talk
too much about her so I'm going
to no I'm not going to embarrass her but
she does wonderful work in this church
and it's an absolute joy to have her
talking to us today about an Old
Testament hero older than me apparently
yes Noah Noah oh you ruined my joke I
was going to say and I knowah guy but to
give you a
clue well there's always the one about
being you know young being old when no
was still wearing uh wings but anyway um
let me just pray for you and I'll take
the bad jokes away um Lord I offer up
your wonderful servant here Kate she's
such a good servant of this church and
of you and I know you're going to fill
her with wonderful Words May those words
land like honey on our souls may they
Inspire us with the flame of the Holy
Spirit may they give us strength and
information and joy to take out into the
world bless this servant with your
wonderful words with the voice of God
today amen thank you Bruce thank you so
before I start I just want to release
somebody here who if you're not in a
heightened state of anxiety you will be
when you want to go home because your
keys were found in the middle toilet big
fat bunch of keys and they're at the
welcome desk there you
go so as you know we're spending a bit
of time over the next few weeks looking
at biblical Heroes and focusing on how
point to the ultimate hero Jesus Christ
uh I'm going to look as I said I'm going
to look today at Noah whose story is
found in Genesis 6 to10 I I had has it a
guess that when you uh some people when
they think of Noah they might um well
most people will know the Bible story
even if they've never stepped foot in a
church because it's very well known some
people might um I wonder how many of us
hold in our minds the image of an over
stuffed rubber colorful bathtub toy
filled with squeezy
creatures and just skip over the rest of
the story Others May see this as a story
of a vengeful Old Testament God who
poured out his wrath on humanity and
actually to be honest i' not really I
knew the story but I'd not really looked
at it in real detail before and
obviously neither of those images are
based in any
reality we're going to look at what the
story is what the story tells us not
only about Noah and the world in which
he lived and the task that God gave him
but also at God's heart towards his
creation so let's look first at one of
the other key players in this story The
Flood is this a cozy bathtub story or is
it a real event and and in the weeks
leading up to this I actually thought
what I'd do is create a survey or monkey
survey if you know that and send it out
to quite a few of you here so thank you
to all those who filled it in well done
to those who checked first I wasn't a
Russian fishing scammer uh because some
people did well done um and then I found
that monkey survey actually requires you
to pay £96 if you want to upgrade if you
want the results for more than 25 people
so we're going to have to stick with 25
although more than 25 did respond thank
you and the first question
was do you believe that there was a
flood in the time of Noah I thought that
was a good starting
point let's do it here raise your hand
if you believe that in the time of Noah
there was a flood could you do that
now pretty good okay let's look at the
result of the survey and the survey said
100% of the people that I asked did
believe that there was a flood in the
time of Noah now full disclosure they
were all people from church so you'd
sort of expect that I didn't feel brave
enough to go out there um and ask other
people but 100% on the survey believed
that there was a flood in the time of
Noah but let's go B deeper why why was
there a flood in the time of Noah and to
do that I'm going to go back to last
week and remember what Angelina told us
about Eve as we heard from her even Adam
had to could no longer be in the garden
because of their sin they went out and
multi replied Eve was the mother of
mankind and in the following chapters
we're told about what happened the Gen
the moral
degeneration of
humankind from Adam and Eve and as the
human race multiplied so did Sin and
evil and by the time we get to Noah's
generation nine Generations later we're
told that the people were marrying going
about their everyday lives totally
ignoring and shunning God shunning his
laws ignoring God's input in their lives
not thinking about God at all the world
had been peopled in great numbers over
those nine Generations every single
person that God looked at wanted nothing
to do with
him Genesis 8 says the Lord saw how
great the wickedness of the human race
had become on the earth that every
inclination of the thoughts of the human
heart was only Evil all the time
the Lord regretted that he'd made human
beings on the earth and his heart was
deeply
troubled so the Lord said I will wipe
from the face of the Earth the human
race I've created and with them the
animals the birds and the creatures that
move along the ground for I regret that
I have made them so let's consider that
how terrible the creator of the universe
looked at the world he created and
heartbreakingly could find
nobody who remained faithful to him he
actually regretted that he had made
human beings and his heart was deeply
troubled to the extent that he decided
he had to wipe from the face of the
Earth the human race not only them but
all the
animals but as he searched for that one
person he did find him and we all know
who that was he found Noah in Genesis 8
says Noah found favor in the eyes of the
Lord so what do we know about Noah let's
look at him for a minute we know from
the genealogy listed in previous
chapters that he was the 10 in the 10th
Generation of the human race we can
trace his ancestors back to Adam his
father was called lamech and we're told
that in naming him Noah he said he will
Comfort Us in the labor and pain of our
hands caused by the ground the Lord has
cursed so that's interesting isn't it
Noah's name means rest Noah's name means
comfort and it was his name he was
linked to the curse that God had put on
the
ground on
Adam Noah was married we never actually
get to know very much about her and the
lady is called Mrs Noah and will ever
more be called Mrs Noah we know that he
had three sons Shem ham and jafeth who
were also married we don't actually you
know what he did prior to constructing
the ark we don't know if he was a
builder but he certainly afterwards was
a farmer and he built a Vineyard but
it's possible he had no idea how to
construct an ark but he had God to tell
him what we do
know is that he walked with the Lord and
found Grace in his sight as Genesis 689
says Noah has actually mentioned eight
in eight other books in the Bible all
good things about it
in 2 Peter 2:5 he's also described as a
preacher of
righteousness and Hebrews 11:7 says he
was motivated by faith and godly
fear the point is that he was the one
man on Earth who remained faithful to
God after nine
Generations so God found his hero he
entrusted the task of building the ark
to him he gave him all the necessary
information to complete it size layout
appropriate building materials that's
all listed in Genesis and there's a
whole study on on all of that it's
fascinating based on this information
it's evident the bar Arc did not
actually resemble a bathtub toy at all
it was more like a modernday three- deck
cargo ship and there are some life-size
replicas we'll get a picture of it in a
minute there are some life-size replicas
built by our beautiful but Bonas friends
in America who have theme parks
dedicated to the ark if you wanted to go
and see it but we we know it took
between 55 and 75 years to
build it's all right we'll get one up in
a
minute the Lord then said to Noah go
into the ark you and your whole family
take you with you seven pairs of every
kind of clean animal and birds a male
and its mate and one pair of every kind
of unclean amol a male and its mate and
in 7 days from now I'll send rain on the
the Earth for 40 days and 40
nights so the flood began on the 17th
day of the second month the Springs of
the great deep burst forth and the
floodgates of the heavens were
opened this is no ordinary
rainfall right we're waiting
okay there we go there we go
listen imagine what Noah and his family
felt when hearing what was going on
outside knowing what was happening to
the people
outside it lasted for 150 days
time to go back to my survey and the
second question which was actually
proved to be much more tricky do you
believe that the flood covered the whole
of the earth do you believe that the
flood covered the whole of the Earth can
you raise your hand if you believe that
the flood covered the whole of the
Earth right fewer than last time with
our nearly 100% last time in fact uh
that actually does
um mirror what the survey that I carried
out revealed 18 people think that it did
Cover the Earth seven did not now I'm
not qualified meteorologically or
historically or archaeologically or in
any other ogy to give you the answer but
I've done some reading on the
commentaries and it's it's obvious that
this this um the the 187 split is
reflects what's uh that it's a mixed bag
out there among Christian but my
personal view having looked at what the
Bible actually says is that it did Cover
the whole of the earth God looked at all
of his creation over the face of the
whole earth and saw that it was not good
he said in verse 6 17 I'm going to put
an end to All Flesh which has the Breath
of Life from under heaven and everything
that's in the Earth shall
die I think if God had intended to
describe a global World destroying flood
he couldn't actually have been more
clearer and actually for me the most
cogent uh piece of information from the
Bible is comes from
Jesus Jesus based his teaching of the
coming judgment on all mankind on the
fact that Noah's flood judged all
mankind he said as it was in the days of
Noah so it will be at the coming of the
son of man for in days before the flood
people were eating and drinking marrying
and giving in marriage I.E going on with
their ordinary lives not paying any
attention to God up to the day Noah
entered the Ark and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away and that is
how it will be at the coming of the son
of
[Music]
man so I say this not to make a point
about the right or wrong answer that
doesn't matter but just to illustrate
that sin is a worldwide problem sin is a
worldwide problem and it was sin and
evil that needed to be wiped out so that
a new Heaven and a new Earth could be
established and to achieve that God gave
to the one man who was faithful to him
the task of establishing the new Earth
and that's our hero Noah so we'll come
to the third and last question that I
put out on my
survey this is even more difficult do
you think that there is more or less
evil in the world now as there was in
the time of Noah have a think about that
I'm not going to tell you what the
survey results were yet so we'll come
back to this do you think there was more
or less evil in the times of Noah than
there is now and let's leave that let's
leave the flood come back to Noah God
shut the door on him and his family and
he waited he heard the sound of the rain
he knew what was happening outside the
ark was not a cruise liner with a cinema
and a pool it was dark it would have
stank because of all those animals they
would have worked really hard as they
looked after every animal there the
storm lasted 150 days I said and as I
said and we think are we know that he
stayed in the ARK for 370 days with
seven other people not knowing what
God's plan was but Faithfully believing
that God had a plan and that he would
rescue
him okay now that all sounds very heavy
but let's come to the really good bit
the best bit bit that tells us about
God's heart not just towards Noah but to
all of
us in his Mercy his mind moved from
righteous
judgment to
promise Genesis 81 says God remembered
Noah God remembered Noah and all the
wild animals and the livestock that were
with him on the ark and he sent a wind
over the earth and the waters receded
God remembered
Noah so that's a wonderful image of God
remembering Noah it didn't mean that
he'd forgotten about him in all the
excitement that's not what remember
means in this context it means he was
faithful to Noah and that he would keep
his promises when God remembers it means
he acts according to his Covenant
promises in a way that we can
see the Hebrew word for remember is
zacha
zacha and to zacha is not merely just to
Rifle through the father in your head to
you know extract a piece of information
it's to act it's to speak it's to do
it's to do something with your hands
it's to employ an action to engage in
whatever action that remembrance
requires it's an active thing and the
remembering language used here is used
quite a few times uh in the Bible and
it's linked to Covenant that God makes
with his people so in Exodus Moses says
that God heard Israel's groaning and God
remembered his Covenant with Abraham
with Isaac Isaac and
Jacob Psalm 983 says he has remembered
his love and his faithfulness to Israel
all the ends of the Earth have seen
it when he remembered Rachel he opened
her womb and when Mary told that she was
told that she was pregnant with Jesus
she said he has helped his servant
Israel remembering his Mercy
so for God to zacha is to act in a way
in keeping with the love that defines
his very
essence so when God remembered Noah he
saved him he sent his Spirit the ruach
the Holy Spirit the wind over the earth
and the waters receded and Noah got to
dry land and he went out and the first
thing he did was to worship and offer a
sacrifice to his God
so how was it that God remembered Noah
what was the Covenant that God actually
made with
him in Genesis 8:21 he says in his heart
never again will I curse the ground
because of
humans even though every inclination of
the human heart is evil from childhood
and never again will I destroy all
living creatures as I have
[Music]
done wonderful and what did God give as
his unconditional promise to Noah what
sign was it anyone a raino thank you the
Hebrew word translated um the the the
Hebrew word for R rainbow as translated
has no has no element of rain in it so
the the rainbow that we're talking about
here is a battle tool it's a bow it's a
weapon of war and a weapon of judgment
it's not a curve of light as we know it
shining through the rain Psalm 7 11-13
says God is a righteous judge if a man
does not repent God will wet his sword
he has bent and readied his
bow but the bow that Noah saw it
stretched from Horizon to Horizon from
Earth to Heaven over the whole of the
Earth the bow that Noah saw that symbol
of Destruction was transformed into a
token of reconciliation and peace and a
promise by God that he would never again
destroy his people in that way his
people it's a symbol of peace through
God's covenant with Noah this doesn't
mean obviously that God's anger against
sin and evil would never come down again
it doesn't mean that God can Overlook
sin all Noah's descendants like Noah
himself were shaped with the same
inheritance that they receiv received
from Adam and it's happening today you
can see it today can't you and every
everything that's going on around the
world sin and evil is still very much in
the world and if you look a bit further
into Genesis 9 you'll see that Noah
himself failed massively he sinned he
brought terrible shame on his
family we can see today the effects of
that so this brings us back to our third
question is there
more evil in the world now than in the
time of
moah I don't know if we have that result
let me tell you what it was anyway out
of 25 it was really mixed people six
people said
more four people said less
evil seven people said exactly the
same and eight people were really honest
and said I I don't
know but that doesn't matter there's no
consensus but it doesn't matter what
matters is
this Human Nature has been consistently
flawed which has necessitated divine
intervention and redemp ion but there
was one descendant of Noah who was
without sin and we all know who that was
it's Jesus and Jesus the genealogy of
Jesus can be traced back to Abraham and
Abraham's genealogy can be traced back
to Adam remembering that Noah was a
descendant of Adam so Jesus is a
descendant of Noah and he is the one
sinless
man just as God provided to Noah who was
faithful to God but still a sinner with
a divinely prove means of Escape that
massive wooden structure The Ark in
Jesus he's provided Sinners with another
great wooden structure hasn't
he as a means to escape which is the
cross the cross and it's in the cross
and in Jesus that God remembers his
promise and his Covenant with Noah is
actually fulfilled we're those who
remembered by God God remembers us we
are his people people we are the objects
of his active intervening incarnating
remembering Act of Mercy In Christ if
you don't know that you're one of his
people you can everybody who calls on
the name of Jesus will be
saved everybody who calls on the name of
Jesus will be saved and by setting his
bow in the cloud God's saying that even
though humans are sinful he won't
destroy us God can hang up his bow he
can hang up his judgment for one
reason it's not because Noah and his
descendants no longer sinned and it's
not because God can no long can Overlook
sin he can hang up his bow because his
arrows have been spent on somebody else
on that sinless man on Jesus our savior
God will remember his people and they
will be saved amen
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