A Noah Perspective: Never Again

I promise I haven't seen the film Noah yet (it's not out till next week in the UK) or read many reviews but I thought I'd get my tuppence worth in before the big movie of the year is released and then compare inspirations! I suspect the movie WON'T follow my line of thought...

Before getting involved in Alpha in New Zealand, I never used to ask the question that so many other people ask: "Why God, is there so much suffering in the world?" That also meant that I didn't have an answer either so I made it my business to find out the answer. I read some amazing books that really helped - "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel was particularly insightful as well as "Aftershock" by Adrian Holloway. I soon found that there were plenty of opportunities to help others answer that question and for some it was life-changing.

So lately I've been thinking about that question with Noah in mind. So often the Bible encourages us to embrace trials, rejoice in suffering and endure through it to the end to gain the reward and I believe that with all my heart. But in the moment, how many times do we wish it would all just end? How many times have we wished it were all over? How much do we doubt while going through the tough times that it will actually be worth it in the end? How could any amount of good possibly be worth this much suffering?

The story of Noah and the flood tells us that the Lord himself can understand your thoughts and how you feel because for a brief moment in history, He allowed Himself to ask the same question. Before the Great Flood, He looked at the amount of sin in the world and was so grieved that he regretted even making us in the first place. (Genesis 6:5-7) In Noah's lifetime, there was so much sin that no one could be content because of all the greed, no one could be safe because of all the abuse of each others belongings and bodies, no one could be at peace because you couldn't trust even your dearest friend. There was a lot of sin and there was a lot of suffering too. Just like we do sometimes, God looked around and was so heartbroken at the state of things that He was sorry He had even started this venture called mankind. But that is not the end of the story.

Remember Leelo in the movie The Fifth Element who came to save mankind and lost heart when she saw the amount of destruction we have caused to each other over the years? She was reminded by Bruce Willis's character, Korban Dallas, that there is more than evil in the world - there is also love.

What was it that inspired God to take heart once again and believe in His creation, believe that we are able to live up to the great destiny He has designed for us? The destiny that involved preparing the way for the Messiah who would then in turn prepare a people to be His bride, to judge angels and reign alongside Him when He comes into His kingdom? Who was God's inspiration? Noah. "But Noah found Grace in the sight of the Lord." (Gen 6:8)

What was it about Noah? Genesis gives us this description of Noah: "Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God." (ch6:9). Who else in the Bible walked with God? Noah's Great-Grandfather, Enoch, walked with God and he was one of only two men in the Bible to be spared death - he was also taken at a relatively younger age than the rest of his family line so he was also spared the horror of living in a world that was so awful God wiped it out and started again with Noah. So walking with God was a pretty rare and special thing.

Who else walked with God? The first man, Adam, walked with God in the cool of the day, probably every day, before He and Eve sinned (Gen 3:8). Noah was a direct descendant from Adam - Adam actually died 130 years before Noah was born, when Noah's father, Lamech, was 56 years old.

Noah was a direct descendant from Adam - the ninth firstborn male from Adam - through that line would come the Seed that was prophesied to bruise the head of the snake prince of earth (Gen 3:15) and ultimately restore us back to right relationship with God, the earth and each other. If Adam had a title, Noah would have inherited it.

Perhaps Noah learnt something through his immense line of great-grandfathers about what it meant to walk with God unashamedly, unhindered in the cool of the day. Noah carried a mantle, an authority, a knowledge that his lifeline carried hope. He was taught well and He learnt what he was taught. In fact, he took it so seriously that when everyone else in the world was unjust, he remained just. When everyone else compromised, He remained perfect and when everyone else went their own way, He chose God.

God looked at Noah and saw a reflection of himself. He decided that there was Hope for mankind after all. He saw that human kind had not been utterly corrupted but could still live up to their divine destiny. Thank God for Noah!

Perhaps the heartache it caused the Lord to destroy all he made and start again was too great a cost - the massive death of people, potential, His own dreams He had dreamt for them, love He had invested in them, lessons he had taught them - all gone. Perhaps it was even greater than the cost God could see ahead - the cost of His Son. The cost of sticking with these humans for the future was going to be big but perhaps not as big as what the Flood would have cost if He had not chosen to save Noah.

Whatever the reason, after the flood, God brought a rainbow that was a symbol of promise - a promise to never again curse creation because of people (Gen 8:20-22). A promise not to wipe us out like that again (Gen 9:12-17). God make a promise in a rainbow to remind Himself that He had not given up on us and that He would never, ever give up on us again - ever. No matter how bad things would get, God decided to put all his grief behind him and invest himself 100% in mankind - He made covenants with Abraham and then sent His Son to suffer and die so we could follow Him through death to the resurrection and live forever as His bride. Why? Because He sees something in us and has decided we are worth it all - all the pain and sorrow Jesus went through was nothing compared to the Joy He knew we would bring Him afterwards (Hebrews 12:2). Isn't it wonderful to think that we bring Him joy?

God is so invested in your life and in mine - He never has any doubts about you or about me. He put any possibility of that behind him at the Flood and He never goes back on His promises. That promise to us was not conditional - it does not depend on our behaviour or how good we are - it is a promise that he will never again flood the earth. He will never give up on mankind ever - he will one day bring in a new heaven and earth but he is 100% committed to first getting as many of us through the door of Jesus that will come.

He is 100% committed to bringing about good from all the disaster that goes on around us (Romans 8:28). He is 100% committed to making sure that every trial and valley we go through will indeed be worth it. He is 100% committed and invested in me and in you. As long as we are living, He refuses to give up on us.

If you are ever tempted to give up on your dreams, your marriage, your life or give up on God because the situation is too dark to see any light in it - cling on to that promise that was first hinted at through a rainbow, spoken through a covenant with Abraham and finally sealed at Calvary: it will be worth it. He is 100% committed to making sure of it.

Worship 101

Worship 1:01

Have you ever gone to a church that worshipped in a different style to the one you are used to and struggled to engage with God because the worship was so distracting? Did you keep saying things in your head like ‘I don’t like this’, ‘this feels wrong or boring or over the top or ...’. Have you ever gone somewhere new, perhaps even to a different country, and wished that the worship could be more like what you have at home? Or perhaps you are one of the ones who loves the way the worship is done here and thinks that the others who don’t like it need to get over themselves and get with the programme?

This issue, these thoughts are not new. They are an ancient as Cain and Abel and when Jesus walked the earth, this issue was as big as it gets – two people groups, both of whom have ancestry from Abraham – believe the way they worship is the best way and this issue, among many others, blocks relationship, blocks reconciliation, creates contention.

Let’s look at the story again and see what Jesus has to say about the matter.

Jesus walks into the scene as a seemingly innocent bystander who just wants a drink but he is about to rock this woman’s world, transform her village and announce to her a profound truth that is just as relevant for us today as it was then.

In one part of their conversation, recorded in John's gospel, chapter 4 verse 20, the Samaritan woman asks Jesus a question, in the form of a statement – “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Was she expecting the usual arguments the Jews gave on this matter, ones she probably grew up hearing and the ones her brothers learned to cleverly rebuff in their Sunday school class should they ever encounter a Jew?

Jesus answer is astounding (verses 23 and 24): “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

What is so astounding about this answer?

The Samaritan woman considered worship to be about the tangible facts: where should we worship? When should we worship? In what place, in what manner, at what time, in what order?

These are statements that still bring contention today – what songs ought we to sing, in what style, with what instruments, how loud, how many? Should it be on a Sunday or a Saturday night? What time on a Sunday? At what part of the Sunday service? Even wider than this, ,missionaries worldwide have faced issues of whether we should worship in round churches or square ones, with men and women separated or together, sitting down or standing up? Arms raised or arms prostrated out before you on the floor? In what language should we worship? Latin, English or our native tongue? You may think some of these issues are funny or bizarre but I assure you each one has actually brought division either recently or historically and prevented others from reconciliation with God because the Christians considered the style of worship to be more important than true worship.

Jesus cuts through all of this.

God seeks worshippers who worship in Spirit and in truth.

What does this mean?

For starters, are you really worshipping God when we come together to sing, pray, break bread? Or are you just going through the motions? If you are going through the motions, that is not honest or true. True worshippers mean what they say, sing, pray.

In Spirit – when God breathed life into Adam he gave him Spirit from his own spirit and the Spirit that lives within you longs to be reunited with God because as Jesus said, God is Spirit. How does your spirit worship God? I could write for hours on this but in a nutshell, when your head (thoughts) and your heart (feelings) and your soul (will) submit to God – i.e. GET OUT OF THEIR OWN WAY you find yourself in the Holiest of Holy places, the throne room of God with your spirit free to worship God.

If you find your brain going into overdrive thinking too much about the how, who, when, where then say “God, I may not like or understand this but I give those thoughts to you because I desire to worship you”. When you find your feelings are getting in the way of your worshipping God because you are upset the worship is not in the way you like it then pray “God, I feel upset/angry/disappointed/whatever but I give that to you because I desire to worship you”. When you’re stubborn will is fighting back saying “I won’t worship if it’s going to be this way” or your passive will is saying “Fine, I’ll go through the motions but I won’t really engage, I’ll just wait till it’s all over then go back to my own way of doing things” then pray “Father God, I am struggling to engage with you here. I give you my strong will/ my passive will and ask you to help me because at the bottom of it all, I desire to worship you.”

Then go for it. Worship God. Open up your heart, your mind, your body and worship God in the manner with which shows God you love him and glorify him - in spirit. 

It may - actually IT ABSOLUTELY WILL - look different for each person but the who, what, where, when, how doesn’t matter. If it is true and allowing your spirit to engage with God then it is worship and God LOVES it. Yes He does.

Joy

Last night, at my women’s small group, a friend brought a problem to the group so she could ask for some wisdom and help in figuring it out. The result was so eye-opening and insightful, I want to share it with you and give credit to these amazing women of God too.

This was the problem: James 1:1-5 says that we should consider it pure joy when we go through various trials because we know that the result of these trials is patience. James then encourages us to allow patience to produce in us everything we need so we lack nothing and then he gives some advice about what to do when you don’t know how to do this – ask for wisdom. So this is the point my friend was at – asking for wisdom.

How on earth, she said, do I count what I am going through as Joy? Instead, I am ready to give up on my situation and I need some understanding of this scripture. At first we had no clue what to say or how to answer, and I knew that I too have struggled to find Joy in the middle of trials but as the sun set outside, the light began to dawn on us inside.

What is Joy? Is it more than just an emotional response to a pleasant occurrence? Is it something more like contentment? When are some of the times when I have experienced pure joy?

My moments of highest Joy have been after I have achieved something amazing – like baptising a friend. For others it was after birthing their first baby. Jesus experienced times of exhilarating Joy like when the seventy disciples arrived back from the mission field with stories of success and overcoming demons. The disciples were elated and so was Jesus (Luke 10:21-22) – not at the fact that demons submitted to them but at the fact that his disciples were discovering profound truths that had previously been hidden and were using this revelation to win souls, to fish for men like He had promised, like He had trained them to do. Yes! The plan was working!

This got me looking into the Bible (when I got home) at Joy – there are different words for Joy in the Bible but the rarest one (agalliao) is saved for the times of most exquisite joy and is often used to describe the joy connected to eternity with God: the Joy of salvation (Acts 16:34, Acts 2:26), the Joy of our eternal inheritance (1 Peter1:6, Matthew 5:12), the joy of believing by faith in Jesus (1 Peter 1:8), the joy of the Saviour’s arrival on earth (Luke 1:47, John 8:56), and finally, the Joy on that day when the marriage of the Lamb has come and the Bride is ready! (Rev 19:7)

But most of all, this type of joy is not just a physical emotion. It is a spiritual one. When Jesus rejoiced over the seventy disciples, He rejoiced ‘In the Spirit’. When a person accepts Jesus and is saved the party is in heaven (Luke 15:7).

But James asks us to consider it Joy when we are in the middle of a trial – in the exact opposite circumstance that would normally, naturally bring us Joy. How can we do such a thing?

When I was in my final year of University, I was having a hard time getting back into study after a year of working with Youth With A Mission. I had experienced life after University and it was so difficult to go back and finish my degree. A friend helped me when she told me to picture myself graduating in a cap and gown, holding my certificate and let that image do its work in me – that image gave me the patience and endurance to continue and complete my studies with the joy that when it was over I would have achieved something amazing.

Again, last year, while Johnny and I were waiting to for God to reveal the next place he was preparing for us and we were struggling to keep the faith through such a long wait, I asked God to give me a glimpse of the future, something to focus my mind on, to hold on to when I couldn’t see hope. And He did. I used the image that came into my mind to focus my thoughts on when the going got tough. I allowed that vision of the end goal to bring me Joy in the toughest times.

How do you think Jesus endured the cross? The Bible tells us that he too kept his mind focussed on the Joy that was before him (Hebrews 12:2). He walked the road to Calvary and endured the cross without giving up or losing heart because He knew that he was accomplishing something that would bring so much Joy to him, his Father, you and me. The thought and knowledge of the Joy to come, brought Joy in the middle of the darkest valley. It worked its power in Jesus and brought endurance and patience so he could finish the great and mighty work he was accomplishing.

So Joy is more than just an emotion after all. In fact it is something quite amazing - it is a spiritual glimpse of something eternal that we get to experience in our here and now.
 

You see, there is Joy coming. If you have your name written in the Book of Life, there is great Joy over you and great Joy coming for you. There is a wedding coming at which you will be standing next to Jesus in perfectly clean, spotless white linen as His Bride (Rev 19:8). There is an eternity prepared for you with no pain or suffering and you are currently being prepared for your place there. In the meantime, you can do two things to help you experience a glimpse of this joy now.

One is to ask God for a vision or a revelation of the Joy that is to come at the end of your trial and fix your mind on it. James sums it up in these words: perfection of your character, completeness, lacking nothing. Three very happy thoughts indeed! The change of perspective will help you see your trial as God sees it – the trial is not the end, He will not leave you there. There is Joy coming in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

The second is to ask for His Holy Spirit – ask for His Joy to fill you, supernaturally, spiritually, abundantly. Go back to paragraph six, click on the links and read each one of those scriptures and ask God to fill you with Joy as you do. Go on.

The trial will not disappear, but His Joy will give you the patience to endure to the end where salvation is waiting! Yes!