Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] How is everyone?
[00:00:07] So grateful you are all here tonight. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Rachel Wellman, and I am on staff here at Christchurch. I've been here for almost 14 years.
[00:00:19] I am currently in seminary school. I just finished my first year.
[00:00:24] Thank you.
[00:00:27] One year down, a decade to go. It's about fine. Taking the slow route.
[00:00:33] Have you ever experienced a really bad thunderstorm?
[00:00:37] Maybe you were driving. Maybe you were at work, Maybe you were at home.
[00:00:42] I have this vivid memory when I was four or five years old. I was at home with my mom and my dad and my sisters.
[00:00:51] And it was a really bad storm, and it was during the day. But you know those storms where it actually feels like it's nighttime? That's what it felt like.
[00:00:59] And I remember the rain. I can, like, still hear it in my head. It was, like, raining sideways.
[00:01:05] And for some reason, my dad was outside.
[00:01:08] I asked my entire family. No one remembers this story.
[00:01:11] My mom is convinced my dad was cleaning out the gutter because that's what a lot of guys do in storms, I hear. I mean, my husband does it. So I'm like, okay, maybe this is just a thing.
[00:01:21] But I remember how loud the thunder was and how bright the lightning was.
[00:01:26] And I remember feeling so scared.
[00:01:29] Well, tonight we're going to be talking about another storm in the Bible. And tonight we're going to be talking about Noah and the flood.
[00:01:36] And I believe that in life we are all going to face storms. And I can promise you one thing. Either you are coming out of a storm, you are in one, or you're headed for one. You say, rachel, that's not very positive. No, I'm positive that either you are coming out of a storm, you are in one, or you are headed for one.
[00:01:54] And when the storms of life hit hard, the story of Noah calls us to remember four things. To believe in God, to obey him fully, to await his timing, and to trust his plan.
[00:02:06] And if that's too hard for you to remember, it spells boat.
[00:02:10] You're welcome.
[00:02:13] Let's pray.
[00:02:15] Heavenly Father, I love you. And I am so grateful for this moment tonight.
[00:02:20] And I pray that as we talk about the storms that we face in life in this beautiful story of Noah, I pray that you would comfort our hearts. And I pray that we'd have an open heart to what you have to say to us tonight, I love you and thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.
[00:02:33] So in Genesis, when Noah is first mentioned, it says that Noah found favor with the Lord.
[00:02:40] He was blameless he was righteous and that he walked with the Lord.
[00:02:45] Now, he wasn't perfect by any means, but he had the right thinking.
[00:02:50] Now, the earth right now was pure evil.
[00:02:54] People had evil thoughts, evil intentions, and it was all the time.
[00:02:59] And Noah was surrounded by all of it, but it didn't have an effect on him.
[00:03:04] I know that it does not take very much for me to get into a bad mood if I'm surrounded by the wrong people.
[00:03:12] But Noah walked with God and it had no effect on him.
[00:03:16] Because when we walk with God, we're not shaped by what surrounds us, we're shaped by who we're walking with.
[00:03:22] And it didn't please God to see what the world had become. Mankind became what it was never meant to become.
[00:03:29] And God was not content.
[00:03:31] And so he knew it couldn't Continue.
[00:03:34] In Genesis 6, beginning in verse 13, it says, Then God said to Noah, I've decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them. Therefore I'm going to destroy them along with the earth.
[00:03:47] Now I can't imagine how Noah must have been feeling. Not only did God say that he was going to destroy the earth, but he had a really big job for him.
[00:03:56] And I appreciate this part of the story because he was going to be very specific on what he wanted Noah to do.
[00:04:01] Now I'm type A, so I'm very detailed and organized. So if someone sends me to the store for snacks, I want to know what kind of snacks I. I want to know how many snacks so I can appreciate when God was very specific with Noah.
[00:04:14] In verse 14 it says, make yourself an ark of gopher wood.
[00:04:17] Make rooms in the ark and cover it with pitch, inside and out.
[00:04:21] This is how you're going to make it. The ark will be 450ft long, 75ft wide and 45ft high. You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within 18 inches of the roof.
[00:04:33] You were to put a door on the side of the ark, make it with lower middle and upper decks.
[00:04:39] God knew exactly what this boat needed to be in order to withstand what was coming.
[00:04:45] A few years ago, it's more than a few years ago. I went over my mom's house to celebrate my birthday and my whole family was there. And my mom bought this giant inflatable raft from Costco. It was huge.
[00:04:57] And so we get on it. So it's me and my sister and her husband and my mother in law and all of the kids and we all get on this Boat, raft.
[00:05:05] And then we just sit there, and I'm like, mom, this. This is not gonna work. Like, this is a mess. And she goes, I got you. So she goes. And she gets her two kayak paddles. I have a picture. Two pictures, actually, guys, it was a hot mess. The kids, they're yelling. It's hot. It's sweaty. Go faster. Go faster. I'm like, this is just not working.
[00:05:27] Well, there are a couple things that God did not include when he asked Noah to build this boat.
[00:05:32] There was no wheel, there was no rudder, no sail.
[00:05:38] God never expected Noah to guide this boat.
[00:05:41] God was going to be guiding this boat every step of the way.
[00:05:45] And maybe you feel like you don't have what you need to follow God.
[00:05:49] There's no plan, there's no instruction. There's no manual.
[00:05:53] But let me tell you that God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called.
[00:05:58] And maybe not having a clear picture is exactly where God needs you to be in order to do a good work in you.
[00:06:04] We have the perfect guide, and he is enough.
[00:06:08] So the first thing that I want us to remember when we look at the story of Noah is we have to believe in God even when it doesn't make sense.
[00:06:15] And it's not just about believing in God. It's about believing in who he is. It's about believing in his character and his nature.
[00:06:22] So who do I believe God to be? I believe that he is faithful.
[00:06:25] He is just, sovereign, full of hope and love.
[00:06:29] And we can do this even when our circumstances don't line up, even when life just doesn't seem to make sense.
[00:06:36] And his detailed guidance, it isn't random. It's rooted in his divine understanding.
[00:06:42] And everything that he told Noah to do was rooted in that.
[00:06:48] Noah just had to be obedient.
[00:06:50] So it took Noah 100 years to build this boat.
[00:06:54] Can we imagine that?
[00:06:55] Me and my husband had to build, I don't know, a council table for my daughter. It took us, like, two days. And I was, like, done. I'm like, this is stupid.
[00:07:04] I'm never doing this again. 100 years to build this boat.
[00:07:08] And the thing is, it didn't rain before the flood. It says that the earth was watered by a mist.
[00:07:14] So building a boat during a time before it rained was like me building a pool in the middle of Alaska. It didn't make sense. And so I can't imagine the scrutiny that Noah must have been surrounded by building a boat when it never rained.
[00:07:30] Genesis 6:18 says, But I will establish my Covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your son's wives.
[00:07:39] The second thing I want us to remember with the story of Noah is we have to obey God fully.
[00:07:43] Noah didn't take shortcuts.
[00:07:46] He didn't partially obey. He followed God's detailed instructions every step of the way.
[00:07:52] I mean, God could have just told Noah to build a boat and just, you know, miraculously made it work.
[00:07:57] But he asked Noah to be obedient, and Noah knew that he could trust God because God had shown himself to be trustworthy because he walked with him.
[00:08:07] So I have to ask, do you obey God fully?
[00:08:10] Do you trust God fully?
[00:08:12] Because if you're struggling to obey, it might not be an obedience problem. It could be a trust problem.
[00:08:18] And real obedience flows from real trust.
[00:08:22] So start where you are.
[00:08:24] Take one step today. What is one thing that you can trust God with this week?
[00:08:28] It doesn't have to be big.
[00:08:30] What can you trust God with and let himself prove himself faithful to you?
[00:08:35] In Hebrews, it talks about heroes of the Bible with extraordinary faith. And in Hebrews 11, Noah is mentioned.
[00:08:45] It says, by faith. Noah, after he was warned about what had not yet been seen, motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family.
[00:08:54] By faith, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
[00:08:59] Noah was following God into the unknown.
[00:09:02] Adam's world was going to be gone, and a new world was coming.
[00:09:06] B.H. carol, a theologian, says this faith steps out and works and does everything necessary that needs to be done.
[00:09:15] Noah did everything necessary that needed to be done.
[00:09:21] How often do I do everything necessary that needs to be done when I'm following God?
[00:09:25] Because, you know, we say God used me.
[00:09:29] I prayed many times, let me be your vessel.
[00:09:31] That beautiful song, Ocean spirit lead me to where my faith is without borders. I believe it when I'm singing it with my whole heart.
[00:09:39] But then you feel the weight.
[00:09:41] You feel the weight of what actual, real obedience actually feels like.
[00:09:45] And it's heavy.
[00:09:48] It costs Noah something to follow God.
[00:09:51] It's going to cost you something to follow God. But is it worth it to you?
[00:09:55] Because Noah didn't give up. He had a resilient spirit, and he stood alone against the judgment of the world.
[00:10:02] All of us have felt judged before, been judged before.
[00:10:06] It doesn't feel good. So I can't imagine standing alone throughout all of that.
[00:10:11] Genesis 6, 19 says, you are also to bring into the ark two of every living creature, male and female, to keep them alive with you two, of everything. From the birds, according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that will crawl on the ground according to their kinds will come to you so you can keep them alive.
[00:10:30] Take with you every kind of food that is eaten. Gather it as food for you and for them. And Noah did this and everything that God commanded him.
[00:10:40] So the time has come.
[00:10:41] The boat's ready. The animals are there.
[00:10:45] His family's ready to go.
[00:10:48] They walk on the boat, and God seals the door behind them.
[00:10:52] And then they waited for seven days for it to rain.
[00:10:57] Sometimes I think we know exactly what God's going to do.
[00:11:01] We think we know his plan.
[00:11:03] So we step out in faith, and we're expecting instant results.
[00:11:07] And then we wait.
[00:11:09] Stillness, delay.
[00:11:14] On that day, the sources of the vast watery depths burst open and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
[00:11:21] This story, I, like, read it so many times. So you just kind of like, you just read it.
[00:11:27] But, guys, this is a hard story, and it doesn't feel hard when this is the coloring sheet we give to our kids, when this is what we paint our nurseries.
[00:11:38] I mean, imagine the worst storm you've ever experienced. And then I want you to multiply it by 100.
[00:11:44] Because for Noah and his family, this wasn't just a metaphor. This was real life.
[00:11:49] And everything was about to change.
[00:11:52] Because the cool thing was, this was a unique moment in history.
[00:11:55] This was a moment of divine judgment.
[00:11:59] But the thing is, we're not living in that tension today because we know the end of the story.
[00:12:04] Baby Leo, I love you so much. Precious baby Leo, I love you so much.
[00:12:11] We're not living in that tension because we know the story.
[00:12:14] God calls. Noah builds a boat. 40 days, 40 nights out.
[00:12:18] It's hard to sit in that tension.
[00:12:21] But we live in a different kind of tension today.
[00:12:24] We live in a tension where there are floods, there are natural disasters that flip our world upside down.
[00:12:32] I can't seem to stop thinking about, obviously, because I've been preparing for this message. I can't stop thinking about that flooding in Texas.
[00:12:40] I can't stop thinking about those little girls that will never go home.
[00:12:44] See, that's tension. I can sit in that tension. Doesn't make me feel good.
[00:12:49] And in the midst of those hardships, people will ask, is God good?
[00:12:55] How can a good God do that? Allow that to happen?
[00:13:01] And that's right where the unholy one wants you. Do not let him have that moment.
[00:13:06] He wants you to doubt. He wants you to question. Do not let him have it. Give those worries and those doubts back to God.
[00:13:14] Because the thing is, we don't live under God's wrath anymore. We live in a world that has been redeemed by Jesus Christ, but yet we still feel the weight of the brokenness of the world because it's not perfect.
[00:13:26] God's restoration plan is not complete, but it is coming.
[00:13:31] So, yes, storms come and suffering happens, but it's not because God is cruel.
[00:13:36] So I want to flip this. I want to say, God, this doesn't make sense, but I know you are good God, this isn't fair, but I know you have a plan.
[00:13:46] So Noah and his family, they're waiting and they're watching for God to make the next move.
[00:13:51] The third thing in this story is we have to wait God's timing, but we have to do it with patience.
[00:13:58] I mean, waiting in the ark could not have been easy.
[00:14:01] I mean, I know how my dog acts in the middle of a storm. I can't imagine being stuck on that boat, and I get seasick. I mean, it would just be a hot mess for me. I would not have done well on that boat.
[00:14:14] But I believe that in seasons of silence, that's when God strengthens us the most.
[00:14:19] Because days and months passed, and I'm sure they wondered, is God still here?
[00:14:25] Is he still with us? And maybe you've said the same thing to God.
[00:14:30] Where are you?
[00:14:32] When is this ever going to end?
[00:14:34] Because I'm not sure what your storm looks like.
[00:14:37] Maybe it's a job that you hate.
[00:14:40] Maybe school is so unbelievably hard for you.
[00:14:43] Maybe you thought you were getting into that university and it's not going to happen that way.
[00:14:49] Maybe it's a fractured marriage, the weight of parenting, because no one ever said it was going to be that hard.
[00:14:57] Loneliness or grief, loss of a loved one, a financial uncertainty that is pulling you under, a diagnosis that's flipped your world upside down.
[00:15:09] Or maybe for some of you, it's a silent storm that no one sees because you hide it so well.
[00:15:17] I love this part of the story. Genesis 8:1.
[00:15:22] God remembered Noah as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.
[00:15:29] So this idea that God remembered Noah, it's not that he forgot about him. I mean, let's be honest, he was the only one to watch, but he remembered him.
[00:15:37] And it was this idea that he was recalling him over and over and over again.
[00:15:43] God sees your storm.
[00:15:45] And although it may not seem like it, he's got you because if it's on your mind, it's on his heart.
[00:15:54] The last thing we need to do is we have to trust his plan.
[00:15:57] Because Noah didn't know when it was going to end, where they were going to land, what the next step was going to be. But he trusted in God's presence and provision throughout the entire journey.
[00:16:08] And Noah could not have done what he did without trusting God.
[00:16:11] God supplied every need that him, his family, and those animals were going to need. And he will do the same for you throughout your trial.
[00:16:19] Because God's big enough to handle the storms that you face, because he's working it all together for his good.
[00:16:25] He has this beautiful master plan that he can see because he steps outside of time, but we can't see it that way.
[00:16:32] Trust him, because God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It's one of my favorite things about God. I never have to worry about him changing his mind about me.
[00:16:42] Rachel screwed up yesterday. I'm done. I don't ever have to worry what I'm going to do or say, because I know that he's got me.
[00:16:51] So the storm is over, and Noah and his family and the animals, they all come out of the ark.
[00:16:58] And then Noah does something. Guys, this was not in here the last time I read it. Like, I've read this story so many times, and this part was not in there.
[00:17:10] It says that Noah built an altar to the Lord and he made a sacrifice.
[00:17:16] And this sacrifice was a sacrifice of gratitude.
[00:17:19] Saying, thank you.
[00:17:22] How often do we pause after a storm and say thank you?
[00:17:27] Not my first response. Probably not my second or third or fourth response. It's like, yes, thank God this is over. But never, thank you for letting me go through that.
[00:17:37] Because the thing is, the storms of life can stop us from growing closer to God, but God's still moving in the midst of it, and he's building your character.
[00:17:46] He's making you stronger, even when you feel weak.
[00:17:49] And gratitude reminds us that the storms may take a lot from you, but they can't take away God.
[00:17:55] They can't take away his presence, his purpose, or his promises.
[00:18:00] Genesis 9. 9 says, Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants, after you and with every living creature that is with you, birds, livestock, and all the wildlife of the Earth that are with you, and all the animals of the Earth that came out of the ark.
[00:18:17] I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters.
[00:18:22] There will never again be a flood to destroy the Earth.
[00:18:27] The Lord's promise to Noah, it wasn't just for Noah, it was for all of mankind.
[00:18:34] That promise to Noah means just as much for you today as it did for him then.
[00:18:40] And see, this was just the first of five covenants that God was going to make in the Bible.
[00:18:45] Promises that would change everything.
[00:18:50] In August of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it was the worst hurricane that the US had ever failed.
[00:18:58] And there was a woman named Linda who didn't make it out in enough time.
[00:19:02] And so as the floodwaters came in, she climbed up to her roof and she clung to her roof as the storm came in.
[00:19:11] And she said that, she said a prayer and she said, lord, I don't know how this ends, but I know that you see me.
[00:19:18] I mean, she's clinging to life in this literal storm. And she says, I know that you see me, Lord.
[00:19:25] Eventually, she was rescued by a helicopter. And weeks later when she went back, there was nothing there.
[00:19:33] And as she was sifting through what was her memories in her home, she came across a plastic container.
[00:19:40] And inside this container was her wedding ring.
[00:19:44] Her husband had passed away years earlier, and she said finding this wedding ring was a precious reminder of their life together.
[00:19:53] She later told a reporter that everything else was gone.
[00:19:57] But I had this little promise, and it was like God saying, I haven't forgotten you.
[00:20:03] Weeks later, as volunteers were helping clean up, they saw something very beautiful in the sky afterwards.
[00:20:09] It was a beautiful rainbow.
[00:20:12] Genesis 9:12 says, and God said, this is a sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you. A covenant for all future generations.
[00:20:23] I have placed my bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
[00:20:30] I love this part. Not just because I love rainbows.
[00:20:34] I love this part because God's word, his promises was enough.
[00:20:39] But he gave Noah and his family this visible promise because let's be honest, they saw a lot of hard.
[00:20:48] I mean, the trauma of that was hard.
[00:20:52] And he allowed them to see this beautiful, beautiful rainbow because we can't have a rainbow without the storm.
[00:21:01] My father in law sent me a picture a few months ago of this beautiful rainbow.
[00:21:06] He sent me two pictures because it was so big. So I tried to mash them together. And he said that it was like this rainbow was connecting his house to our house.
[00:21:16] Little did he know I was even preaching, let alone talking about this topic.
[00:21:20] As I looked at this picture throughout my studying, I thought of this rainbow as being a connection between us, God and The thing is, we can trust the promises of God because of Jesus Christ.
[00:21:34] Because if Jesus had not risen from the dead, the promises he made to Noah and to the rest of the people in the Bible would have been meaningless.
[00:21:44] But him rising from the dead, this resurrection changes everything.
[00:21:50] That moment in history would make every other promise real, alive, and trustworthy.
[00:21:56] So when I think about this boat, there was something really interesting about this boat that I never thought about before.
[00:22:02] This boat had one door.
[00:22:05] It was the only way in.
[00:22:07] It was the same boat for the giraffes, for the lions, for the small animals.
[00:22:16] There was one way in for all of them.
[00:22:19] When I think about this door, all I can think about is Jesus Christ.
[00:22:26] Because Christ says, I am the door.
[00:22:28] I am the way.
[00:22:34] I believe that this is your moment to choose the door that leads to life.
[00:22:39] The door that in the storm, when things are shaky and so uncertain, he will give you peace and hope.
[00:22:49] Because, let's be honest, we've all chosen other doors.
[00:22:54] We've chosen doors that we thought would bring life but brought pain.
[00:22:59] Doors that looked full but left us completely empty.
[00:23:04] Doors that promised peace and brought nothing but anxiety.
[00:23:09] Doors that promised purpose but led to burnout.
[00:23:14] And maybe some of you haven't walked through a door in a really long time because the last one left you emptier than the one before.
[00:23:24] Here's the thing. The storms of life are not going to stop.
[00:23:28] But they get easier when you know who's in the boat with you.
[00:23:32] Because when you know who's in the boat with you, you don't care if it rains.
[00:23:39] God is with you in every storm you face.
[00:23:44] So let's go back to this story. I'm in my house with my mom and my sisters, and we're in the kitchen, and Dad's outside cleaning out the gutters.
[00:23:52] Well, then dad walks in drenched, and he's standing at the side door, but there's like three steps that lead up to the kitchen.
[00:24:02] And so he kind of like kneels on the top step the loudest thunder crashed and lightning lit up the kitchen. And I didn't think, I just ran.
[00:24:16] And I didn't run to my mom, who was perfectly dry standing right next to me. I ran to my dad.
[00:24:23] So now I'm all wet, but I'm clinging to my dad, and he's holding onto me.
[00:24:30] Church. We have that same love and security in our Heavenly Father, in the storms of life. You need to walk through that door that is filled with life.
[00:24:41] Because here's the thing, Christ is waiting for you. He waits for you.
[00:24:48] So do not allow the storms of life to wash away who God has called you to be. Stand firm and be brave, because the God who waits for you is faithful.
[00:24:58] Choose to trust him. Choose to obey Him. He is worthy of both.
[00:25:04] Await his timing because his timing is perfect. And there is nothing that you are going to go through that he hasn't seen, planned, prepared, and equipped you for.
[00:25:13] He will not leave you. He has your back.
[00:25:18] Let gratitude be a bridge from your storm to your Savior.
[00:25:24] Let's walk through the storms of life like God is walking with us, because he is heavenly. Father, I love you.
[00:25:31] And I believe that in the storms of life, you patiently wait for us.
[00:25:37] You wait for us to walk through that door that is filled with life.
[00:25:42] And I pray for those who are just struggling and in the midst of their storm and they just don't know what to do. Father, would you comfort them?
[00:25:52] Would you cling to them?
[00:25:55] And would they sense you in all that they do?
[00:25:58] I pray that we can be a church that surrounds everyone who's struggling right now.
[00:26:05] But know that you have a beautiful and amazing plan for all of us.
[00:26:10] I am so grateful that I am here with you today, and I pray for every soul that is here and watching online. I thank you.
[00:26:17] In your name I pray. Amen.
