Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Self-control”
Our Bible verse for today: “So Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Genesis 6:22 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Self-control can result it determination and perseverance.”
As has already been stated, self-control is a two-sided coin. On the one side is restraint and on the other side is action. Sometimes self-control means restraining ourselves from doing things we’re not supposed to do. But other times it means forcing ourselves to do things we should be doing.
So far we’ve been considering only the action side of self-control. Tomorrow we will move-on to restraint but before we do, I want to offer you a very impressive Biblical example of self-control in action. We read about it in Genesis Chapter six. It’s the story of Noah.
Noah was told by God that there was a great flood coming that was going to destroy all the people and animals, as well as the land. Because of their faithfulness in the midst of an exceedingly sinful culture, Noah and his family had been selected by God to survive the flood and to preserve the human race, as well as the animal kingdom. He was to build a huge ark and fill it with his family members, and then two of every kind of animal.
The biggest problem Noah faced was that up to this point in human history there had never been a flood, or even any rain. The Bible tells us that at that time the earth was watered by underground springs that bubbled up to the surface. So the entire concept of the skies opening up and pouring down so much water that it would result in a great flood, was beyond the experience of anyone who had ever lived, including Noah. And, there had never been an “ark”. Noah really had no idea what an “ark” was.
But, God said it and so Noah did it. Not just for a day, or a week, or a month, or a year, or a decade, but for 100 years! That’s how long it took him to build that thing. And don’t forget that there had never been anything like it because there had never been a need for anything like it. Therefore the people around Noah must have been amused, and then eventually mocking, as this went on and on and on for 100 years.
But Noah persisted in his obedience. And the end result? All the other people died but Noah survived. Their names are lost to history but everybody knows Noah’s story. While all the other people were clinging to driftwood and trying to stay afloat in the rising flood, Noah and his family were riding high in God’s loving protection and playing fetch with the Zebra’s and Giraffes.
Taking the action necessary to be obedient to God is sometimes not easy and often doesn’t make sense by human standards – especially if it requires persistence over an extended period of time. But that action is always the right thing to do, regardless of how it appears and regardless of what others might think or say.
I don’t know about you but I’d rather find myself riding high in God’s loving protection than clinging to driftwood in a rising flood. I encourage you to resolve to be obedient to God, even when doing so isn’t easy, and even when the results are a long time in coming.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 