Noah, Daniel, and Job

Text: Ezekiel 14:14  Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

18  Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.

19  Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:

20  Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

Noah, Daniel, and Job - God gives these three men special recognition, as He singles them out as righteous men.

a.   We as God's people should strive to be righteous people.

             i.        Righteousness exalts, sin reproaches.

            ii.        Christianity should be characterized by the people of God doing the right thing, and having character and integrity.

          iii.        We should be in private what we want people to think we are in public, then in public you won't feel like a 1st class hypocrite.

b.   Matthew 5:13

13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

             i.    The world needs to see the works of the people of God.  We don't do good works so people will recognize us, we do good works because we are in love with God.

            ii.    Our light is our works, if our works are good, then we are in the light, if our works are not good, we are in darkness.

          iii.    We are ordained to good works, and should walk in good works, because that is what God ordained us to.

1.   Noah - there are many things that made Noah great, but what stands out is that he was obedient.

 i.        We live in a society that is so far from the word of God, that to believe in the word of God means to the world that you are narrow-minded.

             i.        Our minds should be as narrow as the binding of this book, and we all should stand for and obey the Word of God.

ii.        Noah lived in a terrible time, where the imaginations of a man's heart was evil continually, but thank God, that He found a man who walked with Him.

iii.        Noah was a man of integrity and character, a man who had convictions.

             i.        A conviction is something that never change. You should have convictions about the way you dress, talk, and everything about your life, and not change for nothing.

            ii.        He who will live righteously must first of all walk with God. You cannot live righteously in a world with so much temptation without walking with God.

          iii.        There was something about Noah that caught the eyes of God. Notice the word just, he was separated, and had strong convictions.

iv.        We used to believe that the Bible taught separation. Why is it that we have become quiet about that?

v.        Noah's obedience was driven by strong convictions. He didn't get caught up in what everyone else was doing. Why? Because he wasn't running in the same way everybody else was.

             i.        It must have been lonely for Noah. But the fact is, you can do bad by yourself. So you want to be around people that are going to challenge you to do the right thing.

vi.        When we get in our Bibles, God challenges us to become more than what we are. Don't ever be satisfied. Be content, but don't be satisfied. If you read your Bible last year, do it again.

             i.        Read your Bible through, it will bless your soul, and not just to read, but to understand.

            ii.        Noah was obedient before he began building the ark.

vii.        Genesis 6:5-9

5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

             i.    Do you walk with God? Because you DO walk with somebody. You are either going to walk with God or you are going to walk with the other guy.

viii.        Vs. 22  Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

            i.        Everything God commanded Noah about the Ark, Noah did. He spent 120 years building the ark. He built the ark even though he had never even seen rain.

          ii.        Can you imagine getting ready for an event that had never taken place? Isn't that what we're doing in Christianity today? We are supposed to be doing spiritually what Noah was doing physically.

        iii.        Noah stayed faithful to God, because he believed God's word. If you really believe God's word, there will be action behind it.

ix.        He that reverences God will live obediently to Him.

             i.        Can you do what God told you to do, even if you don't understand the outcome? Can you imagine for 120 years Noah building the ark while everyone made fun of him?

            ii.        Young people, a lot of times people will make fun of you because you are different, and if you change your wardrobe because you are tired of being talked about, it's only a matter of time before you start compromising in other ways, because you are tired of being talked about.

x.        There was a young girl that was a virgin, and people talked about her all the time, and one day she looked at the easy girls and said "I can be like you any day of the week, but you could live to be 200 years old and never get back what I have.

2.   Daniel - a man of many strength, but the one thing he was, was a praying man.

 i.        Noah was an obedience man, and Daniel was a praying man. You cannot be an obedient person without being a praying person.

ii.        Can you imagine being around somebody who talks all the time and never lets you talk? Well that's what you do when you pray and don't read your Bible. You talk to God all day long and never listen for Him to talk to you.

iii.        Do you wait at God's table for an answer to your problems, or do you just sit and eat and then walk away?

iv.        Daniel 6:3-5

3  Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

4  Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

5  Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

             i.    If somebody compiles evidence about your Christian walk, would they come away saying that the evidence proves that you're a person that walks with God?

            ii.    Daniel was not sinless, he was blameless. Sinless means you are without sin, blameless means you have character and integrity and humility.

          iii.    They were jealous of Daniel, so they asked the king to sign a decree saying nobody can pray except for the king.

e.        What will it take to stop you? What would it take for you to stop being faithful to church? Because people - and the enemy - are watching you.

f.        Vs. 9  Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

g.        The king cast Daniel into the Lion's den. People say what did Daniel do? The Bible never records that Daniel said anything as he was thrown into that den of lions.

             i.        But the king came back and Daniel was still okay, God protected Daniel.

            ii.        Prayer should change the way you walk, the way you talk. Daniel made a difference because he WAS different.

h.        Romans 12:1-2

1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

             i.    Even though the king signed a petition, Daniel never went after him, never got mad at the people, he just took what happened in stride.

            ii.    Daniel had an excellent spirit, meaning that he didn't allow what people did to get to him.

          iii.    If you are the kind of person that allows people to get to you, you will be an intemperate person.

 i.        God's peace responds to prayer. He gives you peace as you learn to give Him your cares.

             i.        Isn't it something that as you learn to give Him all of your care because He cares for you, in turn He gives you the peace that surpasseth all understanding.

3.   Job - one of our pastor's favorite characters in the Bible, a man that had many strengths, but the one that stands out is patience.

a.        Job 1:8-12

8  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

           a.    God bragged to satan about Job. The devil hates anything and anybody that God brags about.

           b.    If God blesses you, the devil wants to curse you.

           c.    Job was blameless, that he had personal righteousness, and faced personal tragedy, but through it all, he never charged God foolishly.

b.        Job 13:15 Thou he slay me yet I will trust in him.

            i.        Job trusted God even though it seemed as though God was trying to kill him.

          ii.        Even though Job didn't understand what was going on, his trust was so strong, that he said even if God puts me on the chopping block, I will still trust him.

        iii.        Notice Job was blessed even more after the storm than before. This should tell us something.

c.        Job 42:10  And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

            i.        What if Job would have refused to pray for his friends? What if Job would have said "Oh no. Don't come here now after all the stuff you said about me"?

          ii.        What if he were to refuse to pray for and forgive his friends for all the stuff

        iii.        Many times we allow the storms to change us for the worse. Sometimes we come out of storms bitter, depressed, all of the opposite things from what we are supposed to be coming out of the storm.

d.        Unforgiveness brings torments, because you can't consider how often you fall short with God, when you always think about how everybody mistreats you.

             i.        Sometimes you have to allow yourself to see how often you disappoint God and fall short with Him.

            ii.        When you consider that fact, it allows you to be more patient when other people don't meet your standards.

e.        Matthew 18:22-30

21  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29  And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

             i.    That's how we do when we don't forgive, we put people in the prison of your mind, saying the debt isn't paid.

            ii.    The servant was so humble in the presence of his master, but then angry around everybody else.

f.        God says I forgave you of stuff that nobody knows about, things in the corner of your mind that not even those closest to you know.

g.        Vs. 34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

h.        Unforgiveness will torment your soul. It will tear you up inside. Bitterness does more to the vessel in which it is stored, than the one on whom it is poured.

             i.        We cannot afford to walk around in unforgiveness. You ask, "How do I not do that?" Consider yourself.

 i.        There were two brothers who owned a store. One day, while one of the brothers opened the store, a customer bought something from the other brother, and said keep the change. The brother puts the bill on top of the cash register. So later, he notices that the dollar bill is gone. He asks his brother, "Have you seen that dollar on the cash register?" and his brother said "No I didn't see it." So the man called his brother a liar. They argued, and the tension was so great, that they parted company, and for years they didn't speak. Eventually, one of the brothers passed away.

j.        One day he was closing up shop, and some guy walked in and says, I need to make something right that happened years ago. I was hungry and I came into the store, and I took a dollar off the cash register. I need to make this right." Right away, that gentleman began to weep.

             i.        Can you imagine what it's gonna be like in glory, how we are going to look at God in the face one day and realize that we built a case against people that really wasn't even a case in the first place. Even if it was, it was a one dollar bill.

            ii.        Is our relationship with God worth getting lost in the light of one dollar? In the light of eternity, it's not worth anything, and yet we cry and squabble over a one dollar bill.

          iii.        Let's not be like that.

k.        Job's patience was really exhibited when he prayed for his friends, and God blessed him after.

When you learn the awesomeness of what it is to forgive, you will really understand what it is to walk with God and have the peace of God in your heart.