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Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:9-22 * Hey, ‘Happy Father’s Day”! I’m sure you’re still reeling from breakfast in bed and the new supply of socks and underwear you received as a tribute to your status as a father (what is it with dads and underwear?) * Admittedly, as a father, I have more than my share of doubts, insecurities, and fears. Questions as to the effectiveness of my fathering skills (always said that if my children’s future was totally dependent upon me being able to flawlessly execute all the duties of a father, they were “doomed”!) It took me a long time to realize that my father was human! But, it was one of the best things that ever happened to my faith. * With all the debate and political correctness, let me go out on a limb here and suggest (2) things: 1. Despite the debate surrounding what constitutes a family, I believe you still have to be a MAN to be a father. 2. And, it takes more than being a man to be a father! * The older our children get, the more we begin to think in terms of “how we’ll be remembered” (not in some melodramatic or morbid sense; just reflective). Few of us will have amassed fortunes we will leave for our family; even fewer will have gained any degree of notoriety; but, we will all leave, and when we do, we will leave something of ourselves with those who remain. We call that something our “legacy”. “Legacy” is what’s left; something passed from one generation to the other. * Legacy is not something you possess which you will leave TO your children, but someone who you are that you will leave IN your children. * What we leave TO our children will have a predetermined worth; but the value of our legacy will be determined by those who are left. ► Our children will evaluate our lives (faith) and determine what of our faith is worth perpetuating. Noah and his sons… * Shared-experiences are the ones that prove to be most valuable (i.e. dad letting me drive the church van to Kentucky; sleeping in the old feather bed with him, etc.) * Noah calls the boys out to the garage, unrolls the prints and announces that they are going to build a “ark” (“What’s an ark?”) This is every young boy’s dream, right? To help your dad build something; to be a part of some manly venture! * So, Noah… - starts constructing a ship to sail on water that hasn’t arrived yet; - He builds it too big to move (notice, one thing strangely absent from the prints… instructions for a trailer!) If God doesn’t make good on his word, Noah is left with the world’s largest yard ornament! - When he’s done, he crams it full of animals. This behavior is motivated by (1) of (2) things: 1. A complete loss of your mental faculties. 2. A healthy respect for God. * If you’re going to do something like this, you better have some “history”! * Listen to how Noah is described in Genesis 6:9… “…a righteous man, the only (not great stats!; represent the failure of man to live out the dream of God. Like all of us as father’s, we dream of a life for our children) blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him” (NIV “walked with God”). Righteous- the righteousness of God is celebrated throughout the narrative of the Bible as God’s faithfulness to his commitment. He was committed to setting things right. Blameless- (means “sound, whole, integrity”) not faultless, but authentic honest about the areas of his life still in need of restoration. He gave those within his sphere of influence no identifiable reason to question that his love for God was anything but authentic. His “inside” was continuing to line up with his “outside”. * Integrity is refined with a series of seemingly insignificant moral/ethical decisions we make daily. In fact, integrity refuses to make the distinction. Integrity sees everything in our lives as inter-related. Close relationship with God- Noah’s faith was not based on what he believed ABOUT God, but that he believed IN God. His relationship with God had profoundly shaped his life-choices. It was not just some cold, lifeless ritual. “What do you suppose Noah was thinking as he embarked on this project? A little nervous? A little apprehensive? Wondering if his family thought he had lost it!?” “Do you suppose that Noah’s ‘alone times’ with God were much less confident and much more vulnerable?” “What do you think his boys were thinking? What do you suppose the conversation sounded like at break time?” “Can you imagine the amount of jeering and abuse they were called upon to withstand because of their father’s declaration?” * Sometimes God will ask us to do things which are outside the scope of our experience. When he does, we better have some type of previous experience with him, even if no experience of the particular circumstance. When he does, the stakes are high and the consequences are certain. We must rely on what we know of God and the condition of our heart. ► At issue here is not as much their trust in God as it was their trust in their father. Even if our kids don’t know God that well, they will trust what they know of us! * During a few significant life-moments, we have asked our children to follow us as we follow God; with a head full of questions and a heart filled with fear! ► Our families will follow us, even through their own questions and doubts, if they perceive us to be men of integrity. If they perceive our lifestyle as the result of a friendship with God; one that prompts us to nothing less than passionate (whole-hearted) obedience. ► We need to ensure that what’s handed down is “transferable”. In order to be valuable, it must be ‘timeless’ (not merely a cultural expression). Not just a “faith-momento” from a previous generation. “Tradition”- (Webster’s) customs or practices from the past which are passed on as accepted standards of behavior in the present. Most often, you will find that children do not rebel against God, but against a representation of him that is merely lifeless formalism or superstition. * The danger is when the tradition itself becomes more important than the faith it seeks to encourage. “Why do we do this? Is it important? Does it confirm my faith or encourage me to simply conform to ritual? Will my children find this practice to be a relevant and timeless expression of their own faith in their own culture?” ► Legacies are not guarantees. Noah’s sons would be responsible for weighing their own decisions based on what they came to know of God through their father. They would not find God as their father unless they found something of God in their father! * I imagine that when Noah’s sons were questioned by the more sincere and curious investigators, their response would have been… “Dad said that God said…” * Those words mean nothing if they are not supported by an identifiable faith. ► Noah’s legacy was validated not by the onslaught of the rain, but by the willingness of his family to enter the ark with him. (Genesis 7:1 “Go into the boat…”; Genesis 7:10 “One week later, the flood came… * Understand that as Noah kicked open the door of the ark, he was entering a different world. Life would never be the same. The only guarantee being that when the ark door was kicked open to a new world, we would enter it together! * Upon exiting, they built an altar and worshipped. It was important that they establish worship of God as fundamental to this new life. Proverbs 20:7 “The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them”.
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