S2Ep2 - Noah: Standing Firm When You’re the Only One

Standing firm can feel like a lonely cup — but Noah shows what it looks like to obey God when the whole world thinks you’re crazy. This episode explores conviction, perseverance, and leading your family well when faithfulness puts you on the outside.

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Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to Coffee Break Theology, a King of Kings podcast.

Noah And Godly Conviction

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Hey, welcome back. Season two, episode two to Men of the Bible, godly masculinity. Glad you're here. I'm Greg and I'm Marcus.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Today's guy we're talking about Noah. Oh, I love that. The guy who built a boat before anyone ever even seen the rain. Yeah, isn't that crazy to think about?

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Like, yeah, the whole world changed. Like it had gone on for, you know, over 900, like I mean, thousands of years. Yeah. And yeah. Anyways, Marcus, yeah, you know, think about if you had just built this in your neighborhood. Like, I'm sure your HOA would have sent you probably several letters. I know mine would have for sure.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

A stack of letters. Right. Cease and desist letters, probably. It would have been a big mess. Uh but Noah's story is it's about more than just construction, right? Yeah, you built the boat. But what we're talking about is conviction. The kind of man who will follow God's word when nobody else understands.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

Yeah, and that's that's a reminder. Like, godly masculinity is like the conviction to obey even when it's not popular around you, or like people don't understand right the what's happening around you. So Genesis uh 6.9, Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation, and his generation was evil and wicked um there, and uh unlike anything we've we've seen, and Noah walked with God. That one little sentence that Noah walked with God um tells us everything we need to know about his character, his righteousness, uh his blamelessness, and his faithfulness.

Mockery And Standing Alone

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Right. That's a good one. Yeah, and here's what Martin Luther wrote about Noah from Lectures on Genesis. It is no light matter to be alone in righteousness while the whole world mocks and persecutes. And that's what Noah had to deal with.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah, I mean, imagine like 120 years of everyone going in, like, what a fool. Why are you doing that? What's yeah, so so again, we live actually in a culture, I think for for us as as um United States of Americans, our culture of persecution is more about mockery, not about like physical danger or but about mockery. Absolutely. And and so so like Noah, godly men have to decide am I walking with God or am I just gonna go with the flow and with the crowd? Right, right?

What “Stand Firm” Really Means

SPEAKER_01 2:34

And it's easy to go with the crowd. That's the easy thing. It is so that the conviction is the hard part. Uh, small catechism uh nails this under the first commandment. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things, above public opinion, above social pressure, above the fear of looking like you're a fool. Yeah. If we're being honest, we all do things that make us look like that, whether they're super convict convicting or or otherwise. Um the pressure to not look like a fool is is very high, especially in these times. Yeah. Um we'll use a phrase in here, it's stand firm. That's something we're gonna use a lot. And so standing firm is is one of the phrases in my favorite verse from last week, first in 1 Corinthians 16. Um, but Paul uses it a lot too. He's encouraging believers, stand firm. Uh, but it matters what you stand firm in. Right. There's you can stand firm for almost anything. Right. It should be the right things. Um, Second Corinthians 1 24 says this not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in the faith. I'm just gonna keep reading some of these Paul's letters.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Galatians 5 1, for freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Philippians 1 27, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit. It's over and over. I'm gonna keep going. Philippians four, one. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm thus in the Lord. First Thessalonians, for we now live if you are standing fast in the Lord. Second Thessalonians, so then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught. First Corinthians, we've heard this. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. So what are we standing firm in? Stand firm in your faith, stand firm in the word, stand firm in the Lord.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

There's there's a lot of encouragement there. Noah needed it. He didn't get it from anybody around him, but he got it from God.

Long Obedience In One Direction

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Can you imagine like just how hard that is for Noah? I mean, it's hard for us in this day, but I think, right, like we have others who encourage us and support us when we need to stand firm. Yeah. But Noah, right, built this this boat, this ark, this ship, right? And and it was 120 years. Yeah. And there wasn't anyone else. I mean, I mean, if you look at the math, it's probably seven billion people on earth at that time. Right. And um, and no one was was like he had zero encouragement, a lot of mockery, and yet he stood firm. Eugene Peterson kind of describes it this way when he describes um what discipleship is, and I think Noah, Noah kind of lived that first first level of that. Absolutely. A long obedience in the same direction. Yeah. The long, like consistent over time, um, just a willingness to follow even when you don't understand. Right. Um, he had no clue what that looked like. Following the direction of God. Um, and and so Noah wouldn't have been able to finish what he had not had he not been consistent in his obedience to God's command and following, and and God was pretty specific of what this arc was to look like. Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

And it's not like Noah could hide what he was doing, it would have been easy to be consistent in something that you're just doing by yourself.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

The thing is like three football fields long. It's like it's massive, it's massive. I've ever been in there. Everybody sees it.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Yeah, I I really have you been to the arc exhibit, not, but that's on it. It's on my list. It's on my list. So yeah, it's longer than it's multiple football fields. Yeah, everybody saw it, everybody had an opinion, everybody thought he was crazy. Right. Um, most of those opinions of him weren't kind. Like they they weren't thinking, oh yeah, good job. Noah, like you're listening. No, it was you're an idiot.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Yeah, yeah. And and you know, when people critique you and you do feel like you're out on the uh out on an island, like it it can be really lonely. Yeah, and I can only imagine that Noah felt sometimes like great loneliness. I I would even guess to think like that his wife and his kids, like like just sometimes were like, hey, honey, dad, is this the right thing? Like, yep, are we sure? Yep. Um a lot of that, but but you know, here's here's what happens in our our loneliness. Like, we have that same loneliness, and I think it's a reminder that um if you're a Christian, Al Alistair Bagg said it this way if you're gonna be a Christian, you must be prepared to be a stranger in the world. Or I like to say this live uncommon, right? Like, like, like don't be common.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Is it Tony Dungey? I think wrote the book, Uncommon Men. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a premise of the book. Great book, great coach. Um, but that was Noah. He was a stranger and a righteous stranger in a corrupt world. Uh he was standing firm on God's command and his promise. When the world told him he was nuts, yeah, like everything coming at him was you're a fool, this is wrong. What are you doing? And he still he stood firm.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Um are you willing to look crazy to live for Christ? That's something I've thought about is like what I believe makes me crazy in the world's eyes. That's a kind of a scary thought, but it it shouldn't matter. It doesn't matter what they think. Right. If you're gonna stand firm and you have that conviction, God's gonna pull you through. Yeah. Um yeah. Are you looking are you are you okay with being weird? Standing firm in the faith, standing firm in the word, standing firm in the Lord, you're gonna look weird. Yeah, it's gonna happen.

God Saves And Leads Families

SPEAKER_02 8:18

Yeah, and I think that's something that's often overlooked in the world, right? Um, Noah didn't go into the ark alone, right? Right? He did have his family and and they were led into salvation with him. Noah didn't lead them to salvation. It's it's actually very clear. I mean, if you look at it, when when God's ready to to kind of get the ark, he says, Come into the ark. So God's actually already in there. Right. Um, it's not go into the ark, it's come into the ark. Um, and then at the end, when when you look at it, it's God who shuts the door. Yeah, so God is the primary agent of the salvation, which he always is. Absolutely. Um, but this obedience and salvation was grafted and gifted to his whole family. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Yeah. In Genesis uh 7 1. Then the Lord said to Noah, go into the ark and all come into the better translated that way. And all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. That's a huge point for us as men. Our obedience and our disobedience, either one, it doesn't just affect us. It just doesn't have outcomes for us. It affects everybody around us, the people that He's entrusted to care for.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Yeah, and that's a great word, entrusted, yeah, right. When we entrust something to someone, it's not meant to be a burden, even though sometimes we can treat it as such. Right. Um, yet, and yes, it's a burden of responsibility, but it's also a gift of responsibility. Right. That's gifted leadership uh for men as a way to point our families to God. Um, and that's an honor, right? Like John writes in in his third letter, um, fourth chapter, he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. That's awesome. Martin Luther followed that up saying to be a father is a great calling, but it's also a great responsibility that one may know it is the highest treasure given by God. That's awesome. Yeah. And and I think I think when I think about these things, like like it's hard in the midst of parenting, in the midst of all the things, like it's hard to always remember that it's a treasure. Right. But but boy, it it really is. Yeah, it is and an honor.

The Obedience Challenge And Farewell

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, I like that. Yeah. Um, so the question for today, let's apply this to our lives. Come on. Where in your life right now is God calling you to obey, even though it's unpopular or it's inconvenient or costly to you? Where is God saying, This is what I want you to stand firm on? That's gonna make you look weird.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

And I think maybe like where is he asking you to stand firm? And and this is important, so that the next generation sees a model of faithfulness. Yeah. And and Noah modeled that for his kids. Absolutely. And and his in-laws, his wife, and and and uh, and and then his daughter-in-laws. And so, so where where are you modeling this out publicly, especially to those who are going to be following you?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Yeah, because they're watching you, right? My kids watch me all the time, right? When they watch me to make mistakes too. They watch me when I do well, they watch me when I don't. Uh so your challenge this week identify one area where you've been holding back obedience because of fear of what others might think. It happens to all of us, it's it's easy to do. Um but what where is that? What is that that look for you? And then take the step God is calling you to take.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah, so as we've said over and over and over again, stand firm. Yeah, even if you stand alone, because you're not alone.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Uh, Christ is standing with you. Right. You're never alone. Never alone. Christ is always there with us. So next week, come back. We're we're gonna talk about Abraham. And then Gigi and I we're gonna lobby to return to the ancient way of signing agreements. Ooh, I don't know about that. Yeah, we'll see. See you next week.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Yeah, see you next week. Till then, keep brewing that coffee.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology. Be sure to tune in next time and remember to check out our other podcast series available on every major podcast listening service.