Role models….
In today’s society, when I mention role models what and who do you think of?
In Australia, it would be sport stars, footballers of all codes, cricket players and with the upcoming Olympics in London a new batch of instant role models.
For many others it would be rock stars, movie stars and other famous people. For some it’s just anyone famous or rich!
We begin this Sunday here at Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour, one of the greatest characters in the Word of God, his name is Joseph. His life as we will see over the next few weeks and beyond was one of great difficulty, misunderstanding, wrongful accusation, imprisonment, physical suffering and yet greatness!
He came from a dysfunctional family and brothers who preyed on him constantly.
My question to you today is who are your role models? Who are the role models your children are following, copying, emulating and revering?
One of the blessed things God has given me in my 35 years of walking with the Lord is that early on in my Christianity, God showed me men in God’s Word who were to become my role models for life. This came about as I began to seriously study God’s Word and give God my life for His use totally, without reservation.
Let me list them for you over the next few days and tell you how they inspire me even today.
My first one is a man called Noah. As a young pastor with small children pioneering churches, often having services with just our family or maybe one or two other people in the early services, often other young children, Noah was my absolute hero.
I could relate to Noah so much. He is known mainly for building the ark prior to the flood before the world had ever experienced any rain whatsoever. He only had God’s word that it was going to rain, judgment would come and the world would be flooded! Everyone thought he was crazy.
But, and here is the wonderment of Noah, during the time it took to build the ark, Genesis tells us that Noah preached the gospel of God’s grace and the coming judgment for 120 years. And not one person listened to him, outside his own immediate family.
But he, faithfully proclaimed God’s word and who helped him build the ark? His wife, his three son and their wives!
Week after week, no one turning up to worship or fellowship with them. No one to listen to his preaching but his own family.
How difficult that must have been some days. How did Noah’s sons and his wife cope with them being the only people in church each week?
But he never relented. Nothing stopped him, nothing deviated his passion to build and to preach!
Finally, the day arrives, God tells Noah to enter the ark in Genesis chapter 7 and in verse 16 God shut the door and the rain came!
But Noah as he sat in the ark had opposite him his wife, his three sons, and their wives! What a blessing!
His wife and his sons eyes must have been filled with tears of great appreciation as they were safe all because their dad and husband Noah faithfully obeyed God…Genesis 7:5…And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him…
Want to see your family safe in God’s hands, want to see your children know Christ and serve Him? Walk in the footsteps of Noah, learn from him, an amazing role model!