Some time ago, I began blogging on our Sunday sermons to help myself review; today, I’m continuing that by covering our Nov. 8 sermon, on Hebrews 11:7, by Pastor Peter Kim. You can stream the recording of this service here.

As usual, I won’t summarize the sermon, but will focus on what I take away from it. Our text was Hebrews 11:7:

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

We often think of the story of the ark as a cute children’s story with lots of animals in a boat, but the reality was actually terrible – worse, even, than a particularly devastating tsunami in the present-day. The animals on the ark is only a small portion of the story; much more of it is about God’s judgment, and Noah’s testimony to the world. In Genesis, this story is so important it gets several chapters; here, it goes only a single verse.

We focused on three main aspects – first, that God warned the world through Noah to turn from their sins. Second, Noah built an ark by his faith; he believed, so he acted, and his action was a visible representation and witness to the world of the truth of God’s coming judgment. Finally, God made Noah an heir of righteousness, as his actions were the proof of what he did. But, only a few people were saved on the ark, only a remnant.

It was this last point that stuck with me most; P. Peter emphasized how we are social creatures and often like to go with the flow, to conform to people around us; we don’t like to be the first ones to do something. But Matthew 7:13-14 emphasizes how only a few will truly trust and follow Christ. If that’s the case, then we have to be very careful not to just conform to the community around us. The true gospel, the one Noah believed, takes people out of their communities and even leads them to suffering. Peer pressure, pressure of community, can be very powerful; it can be easy to follow when everyone is headed the same direction, but what about when no one is? Noah believed and obeyed when everyone else was doing something totally different.

So, he concluded, we must not look around and see what our friends or community are doing; we must follow Christ. This was my major take-away – one which is not new, but is an excellent reminder, and one I very much need. I must first follow Christ, not first look around to see what others are doing.

God is merciful and calls us, and all sinners, to repent and follow Christ. Now is the time to repent, now the day of salvation, now the day to turn to him. Eventually, as in the days of Noah, there will be no more time.