July 28

July 28, 2002am       The “Bridge” Church         Gen. 6

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

            Who are we as a church?   A few weeks ago we had a special Sunday school class to ask this question. During the class Rev. Jack Eades asked us to think about what is our mission as a church. Here are some of the mission statements that were suggested: Our mission is to live our lives every day so that others can see Christ living in us. Our mission is to bring the extreme to know the Supreme. Our mission is to seek and to save the lost. Our mission is to spread the good news and reach out to others. Our mission is to be the bridge from God to the people and from the people to God. Robert Bates suggested that we are “Bridge builders for God.” All these mission statements point to the fact that we have heard God’s commandment in Mat. 28:19-20. Go ye therefore into all the world…

Keeping sight of whom He is and whom we are is essential to keeping on the right track. We are seeking to become the people that God wants us to be. To Moses God was the deliverer. To Noah He was the ark. To us today Jesus is the bridge. But who are we? We are the bridge builders.   People need the Lord, but how are they going to get there. People need a bridge. Jesus is the bridge that carries us across the judgment and we are the ones who are called to show the way. Have you crossed that Bridge? Will you cross that Bridge when you come to it? Now you are there. Will we bring others to cross the bridge with us?

Noah heard and answered God’s call to him to build an ark. This was Noah’s mission given from the Lord to save the world. Because Noah heard God’s call and fulfilled God’s mission we are here today.   Will we hear and answer God’s call to become his bridge builders? Jesus is the bridge, but those who are living in the darkness can’t see the light that has come to the world. They need someone to show them the light and the way. They need someone to build a bridge from where they are to God and from where God is to them. Who will that be? It can only be those who know the people and the Lord. This is who we are. Will we begin to build?

Scripture Text: Gen. 6:11 (NIV) Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. 7:1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

Are you a bridge builder? How can you become a bridge builder?

1. Show them what the problem is. This is the problem the bridge has crossed. The problem was sin and violence had filled the whole earth. Noah was the one called by the Lord to build the ark. The ark was built to rescue the people and all the animals that God had created. The church through the ages was built by God to rescue the people by bringing them to Jesus who is the ark. Over time we tend to forget why we are here. We aren’t here for ourselves, but we are here for others. This is the reason that Jesus came and this is the reason that He sends us.

2. Show them what to believe in. This is it. Judgment is going to come and this is the way of escape. Go with the Lord who became the bridge/ark. Build the ark to save those who God will call. Noah was able to show the world that judgment was coming. How did he do that? He did that by being obedient to God and building the ark. Should we build an ark today? Yes, but not one exactly like the one that Noah built. The ark that God wants us to build today is for the salvation of all that we see and know. In the late 60’s this church built this sanctuary for the glory and honor of the Lord through the salvation of those in this community who God would bring in. Now, what is the ark that God wants us to build? He still wants us to build for him. He wants us to build bridges to bring the extreme to the supreme. If we believe and obey He will show us what bridges to build to bring them in. The bridge and the river brings in people to our area. What does God want to build to bring them to Him?

3.      Show them how to and lead them across that Bridge. This is how you do it. Bring them in. Noah heard God’s call and led his whole family into the ark of salvation. Some may say that Noah wasn’t successful, because he was only able to save his family. He only had 7 people to follow him into the ark. But Noah fulfilled God’s mission, and thus the whole of humanity was saved. We don’t have to become the biggest or the best, but we need to try to fulfill God’s mission for our church.

             A young man, walking along the beach at dawn, noticed an old man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the man, the youth asked what he was doing. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. "But the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish," countered the young man. "How can your effort make any difference?" The old man looked at the starfish in his hand, and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a big difference to this one," he said. The attitude of many, in today's churches, is, "since we cannot completely deal with the problem, we will not do anything."

4. Show them how to live the Bridge life. This is a life in constant contact with the Master. You may not be able to save them all, but you can save some. Heb. 11:7 (NIV) By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Would you become Noah to your family? Would build the bridge that God wants to bring in your whole family? What about your friends? Will you begin today by praying for the vision for our church and the salvation of your family and friends? You can be Noah to those you know.