Method to My Madness

THE BIBLE HAD MAD MEN TOO
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit-John 3:8 (KJV)
In the preceding chapter we took a look at a few men who challenged the norms of their day. They looked critically at the challenges of their times and decided to put forward an answer. They were criticized for it, mocked, laughed at and even in many cases called mad men. No matter the opposition, they refused to stop. They went on and on. Looking and seeing only the picture in their heart.
Several times they made mistakes along their path, but each time they picked themselves up, time after time after time. They went on with the very last breath in the lungs.
These champions ought to be emulated. Their courage, their resolve is legendary. They paid huge prices for their convictions. Noble men indeed they were.
But it does not end there, nor did it begin with them. Many of these people found their courage from reading the precious Bible. They contacted the fire that can only be found in the secret place of meditation on God’s word.
The Holy Scriptures fanned a fire in the veins of many of the heroes we have etched in the halls of fame over time, and my desire is to share a few of the stories that have kindled flames of hope in the hearts of these heroes and turned weak and lame mice to mighty men.
There is something very strange about Gods Word. I am one of those that believe that the internal workings of God’s Word and indeed His Spirit cannot be fully expressed by logic. There is something that God’s word does in the hearts of men who will expose themselves to it. It lights a little fire of hope and constant reflection upon it causes that fire to rage into a mighty inferno. It burns up fear, doubt, worry, lethargy, complacency and procrastination. It makes dull hearts become inventors and changes the unlearned and makes them wise.
My desire is that as I share these few stories with you that they will have a long standing impact in your lives.
These stories mean so much to me and inspire me daily as I discover the method to my madness.
I sincerely hope they inspire you as well.

NOAH BUILDS AN ARK- …..And they thought the Orville brothers were crazy
“And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come; the earth is full of their violent doings, and now I will put an end to them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood with rooms in it, and make it safe from the water inside and out. 15 And this is the way you are to make it: it is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 16 You are to put a window in the ark, a cubit from the roof, and a door in the side of it, and you are to make it with a lower and second and third floors. 17 For truly, I will send a great flow of waters over the earth, for the destruction from under the heaven of all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything on the earth will come to an end
Gen 6:13-22 -Gen 7:1-24 (BBE)
A long read for many of us I am sure, but there is a reason I have picked this story.
Noah lived at a time of remarkable wickedness. Such wickedness and selfishness prevailed to the point that God regretted making man and began to contemplate destroying what He had created.
Noah did not only live at a time of great wickedness, he also lived at a time when rain had not fallen ever before on the earth.
Gen 2:6 explains that God used a mysterious mist to water the ground.
This therefore was Noah’s dilemma. A righteous man suddenly is contracted and commissioned by God to oversee a massive boat project. Note the following
1. Before Noah, no one had ever heard of a boat
2. There was no record of rainfall before
3. There had never been any semblance of judgment of God (apart from Eden)
4. There was no record of a flood ever
5. There was no record of any building design for ships
6. No construction had ever been done talk more of one done with wood
So picture this in your mind.
One day your overtly righteous neighbor suddenly embarks on a building project. He begins to collect wood in alarmingly large numbers and begins to clear a massive ground area to set up a site. He begins to work with his sons and as he looks at some instructions which he calls a “plan” he begins to build.
One by one the nosey neighbors come around and begin to ask questions. “Hey Noah, what are you building?” and Noah the humble man of God replies, “I am building an ark”.
The neighbors look at each other and shrug and ask back.
”what’s an ark?” and Noah replies, “a type of big boat”…
“What’s a boat?”
“A type of vessel (or house) that floats on large masses of water”, Noah responds.
“What for?” they ask again.
“The Lord asked me to. He says because of your evil ways He is going to send down rain in such torrents that it will cause a flood that will destroy all of mankind. Repent and turn from your ways and join us on the Ark and be saved”
… and the neighbors look at each other and say….”poor Noah’s losing his mind. Must be the heat” and walk away.
Others are not that kind. They give Noah a good long laugh and hurl insults at him all day long.
Before you criticize these wicked men, recall our fact sheet and ask yourself. If you lived at that time, what would you do?
No one had ever seen rain and suddenly this man is talking about rain in huge torrents. No prior record of a flood and he speaks with so much confidence of a flood threat.
Recall also that no one had ever built such a thing like a giant boat that can take a pair of all the animals in the world. If you think about it deeply you may probably discover that you too may have laughed at him had you been there.
It was simply such a crazy idea for a time like that.
What will make a man like this begin such a project at his old age? What would keep him at it day and night, enduring all the laughter and mockery which without doubt were coming his way?
The book of Hebrews called it FAITH in things UNSEEN.
”By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.- Heb 11:7 (BBE)
This crazy act by one man is so significant in that without this act, mankind as a whole would have been destroyed. By acting on the crazy idea that was given to him, Noah preserved the human race.
Let us not also forget the animals that were rescued by his bold move. The entire scheme of things as we know it today would have been altered had he recanted or balked on account of the sneers and mockery of those around him that thought him crazy to build a ship in a place that had not seen rainfall.
Picture this:
You live in the desert with a 5000 man tribe. You are not the priest nor prophet of the tribe, yet one day, you are persuaded that God spoke to you. The water in the tribe has run dry. The water holes are all running dry. Neighboring clans and tribes are agitating and getting ready for war and suddenly you get this word