85% of all children who show behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.
90% of homeless and runaway children come from fatherless homes.
63% of suicides come from fatherless homes.
80% of rapist come from fatherless homes.
These are statistics that I have heard time and time again from the pulpit and many other places.But it goes even beyond that.
27% of teens leave the church because they want a break.
70% of college students leave their faith.
Only 28% of younger americans attend church.
Teens are leaving the church. Children in public school are being given to peer pressure. Children with parents who leave the church eventually will, too.
People may not realize it, but when they say these things over and over again they are leaving a much bigger message than they thought. They are telling those struggling with faith, they are telling the kid who is in a public system, they are telling the teen who comes from a fatherless home, they are telling me that it is okay if I mess up sometimes because according to all the statistics, I am expected to. They are telling me that they really don’t want me to leave the church or end up in prison, but they wouldn't be surprised if I did. They are telling all of us that the odds are not in our favor.
I am not going to do that. Today I’m going to tell you you can do it. I’m going to tell you that you can be an amazing servant for God no matter your background. I’m going to tell you that you can beat the odds. And i’m going to tell you exactly how. First of all, we do not have let our situation affect our salvation. We can not fall into a pattern of letting our hardships be an excuse to sin. Gen. 6:5-9 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
It would not be shocking at all if Noah had lived a life of sin and left God. Literally the entire rest of the world was doing it. The rest of the world had evil thoughts continually. It had gotten so bad that God was sorry that he ever made man. But what does verse eight say? Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord. The odds were not in Noah’s favor; they were completely against him!! But Noah found Grace in they eyes of the Lord. The rest of the world was continually sinning but Noah walked with God. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Because of this, God took care of Noah. When the rest of the world was falling apart, God provided Noah a safe haven. Let’s continue reading Gen. 6. Verse 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
Noah walked with God and God provided. God will do the same for you. But in order for Noah to be saved he had to build that ark and he had to get in. No living thing was safe outside of the ark.
You may not have realized it, but God has given you instructions and a way to build your very own safe haven, your very own ark.
If you are going to beat the odds that are placed against you, you must build your ark. Don’t worry. This ark is a lot easier to obtain that the one that Noah built.
This ark actually comes in a much different form than the one Noah built. In fact, it’s not physical at all.
2 Timothy 4:18
18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
Christ is our safe haven. Christ is our deliverer. Christ is our Ark.
God provided this way of safety for us. But we have step in that ark. We have to be in Christ. Just like all outside of the ark were lost, all outside of Christ are without hope.
But how do we get in the ark? How can we be in Christ? Just like God left Noah very specific instructions, he also left some.
We have to hear the word of God. Romans 10:17
We have to believe what we have heard. Mark 16:16
We have to Repent of our sins. Acts 2:38
We have to Confess. Acts 17:30
We have to be baptized into Christ. Mark 16:16
And we have to live a faithful and devoted life to Christ. Rev. 2:10
Now you know what your ark is, Christ. You have built your ark. You have obeyed the Gospel. You are in Christ. What’s next? What’s going to stop you from messing up and sinning just like everyone has told you eventually would?
You have to never ever take a step outside of that Ark. You have to stay in Christ. Christ will keep you safe, Christ will help you beat the odds.
Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through christ who strengthen me.
That doesn’t mean you won’t ever mess up. That doesn’t mean that it won’t ever get hard. It means that even when times get unbearable and you feel so weak and heavy laden, Christ will strengthen you. And because you have Christ who will strengthen you, you can do all things.
So, every teen in public school, every preacher’s daughter who has lost their faith, every fatherless child, every single one of you remember this:
The odds may not be in your favor, but God is.