Noah, Our Successful Father!

By Brother Bill Allred

Town East Baptist Church — June 21, 2026

Scripture: Genesis 6:5-8 & Hebrews 11:7

When we look through the pages of Scripture to study the great fathers of the Bible, one man stands out in a truly unique way. Because of the great global flood around 2300 BC, Noah is actually everyone’s distant father! No matter who you are or where your family comes from, you can trace your ancestry straight back to the Ark.

That means every person walking the earth today can say they had a good, godly forefather in Noah.

That is a wonderful truth to lean on, especially today, because it is getting harder and harder to find God-fearing, Spirit-led dads. It is a proven fact, and daily data will back me up: in many modern families, the mother is left to carry the entire load when it comes to Bible matters and spiritual training. Too many fathers act as if they are beyond or above the duty of being a spiritual leader—or at least, that is the way they feel.

In truth, God has declared the father to be the spiritual leader of the family. He wants dads to lead by example in church attendance. He wants fathers to take the lead in teaching His Word. He wants men to guide their households in all godliness and Biblical understanding!

Unfortunately, many dads have fallen prey to the world's philosophy—the lie that church is just for women and children, and that men have far more important things to do. But that old bumper sticker from years back still rings true: "Real men love Jesus!" They love Him, and they live for Him. They don’t care about the philosophy of the world; they gladly stand for Jesus even when it is completely unpopular.

We are entirely correct to say that "Father Noah" was a successful man. You don’t live through what Noah endured without being successful! The first major storm in human history was the absolute worst. Before that time, there had never even been rainstorms on the earth.

Consider this: decades ago, a single tsunami wall of water killed nearly 200,000 people. Mudslides from heavy rains kill hundreds every single year. Yet during the Great Flood, the waters reached 22 feet over the highest mountain peak. Billions of people and animals perished—but as far as we know, Noah didn't even get wet!

More importantly, Noah was a success as a man of God long before the first drop of rain ever fell. Let us look together at how Noah succeeded in four major areas of his life.

1. He Was Successful in Walking with God

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear..." — Hebrews 11:7a

Noah lived in a day when walking next to God was not the "in-thing" to do. It wasn't in style. In a time when the entire world had forsaken the Creator, Noah chose to walk with God. Out of all the millions of people on earth, God had a personal relationship with Noah. I would call that a massive success!

Noah was a father who kept walking with God when:

• Godliness wasn't popular: Genesis 6:5 says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." To be godly in those days was to be viewed as out of touch with reality and unfit for society—much like today. If you sing filthy song lyrics today, the world thinks it's fine. But if you are a praying person who believes the Word of God over the word of man, the world views you as a threat. Noah didn't care about popularity; he just kept walking with God.

• Goodness wasn't promoted: Genesis 6:11 tells us, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." Love wasn't in the air in Noah's day. Hatred, robbery, violation, and murder filled the land. Wars were fought with bitter revenge, but Noah refused to let the culture change his stride.

• Grace wasn't precious: Genesis 6:6 reveals, "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Our God is longsuffering, patient, and merciful. He can endure a great deal before He says enough is enough. But humanity had reached the end of God's longsuffering. People simply would no longer respond to His grace.

We see our modern world becoming more and more like Noah's day. God's grace and goodness still cry out to the lost, saying, "Receive Me before it's too late," but many refuse to respond. God's patience reached a limit with the ancient world, but Noah stayed close to Him.

2. He Was Successful in Working with God

"...prepared an ark to the saving of his house..." — Hebrews 11:7b

Noah’s walk of faith naturally caused him to work. This is a vital truth that every Christian needs to understand: We can work without the walk, but we cannot walk without the work!

Working can be done out of completely wrong motives. Many do it for the recognition of man, for money, for power, or simply out of empty routine. But when a believer truly loves his Lord, work becomes an automatic impulse. You cannot stop a person who is close to God from working—they will insist on doing something to show their gratitude to Him!

God given dimensions for the structural work of the Ark.

Have you ever heard people use the old saying, "Some people are so heavenly-minded that they're no earthly good"? That is a total lie! It isn't even possible. If being "heavenly-minded" means being genuinely close to God, then you can't help but be of earthly good. When someone draws close to the Lord, they start taking on the very character of God—becoming loving, caring, and merciful just like Him. Because Noah was close to God, he willingly put in 120 years of hard physical labor to build the ark.

3. He Was Successful in Winning His Family

Winning his family to the Lord was the second most important thing Noah ever did in his life. The first most important thing, of course, was believing in God for himself!

At some point in his life, Noah found the time to get saved. The Bible doesn't give us the exact date or hour, but thank God he did, or none of us would be here today! Do you suppose Noah had us in mind when he received the Lord? Most likely not. But he was deeply concerned about his children and his grandchildren, and he taught them the truth by both word and deed.

Those who refuse to come to Jesus have completely failed to consider their own lineage. There are no absolute guarantees for our children even if we do get saved, but the chances are incredibly slim if we do not. When a father receives Christ, the probability is far better that his children will follow that godly example. Noah made time for his own salvation, and then he made time to win over his household.

How do we make time to win over our children and grandchildren today?

1. By walking with God constantly: In the morning, at noon, and in the evening—in the home, on the job, and at church.

2. By teaching them the Word of God: Teach them the absolute importance of faithfulness, and let them see the truths of Scripture proven through your daily actions.

Noah stayed the course and remained a solid, unchanging witness to his family, and because of his faithfulness, every single one of them was saved.

4. He Was Successful in Witnessing to the Lost

"...by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." — Hebrews 11:7c

Noah won his family, and at the same time, his life and message condemned the world. That is the reality of true witnessing: it will bring either salvation or condemnation, depending entirely on how people choose to respond to the truth. We are called to show them the truth and tell them the truth by example, but it is ultimately up to them to receive the witness.

The Apostle Peter calls Noah a "preacher of righteousness." Day in and day out, for 120 years, Noah preached to a wicked generation, and day in and day out, they rejected his message.

I thought about this deeply: Noah easily could have said, "Lord, I've got too much on my plate. I'm busy building this massive ark, let someone else proclaim Your truth." But he didn't stop. He truly wanted all men to come with him into the safety of God's ark. I believe his heart was broken as he watched them turn away one by one from safety. Every saw cut he made, every single nail he hammered, he could envision the coming doom. He could imagine the terrifying screams of people scratching on the outside walls of the ark to no avail once the door was shut.

If you want to get motivated to witness to the lost today, try thinking about the reality of coming destruction. Imagine someone you know and care about being cast into the lake of fire. Hear their cries as they beg for mercy and plead for comfort. Think about them being separated from God forever and ever—and then go out and tell them about Jesus!

Noah preached and prayed for 120 long years, and only seven people received his message. But he tried to win the world, and that is what counts in the eyes of eternity. Our success in witnessing is not based on how many people we successfully win to the Lord; it is based entirely on our obedience in sharing the gospel.

How Successful Are We?

Noah was a genuinely successful father because he was successful where it mattered most:

• In Walking with God

• In Working with God

• In Winning his Family

• In Witnessing to the Lost

As fathers, grandfathers, and leaders in the church today, the question comes straight home to us: How successful are we? Let us follow Noah's example, stand firm against the philosophy of this world, and lead our families in true godliness.