Reading:
 Hebrews 11 v1-13

Main Themes: 
 Purpose Driven Life
 Building a church that is Stronger through Worship
 Learning from Noah's worship of God
 

Imagine - the smile of a parent poking a head around the door of the young child's bedroom as they themselves go to bed; pausing to gaze at the sleeping youngster; the signs of life as he breathes; the peace and trust in his face; in fact the whole being of the child in that wonderful moment.

God smiles when:
We love him first and foremost
We trust him completely
We obey him wholeheartedly
We praise and thank him continually
We realise our potential and begin to produce it

We are going to consider Noah - someone who made God smile as he worshipped God with his whole being

To worship is to love, trust, obey, praise and produce fruitfulness from the life God's given us. Its an offering of our lives totally - giving back to the Giver. It's the goal of a godly life. It gives point and purpose to our being and it gives pleasure to God our Father.

Consider the blessing of Aaron the priest ?
"The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you (or 'smile on you') and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up the light of his countenance (or 'turn his face towards you') you;
And give you his peace" Numbers 6 v25

When we love him first and foremost

There are four people in the Bible who are described as walking with God - implying a close and sustained relationship. Adam and Eve "Heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day….and they hid" Genesis 3 v8. 

Their custom had been to walk each evening and talk through the day together. Another was Enoch who in Genesis 5 is twice described as walking with God during each of the 365 years of his life (v 21-24). The fourth person is Noah. Genesis 6 v9 says three things of him: 

He was righteous (before God);

He was blameless (before men - just as Pilate said of Jesus: "I find no fault in him");

He walked with God.

You might say to yourself 'Oh well it was easy for them in those days to be righteous or walk with God'. Adam and Eve certainly didn't find it easy, otherwise they would not have ended up hiding from God. Noah was one on his own (v5). "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all of the time. The Lord was grieved that he has made man on the earth and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said 'I will wipe mankind from the face of the earth - men, animals, and the creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them', but Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord". 

Noah caused a smile on the face of God. 

1) Noah was surrounded by decadence; free sex was the order of the day (v4)

2) Noah was surrounded by people whose very thoughts were evil; all of the time

3) 2 Peter 2 v5 tells us Noah was a preacher of righteousness. In between nailing the ark together he was out preaching - all to no avail. None except his family responded to those sermons

4) Noah was the only one in his day to respond and obey. 

So when Jesus commands us to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls - the first great commandment - do it! (Matthew 22 v37-38) Its this verse of course that we get the first of our Purposes from. To be as a Church: 'Warmer through Worship' 

How then should we seek to be warmer? In brief, when we cause Him to smile:

When we trust him completely

Hebrews 11 v7 says of Noah "By faith, warned of things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family…..and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" Imagine the scene - God in some way speaking to him - even with the dimensions of the ark; its type of wood; how to waterproof it; and so on. Noah could so easily have objected: 

'What is rain - we don't get that stuff here - only early morning dew?' (mentioned in Genesis 2 v5-6).

'And how exactly am I going to get the huge boat into the sea 450 feet is a big boat'

'And thirdly, Lord, there's only eight of us and You want us to round up two of every kind of living thing, bring them here are then get them into the ark. Lions alongside antelopes and frogs beside butterflies. And by the way how do you catch a vulture let alone an eagle?' 

As well as all this the Bible seems to suggest that Noah may have taken as long as 100 years to build the ark. Certainly it was the years of raising his family for he spoke with God before he had children and they all helped build as married adults. They must have asked lots of questions too, especially as dad returned yet again from a fruitless preaching mission. Hebrews 11 v6 says "without faith it is impossible to please God"
We could say 'When we trust Him it makes him smile'

When we obey Him wholeheartedly

There were many details given for the building of the boat. They must have had a plan and needed time to collect materials and the money to purchase them. And he did have the family to feed and his normal daily activity to do … but v22 says "Noah did everything just as God commanded him"

How many of us when God gives us a word, respond ' I'll pray about it' or 'I must have a word with my wife about this'. True we should consult others, but our first call is to obey God wholeheartedly. Remember the words of Jesus (John 14 v15):
"If you love me, you will obey my commandments"

When we praise and thank Him continually

Genesis 8 v20 "Noah built an altar to the Lord…sacrificed burnt offerings … the Lord smelled a pleasing aroma"
Its not that God needs our praises or thanksgiving. But if Noah hadn't trusted completely (i.e. in spite of those things like the difficulty of gathering all the animals) and obeyed wholeheartedly there wouldn't have been Noah or the animals to sacrifice.
God doesn't need a sweet smell to be pleased. Rather it was the offering of praise that came out of faith and obedience. It was when minds and wills flow together with God's that the world works rightly. 
Amos reminds us (Amos 3 v3) "can two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"

When we realise our potential and begin to produce it.

"Be fruitful and increase in number…fill the earth … everything that lives and moves will be food for you" Genesis 9 v1,3 Have babies, get out the plough, prune the trees, bring up the kids, go into business, prosper and be blessed! 
Psalm 37 v23 says "The Lord delights in a man's way … he makes his steps firm"
Give the Lord a smile by the way you live and work - in your family and on the farm.

"He who forms the hearts of all and considers everything they do" (Psalm 33 v15) speaks of a God who is keeping a watchful eye on everything we put our hands to:
"Woe to him who quarrels with his maker … to him who is a mere potsherd on the ground…does the clay say to the Potter 'what are you making?" Isaiah is pointing out the folly of a piece of broken pottery questioning the maker of the clay. (Isaiah 45 v9) By contrast Eric Liddell, the winner of the Olympic 220 yards gold medal in 1926, said of his running - his work - "God made me fast, and when I run I feel God's pleasure"
1 Timothy 6 v17 records these lovely words to finish with:
"God gives us everything for our enjoyment"
Quite simply God smiles at the very regular breathing of that baby in the bedroom, let alone when he or she excels in the workplace or in bringing up their family, or quite simply obeying Him and taking Him at His word.

To be stronger in worship we are to love, trust and obey; praise and produce fruitfulness form the life God has given to us to live. This is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12 v1) and this offering of our bodies (in all we are and all we do) as living sacrifices, is both a holy offering and it pleases God - it make Him smile.