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Introduction
Today we are starting a new series on “Steps of Faith”
We are going to look at how we can become more obedient as followers of Christ and focusing on our faith.
We are going to spend some time looking at some giants of faith in the Bible
People like Abraham, Joshua, Esther, Job, Mary and Joseph, and lastly Jesus.
Today we will start with Noah.
So what is faith?
A constant outlook of trust and dependence toward God.
The Oxford Dictionary defines faith as “complete trust or confidence.”
Merriam Webster’s says, “faith is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.”
The Bible’s definition in Hebrews 11:1 for faith is
This is not a theological definition of faith, but a picture of the practical outworking of it.
The term is used twenty four times in Hebrews chapter 11.
From the OT the primary idea is “faithfulness” or “trustworthy.”
The Greek term for “faith” (pistis) is translated by three English terms: “faith,” “belief,” and “trust.”
Faith is a human response to God’s faithfulness and His promise.
We trust His trustworthiness, not our own.
His character is the key.
This chapter know as the Faith Hall of Fame has examples are of people who live in
Hope in the present and future acts of God and confidence in the spiritual promises of God.
Their worldview guides their daily decisions, not circumstances, materialism or self-centeredness.
Today, we’ll start with a look at Noah in Hebrews 11:7
Noah’s Faith is the only thing we have as an example of his life.
From his life we may ask ourselves do you have faith
Do you believe in the Son of God?
That’s the ultimate step of faith for us and hopefully over next weeks, you see the importance of faith in Christ.
Faith Was The Premise In Following
As we look at these heroes of the faith we’ll notice a pattern in their faith in God.
It part of the faithful steps they took to truly rely and trust God in their lives.
First, Noah believed God in the ordinary.
Going back to Genesis 6-9 you will find the story of Noah.
We see that evil had consumed the people and God was going to destroy everything He had created.
However, Noah found favor with the Lord.
Since Noah was a righteous man, God warned him of the coming judgment.
He made a way to deliver Noah and his family and some animals from that judgment by telling Noah to build an ark.
They did and the water rose, killing everything.
Eventually it receded and Noah and his family served God and repopulated the earth.
Before the great test – Noah believed in God
It is a great thing to have faith in the trial but the first essential is to have faith for everyday living.
Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time.
Being righteous means Noah conformed to the standard of his understanding about the will of God.
Blameless implies that he has a complete heart toward the Lord, much like an unblemished sacrifice.
His life was one of faithfully following God to the point it says in verse 9 “he walked with God.”
Does that sound familiar?
The same thing was said about Enoch.
Remember, he was walking with God one day and was not any more.
Listen, Faith will not come to you in the sudden dark of night if you have not used in the brightness of days.
It’s not going to pop up in your life when you need it.
You must develop, live out, and have faith in the good times for you to have it in the dark times.
Faith must live with you not be an occasional visitor.
Noah had faith in the warning.
We must have faith not just for the promise but for the warnings.
We need to have hope and look forward to the blessings of all the promises we have from God.
Like, eternal life, answered prayers, God’s presence with us, and many others.
But, when God gives us a warning, we need to heed that as well.
Noah heard the warning, took it to heart, built the ark, and saved his family.
The key theme is that Noah obeyed God.
This is the appropriate response, however, Adam and Eve and the rest of mankind did not.
If we doubt God’s Word about one thing we will have little confidence in other things.
When we doubt that God can do what He says He’ll do in one area of our life, then why would we believe He can come through for us in others.
If I doubt God helps me succeed because I’m that good.
Then why would I believe that God can help me when life is a mess?
Noah believed what was improbable as if it were possible.
We see his faith in the actions he took after hearing the warning.
He believed that warning about the universal flood or the outpouring of heavenly and subterranean water.
Something I believe they had never seen - rain.
He began to construct the ark far away from any major body of water.
He did this because God told him to do it.
Never having built anything like this and gathering the animals
All of it was very new to him, the impossible of things not seen.
With backdrop of everyone watching him, mocking him, ostracizing him, he still obeyed.
Anyone can have faith in the possible.
I have faith that my car will get me home because it has done it many times before.
That’s not really having faith.
Faith is getting in a “Jetson” like vehicle and going home in it without ever seeing one work except on the cartoon.
Certainty is the foundation of Faith in God
Faith was the Force of action
Faith molded him but fear moved him.
This fear is a devout reverence for the sovereign God.
Noah recognized the holiness of God.
He knew, as Hebrews states, that “God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29).
Reverent fear is the only appropriate response to the justice of God.
He is wonderfully gracious, but that grace is only truly known against the dark backdrop of his justice and wrath against sin.
Faith that is of no value is suicide to the soul –
There’s no hope, no life
Faith provides hope.
Noah knew that none could save him but God!
We need faith that fears God for His greatness; faith that fears ourselves because of our sinfulness.
Noah did not choose what he thought best to build the ark – He feared his own wisdom.
Fear in God produces faith that draws and drives us closer to Jesus!
Obedience Produced Fruit
When fear and faith are joined they produce fruit!
Noah obeyed God exactly
“Noah did according to all that God commanded.”
Gen. 6:22.
There was no bargaining, no negotiation, no trying to cut corners, or get out of the project.
He just did it.
Noah obeyed God carefully
People do not go to heaven in a hop, skip and jump fashion.
There are a lot of people who believe that because they are a good person, they will go to heaven.
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