Faith that Floats
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· 15 viewsHaving faith can feel foolish, but not having faith is foolish. Noah trusted God’s promises over his own forecasts and it paid off.
Notes
Transcript
SCRIPTURE.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
INTRO.
Does anyone have friends/family that are doomsday preppers? If you weren’t sure if you did before the eclipse, you definitely know if you do now! Were you following along with what people were saying about the eclipse? I followed along on X, and it was WILD!
People legitimately thought that the world was ending and Jesus was coming back.
And anytime something like this happens, I always wonder what they do afterwards. What do you do when you think the world is ending and Jesus is coming back during the eclipse and then you have to go back in to work?
A lot of people put a lot on the line for a belief that didn’t happen.
TENSION.
And I imagine the person we’re talking about tonight would’ve been talked about in his community the same way we’re talking about the eclipse doomsday preppers. Tonight, we’re talking about Noah. Like the guy with the ark? Yes, that Noah! I’m convinced that in high school, he would’ve been voted as most likely to have a doomsday bunker because well…he basically did.
Noah spent 120 years building this MASSIVE boat that he claimed that God told him to build.
Here’s where it gets tricky…Noah lived in the middle east. I don’t know if you’ve been to the middle east recently, but the parts of the middle east that get the MOST rain average 20 inches a year. So, assuming that the climate of the middle east was somewhat similar then as it is now, Noah was essentially building the world’s biggest boat in the middle of a desert.
So yeah, I can imagine his neighbors had something to say about that.
And I imagine that Noah probably heard the stuff his neighbors had to say, which would make his life tough. He’s trying his best to obey God, but it’s making him look foolish to his neighbors.
You ever felt that tension before? I think that’s the tension of faith. The Bible defines faith as,
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
The problem that we all run into in faith is that living with faith can feel foolish.
I’m sure there were days where Noah is hammering away at the ark while it’s 103 degrees and he’s feeling pretty foolish.
Honestly, I bet there were days where, as he was hammering, he’s asking himself, “what if I’m wrong?” Am I just wasting time on this? Did I hear God right?
And I’m sure it’s not just Noah that’s asked that question, I’ve asked that question! “God, all my friends are going to that party after graduation and I’m not…am I hearing You right? Because that sounds like it’s going to be a blast.
I think anybody who’s lived by faith enough for it to cost them has asked, “what if I’m wrong?”
I bet Noah even asked a question like, “nobody else is living this way, why should I?”
Could you blame Noah for looking around at the rest of his community and wondering, “why is no one else doing this? Surely EVERYBODY isn’t wrong, right?”
I used to do this on my math homework. When my friends and I would circle up before class to see what answer we each got, if multiple of my friends had the same answer and I had a different one, I immediately felt like I needed to change my answer, because surely they both weren’t wrong.
Maybe for you you’ve said, “God, a bunch of my friends are smoking weed, and it really seems like it helps their anxiety…why have You asked me not to do that again?”
TRUTH.
Living by faith can feel foolish. And that’s why I want to show you Noah’s story, because Noah has a lot to teach us about what it looks like to live by faith, even when it feels foolish.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
At the end of the day, faith is all about what you trust in: your own understanding, or God’s.
When God told Noah a flood was coming, don’t you know how easy it would’ve been for Noah to walk outside, look at the sun beating down on him and say, “doesn’t feel like rain today” and gone about his business as usual?
But instead, Noah trusted God’s voice. Which by the way, he was the ONLY person in his generation to do that, and his trust in God’s voice ultimately saved his life and his family’s lives.
So when we look at Noah’s story, I think the big takeaway for us is: faith is trusting God’s promises over our own forecasts.
If Noah would’ve trusted his own forecasts, there wouldn’t have been an ark when the flood came. But thank God Noah was a person of faith and trusted what God said about the coming flood, even when it was hot in the desert. That’s exactly what Hebrews 11:7 celebrates about Noah…
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Noah’s faith SAVED him. I bet building that boat felt foolish for the majority of the 120 years…but 120 years of feeling foolish sure paid off the second that rain started.
See, living by faith can FEEL foolish, but not living by faith IS foolish.
Noah believed that if God said it was going to rain, it was going to rain. And I bet everybody who lived without faith for those 120 years wished they had an ark when the rain came.
Faith is trusting God’s promises over our own forecasts.
God told Noah that judgement day was coming, and He saved Noah from that judgement by commanding him to build the Ark and giving him guidance on how to do that. But that was Noah’s forecast, what’s our forecast? Actually, it’s not all that different. God has promised that another judgement day is coming where Jesus will return and judge the world. Jesus talks about it to His disciples in Matt. 24:37-39
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
The eclipse doomsday preppers did get one thing right - there will be a day when everybody is going about their business as usual, and all of a sudden, Jesus will return to judge the world. I don’t know when that will happen, could be tomorrow!
One of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, wrote a letter to a church talking about this very same thing,
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
APPLICATION.
I care about you too much to not talk about this. It would be like if I knew the flood was coming and I said nothing to you. There is going to be a day you’re not expecting where you are in God’s courtroom, where everything you have ever done, every thought you’ve ever thought, will be laid bare and called to account before Almighty God, the judge of the universe. For Noah, the only place you could be to survive the coming judgement was inside the ark. In our day, there is only one way God has given for us to survive the coming judgment: Jesus Christ. The forecast is judgment and the only protection is Jesus.
And so I am asking you a question. This is not a rhetorical question or a thought exercise. This is a question that every person on earth needs to answer for themselves: In light of God’s judgment, will you trust Jesus or fend for yourself?
If you already have put your trust in Jesus, this is a conversation that is easy to let yourself off the hook in. But I actually think God has a word for you in this. If Jesus came tomorrow, what would He think of your life today?
What will He have found you doing?
Because, to be honest, I think there are a lot of Christians who think they can just grab their ticket to the ark and then go back and live like everybody else back in town. That’s not faith, that’s an insurance policy. I have 0 interest in pastoring a church full of people who hold onto Jesus “just in case.” I want to pastor a church and I want to be the kind of person who is full of faith and says, you can talk about me all you want, you can think about me what you want, my lot is with Him!”
I think if your faith has gotten lost or distracted, tonight is a moment to repent and recommit.
If you haven’t already put your trust in Jesus, I’m really nervous to talk about what’s next, not because I am ashamed of the gospel, but because I don’t want you to miss its message because you’ve written me off as an angry preacher. I hope you know, I am saying this with all the love in my heart.
Another judgement day is coming and YOU will have to stand before God and give account for your life. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Trying your hardest to do enough good things to outweigh the bad things you’ve done will not be good enough. Going to church will not be good enough. The ONLY salvation from the coming judgement is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Just like the sin of Noah’s generation made them enemies with God, our sins have made us enemies with God. But 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 invites us
2 Corinthians 5:20–21 (NIV)
We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This very night your sins could be forgiven. This very night you could leave with the assurance that you have peace with God. This very night you could be made a new person in Christ. Because He loves you so much, God sent Jesus to this world to pay the price for your sins. God’s word says that the penalty, the judgment for sin is death. Even though He lived a perfectly sinless life, Jesus stood in your place and took God’s judgment on the cross so that He could stand in your place on judgment day.
By believing in your heart that Jesus died specifically for your sins, you could be saved from your sins this very night.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV)
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Believe and Confess. So if you’re ready to believe that in your heart and declare it with your mouth, if today is the day of salvation for you, I’m going to lead you in a prayer. There’s no magic in the words, the power is in your faith that you pray with. And so right now, I want all of us to pray that prayer, out loud, together.
“Almighty God, I come to you here and confess that I am a sinner. If you were to judge me, I couldn’t stand before you. I believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins. I confess with my mouth that He is my savior and my Lord. You are my God, and I commit my life to follow you. Give me your Holy Spirit, make me a new person, and heal the brokenness in my life. Thank you for your love, and thank you for Jesus. Amen.”
If you made the decision to put your faith in Jesus and just prayed that prayer in faith, in a moment I’m going to invite you to stand up. Here’s why. In a faithless generation, Noah was able to stand out. God notices our faith, even if it’s only us. So I want you to stand up 1. because it’s honoring and pleasing to God and He will take notice. 2. Because we as a church family just want to celebrate you and and help you figure out what it means to FOLLOW Jesus and not just believe in Him.
So right now, if you gave your life to Jesus, stand up.
What does all of heaven do when even one person says yes to Jesus?
[Celebrate.]
You have a card under your seat with some questions. Grab that card, fill it out, check the box “First Time Salvation” write your info, and hand it to your small group leader in group. That will let them know you made this decision so they can help you and lead you, and it will let me know so I can celebrate with you.
Let’s pray, and then we’ll go celebrate in our groups.
