Faith in a Dark World

At the end of May, the Colson Center will conduct its 2025 National Conference in Louisville, KY.

The theme of the conference will be: “Be the Church”

Which begs the question of Why does the Church need to “Be the Church”?

The Colson Center believes, as do I, that we’re living in a time of radical societal change regarding sexuality, religious freedom, abortion, politics, gender, and more.

What was unthinkable a generation ago is now unquestionable.

We need to realize that God has set us in this time and place for a purpose.

He’s called us to represent Him on Earth—not as individuals but as His people.

So, the most important question is not “What will we do?” but “Who will we be?”

As Chuck Colson wrote,

“Our primary witness is not made through political movements or cultural debate. It is made by the people of God being the people of God.”

The world needs the Church to be the Church.

The text is for this message is found in a single verse in the Book of …

Hebrews 11:7 (NASB95) By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Hebrews 11:7 (TPT) Faith opened Noah’s heart to receive revelation and warnings from God about what was coming, even things that had never been seen. But he stepped out in reverent obedience to God and built an ark that would save him and his family. By his faith the world was condemned, but Noah received God’s gift of righteousness that comes by believing.

PRAYER

Faith Transforms Vision

Hebrews 11:7

First of all we read in our text that “faith opened Noah’s heart to to receive revelation and warnings from God.”

Faith will transform our perception of reality.

Instead of looking at this world through the lens of the flesh or through a carnal understanding, God is calling for us to step into a greater faith…

A faith like Noah had that allows us to see beyond human understanding into the realm of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:19–20 (NLT) [reminds us that] … the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

A few verses down 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (NLT) Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

May the Lord enable us to walk in the same faith Noah had so we can see true reality

The darkness and the rot that surround us.

A faith that says, “I will walk as Jesus called me to walk in this world … as salt and light.”

Revelation Leads to Reverence

Hebrews 11:7a

Noah’s faith further transformed his vision NOT just of the world around him, but of God.

The scripture says… “ in reverence [he] prepared an ark for the salvation of his household

As we walk in the same faith Noah had we will walk in a greater reverence.

Too often we are flip and nonchalant about God and who He is.

May faith give us a greater vision of who He is.

May such a vision lead us to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

To see Him as Isaiah of old…

Isaiah 6:1–5 (NLT) It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

To see Jesus as John the Revelator saw Him…

Revelation 1:9–17 (NLT) I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 13 And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across His chest. 14 His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And His eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 16 He held seven stars in His right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from His mouth. And His face was like the sun in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. …

May we, by faith, walk into a revelation of Jesus that calls us to a deeper reverence.

A reverence that causes us to fall prostrate in worship before Him.

A reverence that says I don’t care about the clock.

I just want to spend more time in His Presence.

Reverent Fear Fuels Action

Hebrews 11:7b

May a revelation of the glory of God accomplish in us what the revelation did in Noah’s life.

May it spur us to action.

For Noah it was building a boat.

Even though such a vessel had never been built.

Even though there had never been a flood such as God said was coming.

In spite of the catcalls and derision of those around him, Noah was obedient to God.

God is calling us to same obedience.

The obedience of trying to save as many as possible from coming judgment.

No one has seen the judgments that are coming on this earth — but they ARE coming.

Things such as described in Revelation:

The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse described in Revelation 6

The Revelation 6:12–14 (LSB) events of the … sixth seal [being opened. All of this happening at once] … , a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 8:7 (LSB) … hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

(It just seems like the LA fires are horrible!)

Famines, pestilence, disease

Armies of demonic creatures whose sting is so bad you want you want to die — but you can’t

The water turned into blood and into wormwood — no water to drink!

Everyone on the earth breaking out in pustulent boils in their skin

The heat so bad people are scorched

A darkness that causes people to gnaw their tongues in pain

Read Revelation — nothing like is described in these chapters have happened, but we are called to warn people to flee the wrath to come — even if they jeer and make fun of us.

We must call the lost to repent and surrender instead of facing the wrath of God.

People will laugh at us and call us “crazy” for believing such things.

Just like they did Noah.

But Noah’s faith-filled obedience to warn, to build an ark, brought condemnation on an unrepentant generation.

Just like OUR faith will bring condemnation on those who refuse to hear our word.

We don’t rejoice in the condemnation.

No!

Instead it causes us to weep in anguish at souls being eternally lost.

No one has seen what Peter described in 2 Peter 3:10–13 (LSB) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH, in which righteousness dwells.

Righteousness Through Obedience

Hebrews 11:7c

Because of his faith, Hebrews 11:7 says Noah became a heir of righteousness.

Because of his faith walked out in obedience.

We too need to walk in obedience and act boldly on God's instructions,

even when society mocks or doubts.

True faith is not passive but demands action.

Actions like standing up for the unborn.

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

The devil who is the seducing liar-in-chief is telling boys and girls, men and women:

Sex outside of of marriage is just fine.

Like The devil said in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 3:1 (NLT) The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

Did God really say… ”

Well, even if He did, He is just a Cosmic Killjoy — He knows the pleasure I can have and He just wants to keep me from it.

There are no consequences — if a baby results from your disobedience to the commands of God — just kill it.

At the same time we stand for the life of unborn children we need to bind the wounds of those who were deceived.

How many men and women are struggling because they were deceived by the devil — they killed their unborn child — and now they are in agony.

We need to come alongside of them and bind up the broken-hearted.

Our active obedience to God will result in actions like standing up against the assault on our children that tries to seduce them to alter their bodies in unrecoverable ways.

Actions like standing up for God in the public arena and being unashamed of Jesus.

Noah became an heir of righteousness because of his reverent ACTIVE obedience.

The world needs the Church to be the Church

As the worship team comes

Let me repeat what I said at the beginning ...

The world needs the church to be the church.

It may not think so, but they aren’t looking at things through the lens of the Holy Spirit like WE should be.

They are not thinking according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The world is only consumed with pleasing the desires of the body.

May God lead us into a greater faith in these dark days.

A faith like Noah had.

A faith that will not be silent in the face of evil.

A faith that will be bold in reverent obedience to the call of God.

A faith that cries out to Jesus

that believes there is power in the Name.

Could we stand?