By Faith - Part 1

Faith overshadows fear

Have you ever had a song that you really, really loved.

And you sang it to yourself all of the time.

Then one day realized, you had the words all wrong?

Back in the day, John Denver - for those who have no clue, Spotify and YouTube can help.

But John Denver had a song titled, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

It has a line in it that says, “I’ve got me a fine wife, I’ve got the old fiddle.”

One day a group of us were out and about and we started singing that song

And one of our friends sang, “I’ve got me a pie knife, I’ve got the old fiddle.”

We all stopped singing - Pie knife?

We asked him why the singer would need a pie knife

He said he wondered that himself - but its what he heard.

I’ve done the same things with other songs

And other things like professional wrestling.

Just this week, this week I learned that all of those years of listening to wrestling

Did you know there is no such thing as a souffle’ in wresting?

One wrestler would pick his opponent up over his head and throw him to the mat on his back

And I promise you, the announcer called that move a souffle’

It’s a suplex.

Emphasis on the first syllable.

Soo-plex

I would be embarrassed, but with my generation listening to head banging rock and roll, there’s no telling what all we made up.

The reason you are getting this wonderful dissertation on mishearing and misspeaking is because of our scripture today.

We’ll be in Hebrews chapter 11 and we’ll be dealing with just one verse - verse 7.

It’s about faith and Noah.

How did we get from Noah to Live Atlanta Wrestling?

Because this is where my mind went - the Lord used Noah’s faith to put a souffle move on Noah’s fear.

Yeah, I know that’s bad on so many levels.

But the fact of the matter is, faith overshadows fear.

If you have your Bibles, you might also want to put a marker at Genesis chapter 6.

The story of Noah goes from 6 through 9 and I’m almost certain you’ll want to read it again when you get home today.

So, having your Bibles open to Hebrews 11, Hear now the Word of the Lord from Hebrews 11:7

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

You’ve made the backbone of our salvation easy - we are to trust Jesus.

We have made it hard.

Dear Holy Spirit, please minister in our hearts today a simple way to say “Yes” to you.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What does faith enable?

In verse 1, the Pastor said to us Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

That’s a great definition, but what does faith look like in action?

That’s a question this Pastor knew we would ask.

19 times in chapter 11 we’re going to hear him say, “By faith….” and then he’s going to give us an example.

He wants us to know what faith looks like and

He wants us to know what faith delivers.

Let’s look at verse 7 in light of verse 1: Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Verse 7 starts with “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen…”

To begin with, let’s take the sentence at face value - God warned Noah.

Listen, do people typically warn you about good things?

“I’m telling you, if you marry this girl, for the rest of your life you are going to experience times of unimaginable happiness

“The likes of which you have never known.”

That is not a warning.

This is a warning, “Dude, you know when you get married, she ain’t gonna let you wear that t-shirt anymore.

“Dude, you know she’s going to make you put your dirty clothes in the hamper right.

“Dude, your towels stink. You know she’s got a nose like a bloodhound - she’s not going to let you use a towel for a week without washing it, you know that, right?

That’s a warning of something not yet seen.

They haven’t seen it yet, but they know it will happen - they have “conviction of things not seen”

You heard the warning the Lord gave Noah earlier when Matthew read it.

Genesis 6:5–7 ESV

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

The Lord is going to go on to explain about building the ark and the flood and all of the animals - if you haven’t read Noah’s story lately you need to go back and do that.

It’s Genesis 6-9.

But before we tackle Noah, let’s talk about God for a second.

Verse 6 sounds like the Lord is admitting an error “And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth…”

I regret things I’ve done wrong.

I wish I had never done them - haven’t you had regret?

Yet, if the Lord can be wrong, we’re in trouble right?

What if He decides He did it wrong again and changes the playing field on us?

See the problem with a God who is fallible?

Let’s take it a step further.

Back in verse 5, Moses says, “that every intention of the thoughts of his [that is humanity’s] heart was only evil continually.”

If the Lord is going to start things all over with another MAN - Noah - who is a part of that humanity that has a dirty heart

Well, The Lord’s about to make the same mistake twice.

So what we think we see here is God make mistakes and is a slow learner.

That’s where we have to listen to words.

Genesis 6:6 “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”

The Lord regretted and the Lord grieved.

I don’t know if this has ever happened to you, but I’m 100% certain you know someone it has happened to.

They had a child that they brought into the world.

The loved it intensely.

They cared for it, made sure it had everything it needed to thrive.

They taught their child the right way to live

They put their child on the path to a good life.

But the child wanted no part of them.

Instead of following their parents guidance, they decided they knew better.

They went places they shouldn’t have gone

They hung out with people they shouldn’t have

They did shameful things that harmed their bodies and made their lives very hard.

The parents see that and they “grieve” for the child’s lost future - just like the Lord did.

The parents “regret” seeing how their child chose a path that will only end in disaster.

Just as the Lord regretted seeing all of His image-bearers choosing a path that would end in their disaster.

God is not admitting a mistake.

The Lord is admitting He is broken-hearted.

The Lord loves us all.

His law was put in place to guide us all to the best life we could have with God as our Father.

But we knew better - every one of us - we knew better.

God regrets seeing us stray so far from Him

He regrets seeing us choose things that He knows will destroy us.

The Lord sees them - and then He sees Noah.

Genesis 6:8–9 “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. …Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”

The Lord warned Noah what was about to happen.

The Lord gave Noah the opportunity to be saved.

Faith enables salvation.

To take advantage of the opportunity, Noah had to have faith

Remember chapter 11 verse 6, Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

In order to be saved, Noah had to believe that the Lord was real - first and foremost.

Secondly, Noah had to believe that there was a very real God threat to his existence that demanded a choice.

God is just and God has a right to judge His creation and find it wanting.

Third, Noah had to believe that the Lord had indeed made a way for him and his family to be saved.

Finally, Noah had to put aside every plan he had ever made, and he had to follow the Lord.

Now, let’s think about what Noah had to have thought about.

No one in the entire world had ever heard of a flood like this - they didn’t happen.

No one in that section of the world needed to build a boat - ever

Especially of those dimensions.

If you’ve been to the Ark Experience in Kentucky, you know how massive that thing is.

Beyond that, Noah had to wonder how the animals were going to come to him

How would he ever pack enough food for them and his family?

Would their be a flood?

If there was a flood, would the blooming boat even float?

I mean, he’s never built a boat!

How long would the flood last?

What would life be like on a boat with all of those animals and his family.

How would the women cook?

How would they clean their clothes?

When the flood did come, would the people attack the boat?

Would they pry the door open?

Would they kill Noah and his folks to get on the ark for themselves?

When it was all over, where would they get food?

Every garden would have been swept away in the flood.

No fruit trees, no vegetables - no wildlife to speak of.

No house to live in.

Noah was an old man

You know he had to think, “can a man my age start all over again from scratch?”

We want to think that this was an easy decision for Noah - but faith is not an easy decision.

In order to have faith, we must draw near to God.

We must believe He exists.

We must believe that he rewards those who seek him - or another way to say it, the Lord will do what He promises to do for us.

Or as our Pastor says, Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Noah had to believe God was real and that God would do what He promised He would do.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Noah had to have that kind of faith.

What did having faith in the Lord look like for Noah?

Do what the Lord said to do.

Ignore the critics.

Let me ask you: Is the Lord asking you do to anything differently from Noah?

I do not care where you are in your life.

Things can be going swimmingly

Or things can be a disaster.

Or things can be anywhere in between.

But listen, No matter what it is, the Lord has called you to be faithful to Him through it.

You might have made the biggest, most sinful mess of all time.

No matter, repent and be faithful to Him.

You might be living the dream, let me warn you, be careful - pride comes before a fall.

Repent and be faithful.

What does faithful look like for you?

If you are waiting for a voice from heaven, or some kind of God magic, you are wasting your time.

Look at the Word.

Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

See that little phrase “became an heir…”

That means that he received his part of Jesus’ righteousness

Because God offered it, told Him how to have it

And so Noah did it.

Brothers and sisters, you can’t have a larger unknown in your life than Noah did.

You remember, No matter what it is, the Lord has called you to be faithful to Him through it.

Do it, and ignore the critics.

And when you are faithful, the Lord will reward you.

The Lord has promised you an inheritance.

And if you are not a follower of Jesus, you are living under condemnation.

The Lord sees you and regrets the life you are living.

He’s offered you salvation.

Now, you’ve got to receive it.

You can build an ark, or drown.

Let us pray: