Faith That Believes
Pastor Chad A. Miller
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 33:05
0 ratings
· 29 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Reflection: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
SCRIPTURE READING: Hebrews 11:6-7
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. 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.
INTRO / TRANSITION
Construction in SouthEnd
A news reporter was in my office early this week from a Charlotte station. He used to live in this area - can’t believe all the growth happening around us. Didn’t want to see the icon of this building threatened in any way.
Builders are taking advantage of the market projections, census projections, and industry of Charlotte. This place is popping.
They are taking risks and making investments on what they PERCEIVE to be a need.
There is no guarantee on the market.
There is no guarantee on industry.
The group that owns the property around the our church building are keen to make a valuable contribution to the South End skyline and community needs…we’re happy to be working closely with them.
BUT THESE ARE ALL BUSINESS MEN AND WOMEN (some, no doubt, in the top of their respective fields) making educated speculations about perceptions...
NOAH WAS NOT THIS WAY. He didn’t set out to build a spectacular architectural wonder because he thought the market would bear it. No, he walked with God. God said, “build an ark.”
When we speak about Noah, we have to take into account the world that he lived in.
Noah didn’t have a “faith in people”…he didn’t ultimately “believe” in the goodness of people. Because he was looking around.
We have to divert our gaze to Genesis 6-9 to catch a glimpse of Noah’s world. But we must also remember while doing this, that these days will come again...
26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
Background: Why Noah’s light shines brightly...
Background: Why Noah’s light shines brightly...
5 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. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Noah’s flood is firmly embedded in the human memory on every continent.
There is a Hindu tradition about a great flood and a ship of safety finally landing on a northern mountain.
In China, Fa-he, the reputed founder of Chinese civilization, is represented as escaping from the waters of a deluge – and reappears as the first man in a new world, accompanied by his wife three sons and three daughters; eight people in all.
There is the famous Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh with its detailed myth-legend of a great flood.
The Fiji islanders have accounts of a flood, in which a family of eight was saved.
In South America, paintings have been discovered, representing a flood, a man and his wife on a raft, with a mountain featuring in the story, as well as a dove.
The Cherokee Indians have a similar story.Only Africa seems to be without a traditional flood story.’
Richard Bewes writes:
Our contention is that the book of Genesis is the original, inspired, and definitive account of this mega event. It could have easily been Shem, one of Noah’s sons, who later told his children of this great epic of life and as the human race fanned outward from Mesopotamia, so the story travelled outwards as well - inevitably becoming garbled in the process and missed up with legend and folklore.
The flood does a few things for us in scope.
1. It moves the problem of sin from a garden to the whole world!
2. It produces a model of judgment and grace. The ark of safety is Jesus Christ.
3. It sets the stage for the drama of salvation to be unfolded in Genesis 12.
This one is going to sting a little bit.
Genuine Faith believes God (over people).
Genuine Faith believes God (over people).
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
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.
4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
It is very difficult in this modern age to say this, but we should not put our faith in people.
People are inherently sinful, prideful, self-seeking, self-serving.
Babies are not taught to lie…they pick it up naturally.
Our natural bent is toward our own self.
You cannot have this Bible open and have faith in humanity. Politicians do.
I’m not saying that people are all immoral - laws of society and “civilization” have normalized morality and made abnormal immorality.
But we must remember those laws are couched in a Judeo-Christian worldview. The further we deviate from that norm, the more deviant behavior will be normalized.
Are People Basically Good? Chapter One: The Supreme Paradox
Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher said, “Man is the supreme paradox of all creation.” Man is the creature possessing the highest grandeur in all of the created universe; at the same time, he is the creature that endures the most abject misery of all creatures in the universe.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
Noah’s faith stood out like a beacon of hope and truth in the midst of a spiraling society.
Genuine Faith Produces Obedience
Genuine Faith Produces Obedience
Exalting Jesus in Hebrews The Hall of Faith 11:1-10
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.
Preaching the Word: Hebrews Vol 1&2—An Anchor for the Soul Practical Obedience
Faith always obeys! It obeys with a reverential heart in ways eminently practical. And true faith always acts! Bringing this down to where we live, we understand that there was no way Noah could truly believe that the Flood was coming without doing what God told him to do to save his family. And, therefore, we must ask ourselves if we truly believe God’s word—that he is coming in judgment—if we do nothing to bring salvation to those around us.
Faith without works is dead.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Faith without works is dead
Theoretical faith isn’t saving faith
Theoretical faith doesn’t work! Nobody can see it.
Theoretical faith doesn’t move anyone to worship.
Living, Genuine Faith on the inside is visible on the outside!
Genuine Faith Proclaims as a Witness
Genuine Faith Proclaims as a Witness
Roger Campbell summarized it this way:
there must be real faith that produces works
a. Noah will build an ark because he believes God
b. Every swing of the hammer says, “Faith”
c. Every swing of the axe says, “Faith”
d. Every felled tree says, “Faith”
e. Every move of the brush as he applies the pitch says, “Faith”
Roger F. Campbell, Preach for a Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 112.
Noah witnessed…his faithful trust in God proclaimed the stark contrast to the world around him. He didn’t have to denounce sin so much as he just had to preach righteousness - that message is toxic to sin.
But he did it...
Through his actual preaching
5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
herald = keryx = preacher (CSB, NIV, KJV, NASB), messenger (GW)
Through his faithful living
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Through his inheritance
“...became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Heb 11:7
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 already received God’s favor before he built the ark (Gen. 6:8).
When his faith was tested and shown to be genuine, Noah “became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
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.
The career of Noah suggests clearly that God does reward those who seek Him. Noah not only became an heir of righteousness by faith. What he inherited was, in fact, the new world after the Flood!
Faith that works, believes…Faith that believes, works.
To please God by taking him at his word for things we cannot see, we must resist the attention-hoarding demands of the visible.
At creation, God’s unseen word brought about all that our senses now perceive, and the Son’s powerful word still sustains his universe (Heb. 1:3).
The primacy of God’s speech over our sight still stands.
Trust that truth, and act in its light. God will be pleased.
SUMMARY
Genuine Faith…Building A Legacy involves
Faith that Believes in God - and has a Biblical view of the limitations of people.
Faith Produces Obedience - We are challenged by Noah this morning to put our faith into action regardless of the action of those around us.
whether our family is supportive or not
whether our friends understand or not
even if it costs us comfort
This kind of faith, PROCLAIMS AS A WITNESS
The world around Noah knew who he was, whose he was, and where he was headed.
Who are you? Whose are you? Does your faith believe enough to act?
Is your faith WORKING? Not, How is faith working out for you…rather, HOW ARE YOU WORKING OUT YOUR FAITH? DO YOU BELIEVE?
TRANSITION TO COMMUNION PRAYER: