Noah (Hebrews 11:7 Jeff Kliewer)

Life, you are love, you give hope, you restore every heart.

It's your breath, it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise.

It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you, oh.

All the earth will shout your praise. All the earth will shout your praise.

Our hearts will cry and these bones will sing, great.

All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry and these bones will sing, great.

All the earth will shout your praise.

Our hearts will cry and these bones will sing, great.

It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise.

We pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only.

It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise.

We pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only.

And when you stepped forth from the grave, risen from the dead, Lord, you purchased souls of men for God, purchased a bride for yourself, a bride without spot or wrinkle because of your redeeming work,

Lord. Nothing that we could do to make ourselves clean, nothing that we could do to make ourselves holy, but,

Lord, you purchased that cleanliness, you purchased that new life to give you praise.

I cast my mind to Calvary where Jesus bled and died for me.

I see his wounds, his hands, his feet, my

Savior on that cursed tree.

His body drenched in tears, they laid him down.

In Joseph's tomb, the entrance sealed by heaven.

Oh, praise the Lord. Oh, praise his name for as days we will sing your praise.

Oh, Lord. Oh, wake of dawn, the

Son of man. Oh, trampled death, the angels roar for Christ the

King. Oh, praise the name of the

Lord. We will sing your praise.

He shall return in robes of white.

The blazing sun shall pierce the night.

The saint by gaze transfigured on Jesus' face.

Oh, praise the name of the

Lord our God. Oh, praise his name for as days we will sing your praise.

Oh, Lord. Oh, praise the name of the

Lord. Oh, praise his name. We will sing your praise.

Oh, Lord. Amen. You may be seated.

It is good to sing praise to our God, isn't it? Amen. Let's pray.

Father, we gather here before you this morning as people who deserve to be washed away in the flood.

Sinners who deserve to die. And yet you laid that punishment upon your one and only son,

Jesus Christ. And his blood has washed our sins away.

And we thank you, God, for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ.

Apart from him, we can do nothing. Apart from him, we die.

But in him, we live forever. And so we give you praise forever. You are worthy. This morning as we open the word,

God, we pray that you would convict us of sin and righteousness and judgment by your

Holy Spirit. That you would lead us back to the cross.

And I pray for any of you who are here this morning who have not yet believed that Jesus is the son of God who died on the cross, rose from the dead to bring us to God, that they this morning would believe and so be saved to come aboard that ark of salvation.

We also pray for us who have been born again that maybe we've become lethargic or apathetic that you would stir us up this morning to be more like Noah heralding the good news.

Help us now from your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God's rainbow means longsuffering.

God has a symbol that he has placed in the sky after the storm where you can see the beauty of the colors of a rainbow in the sky and be reminded that God loves.

He is longsuffering and patient towards sinners. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 9, verses 11 to 13.

In the context here, God has flooded the earth and destroyed all mankind with the exception of eight who were aboard the ark.

And even after that, when all that is left is Noah and his family, he still says in chapter 8, verse 21, the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.

God sees the wickedness of humanity. He knows that the thoughts and intentions of humanity is wicked even from youth.

And yet he promises not to destroy the earth with a flood again.

He then sets a sign of that in the sky. Look at Genesis 9, 11 to 13.

I establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood.

And never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

And God said, this is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you.

For all future generations, I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

The sign of the rainbow belongs to God. It is a sign of loving, patient endurance that God is merciful towards sinners like us who deserve to be washed away in the flood.

The soul that sins shall die. Man has invented a rainbow of their own.

In opposition to God's rainbow, which speaks of love, man's rainbow is an instrument of hate.

Man's rainbow overtook the meaning of God's rainbow in the 1970s.

After the sexual revolution of the 1960s, in San Francisco in the 1970s,

Harvey Milk commissioned the creation of a symbol to represent the LGBTQ movement.

And this symbol turned out to be a rainbow. A rainbow. And that rainbow does not speak life, although it claims to.

It is not a symbol of love, although it claims to be. It is a symbol of pride, which the

Bible addresses. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 to 5.

The world has always regarded the rainbow as a symbol of God's patience and his love.

These things have changed only in the last days. Notice 2 Timothy 3, 1 to 5.

Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self -control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.

Avoid such people. The transition of the symbol of the rainbow from God's long suffering to man's demand that the sinfulness, the love of self, the greed, the pride, the arrogance, the lust of man would be affirmed is a sign of the times.

We are living in the last days. If it weren't for the transition of the rainbow symbol to mean something opposite of what

God originally intended, we already had signs of the times. Consider, in 1948,

Israel, which had not existed for 2 ,000 years as a nation, were called back to the promised land to be a nation again.

And so it is set up that the Antichrist will be able to come and present himself as God in a rebuilt temple.

That wasn't possible until 1948. And now the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has everything ready to rebuild the temple.

All they need is the green light. It's a sign of the times, Israel back in the promised land, a sign of the times.

In Matthew 24, verse 24, I'm sorry, verse 14, Jesus said, and this gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come.

Here in this last day, in these last days, the gospel is present in all 195 countries on earth.

When Jesus spoke those words, it was him and his disciples in Jerusalem. And now every country under the sun, every country with eyes to see a rainbow, has heard the message of Jesus Christ.

Missionaries going to the ends of the earth. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 3 says that before the end comes, there must be an apostasy, a falling away from the faith.

And consider this, that in the generation in which we live, an entire continent that once claimed to be

Christian has departed from the faith. Europe was once the center of Christianity, but now less than 2 % of that continent claims the name of Christ with an evangelical faith.

Can you imagine that? It's a sign of the last days, and as we live here in America, you see a departure from the gospel in favor of sin and licentiousness.

It's a sign of the times in which we live. I went to Key West in the early 2000s.

I was a youth pastor, and we were on a mission trip. And so myself and some of the youth were out sharing the gospel one day when we came across a silver man.

Do you know what a silver man is? A silver man is a guy who poses like a statue.

He's completely painted in silver paint, and he looks like he is a statue.

But if you throw a dollar in the cup, he'll make a movement. And then he's still again, and you can't tell if he's a living human or a statue.

So we decided to share the gospel with him. Talk about a captive audience.

He's just stuck there. He can't do anything. He can't run away. We told him we'll be back at 5 o 'clock.

Well, he actually did whisper under his breath what time he got done. He's like, look, I'm done at 5. So we came back at 5 o 'clock, and we took him to dinner.

And sitting at some Applebee's or something like that, Joseph, the silver man from Romania, earning a buck in Key West, prayed to accept the

Lord Jesus Christ. It was awesome. Shortly after that, someone constructed a 1 .25

-mile -long rainbow flag. They wanted to stretch the

LGBTQ symbol from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. And what they did was successful in that way, but it was cumbersome and awkward, and it was just not pretty.

It was just weaving and just a monstrosity. Compare that to the rainbow that God paints in the sky.

Have you ever been in Florida to see a rainbow? I grew up in Florida, so I know what rainbows look like. When God paints a rainbow in the sky, it is beautiful, and it is glorious.

But man has opposed God and created a symbol of its own.

We know from Proverbs 16, 18, and again, we're in Pride Month. Have you guys noticed some rainbow flags here and there?

Just a couple, right? It's everywhere. It was at a Chick -fil -A on somebody's name tag the other day, which was shocking to me.

But Proverbs 16, 18 says, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

A man named Adolfo Martinez was having mental issues, difficulties, and so in his lack of understanding, he went to a supposed church of supposedly

Christ that had a rainbow flag on the front door, and he tore it down and he burned it, which is a bad idea.

It's terrible. But when the judge heard the case of Adolfo Martinez, he sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Compare that with what we saw last summer where the American flag was burned with impunity, where the president was burned in effigy, where buildings were burned to the ground without any consequence.

Why would it be that they threw the book at this mentally challenged individual?

Because the LGBTQ crowd is seeking

Uber rights. Not just equal rights, but Uber rights.

To be a protected class. And that is the state of the United States of America today.

Why do I share it with you? Because to speak the truth regarding sexuality will be considered a hate crime.

And it already is in Ames, Iowa, where he was sentenced to 15 years.

And even the so -called pastrix of that so -called church named

Eileen Gebby said this about it. The hard reality is there are people who target individuals and commit crimes against individuals because of their race, gender, sexual orientation.

And when that happens, it is so important that as a society we stand up and people have severe consequences for those actions.

What this lady is saying is that whenever a person commits a so -called hate crime, the book needs to be thrown at them.

The consequence needs to be severe. And that is why he received 15 years in prison for burning a flag.

Brothers and sisters, the sons of Issachar knew the signs of the times.

And they understood what they ought to do. Read the signs of the times in which we live.

God's symbol has been transformed into a symbol of sexual depravity.

Israel is back in the nation, being attacked by Hamas. We live in a day where pestilences are covering the earth.

Man -made, probably. But nonetheless, Matthew 24 says there will be pestilences and earthquakes in various places.

Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. But take heart, the end is not yet.

We're waiting for the Antichrist to be revealed, before that the apostasy. These are the signs of the times that we're taught to look for.

Wickedness, 2 Timothy 3, in the end days, people will be abusive of parents and prideful.

Notice the signs of the times. But what are we called to do?

We are called to be foolish in the eyes of the world.

We are called to go forth and preach a crucified Savior, crowned with thorns, pierced with a spear, dead, buried, and risen from the dead.

We are called to the foolishness of preaching a God that we cannot see, warning of a judgment that the world does not believe will ever come.

We are called to be strangers and outcasts in the world, sojourners, proclaiming a good message of love and grace, that in Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself, that Christ is an ark of safety, a place to run into and be saved, to have the forgiveness of sin, your sin washed away.

All of us here deserve to die. And yet God has been merciful to us in Christ.

We must go proclaiming him until the judgment comes, and it will come.

God's patience will run out on a day prescribed before the foundation of the world.

This world is not going to be flooded again. The rainbow promises that. But 2

Peter 3 says that the world is being stored up for fire.

The first judgment was by water. The coming judgment will be by fire, and it will be an eternal flame, such that those who are in that flame will plead for even a drop of water to be brought to their tongue, such as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in the book of Luke.

This is how God himself describes a coming judgment. But the world will find us foolish for believing such things are coming.

Turn with me to Hebrews 11. I had time for a long introduction because it's only one verse today.

But that doesn't mean we will only read one verse. We'll go back and reference other passages that refer to Noah as well.

Hebrews 11, 7. Before we read that, remind ourselves where the author has taken us.

The hall of faith in Hebrews 11 doesn't begin there. It actually begins a couple of verses earlier.

There are no chapter breaks in the original Greek. This was supplied later. But in chapter 10, verse 38, quoting from Habakkuk, the just shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back,

I find no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who believe unto the preservation of our souls.

Which means faith justifies, and the person who genuinely has faith will continue in the faith.

Saving faith will be worked out in real life. If you've been born again, you'll live differently than the rest of the world.

You'll walk the walk of faith. And so we have some examples in chapter 11.

First, the description of faith. It is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen.

That's what faith is. The first example is Abel in verse 4. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice.

He offered animal blood in the garden. And that obedience pictures the blood of Jesus being offered and speaking a better word than the blood that Cain spilled.

Abel's blood cries out for justice. Avenge me. My brother killed me. But the blood of Jesus calls out from the ground.

Have mercy on them. They know not what they do. Father, forgive them.

The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. And then, in verse 5, we have the second example, which is

Enoch. He walked with God and he was no more, says Genesis 5.

And here, he was taken up so that he should not see death. Because God had taken him.

Verse 6, 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.

And so Enoch walked with God and was raptured. He was caught up to heaven without ever having to suffer death.

In the same way, the church who walks with God in the last days will be caught up to meet the

Lord in the air. And so we will be with him forever. A rapture is coming. And now we come to our third hero.

Although I don't think these guys would call themselves heroes of the faith, would they? They would say, I'm a wretched sinner saved by grace.

And give all the glory to God. So let's look at verse 7. Here it is.

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.

Just a few words, but so much depth, such richness in these words.

Let's look at them. First of all, notice that this is the one occasion where faith, by faith, serves as a bookend to the character in view.

By faith, Noah, and then the verse concludes that comes by faith. It's emphasizing the walk of faith.

Noah is the preeminent example, in my mind, of someone who walked the walk.

For 120 years, he obeyed God, building an ark when it had never rained.

Imagine the faith it took to remember what God said and to live by that, rather than by sight.

No one had ever seen rain. And here's Noah, with his sons, probably hiring some other workers, for 120 years, walking the walk, the walk of faith.

So this is by faith, and that's the illustration we have in Noah. Now notice a couple things about faith, being warned by God.

Brothers and sisters, we need to get it out of our mind that faith is a blind leap.

Faith is not just what somebody does when they don't have evidence. Faith is not just what you have to run to as an opiate for the masses.

It's not just something that fills in the gaps of your lack of understanding, as if you have tangible knowledge of your family and your friends and the things you can see and do.

But then there's faith, which is this other thing that's kind of just like a hope. No. Faith is taking

God at His word. It begins when God speaks.

And that's the issue. Something concrete happens. God speaks in time, through the mouths of prophets, carried along by the

Holy Spirit. God speaks, and so we have something to stand on. Faith is taking

God at His word. Notice that in verse 7. Being warned by God.

Faith begins with the word of God. He warns Noah in Genesis chapter 6.

He's going to destroy the world, so build a boat. That's special revelation that comes from God, and faith takes

God at His word. Next it says, concerning events as yet unseen.

This reiterates what we studied a few weeks ago in describing what faith is.

It is like another eye, a third eye, that exists inside of you.

You have the ability to see something that your physical eyes cannot see.

Do you notice that in verse 7? Concerning events as yet unseen. No one had ever seen a flood.

None of us have seen God. Be wary of the so -called prophets who claim to have been to heaven and back.

We haven't seen God. These are realities that are not perceived with the five senses.

And yet, how is faith described? Is it a mere hope? No, look again at 11 .1.

It is the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things not seen.

It's something you know. And that, brothers and sisters, must come from God. The Spirit awakening you.

And if you've never seen the reality of Christ, if you wonder why it is that William Carey or Adoniram Judson or Hudson Taylor or David Livingston or some missionary would go to the ends of the earth and lay down their life for the gospel, and you say, who would do something like that?

It is the person who has seen something that physical eyes can't see.

Faith is a gift of God. It is the power of God that awakens sight in your heart.

I don't just think that Jesus is the Son of God. I know it. I don't preach on Sunday mornings to recommend to you that you follow the religion that I follow.

I preach a Christ that I know and that I walk with and that I see.

No, not with physical eyes, but I see him. I know him. He loves me, and I love him.

That's faith. Look in verse 7. Being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen.

Faith is a gift from the Spirit to see things and to know it's true. Noah built that boat for 120 years knowing what was coming.

He believed God. When God said it, he knew it would happen, and no one could convince him otherwise.

No amount of persecution could stop him from doing what

God called him to do. We'll get to that in a minute, because he condemns the world. The world condemns him, making a break from the world.

Okay, so moving on then. We've seen that faith is, it begins with speech, because God has to warn him first.

It is with reference to things that are unseen, so we're needing a supernatural help here.

If you're bored when the preacher preaches or when the church sings, you need to pray.

God, open my eyes that I can see what they're seeing. What do they know, and how do they know it?

Help me, God. Help me to see. So it is a supernatural ability to believe.

Next, in reverent fear. Notice the disposition of Noah's heart.

Is Noah God -centered or man -centered? He is

God -centered. A man -centered worldview does not fear

God, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Man -centeredness looks at other people and judges the world thereby.

Everybody's doing this, and so it must be okay. God -centeredness fears

God, and that is the essence of the divide in this world.

There are those who have a man -centered worldview and those with a God -centered worldview.

A God -centered worldview understands what's in a man. If you trust what's in a man, you're foolish.

Jesus would not entrust himself to others because he knew what was in a man. Before the flood,

God looked at the hearts of all mankind and he saw that there was nothing but wickedness all the time.

Even after the flood, Genesis 8, 21, he said, the thoughts of man's heart are wickedness from his youth.

Wisdom holds a low view of man, but a high view of God, and the world turns those things around.

Irreverent fear speaks to this God -centeredness, the fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom.

Next, he constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

Noah knew a flood was coming, and he loved his three boys, he loved his wife, he loved his boys' wives, that little family of eight.

He wanted them to be rescued, and he loved others. He offered this gospel as a type of the gospel that we currently have.

He offered it to anybody who would listen. We're told in 2 Peter he was a herald.

A herald means a preacher. He preached there was a coming judgment, and he invited people to come into the ark.

By the way, if you're someone who shares the gospel, and you get frustrated because very few seem to come into the ark, remember this.

When you stand before Jesus, he is not going to say to you, well done, good, and successful evangelist.

You led a thousand to Christ. No, or to myself, he would say.

He is going to say, well done, good, and faithful servant.

Noah preached for 120 years, and had seven converts to show for it.

Eight with himself in the boat. He constructed an ark to offer salvation to the world.

He did that by faith. It was God working through Noah to build a boat.

And those who came into the boat were rescued. And notice this.

There was no other place on earth to be rescued from the flood. If you climb

Mount Everest, the waters cover the highest mountains. If you built the highest tower, it falls so far short.

The waters covered the earth. But there was one place of safety. One place.

The ark. And the way in was through one door. That door allowed the animals and all the people to enter.

And then, when the water began to fall from the sky, no one had ever seen it before,

God himself closed the door of the ark and shut it in. In the same way, there is one way to be saved today.

His name is Jesus. He is the ark of our salvation. And he is the door.

If anyone tries to come in by another way, he says, he is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

But I am the door. The one way into the ark. He invites the world to come.

Jesus Christ is the ark of our salvation. There is a coming wrath, a day of fire, and he will rescue all who come to him.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.

The name of Jesus. When you call upon him, he will answer you and rescue you.

He is a rescue for sinners like us. But notice this. The world will regard that message as foolishness.

Noah was mocked mercilessly. Can you imagine? Hey Noah, where is this flood you've been telling us about?

It's been 10 years. Hey Noah, hey maybe we should have like an anniversary party every year to celebrate this so -called flood.

Mocking him endlessly. Nobody joining him. He was regarded as a fool.

And the preacher of the gospel will be regarded the same way. From the very beginning we were taught this by the

Apostle Paul. The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. This is God's design in order to humble those who are proud and exalt those who humble themselves.

The cross itself is foolishness. Think of it. A savior who's being killed.

A king, you say. They crown him with thorns. He was surrounded by men and mocked.

Even the thief on the cross next to him mocked him. You saved others.

You say you can save others. Why don't you save yourself, he said. And the soldiers mocked.

You're the king of the Jews. Why don't you come down from your cross? In the same way, when we go out preaching the word of the cross, we will be reviled.

Let's keep going in verse seven. By this, he,

Noah, condemned the world. Those are hard words.

Because we offer words of hope and life, truth, and freedom.

And yet, our preaching, like Noah's, also condemns the world.

Those who hear the message but refuse to come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed have a greater condemnation.

Noah offered the gospel in this type, and yet they rejected.

We preach the gospel, and in the same way, those who reject are heaping condemnation upon themselves.

I want you to see this in another passage that's kind of parallel to this. It is 1 Peter chapter three, and guys who are getting baptized, pay close attention to this part.

Not that you aren't already paying attention. But there is a parallel between Noah's flood and baptism.

We're gonna begin 1 Peter 3, 18, and just comment briefly as we read through here to the early part of chapter four.

If you don't have a Bible, you can find it on your smartphone real quick and easy. Put in 1

Peter 3, and you'll be able to follow it. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the

Spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.

Okay, wait a minute. Who are these spirits in prison? Verse 20.

Because they formally did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight, persons were brought safely through water.

Now there's two different ways of interpreting this passage. Both have possible merit. One is that when

Christ died on the cross, he in the Spirit went and affirmed to the people who died in the flood that he has victory over them.

He proclaimed his death, not for salvation, but as further condemnation.

But the more likely interpretation, I think, if you look at verse 20, where you see that word because, that could also be translated when.

It's actually supplied by the translator from the context. Look at the context of verse 20.

It says because or when they formally did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah.

The idea of many commentators is that Christ himself proclaimed through Noah.

When Noah was preaching, way back then, it was the Spirit of Christ that was animating him.

So in the Spirit, not when Jesus died, but in the Spirit in time past, it was

Christ that was actually calling people to repentance. And because they didn't obey the preaching of Noah, they were drowned and then held for the day of judgment.

In either case, whether Jesus after he died went and proclaimed this also, or whether it refers to the preaching of Noah by the

Spirit of Christ, the same result is here in the text. They are condemned because they refused to heed the gospel.

But now, guys being baptized, look at verse 21. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you.

Not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience.

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

This is pretty cool, isn't it? Baptism corresponds to the saving of Noah and his family through the water.

Mankind was not brought safely through the water. They were drowned in the water. They were judged in the water.

But there was a rescue. Noah and his family were brought safely through the water.

And that picture is being brought underwater. And through the resurrection of Jesus brought to newness of life.

Now, it's not the act itself. It's not the removal of dirt from the body. But it is the appeal of a clean conscience.

In other words, when the heart in faith is believing Christ for this, he credits that as righteousness.

Does it make sense? It's not the washing, even though you're being washed in water. There's an imagery of being washed of your sins.

But the idea here is you're being brought safely through the water. You're crucified with him.

He takes your death and is carried away. Your sin is taken away. And you come safely out.

So guys, I promise you I will not hold you under the water for more than like a second. You will safely make it through the water this afternoon.

That's the imagery. You're brought safely through water by baptism.

But notice this. And here's where I'm going with the condemnation motif. Look at chapter four as it continues on with this.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

You have people who have come through the water that now you've left your sinful life behind. Doesn't mean you won't sin anymore.

But when you do stumble, you repent, you confess that sin and then you walk in holiness.

You're seeking to live in a way, you're seeking the will of God not your own flesh.

Then verse three kind of reads like an LGBTQ kind of thing. For the time that has passed suffices for doing what the

Gentiles want to do. Living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and lawless idolatry.

The essence of idolatry is elevating anything to the place of God. And in Romans one you see the placing of a person a created person in the place of God.

And so God gives people over to depraved minds to do what ought not be done. But look at verse four.

With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery.

Did you catch the imagery to Noah's flood?

They're surprised when you don't plunge with them. Why aren't you jumping in?

The water's good here. We're having fun. Why are you condemning us? You're so judgmental.

Why don't you plunge with us? They're surprised. That's not all it says.

Look at the last little phrase. And they malign you.

You can either plunge with Christ in the waters of baptism or you can plunge with the world in debauchery.

Two floods. One that washes your sin away. Another that washes your soul away.

And the difference between the two is polar opposites. And so the question is as Christians are you willing to arm yourself with Christ's righteousness and even though you will be maligned you will be hated to the degree that you preach you will be hated.

If you're silent you'll have less opposition. Say more you'll have more opposition.

But Christian are you willing to suffer for righteousness sake? That is the question of 1

Peter 3 and 4. Those who suffer for doing sinful things okay there's that but if you suffer for doing good chapter 3 verse 17 this is honoring to God for doing

God's will you will be maligned. Christians we need to make a break with the world.

We need to make a break and recognize that the world will hate us for preaching

Christ. Lastly in Hebrews 11 there's one more phrase

I wanted to focus on. I told you there's a lot of meat in just a few words. It's God's word it's living and active sharper than a two edged sword.

Every word is powerful. So I want you to see the flip side of being condemned.

By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

This language of condemnation and righteousness is the language of a law court.

You go to the law court you're on trial and the two options are condemnation or justification.

If anyone is in Christ there is now no condemnation.

Condemnation when you're guilty of a crime and punished for it justly.

But righteousness how can a man be made righteous in the sight of God?

The answer is Jehovah Sid Canoe. Look at Jeremiah in your notes in my notes too if I can find it here

Jeremiah 23 5 and 6 Behold the days are coming declares the

Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely and this is the name by which he will be called the

Lord is our righteousness. Yahweh Sid Canoe Jehovah which is a transliteration of Yahweh Yahweh Sid Canoe the

Lord our righteousness. In the New Testament we learn his name is

Yeshua Jesus he is righteousness and so here is the two options one there is condemnation when we stand before God in our own sin and face the flood of judgment or there is the offer of righteousness it is not being good enough to earn anything from God it is his righteousness given to you and this goes one step beyond pardon when you receive a pardon in the law court what does that mean?

A presidential pardon means what? Well he may be guilty but will remit the punishment righteousness justification is a positive counterpart to being pardoned listen righteousness is when the judge says there is nothing in him for which

I would condemn it is not just that your punishment is being remitted it is that you are positively viewed as being righteous there is nothing in him to condemn how can a sinner like me stand like that before God the only answer is if the righteousness of Christ is imputed to me credited to my account

I am justified by faith when I believe in Christ his righteousness is imputed to me the sinner and I stand justified that is the message of the gospel if you want to reaffirm that read

Romans 3 21 to 5 21 that's the idea there we are justified by faith in Christ he imputes his righteousness to us who believe and so it is by faith from first to last.

Amen? Amen. Let's pray so father we have opened your word and dug deep into Hebrews 11 7 but we confess we cannot conjure faith on our own we ask

God that you would apply these words to our heart open the eyes of our heart give us a new heart change us from the inside out.

I pray for any who are here this morning and they are trusting and being good enough hoping they've come to church enough or done enough good deeds and maybe they've even affirmed the things that your law forbids

I pray Lord that they would see the ark of rescue there's coming a judgment but you

God love the world so much that you gave your one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

I pray that they would enter into the ark come to Christ go through that door call upon the name of Jesus and you will be saved help them

Lord to call upon you for the forgiveness of sin for righteousness given and God for us who have entered the ark we are saved we pray that our walk would be like Noah's give us more courage we will be reviled and mocked and ridiculed and yet I pray that that would just make us stronger

I pray that we would rejoice at being called to suffer for your name your word says do not be frightened in any way by those who oppose you this is a sign to them that they will be destroyed but that you will be saved for it has been granted to us on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for him so I pray

Lord that you would strengthen us this morning by the preaching of the word by the example of Noah that we would go forth and proclaim the gospel without fear without being frightened in any way by those who oppose us pray that we would offer the gospel with love and compassion but also with urgency for the days are running out time is running out send us

Lord to preach your word in Jesus name amen awesome guys let's stand and let's sing everyone needs compassion a love that's never failing let mercy fall on me everyone needs forgiveness the kindness of a

Savior the hope of a nation

Savior he can move the mountains my

God is mighty to save he is mighty to save forever author of salvation he rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave so take me as you find me all my fears and failures fill my life again

I give my life to follow everything

I believe in now I surrender

Savior he can move the mountains my

God is mighty to save he is mighty to save forever author of salvation he rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave shine your light and let the whole world see we're singing for the glory of the risen

King Jesus shine your light and let the whole world see we're singing for the glory of the risen

King Savior he can move the mountains my

God is mighty to save he is mighty to save forever author of salvation he rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave okay before you go if you're not planning on getting a sandwich on the way out here is an extra exit here might be a good escape because there's going to be people in the hall lined up we have sandwiches in the foyer everybody's welcome to grab one maybe some other side items too and then we're going to set up the pies

I think in the classroom for later so you got to eat your regular food first the baptism is at one o 'clock so you're welcome to leave and come back or hang out we have a water slide going up for the kids and a moon bounce for the adults just kidding so just you might want to just hang out here a little bit too to let the we're going to have a little bit of a jam down the aisle there getting the food so maybe stay to the sides and let people pass through the middle to get out too so enjoy the fellowship the food let me pray for the food so father thank you so much for this

Sunday and the baptism of these eight young men Lord God we thank you for their testimony we pray that you would help them and let them not have any fear but just have peace in their hearts and give their testimonies just with courage and joy and just be with them and assure them that you will give them the words

Lord and now Lord we pray that you would bless the food to our bodies and help our fellowship to be sweet as well in Jesus name amen let me close with the benediction as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance but the day of the