Noah: Faith Filled Work, Part 2 (Hebrews 11:7)

Good morning! Glad to see each and every one of you here this morning. Welcome to Kootenai Church. Would you please stand as we sing this morning, alive.

Opening Songs and Psalm 91 as the Pattern for Trust

Here we go.

The Spirit makes me know your great love for me. Jesus, you're my all. Jesus, you're my all. Alive I am, alive you, I've been here. Life that cannot be measured, chosen before all. My joy, my prize, and my treasure.

Jesus, you are my life. I am alive, alive in me.

This next song we're going to sing is All Creatures of Our God and King, but with some lyrical modifications to it. The tune is relatively the same, so it should be still familiar for most of you.

The Son of God is risen with the saints in. A burning sun with golden and softer gleam. Oh, praise Him! Oh, praise Him! Hallowed beings, their Creator bled. Worship Him with all praise. The Son is the Spirit washed by Him.

His great love is Him. He shall return in power to reign. All creatures of our God and King.

Last week we introduced a song called Christ Will Be My Hideaway. This song was taken from Psalm 91, which I'll read in part. In verses 5 through 10 it says, You will not be afraid of terror by night, or arrow that flies by day, of pestilence that moves in darkness, or of destruction that devastates at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made Yahweh my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place.

No evil will befall you, and no plague will come near your tent. Let's sing this song together.

In the shelter of the God who reigns above, rest beneath the shadow of the mighty King of love. Though a sickness bides in doubt, a plague destroys by day. I'll stand upon His promises. Christ will be my hideaway.

I trust you are strong in you. Angels gather to protect me when they hear. My Savior's cold hands are ever ready to be sure. Safely nears our God by His faithfulness. Christ will be my hideaway. All shall not have the victory in white state.

Christ in you will be my hideaway. You may be seated.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Just two announcements. First, we have coming up in a couple of weeks is our annual meeting in Potluck, and that is our annual business meeting where we recognize new members and look at the finances of our church and talk about issues that we're facing, things that are coming up, and ministries, etc.

So you are all invited to that, and of course we precede that with a time of fellowship around the table and enjoy Potluck together. That's two weeks from today. And then we have a couple of new fellowships that are starting up that I just want to make you aware of.

There's some sign-up sheets on the table outside at the welcome table, a young singles fellowship starting on Saturday, February 5th. That is a pizza and game night. And then a young married fellowship Saturday, February 12th for pizza and trivia night.

So if you want to enjoy either one of those, it's two good excuses to enjoy pizza and fellowship,.

Apparently.

So sign up for those sheets out on the welcome table in the foyer. Turn, if you will now, please, to James chapter 2. James chapter 2. And before we read this, I need to give a bit of a brief introduction because this passage is a cause of concern for people who don't understand what the argument of James is here in chapter 2 as he is discussing the relationship between faith and works.

There is a phrase here where he says that Abraham is justified by works and not by faith alone. And then he quotes back from the book of Genesis in Genesis chapter 15 where it says Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

And of course, James' point is that the faith that Abraham had was not a faith that was without any works. It was a faith that was accompanied by good works. Faith was made evident in Abraham's obedience and his obedience was what was before the eyes of men the evidence of his faith.

So Abraham was not made righteous by his faith. Sorry, not made righteous by his works. He was made righteous in the court of God by faith and faith alone. But Abraham's righteousness was made evident to everybody else.

He was justified in the eyes of everybody else who observed his works. And then they were able to see that his faith was genuine. And that is the point that James is going to make here. So please don't be thrown off by that.

James chapter 2 beginning at verse 14. And we're not talking about Abraham today in the sermon, by the way. That's going to be about Noah. But this deals with the relationship between faith and works.

Verse 14 of James chapter 2. What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed, and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead. It's dead being by itself. But someone may well say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

You believe that God is one.

You do well.

The demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize,.

You foolish fellow,.

That faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected, or completed.

And the scripture was fulfilled, which says,. And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. And he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

And the point there is that there are two kinds of faith. There is a faith that is always accompanied by good works, and then there is a faith that has no good works. That faith, the faith that has no good works, is unable to save you because it is a dead faith.

It is not the divine gift of faith that scripture describes in Hebrews chapter 11. Will you please stand with me as we pray?

Faith, Works, and the Call to Trust God’s Word

Let's bow our heads.

Our father, you are our refuge. You are our strong tower, our rock, and our defense. We thank you that in difficult and stormy times that we can trust you and rest in you and what you have done, your sovereign hand.

You are providentially working out all of the affairs of men in this world for the advancement of your kingdom, the good of your people, and the glory of your name, and we can rest in that. This is what you have decreed to us.

And so we pray that you would strengthen our eyes to see this, strengthen our faith to apprehend it, and to be strong in the midst of it so that we may truly trust and rest in you and in your word. We pray that you would, through the faith that you have given to us, accomplish your every good purpose for us and for those around us and in our church.

We pray that as we live together, as we fellowship with one another, worship and serve one another, that you would be working out the faith that is in us, working out our salvation as we serve one another and love one another and contribute to one another.

We pray that you would perfect your every purpose, that you would complete it, that you would complete our faith, that our faith would be demonstrated in the way that we live, in the trust that we have in you, and that you would grant opportunities in this world for our faith to be demonstrated and strengthen us to endure and to persevere and be strong in the midst of all difficulties so that the great strength of our God and our Savior may be evident in our lives, in our hearts, in our words, and in our responses to you.

Grant us this grace of obedience and sanctify us by your word, we pray, as we fellowship and worship together in Christ's name. In all God's people said, Amen.

We need to trust in Jesus. Just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise. Just to know, but save the Lord Jesus,. Jesus, how I trust Him. How I trust Him. Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him.

And simple faith to believe. The healing cleansing Grace to trust Him. My soul to trust Him. Precious Jesus, Savior, friend. And I Jesus, how I trust Him.

How.

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for grace to trust Him.

In Galatians 3, 11 -14 it says Now that no one is justified by the law before God is evident For the righteous shall live by faith. However, the law is not a faith. Rather, he who does them shall live by them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law Having become a curse for us. For it is written Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree In order that in Christ Jesus The blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles So that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Let's finish this set this morning by singing Speak, O Lord.

Speak, O Lord As we come to you The truth planted deep in us Shape and fact The life we see today In our hearts Our deeds of faith. Speak, each of us As deaf Words of power That can help us Grasp for our truths Unchanged From your churches.

Built.

Please now turn to Hebrews chapter 11. And let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, we turn now to your word. And we ask that you would speak to us through your word As we hear the author's intended meaning in this passage That is when we know that we have heard What you have to say to us in this passage.

So we pray that all of the distractions of our week And in our minds and our hearts may be put away for this time. That we may focus upon your word And that we may understand it with clarity And see it with conviction.

We pray that you would teach us and show us How not to trust any of our feelings Our own sentiments Our human wisdom But to trust and rely upon you And what you have said in your word And in your word alone.

We ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.

The list of heroes of the faith that we have here in Hebrews chapter 11 Gives us insight into faith As we see it displayed in many different ways Over the course of many different eras In the lives of many different people In many different circumstances.

It's almost as if the author holds up the idea of biblical faith. The teaching on biblical faith And just like a precious gem Just turns it a little bit at a time For us to see all the various facets of that precious gem Giving us example after example And illustration after illustration Of what biblical faith looks like.

We see faith in small measures And in large measure. We see faith that is evident in the extraordinary events Of people's lives As well as in the extraordinary events of people's lives. Faith that is worked out in things that happen each and every day And things that only happen once in a lifetime Or once in world history Like a flood for instance with Noah.

We see faith in all of the everyday happenings And in the daily grind And as well as in the supernatural and extraordinary things That people endure in scripture. And the faith that pleases God is this kind of faith.

It is that constant, settled, restful trust in God and in His word. That's biblical faith A constant, settled, restful trust in God and in His word. It is believing what God has said And just resting in it.

And the examples here in Hebrews chapter 11 Are examples of lives of faith. Not just instances of faith But lives lived out of faith. Because biblical faith is not a flash in the pan thing. It's not something where you observe in somebody's life.

Oh there, there, there, there. I think I saw faith right there. And then you don't see it again for weeks, months, years or decades. And then another little flash of it sometime later in their life. Biblical faith doesn't just spark once in a while.

Biblical faith burns like a fire.

And it's burning all the time. And it is evident in people's lives all the time. The examples that we have in Hebrews 11 Are of men and women who lived lives of faith. And their lives were characterized by that.

Restful, sincere, devout, patient trust in the word of God. And in the word of God alone. Men like Enoch who demonstrated his faith By walking with God for 300 years. Noah who demonstrated his faith By taking 100 years of obedience To build an ark for the salvation of his family.

Abraham's life is a life of faith. Moses' life was a life of faith. Does this mean that these men never did anything sinful? Does it mean that there was never any glitch? There was never anything that they did wrong?

No, that doesn't mean that at all. But it does mean that their faith was evident all the way through that. And even in their responses to their incidences and issues of disobedience. They responded as men and women of faith.

And last time we were together We spent all of our time back in Genesis 6 Looking at the historical context for Noah. Because though we are going to look at Abraham and Moses Later on in Hebrews 11 We're still focusing on Noah.

And we spent the time in Genesis 6 To kind of build the historical and genealogical context for Noah. And the age in which he lived. Now we're back in Hebrews 11, verse 7 Focusing again on Noah. And what the author of Hebrews has to say about Noah.

The author of Hebrews doesn't give us a full exposition Of everything Noah ever said or did. Or everything that can be learned from the life of Noah. And so I'm not going to do that. There are incidences in Noah's life.

And things about Noah that I'm not going to mention I'm not going to touch on them. I'm not going to go through them. The incident with Noah getting drunk after the flood. And what happened with his sons.

And the curses and the blessings.

We're not going to cover that.

Why am I not going to cover that? Because I'm afraid to cover that? No, I'm not afraid to cover that. The author of Hebrews doesn't cover that. So we're focusing on the things that the author of Hebrews highlights.

In the lives of these characters of faith. We're going to observe some details about Noah's faith. First the nature of his faith. And then the results of his faith in verse 7. So let's read together Hebrews 11, verse 7.

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.

We see there the nature of Noah's faith. He was warned by God about things not yet seen. And he prepared an ark in reverence. We see there the nature of his faith. That he had faith in God's word. His faith was a faith in what God had said.

Not a blind belief on things that are irrational or illogical. And second, it was an obedient faith. And then we see there the results of his faith. Three things. The salvation of his household. The condemnation of the world.

And he became an heir of the righteousness. Which is according to faith. The nature of his faith. And the results of his faith. And today we're just looking at the nature of his faith. Beginning at verse 7.

Beginning at the beginning of verse 7. By faith, Noah was warned by God about things not yet seen. Noah's faith was a faith in God's word. And this is essential that we understand this. About the nature of biblical faith.

And what true faith is. It is a faith in God's word. It is a faith in what God has said. It's a faith in what God has promised. It is a faith in what God has warned about. It is a faith that trusts God.

Even if the only proof Or the only evidence we have Is just the bare word of God. Because that is sufficient. And so biblical faith is a faith that trusts God. And it is a faith that rests in his word.

Noah was warned about things he had not yet seen. Noah did not build an ark. Just because he thought to himself. Someday God may flood the world. I should probably build an ark. No, Noah had, apart from divine revelation.

Noah had no reason to think God would flood the world. He had never seen that before. Nobody had ever said anything about that. He wasn't reading the weather patterns. And saying, you know, the meteorologist is saying We have 40 days of rain coming.

I should probably build an ark and get ready for this. No, it was divine revelation that Noah trusted. The text says that God said to him. Now we don't know what the means of that divine revelation is.

It is possible that Noah saw a theophany. Which is an appearance of the second person of the trinity The son before his incarnation. It's possible that Noah saw a theophany. It's possible that Noah got a vision.

It's possible that Noah heard a voice. It's possible that Noah himself was a prophet. And so he received this revelation. And he acted upon it. Or it's possible that there were other prophets Alive in Noah's day.

Who received that revelation And told Noah. Any one of those means is possible. We know that there were prophets And prophetic activity prior to the flood. Because Enoch was a prophet, remember? The book of Jude says he was a prophet.

And talked about God warning About judgment that would come upon All the ungodly sinners For all their ungodly deeds. And all the ungodly things that they did In an ungodly way.

From the book of Jude.

That was a rough paraphrase. But I think I got the number of ungodlies right. In that rough paraphrase. So there was prophetic activity.

Before the flood.

It's possible that there was a prophet Whom God had raised up Maybe even one of Noah's ancestors Who had prophesied about the judgment And had warned Noah of what was to come. We don't know the means of the prophetic revelation.

But one thing we do know Is that Noah understood Exactly what God said Exactly what God was warning about And exactly what he was supposed to do. Noah did not get. And I'm not going to get on a hobby horse here.

Noah did not get a vague impression.

Or a hunch.

Or a liver quiver. Or some still small voice. Or some feeling down in his gut.

That he had to interpret.

And then double check And then read tea leaves And then consult with some people And then get confirmation And then feel a peace in his heart about it Before he went forward with his obedience. No, Noah understood Exactly what it was that God wanted.

And listen, if you have a theology Of divine guidance And divine direction That requires you to rest Upon all of those means To obey God You have an unbiblical view Of divine guidance And divine revelation Because that is not taught Anywhere in scripture.

And there is no example of that Anywhere in scripture. Noah, certainly not. He understood exactly what God said. Genesis 6, 7. I will blot out man Whom I have created From the face of the land From man to animals To creeping things And birds of the sky.

God said in Genesis 6, 13 and 14 The end of all flesh Has come before me.

For the earth is filled.

With violence because of them. And behold, I am about to destroy them.

With the earth.

Make for yourself An ark of gopher wood. You shall make the ark With rooms and shall cover it Inside and out with pitch. Notice the specific divine guidance.

Noah was warned of exactly.

What was going to happen With crystal clarity The reason that it was coming And what he must do To escape that judgment And save himself And his entire family. Noah's faith rested On that divine revelation.

God said this to him And Noah said I believe that. And that is biblical faith. Biblical faith is not Believing something That is contrary to reason Or contrary to proof Or contrary to science. It's not believing something That is mythical That you have no reason whatsoever To believe is actually true.

That's not faith.

That's the world's idea.

Of what faith is. The world says that The more irrational the thing That you believe in The purer your faith is The more illogical it is. Of what you believe Then the more strong Your faith truly is. They would say If you invent the The kookiest Stupidest Weirdest thing That you can possibly Come up with in your mind And you really Really Really believe it's true.

And you put all your effort Into really convincing yourself That it's true. Man, what an example Of faith that is.

That's not faith at all.

That's stupidity. That's not pure faith.

In fact.

If that is the definition Of pure faith If pure faith Is believing something Contrary to all evidence.

Then the people.

Who are really truly The heroes of faith. Were the Sadducees And the Pharisees Because they believed Jesus was a liar A deceiver.

And did his miracles.

By the power of Beelzebub.

And that was.

Contrary to all evidence Because everything From the Old Testament Told them what.

They should be expecting.

The life of Jesus himself Told them what They should believe His miracles were evidence That his claims were true.

So between the.

Old Testament testimony The testimony of John the Baptist The testimony of Jesus His character, his life His own teachings And the miracles that he did.

The fact that they Crucified him.

Means that they were Believing and acting upon Something that was Contrary to all Available evidence. So if faith is Believing something That is contrary To all available evidence Believing something That is completely Irrational, illogical And untrue Contrary to reality.

Then the Pharisees.

And the Sadducees Should find their place In Hebrews chapter 11.

Shouldn't they?

For crucifying Jesus?

But that's not.

What biblical faith is.

Biblical faith is.

Not believing things That are contrary To all evidence.

Biblical faith is.

Believing what God has said.

Now there may not.

Be any evidence In the moment That what God has said Is true. But God never says Anything that is Irrational or Illogical or Contrary to reality. God always speaks What is real And what is rational. It is never Irrational to believe What God has said.

Never.

Therefore Noah's faith Was not in an Irrational proposition Because believing the God of the universe When he says something Is in no way Irrational.

Now you say.

What if. What God says Is something that We have not yet seen Is something we've never Experienced Is something we've.

Never observed.

Is something that we Cannot necessarily test. What if God says Something then Then is it irrational To believe that. The skeptics would say.

Yes.

It is irrational To believe the Word of God Concerning things past The creation of the world And the fall of man And a talking serpent And people walking Through a red sea On dry land. Those are irrational Things to believe.

And the skeptic would say It is irrational To believe what God.

Has said.

Concerning things.

That are yet future.

Judgements to come And spiritual realities And the existence of angels And the ultimate triumph Of God over Over Satan And the destruction Of this world And the establishment.

Of a kingdom And new heavens.

And new earth. It is irrational The skeptic says To believe any of those things Because we've never.

Seen them.

So that's illogical That's silly That's irrational That's unscientific.

Now by and large.

These are the same people. Who suggest that you get Your medical advice From Big Bird's.

Twitter account.

But they think that We are the irrational ones.

They think that we.

Are the illogical ones. But we're not. Because it is never Irrational to believe What God's word has said. The object of Noah's faith Was in God's revelation And he believed it Because God is trustworthy And the one who said it Is trustworthy.

So therefore It is never irrational To trust one Who cannot lie And will not lie Always tells the truth And always fulfills his word Trust in that being. And what he has said Is never illogical And never irrational at all.

Noah believed what God said Not because it made him feel good Not because he was.

Comfortable with it.

Not because he had Other reasons to expect That this would actually Come to pass. Noah believed this Not because it was convenient Or heartwarming I don't think it was Any of those things for Noah.

I think that the.

Message that he said.

When God said.

I'm going to destroy the earth And all living things in it Build a boat, get on it I'll bring the animals to you But I'm destroying everything. I think that that would have been Tremendously disconcerting to Noah He had to have had Hundreds or thousands Of close family members And friends And neighbors And acquaintances Whom he knew Were going to be judged.

In that flood.

He believed it. Not because it was convenient. Or made him feel good.

He believed it.

Because God said it That is biblical faith Noah had nothing to go on.

Other than the bare word.

Of God alone That this would happen. It is never irrational To take God's word at something. Now Noah was warned About things not yet seen. That's the next phrase. By faith Noah was warned by God. It rests on divine revelation.

He was warned about things That are not yet seen. Now what is it that is referring to. The things not.

He says.

What does that phrase refer to. The things not yet seen. It has been believed By creation scientists in the past. And I'm going back here A little ways. That what is What is described here Is rainfall before the flood.

This was a popular view For many years Right after Henry Morris came out With the Genesis flood. It was the Sort of the cosmology. Or is that the right word. The model that creation scientists had.

In the early years.

Of the creationist movement That believed that When God created the world He separated The waters that were Below the expanse. That's Genesis 1 -7. God made the expanse And he separated The waters which were below.

From the.

From the waters which were Above the expanse. And it was so.

And then it was believed.

That that water.

That was above the expanse. Was a water vapor Canopy. Around the entire earth.

That was a literal.

Physical.

Layer of water.

That God held in place.

And that water.

Kept ultraviolet rays out And allowed for the Longer life spans.

Before the flood.

And it's a way Of explaining that. It was a model That was used widely For many years It's been for the most part By most creation scientists today It has been for the most part Abandoned Not because There's anything in scripture.

That says that.

That did not happen But simply because It's an unworkable model. So most creation scientists Do not believe that anymore.

They believed.

And this From Genesis 1 -7 As well as there was another passage Genesis chapter 2 Verses 5 and 6 Listen carefully. It says in Genesis chapter 2 Now no shrub of the field Was yet in the earth And no plant of the field Had yet sprouted.

For the Lord God.

Had not sent rain Upon the earth And there was no man To cultivate the ground But a mist Used to rise from the earth And water the whole Surface of the ground.

So it was believed That before.

When you had this canopy There would have been No rainfall. So that when Noah was told That it was going to rain For 40 days And that the entire world Was going to be flooded He would have said What's a rain? What's rain?

He wouldn't have known that.

Because Genesis 2 says That God had not sent rain Upon the earth The model has been abandoned Because it creates more Difficulties than it actually solves. So I don't hold to that. Most creation scientists Do not hold to that.

It is my conviction That the mist Referred to in Genesis 2 Verse 6 The word translated Mist there Is a word that means A freshwater Or a source of freshwater. It could refer to a stream Or to a freshwater spring.

And I think that.

That is what is being described In the Garden of Eden God had just created it. And the reference to There being no rain On the earth in those days Doesn't mean there was Never any rain before the flood.

It means that With creation being fresh And the cycles Of the hydrological cycles Just being established There wouldn't have been time For this rain to develop Whatever you want to call it. And so God had created a world In which there was Underground water.

And in those days A source of freshwater Came up out of the ground And that watered the garden. All of the plants That God had made In that original creation Got their water Not from a mist that came up But from a source of freshwater.

When I was in Israel A few years ago We went up to the headwaters.

Of the Jordan River.

And you can walk right up there. You're walking along a path.