Noah's Faith, Part 1

Take your Bible and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 7. One verse today, and next week as we look at the life of Noah, we're not going to finish him today because there's so much to talk about when it comes to the man Noah.

When you open up to Hebrews chapter 11, the very first thing you begin to realize is that faith really does evidence itself.

In other words, faith truly works. Works don't save you, you're saved by grace through faith. But works evidence the fact that you have saving faith. That's why James says in James chapter 2 that faith without works is dead. It's a dead faith, it's not a true faith. A true faith evidences itself. We need to help you understand that faith is trusting obedience. Okay, let's look at it this way.

Faith is believing in what God has said and obeying what God has said. Faith is, write this down, believing absolutely and behaving accordingly. That's all it is. It's believing absolutely and behaving accordingly. In other words, I behave according to what I believe. And if I believe absolutely in what God has said, it affects every facet of my life. How I live my life. And when I see it, they know that I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11 verse number 7 reads this way. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not seen in reverence or in fear, 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. Now there is so much there to unfold. So much truth behind the character of the man that God used in such a mighty way. So like Abel in Genesis 4, like Enoch in Genesis 5, now Noah in Genesis 6. I'm going to have you turn back with me to Genesis 6 to set the context for Hebrews 11 verse number 7. So turn back with me to that very first book of the Bible, the sixth chapter.

And let me read to you verses 5 to 11. And again, there is so much to unfold. We won't cover it all this week, but hopefully we'll answer the questions that you have next week. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth. He was grieved in his heart. The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them.

But Noah, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. But Noah was graced by the Lord. It's the first time the word grace is used in the Bible.

Noah was graced. You will note that like everybody else, Noah was a part of every man whose every thought was only evil continually. But Noah, God decided to grace one man and his family and no one else. That was God's choice. He was going to start over again. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. It's not because he was a favorable guy as opposed to everybody else on earth who was unfavorable. No, Noah was graced by God. That was God's gracious choice. Now read on. These are the records of the generations of Noah.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time. Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God. And the earth was filled with violence. Now, I am big on the meaning of names. If you've been with us for any length of time, you know that I point out the meaning of names because names are everything. We do a Daniel on Wednesday nights. God is my judge. And Daniel was a man who lived as if God was his judge. And that's why he was such a righteous man, such a holy man.

It was the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their names and what they meant. We looked at Cain when he was born, he and Abel. If you remember, Cain's name means to acquire or to get. Why? Because Adam and Eve acquired a son. They got him from the Lord. And Abel, the second born, his name means breath.

And we told you at that time three weeks ago that it's evidence of all things that children are a gift from the Lord. They are acquired from the Lord, but they live for only a brief amount of time. Their life is but a vapor. So from the very beginning of time, God sets forth the fact that I give you children and they live for a very brief time. Well, we went from Abel to Enoch. Enoch's name simply means dedication. That's what it means. And Enoch was so dedicated to his God, he walked with God for 300 years.

And he was so dedicated that God just took him home, took him up. He just walked right up into glory. That was Enoch. Now we come to Noah. Anybody know what Noah's name means? Anybody want to guess? Rest. Good for you. His name means rest. How does Noah rest? Think about this. This man was characterized very significantly of what it means to live a life of rest. And Noah lived in the most perverted time, as Enoch did, in the history of the world. In fact, the Bible says in verse 11 that not only was the earth corrupt, but violence filled the earth.

That's not true today. Violence doesn't fill the earth. It fills some of the cities on the earth. It fills some of the towns on the earth. But it didn't fill the earth. God's own testimony is that violence filled the earth. So no matter what you think about this time and this age, it's not nearly the time and age of Noah's day. And this was the time that Noah began to build an ark. Now remember, his name means rest. Noah lived a life of rest. And how do we know that? We're going to see that as we look at him this week and next week.

But know this. He lived at a time when he built an ark for 120 years. That's a long time. None of us here are going to live to be 120 years of age. But he built an ark for 120 years. And all the while building the ark, there was mocking, there was scorn, there was ridicule. But Noah was warned by God about things not seen. That is the testimony of Hebrews 11, verse 7. God had warned him about what was going to come, impending judgment, right? It was coming. And because it was coming, Noah lived in light of that.

So the ridicule he received, the scorn, the mocking he received, he was prepared for. But, but he had to continue to encourage his sons, his daughter-in-laws. He also had to encourage his wife for 120 years. Now think about that for a minute. We've come through 20 months of COVID. And as fathers, you had to encourage your children. Motivate your children. Stimulate your wife. Keep them encouraged. Keep them focused. How did you do? Were you worried about, were you good about keeping them focused on the Lord?

Were you good about keeping them always motivated and stimulated toward the things of God? Or was your home filled with grumbling and mumbling and complaining because things were so bad around you? You couldn't go to work and you couldn't go out. You couldn't go to the store. All those kind of things. How did you handle that? That's nothing compared to what Noah had to deal with. And he had to encourage his wife and his kids. Keep them motivated. Keep them hammering. Keep them chopping down wood.

There was no chainsaw to chop down trees with. Think about it. There were no electric tools to use. Everything was done by hand. And his boys would help him build this ark, carrying wood with people, mocking them, ridiculing them. I'm sure they wanted to quit. Dad, what have you seen? What has God taught you? You've got to be kidding me. How long are we going to do this for? But he had to keep them focused and motivated. Noah was at rest. So Noah lived his life. And so he had to keep them on the straight and narrow.

As fathers, we had a huge responsibility in our families to lead them in a way that keeps everybody moving in the right direction. Noah was a strong leader, not a weak leader. He was a strong man, not a weak man. And when a man lives at rest, he can faithfully and succinctly direct his family in the ways of God and say, God's got this. God's in control. God's going to deal with this. You see, be on our knees, in the word, focused above, doing what God's called us to do, and God will be honored. That's what Noah had to do.

Because Noah was at rest. Now what characterized his life at rest? Four things. Number one, he was forgiven.

Number two, he was faithful. Number three, he was fruitful. And number four, he was faultless. Those four characteristics put your heart at rest. You should not feel with anxiety, not anxious, not worried. Noah was forgiven. He was graced by God. It says in verse number nine, these are the records of the generation of Noah, Noah was a righteous man. Who declared him righteous? Who made him righteous? Not Noah. He was as wicked as every other man on the face of the earth. God graced him. Because God graced him.

Wow. He was declared righteous. He was a forgiven man. Not only was he forgiven, he was faithful. For it says that he, in his time, Noah walked with God. Noah walked with God. Who was the guy we talked about last week who walked with God? Anybody remember? Enoch. Hey, guess what? Only two guys in the Bible are described as walking with God. Only two. Enoch and Noah. Nobody else. It doesn't mean that David didn't walk with God. Or that Abraham didn't walk with God. Or that Daniel didn't walk with God.

But it does mean this. That when God says something, specifically, he has something to say pointedly toward all of us.

Enoch walked with God. And Noah walked with God. That's it. It's like in the New Testament. Where it says in 1 Timothy 6. Oh, Timothy, you man of God. Do you know what? Timothy is the only guy in the New Testament called a man of God. Nobody else is. That doesn't mean that Paul wasn't a man of God. Or that Peter wasn't a man of God. Or that John wasn't a man of God. They were men of God. But Timothy was specifically called a man of God. Noah and Enoch specifically were described as men who walked with God.

That should cause every one of us to stand up in attention. And figure out what it is that caused these men to walk with God. In such a way that Enoch was just taken up in the glory. And that Noah would be used by God as a powerful way when judgment would come upon the entire world. Speaks volumes to us. And here was the guy who walked with God. Now note this. Turn over to Genesis chapter 17 for a second.

Genesis chapter 17. Because this is going to lead us through further in Genesis chapter 6. Genesis 17, verse number 1. Now when Abram was 99 years old. Anybody in the room 99 years old? Abram was 99 years old. Why is this important? Why does God give us his age? Because it was 25 years earlier that God gave the promise that he would have a son. And that son would be the instigation for the blessings of the world. The Messiah would come through his son. For 25 years there's been no son. Sarah is 89.

That's his wife. So at age 99 the Bible says these words very clearly. The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him. Now isn't it neat that in order for them to know what God said he had to appear. He had to speak to them. We don't ever have to do that. We have everything that God said right here. So if we want to know what God says we just open the Bible and read it because that's what God says.

Faith is believing what God has already said. And obeying what he has said. Faith is believing absolutely and behaving accordingly. If you can just remember that when someone asks you about what faith is you can tell them. But here was Abram 99 years old. God shows up and speaks to him. Listen to what he says. I am El Shaddai. First time that's used in scripture.

El Shaddai. God almighty. 48 times it's used in the Old Testament. 31 of those times it's used in the book of Job. Why? Because Job had to know that God was almighty. So almighty that he controlled what Satan did. For Satan had to ask permission to take away Job's family. He had to ask permission to afflict Job with boils. Because God is almighty. He is all powerful. So everything in the book of Job is about the almighty power of the living God. Where God was showing Job, Job you have nothing to say to me.

I don't care how bad your life is Job. You have nothing to say to me. Because I am the maker and creator of the world. I am the almighty God. You must bow before me in submission. He did. He was the most righteous man. The most blameless man on the face of the earth. Job chapter 1. So God appears to Abram and says I am God almighty. I am El Shaddai. He says this. Walk before me and be blameless. He says this. Walk before me. Because of who I am. You need to walk before me and be blameless. In other words God says because of divine revelation there is a human obligation.

Because of divine illumination there is always human submission. Because of divine revelation and illumination there should never be hesitation. There should never be a question. There should never be speculation. Because God has given us his revelation we don't sit back and say hmm I wonder if I should do that or not. Maybe I will walk with you tomorrow. Not today. Maybe I will be blameless next week but not today. Oh no God is almighty. He is all powerful. Abram walk with me and be blameless. Because there has been a divine revelation you have a human obligation.

And that is to submit to the authority of the one who gave you the command. That is what your response is. We talked about this on Wednesday night. We think about it. During the whole COVID thing. I told you it reveals everything about people in the church. Thank God for COVID. Think about it. When the governor says mask up we mask up. When the governor says get vaccinated we get vaccinated. We don't even question that. We don't even hesitate at that. When the governor says stand six feet apart we put spots on the ground.

So we stand six feet apart. We do everything the governor says. But when God says something we hesitate.

When God says something we speculate. When God says something we question it. When God says something we say I am not so sure I want to forgive my brother.

I know you gave me the command forgive but I am not so sure. I know that God says I should not be unequal to yoke.

But this person is so loving and kind to me. I know they are not saved but I am going to marry them anyway. Because they meet my emotional needs. I know what God says but.

You ever notice that? What COVID did was reveal that people are more concerned about what the governor says than what God says.

In the church. That is a big problem. We should be running to obey God. Excited about being a God. Falling down before him. God yes speak what do you have for me? What is the divine illumination? What does your word say? What does the revealed word of God say? That says this is what you do. Follow me. And we say can't wait. No hesitation. No speculation. No reservation. No question. Just complete and total submission. That is the way we should be. That was Noah. That was Enoch. That was Abraham. That is why they are in the hall of faith.

Walk before me and be what? Blameless. Go back to Genesis chapter 6. In Genesis chapter 6 it says this. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man. Blameless in his time. Noah walked with God. When did he walk with God? And when was he blameless? Because there is a connection between walking with God and being blameless. You see not only was he faithful he was faithfully faultless. A man who is forgiven can be faithful. A man who is faithful can be faultless. A man who is faultless can be fruitful.

That is the way Noah was. That is why his life was at rest. That is why he didn't live a life of anxiety amidst the 120 years of building an ark. That is why he condemned the world. That is why he was a preacher of righteousness Peter tells us. Because he knew his God and obeyed his God. Just that simple. He was a man who was blameless. Faultless. Doesn't mean he was sinless. Blameless does not equate to sinlessness. Blameless simply is this. That there is nothing about my character that is so flawed that it brings a reproach upon the name of God and the church of God.

There is not an ongoing blot in my life that has not been dealt with. It doesn't mean that you are sinless because we all sin. Noah sinned. Abraham sinned. We are certain that Enoch sinned and we just don't know where he sinned or when he sinned. But he did because no one is perfect. But to be blameless means to be faultless. That is, there is nothing someone can hold to your account that says this character flaw hinders his testimony, his walk with the Lord in such a way it brings a reproach upon Christ and His church.

Noah was a blameless man. And I thought today as I read that, before we partake of the Lord's table, we would answer some questions about blamelessness. And answer that in such a way that will help us understand how this man Noah lived a life of rest amidst all the adversity around him where the earth was filled with corruption and violence. Where the earth was so sinful, look what it says. It says, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, this is verse 5 of Genesis 6, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

That says that the wickedness of man was internal, the thoughts of his heart, was inclusive, every intent was intentional, because it is an intent, and was incessant, because it was only evil continually. That's what characterized life before the flood. Sin was inclusive, sin was intentional, sin was incessant. Sin was everywhere, so much so that every city was filled with violence, every part of the land was filled with violence, because corruption was everywhere. That's why God destroyed the earth, started anew with Noah's family.

He goes to show you that a man who walks with God can do it in the most dire of circumstances. A man who walks with God can be blameless when sin is everywhere. This gives us hope. This tells us that we can follow the commands of God, obey His Word, and see what happens. No matter how bad the situation is, God can do all these things, because God did it with Noah. God did it with Enoch. He can do it with us. So what about this blamelessness? Do you know that blamelessness is the position of the believer?

Blamelessness is the position of the believer. Listen to what the Bible says in the book of Ephesians, the first chapter, the fourth verse.

It says in verse number three, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love.

Wow! We were chosen before the foundation of the world, that we would be blameless and holy before Him. Wow! How does that ever happen? How can we stand spotless before a holy God? Simply because it was the spotless Lamb of God that was slain for our sin. And when we receive that forgiveness, when we understand what happened on Calvary's cross and embrace Christ as the true Lamb of God that He is, we are cleansed by that blood. That's why the book of Hebrews is so important about the new covenant and the removal of sin that comes only from the shed blood of Christ our Lord.

What a beautiful, beautiful understanding of the Scriptures. Our position is simply this, we are blameless before Him. Not only is it the position of the believer, it's the promise for the believer. Look what it says in the book of Colossians, the first chapter, verse 21, Why?

Through death. In order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Wow! So we have a positional blamelessness before the living God. But He's given us this promise that He is going to present us holy and blameless before Him. This is the promise of the believer. I don't doubt what God's going to do. I believe what God's going to do. Why? Because faith is believing absolutely and behaving accordingly. And so I believe what God says.

And then over in the book of Jude, it says this, verse 24, And to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. Wow! That's the promise. So not only is blamelessness the position of the believer, but blamelessness is the promise for the believer. But blamelessness is also the prayer of the believer. Look what it says in the book of Philippians, the first chapter.

Philippians chapter 1, verse number 9, And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. Paul says, this is my prayer. I want you to be preserved blameless until the day of Christ. Our prayer is for the fact that we would be preserved blameless, faultless, spotless. That's why the Bible says that we are to keep ourselves unstained from the world.

James 1 27. Unstained. Because it's so easy to be tainted by the sins of the world. That's why Peter reminded us in 1 Peter 2 verses 11 and 12, I urge you as aliens and strangers that you abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against your soul. Every day we wake up, there are fleshly lusts that are waging war with our soul. And we pray, Oh God, keep me in the palm of your hand. Keep me, Lord, blameless before you. Lord, keep me spotless before you. I don't want to fall into sin. I don't want there to be a blot on my life that brings reproach upon Christ and his church.

Oh Lord, keep me clean and pure before you. That's the prayer of the believer. Blamelessness is our prayer. You pray that for your children. Right? As fathers and mothers we pray for our children that they would be blameless before God. They live a life of blamelessness. That's our prayer. Not only is it the position of the believer, not only is it the promise for the believer, not only is it the prayer of the believer, it's also the practice of the believer. It's our practice. We are positionally blameless, yet we have to constantly be aware in our prayer life that we match our practice with that position.

Listen to this. This is so insightful. Philippians 2 verse number 14. Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Stop right there. Do all things, not some things, do all things without grumbling. In other words, don't be disgruntled. And don't be disputing. Disgruntlement is emotional. Disputing is intellectual. Grumbling deals with how I feel about how things are happening around me. What's going on inside? How I'm not being respected enough. How I'm not being honored enough. How things are not going my way.

How the circumstances around me are so bad I begin to murmur and mumble and grumble. And why is that so bad? Because 1 Corinthians 10 10 tells us that God killed Israelites because they grumbled. You think it's not serious for God? It's really serious. Do all things without grumbling, without disputing, without questioning, without argument. Because what happens is that you begin to mumble and grumble about what God is doing and next thing you know you begin to argue with God about the way things are.

As if we're smarter than God. That we can debate with God. That we can put God in a corner and reason with Him. You can't do that. This is serious stuff. He didn't say anything about living a clean sexual life. That's what Paul says. He didn't say anything about murdering anybody or about becoming a drunkard. He says just do all things without murmuring and disputing because that's what the world does. They grumble about everything. They want to debate everything. Don't do that. He says so that you will prove yourselves to be what?

Blameless. Do you know what the biggest hindrance to your walk with the Lord is? A murmuring and grumbling character. Paul says I want you to be blameless. But listen, if you're a murmurer, if you're a complainer, if you're a griper, if you're always discontent with the way you look and the way things are, the way things are happening around you, if that's the way you are, you're not going to be blameless before the Lord. Why? Because you have a character flaw that's huge. You can't be debating God and wrestling with God, trying to intellectualize with God.

You can't do that. Accept what He says. Believe it. Follow it. Submit to it. That's why God said to Abram, I am God Almighty. Walk in my ways and be blameless. Don't argue with me. This is who I am. I'm the almighty, powerful God of the universe who controls everything. Just do what I say. Abram's 99 years old. He's got to trust God for the son. The son hasn't come yet. But he's got to trust Him for that son. So he says this, So you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

Don't we live in a crooked and perverse generation? Yes. What is the best way for you to be lights in this time? Stop your grumbling, your complaining, your murmuring, and your debating. Just stop it. And accept what God is doing. Believe Him because you live in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation filled with sin and sinners. And they need, as Paul would say, you appear as lights to the world, holding fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

You're holding fast the word of life. You are the light to the world. You are showing them who's in charge. When you grumble, you're grumbling because you will not accept that God is in charge. That's why you murmur. That's why you're so discontent. That's why you're so upset. But Noah lived to blame his life. Why? He knew who was in charge. He didn't know it would take him 120 years to build the ark. He didn't know it would take him that long. It did. But he was warned by God by things he did not see.

But he had he had a belief that was absolute. And he behaved accordingly. He had faith. Faith is the position of the believer. Faith is a promise for the believer. Faith is the prayer of the believer. It's the practice of the believer. Faith is the pursuit. I mean, blamelessness is the pursuit of the believer. This is what Peter says, 2 Peter 3 verse number 14. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things what things? The very fact that the day of the Lord is going to come and the heavens are going to be destroyed with fervent heat.

Therefore, brethren, because you look toward these things be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless. We talked about this last week. We tell you this every Wednesday night. The clearer you see the future, the cleaner you stand in the present. That's what Peter says. Therefore, brethren, you know that the elements are going to burn up with fervent heat. You know that the day of the Lord is coming. You need to be diligent. And what's man's most precious possession? Proverbs 12 27, his diligence.

You be diligent and you pursue spotlessness. You pursue blamelessness. It's always the ever, never ending pursuit. Blamelessness. That there's nothing that would be charged to my account that would bring reproach upon Christ and his church and the glory of my God. Wow. Is that your pursuit? It was Noah's pursuit. Noah's prayer. Noah's promise. Noah's practice. Noah's position. And then lastly, ready for this? Noah's pleasure. Because blamelessness is the route to pleasure. Psalm 119 verse number one.

How blessed are those whose way is blameless. Want to be a blessed person? Want to receive the blessing of the Lord? This is earth's greatest pleasure. Blamelessness. How blessed are those whose way is blameless. Blessed are those whose ways are undefiled. Remember what Jesus said about Nathanael? He said, Nathanael in whom there is no guile. In other words, he says, Nathanael, a man who is blameless before me. A man who is undefiled before me. He is guiltless before me. Wow. How blessed are those who observe his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart.

In other words, the blameless man is the one who pursues God and seeks him with all of his heart. That's where the true blessing comes. God never blesses unrighteousness. He only blesses righteousness. Blamelessness. Noah walked with God. He was a righteous man. He was a blameless man. And God used him mightily. By faith, Noah. I wonder if that would be said of us. By faith, we pursued a blameless life. We prayed for a blameless life. We practiced blamelessness because this is the ultimate promise of our lives based on the position we have in Christ.

It becomes our daily practice. That should move us through each and every day until Jesus comes again as he most surely will. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity we had to study your word. What joy it is to realize that a man like Noah who lived in the most wicked and perverse generation known to man walked with God and was blameless. May we look at that and realize that can be true of us today.

For the glory of your kingdom, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.