Hook:
Corrie Ten Boom defined faith in an acronym.
F - FANTASTIC
A - ADVENTURE
I - IN
T - TRUSTING
H - HIM
Trusting is a key ingredient in faith. Trusting is a word of commitment. It means to
believe or to put confidence in something or someone. In our acronym, trust is put in
Him - a reference to either God or Jesus.
In Hebrews 11 there is a slight variation of the object of our trust. The chapter implies
that we trust God, but it says something else.
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. This verse sets the tone for the whole chapter. Faith is confidence of things hoped for. It
is the evidence, or rather, the conviction that things that are not yet seen are really there.
It is this phrase, the "conviction" of things not seen that we want to spend our time
understanding this morning.
Hebrews 11 is a chapter about history's champions of faith. Their faith was demonstrated
in many different acts and deeds. But the most admirable quality of their faith was they
did what they did because they had a conviction about things they were not yet able to
see or experience.
I would like to look at one of faith's champions this morning. Open your Bibles to
Hebrews 11:7.
Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV) 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of (who had revealed to him by God) things not yet seen (the coming flood), moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Faith is the conviction that unseen things revealed or promised by God are really going to
happen.
Book:
I see in this passage how faith is created. It is not created by a certain degree of internal
fortitude - about making things you hope for happen. Nor is it created by erasing all your
memory about what you know is true and taking a leap of faith. Certain laws govern our
world and we can trust those laws. God, the creator of all has put them into place. But
God has revealed Himself and interacts with the world in his own way after He has
created the world. To keep his people on track, he does things that will move them to
keep pressing toward the unseen things he has promised them.
For instance, Noah's faith was built upon God's revelation of his plan. "Being divinely
warned" or "being an insider of God's revelation," Noah changed his behaviour - he
changed what he had been doing. Faith is always built upon the word of God and the
content of God's revealed plan.
The plan God revealed to Noah was this: things not yet seen are going to happen. What
that meant is that God was going to send a flood which would cover the whole world and
would punish and destroy the wicked generation of Noah's day.
God's word changed Noah. He was "moved with godly fear." Literally, he took the
revelation from God seriously. Instead of building his life upon success in the eyes of his
own generation, Noah reverenced the revelation from God so much that he built his life
around the flood - the thing that was yet not seen.
Having been moved with godly fear and being fully persuaded that what God revealed
would truly come to pass, Noah did several things that are listed in this verse.
By faith Noah,
1. prepared an ark for the saving of his household
We presume that Noah lived in a fairly populated area of the world. He would not have
built this ark in obscurity. The ark was a massive engineering feat and would have
probably dominated the skyline of the Middle East. Noah would probably have been
considered an eccentric person by his generation.
Teens are embarrassed of their parents in our generation - just for the fact that they exist.
Just think how embarrassing it must have been for the family of Noah.
What would he have looked like to his family?
a. "Dad, why do we have to build this stupid thing? Everybody is laughing at us!"
b. Mom, why are we so different than everyone else in town?
c. Dad, what did God tell you he was going to do?
I think ridicule would have been the feedback that Noah's kids were hearing on the street.
But what was more important to Noah? The saving of his household? or the ridicule
from his kids' generation?
Let me tell you, many people tend to give up on the things "not yet seen" because of
ridicule. Ridicule and poking fun at Christians for their quirky beliefs is the most
effective form of persecution available to the devil today. It works. Most young people
are willing to sacrifice their lives or at least give up something important to them if it
means acting justly and being hailed as a hero. But no young person today wants to take
a course of action - no matter how heroic and godly - and be laughed at. Think about it.
His faith made Noah an object of scorn and ridicule. He prepared an ark for a flood something yet unseen in the world. He did so to save his family. Salvation was more
important to Noah than ridicule. I wonder if it is more important to the parents of our
generation?
His faith proactively made him do something - build an ark. His faith also did something
passively. While he built the ark to save his family, passively ...
2. he condemned (convicted / judged / admonished / confused) the world
For every action, there is a reaction. Noah's conviction of things yet unseen resulted in a
life message that convicted and condemned the corruption and ungodliness of Noah's
generation.
The writer’s statement that Noah “condemned humanity” need imply no more than that
the life of a person of firm faith and faithfulness to God constitutes a sharp rebuke to a
godless generation. (Lane, W. L. (1998). Hebrews 9–13. Word Biblical Commentary (Vol. 47B, p. 340). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.) Do you want to have an impact on the world? Do you want to be a preacher of the faith?
Then embrace your faith thoroughly. The greatest message that you will ever preach will
not be your words, but it will be how your actions back up you words.
An interview of Noah may have gone something like this?
Interviewer: Mr. Noah, what seems to be growing out of your backyard?
Noah: An ark. I’m building an ark?
I.: An ark? Could you please tell us what an ark is?
N.: It’s an oversized boat.
I.: Where in the world are you going to sail it Mr. Noah? There’s no place around here?
N.: God’s going to supply the rain. You see, He told me that a flood is coming and
everyone outside of the ark would be drowned?
I.: Mr. Noah? Are you crazy? I’ve been studying world affairs for a long time and let me
tell you a flood that would cause this thing to float is impossible. Nevertheless, what is
your expected time of completion?
N.: Well, if I don’t have any delays, I’m figuring on about 120 years.
I.: Well, I expect you’ll be quite a story for an awful long time. I’m sure we’ll be meeting
each other again.
What was the world thinking about Noah?
a. What makes him think he can hear God any better than we can?
b. What nerve he had to invite me to help him build it! He said that if I helped him build
it he would take me for a ride. No way! Did you know that once you’re inside there is
no door out.
c. I think he’s just trying to escape the world. He doesn’t want to party with the rest of
us, so he’s going to seal himself off from the world.
Paul summarized what Noah did: The righteous shall live by faith. Faith - the
conviction that the things not yet seen are really there - has a two-fold effect. It saves and
it judges. It convicts people.
Peter has an interesting comment. It shows why the world is constantly trying to get you
to turn from your faith. When you live in accordance to your faith it reminds them of
their failure and their guilt.
1 Peter 4:4–5 (NLT) 4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead. As Noah was living out his faith, as a consequence of his conviction that the things yet
unseen really are, his household experienced salvation, his neighbours experienced guilt
and conviction (a message from God) and he himself experienced the righteousness of
God.
3. He became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith
Because Noah responded to the revealed plan of God and acted upon what God said, the
unseen things that were promised became his possession as well. He became an heir of
God's righteousness - not his own righteousness but a righteousness that he could never
have earned for himself.
Noah responded to God with a full measure of faith, and this accounts for the [clear
evidence] of Scripture that he was righteous ... others who respond to God with the faith
that Noah demonstrated will share with him in the righteousness God bestows upon
persons of faith (ibid).
All these actions taken by Noah were taken by faith. It centered
around "things not yet seen". Things which were not yet seen served to Noah as a
warning and produced in him a godly fear. Things that are not yet seen are my
experience today also. I have not yet seen Jesus. But look what Scripture says: (1 Peter
1:6-9)
1 Peter 1:6 (NLT) 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 1 Peter 1:8–9 (NLT) 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. It is for this reason I am moved with godly fear and take action very similar to Noah.
Look: How similar is my life of faith to Noah’s?
HAVE I TRIED TO PREPARE FOR THAT WHICH I CANNOT SEE?
a. Have I spent my life building a place of safety for my family?
It is a building that has some strange materials. It is not made of bricks and mortar, of
wood and siding. It is made of studying an ancient book, the Bible, of going to church, of
praying to an unseen face, of protecting against a judgment which as of yet we have no
sign of.
b. Have I resisted the temptation to be liked by the world? Do my actions teach my
children to say "no" to the world?
My world doesn’t really like it when I teach such things to my children. I must teach
them that sin is wrong. I must tell them that they are sinners. I tell them that God’s wrath
will some day be demonstrated against those who have chosen the ways of the world over
the teachings of the Bible. Many of the things I teach, the world laughs at because they
don’t believe that such things will happen. That's okay. Let them think what they want.
c. Have I spent my life becoming an heir of righteousness?
What is an heir of righteousness that comes by faith?
It is a person who inherits the righteousness of God, not because he/she is good, but
because by faith they simply believe what God tells them about the things NOT YET
SEEN.
As the Bible explains it, God wants us to understand 4 things about the things (or the One
- you can't separate the things from the One - Jesus) not yet seen.
1. He says that we are forbidden the things/One yet unseen if we treasure sin in our lives.
If we consider good or acceptable the things God calls wrong, we are treasuring sin. If
we are to live a life of faith, sin has to be removed.
2. He says that sin in our lives does not only keep us from having the things not yet seen,
but it produces guilt in us and forces Him to punish us. Wherever there is guilt, you will
find unforgiveness. Guilt must be removed and God's forgiveness must be offered.
3. As an act of love, God will remove our guilt and offer us forgiveness through Jesus.
Jesus paid the debt for our sins and our trust in Him makes all the things not yet seen
available to us. Through Jesus we have a right relationship with God.
4. He said that all who would trust in His Son for the forgiveness of their sin, though they
have not seen Him either, would be forgiven and made participants of the same
righteousness of Jesus.
Like Noah, we have a revelation from God. It is about God's Son, Jesus. Trust in what
God says about His Son. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead and He is
coming again. That revelation saves us and our families, it upsets the world around us
and it provides for us a great and glorious future which we have not yet seen.
Took:
God wants to make Noahs out of us all. He wants to make us people of faith. His part is
to (1) "divinely reveal to us through His word the things not yet seen" and to "move us
with godly fear."
Our part is to "prepare according to his instructions," to say "no" to the world which
scorns such preparations, and to anticipate what an heir of righteousness will inherit —
that is to start believing and living as an heir of righteousness would.
If you were Prince William right now, knowing you were the heir of the British throne,
would you put off living like the heir until the final moment before the coronation? I
don’t think so. You’d start preparing now - even as William and Kate are doing? Their
brother Harry - he's a different story because he doesn't have to take heirship seriously.
Those who are followers of Jesus Christ are the heirs of righteousness. Should such an
heir put off preparing for his/her duties of righteousness until the Kingdom of
Righteousness is in fully come? I don’t think so. Now is the time to start living the
righteousness that is promised but unseen in all its fullness.