THE WELL Ministry

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Cultivating a Faithful & Fearless Heart

(Hebrews 11)

Week 5: Faith means perseverance (Hebrews 11:7)

I.  FAITH~ we have to believe it enough that it changes how we live.

A.  Noah had an encounter with God while he walked with Him that changed Noah’s destiny

·  that encounter changed any plans or reputation he was working toward

·  that encounter changed the way people looked at him

·  that encounter revealed the unbelief of the wicked world he was living in and so condemned the world of man

·  that encounter interrupted his “life as usual”. There was no more “normal” for Noah’s family.

II.  Faith causes us to come out of our comfort zone.

A.  Noah took the warning from God seriously and acted on the trust that he had with God. Genesis 6:9 tells us that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”

·  This same wording is used to describe Enoch’s relationship with God in Genesis 5:22 & 24 (“Enoch walked with God”).

·  The Hebrew word “walked” carries this meaning: that he went up & down, in & out, to & fro, arm & arm with God, continually conversing with Him and growing closer to Him.

B.  God tells Noah to build an ark for his family. God gives the specific directions on the building of the ark and “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” This assignment, which looked foolish to the physical eye caused Noah to be pressed into God, so he could take hold of what He had heard God say. In the physical, the foolish things:

  1. To build an ark that was the size of 1 ½ football fields in length and as high as a 4-story building
  2. Scholars estimate that almost 45,000 animals could fit into the ark~ care for all those animals & how would they all get into the ark????
  3. There had not been any rain in the earth
  4. All life would be destroyed by a flood

III.  Noah contrasted the foolish things of mankind by his faithfulness to God. A. God gave the warning and He gave them 120 years to change their sinful ways. Genesis 6:3 says, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

·  So for 120 years Noah cut down trees, made pitch to hold together the boards of the ark.

·  “Faith” was his response to God. He knew who God was and He believed that He would do what He said He would do~ Noah heeded the warning. Noah believed God.

IV.  Noah’s life is marked by…

ü  FAITH

ü  PATIENT ENDURANCE

ü  PERSEVERANCE

ü  BELIEF

ü  TRUST in the One True God

A.  He persevered with no distraction. He did not waver from his calling! Noah did not consider how the details would get worked out, but he stayed true to what God asked him to do & God handled the rest! Noah deliberately kept his eyes on the assignment God gave him; he was focused and determined to finish strong.

B.  God saw one left on earth who was not corrupted by man’s wickedness. And God preserved him and his whole family. This is the first time we see the word “Ark” used in scripture. An ark is used for the preservation/salvation of man. God’s remnant is always preserved.

ü  What are you believing (have faith for)?

V.  True Faith is the absence of fear. They are opposites.

A.  Romans 10:17~ Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What is it that Noah heart from God that caused faith to rise up in his heart?

1.  Genealogy of Noah:; Enoch was Noah’s great-grandfather; : Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather; Methuselah means “the flood will come”; Noah is a child of the promise to his grandfather; Methuselah lived 960 years. God was showing His grace, giving mankind time to repent.

a.  When the Lord found Noah (name means grace, so the grace of God was on Noah to operate in faith), the fulfillment of the promise was to come!

b.  When God says He will do something, He will do it even if we don’t believe it!

B.  Origin of faith= hearing and hearing by the Word of God

1.  Many people have confused faith and desires

a.  We are a generation who is desire driven and not faith-driven; we entertain the desires of man

b.  Faith must be the vehicle that houses our desires (Matthew 6:33)

c.  Humanity is in a place of fear right now (fear of: terrorism, finances, economy, political system, etc); many believers think it is ok to have a “little bit” of fear, but even a little bit will put us into a place of failure

d.  God says “FEAR NOT” 365x in the Bible! Until we understand the impact of fear, we will never understand the impact of faith!

FEAR / FAITH
*destroys (John 10:10); kills; steals / *Builds up (a little bit of faith is enough to move the mountains)
*Origin~ Adversary; it is devoid of truth; the enemy is the father of lies / *Origin~ comes from the Father; filled with Truth; Spirit of Truth
*False evidence appearing real (no substance in it) / *Substance of things hoped for; evidence of things not see (Heb. 11:1)
*Originates from knowledge of man / *Originates from knowledge of God

e.  When our faith is in place, everything around us (atmosphere) is set by what we believe

f.  We are to be a generation that sets the temperature in the atmosphere

VI.  Examine our faith

A.  What is the motive?

1.  As long as your vehicle is faith, then struggles, difficulties, wealth have no hold on you

2.  Faith is the ONLY commodity we have that causes us to be pleasing in His sight! Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6)

3.  The more we stay in faith, the more knowledge we receive from God about God

4.  We need to be a FAITH DRIVEN GENERATION~ when we are driven by faith, we are never satisfied…we keep going after more & more!

a.  When we are driven by our desires, then when the desires are fulfilled there is nothing left…

5.  Faith to persevere! Faith is painful!

Do you have the urgency (as Noah did) that a flood is coming? Oh that we would hold onto the faith of Noah (remember Noah means grace, so God’s grace is upon us to operate in faith)!

REORDER OUR LIVES LORD!