This is the second of three installments concerning Noah’s faith. I hope that this will be especially meaningful to you and that you will look forward to part 3 next week!  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 11:7  We do not always have to see an approaching tragedy in order to prepare for it. In verse 7, “things not yet seen” indicates that there was as yet no evidence of any rain whatsoever. So why was Noah’s faith so Determined?  It was a result of his Fear! Again, in verse 7, we learn that Noah was scared of God’s wrath, “...being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear…”.  This verse presents fear in its proper context, a Godly fear, reverential and ordered of the Lord. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”  The world we live in today revels in being “entertained” by fear and of being frightened by crazed, sadistic and murderous people as well as the supernatural. This fear is synthetic in structure, but Satanic in nature. A godly fear of the Lord, however, moves one to Service, Sacrifice and Sanctification. Jesus Christ stated in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Solomon said in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”  Do you know where Solomon learned that?  From his father, David, who wrote in Psalms 111:10 that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
Noah was Determined in his Faith by his fear which came from his Foresight. Verse 7 tells us that Noah “prepared an ark” which was a container ship built in preparation for the saving of his family. For years on end, I have taught in church and in business the “5 P’s”: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance! My friend, Noah did not start constructing the ark as the skies darkened with gathering clouds and the rain drops began to fall.  He started the second he was warned of God!  The passengers and crew aboard the RMS Titanic that dreadful night of April 15, 1912 waited on a doomed vessel for almost two hours before moving to save anyone. They  performed poorly because they failed to plan for the prevention of such a disaster prior to embarking on their maiden voyage across the Atlantic. If Noah would have waited until it began to rain, he would have been too late and he and his family would have perished. We must take care to prepare right now, today. Unfortunately, millions upon millions of people daily neglect to make that life-changing decision regarding their salvation and to serve a holy and loving God. We must move with fear by foresight, for when we stand before Christ, it will be too late.  The purpose of Foresight is to prepare. The Bible says to, “…prepare to meet thy God…” in Amos 4:12. Too many people are not, nor will ever be, prepared to meet the Lord. The passengers who partied, played and sang on the Titanic were the very ones who continued to party, play and sing until the water began to rise and the ship began to descend into the frigid waters of the ocean. Beloved, there are still people today who are intent on waiting until the last minute and that final hour to prepare. Sadly enough to say, that does not work and we must prepare today. The man who waits to find the Lord until the eleventh hour may die at 10:30!  Matthew 24:36-39 states, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”  Doctrinally, these Scriptures apply to the 2nd Coming of Christ occurring at the end of the Tribulation. Spiritually and practically, one can very easily apply it to those living in the Church age who are eating and drinking, who are given in marriage and are simply not concerned when Christ will return. Notice first how these people are marked with:  Disregard – V.38 – They are careless, only thinking of material things rather than spiritual. If you look around today, you will note that Sundays are filled with children playing in the yard while their mothers mow the grass and their fathers are seated in front of big screen TV’s watching ballgames.  These people are apathetic.  Decadence – V.38 – marrying and giving in marriage… This refers to multiple marriages. We live in a promiscuous society just as it was in the days of Noah.  “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:26)  Our world today is engaged in adultery, promiscuity and indulgently feeding of the flesh.  Delusion – V.39 – “knew not”.  It was not like the people in Noah’s day were not warned. Too often in our world today, we see the worship of self, personal achievements and material gains. But there is a day coming when all of that will fall by the wayside and the only thing that will matter will be that which we have done with the foresight the Lord has given us. Hosea 4:6 admonishes,  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge…”  The Lord has given us the Foresight of His return in the air. We can possess a determined faith today and move with a godly Fear to serve and sacrifice for our Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of ourselves and our families, in addition to hundreds and thousands, if not millions, of souls across the world.  ...being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house... Â
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