This is the final of three installments concerning Noah’s faith. I hope this series has been especially meaningful to you and that you will continue to enjoy new topics in the upcoming weeks!
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
As we approach the final marks in the story of Noah’s Determined Faith, we see it’s results in Fruit. Fruit is always the product of something planted and prepared. In our lives as Christians, we strive to exhibit the fruit of the spirit as listed in Paul's writing to the Galatians. Paul wrote in verses 22 and 23 of Chapter 5 that "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance...".
Fruit, being the product of the Christian faith, results in a Determined faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That determined faith, if fed and nurtured on a daily basis, produces the fruit of the Spirit which are, as mentioned above, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. The apostle Paul lists nine fruits of the spirit which are the products of a determined faith in Christ. Nine is the number of fruitfulness, which is a result of that faith being planted in our Saviour. However, fruit since its creation has always been for the benefit of others, not the bearer.
This fruit can be clearly seen in the life of Noah where verse 7 of the 11th chapter of Hebrews records it as nothing less than the "saving of his house." The fruit of Noah’s Faith, his Fear and his Foresight was the saving of his family! The question we must ask ourselves today is, "Is OUR family saved?” Are they born again? Are our children, husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, brothers and sisters saved? If they are, praise the Lord! The greatest fruit ever produced in this world was from the Seed that bore our sins on the cross which was then planted in a garden tomb only to rise and bloom three days later into eternal salvation for all who believe. We must strive to share the fruit of the spirit from the salvation seed planted in our hearts so that others may also benefit from receiving this life changing gift.
As we have seen, this fruit was to the saving of Noah and his family who became beneficiaries of an additional blessing: a Future! We read in Hebrews 11:7 that Noah became an “heir of righteousness”. For the man of Faith and Fear with Foresight and Fruit is a promised Future fortune awarded by Christ beyond the heavens. As human beings, we do not have a righteousness of our own, but as born again believers in Jesus Christ, we become an heir to His righteousness.
Noah spent his life’s work building an ark and every bit of it was accomplished through faith. While others were buying and selling, eating and drinking, indulged in lusts of the flesh, Noah committed to the Work of God. Noah spent all to build a ship in a place where rain, much less a flood, was unheard of and unknown to humanity. To that time, there had been no historical record or evidence of any rains or floods, yet Noah sacrificed all to build an ark as commanded by God in order to assure a future for the world. His future was fortified so that he became an ‘heir of righteousness through faith…’ (V.7). Brothers and Sisters, the ark is a picture of Jesus Christ. The ark had but one entrance, one door. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9 that, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." The Bible says in John 14:6 that "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
In Genesis 7:1, notice that the Lord issues a simple command to Noah: "come." God was already in the ark and it was He, not Noah, who closed the door as the rains began to fall. Noah and his family were as safe as God was inside that ark! In the ark was eternal security. The only handle that Noah had to hold on to inside those walls of gopher wood was his faith in God who had invited him to “come in”... and then God shut the door!
Be encouraged today when you think of having a determined faith in Christ, knowing that you are as safe in the eternal view right now as you will be the moment Christ descends from Heaven with a shout to exclaim, "Come up hither!" Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
My friends, Noah was held safe inside the ark and never fell out. It is inside Jesus Christ where we are held safe and are made righteous. Knowing that by faith you are secure today on earth, you are secure tomorrow in glory.
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