Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
When we think of evidence, we think of things that we can see touch or hear. Police have evidence lockers to place evidence into boxes and keep on hand until the last appeal is finished. They then move those box- Vian es into an archive somewhere and Baptist maintain them for another 50 years Church if necessary. ___________ In Christianity, we have an evidence locker as well. It is found in Hebrews 11. Let’s take a look at only one of them. Hebrews 11:7 “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.”
Our text tells us that it requires faith to have the evidence of God’s existence. That is true. Even the Bible tells us that no man has seen God at any time. (John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12). Yet for thousands of years, people have believed in God Almighty, Creator of Heavens and Earth.
In Noah’s case, he already believed in God. Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” He may not have lived a perfect life, but he lived believing in God. Then God told him to build an Ark capable of holding a pair of all species of animal on earth. He told him something that would happen and told him to prepare for it. Noah has to take it by faith for the earth had never experienced rain (water falling from the sky) before. The earth was watered by a heavy dew that worked just like our dew when the dewpoint is right. Dew forms as temperatures drop and objects cool down. If the object becomes cool enough, the air around the object will also cool. Colder air is less able to hold water vapor than warm air. This forces water vapor in the air around cooling objects to condense. That was God’s chosen method of watering the earth before the flood.
Noah began to build the Ark and his neighbors were curious. As Noah laid the keel (base of the ark) they were probably intrigued by the sheer size of the thing he was building. He old them that God would cause water to fall from the sky’s to flood the earth. Of course, they laughed at him. Water does not fall from the sky, fool!
Yet he continued to build. It took one hundred years. He preached for all one hundred years. Peter noted it in 2Peter 2:5 “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” The term eighth person refers to the fact that Noah had three sons who were married making six persons, then his wife and he made the eight.
Now the rain was a promise of things to come and as stated in Hebrews 11:7 “…being warned of God of things not seen as yet…” That is where faith comes in. Noah had never seen rain yet at God’s word (by faith) he believed and did what he was tasked to do. Imagine 100 years of mockery!
I wonder what they thought when the animals all got in line to get on the ark? I wonder if they still thought Noah was crazy when the animals came two by two except for the clean animals for sacrifice. It is possible that they had mocked so long that none of them even noticed. After all the animals came on board, God Himself sealed them in.
I wonder how crazy they Noah was, when the rain began to fall? Did they stand outside in the shower and look up in amazement? Did they begin to think after 100 years of mocking that maybe Noah had been right? Then God broke up the fountains of the deep and brought water down from the skies. It was not a gentle rain because of God Wrath and His desire to destroy the earth. A striking painting of men and animals trying to reach high ground to escape the flood is found at Niday Picture Library on the Internet. No one is given credit for the painting, but it causes a lot of thought.
Now here is the thing about faith…When God tells us of it, it WILL happen just like it happened in Noah’s day. He was told of a flood. He was told to prepare. He did as he was told and his family was saved. We are told some things that we need to take by faith. There is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Since you haven’t seen them you will need to take that on faith. There is a heaven and there is a hell. Since you haven’t seen either, you will need to take that by faith. There is only one way to heaven.
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” But since you were not there when He said it, you will need to take it by faith.
Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” But since you were not there when this was written, you will need to take it on faith.
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
The Bible is filled with men who had faith. Every time a prophesy was given whether it be days, weeks, or years from the time of the prophesy being given, it has occurred. Faith believes what God tells us. There is coming another judgment on the earth. Soon? I’m not sure, but it could be tomorrow. The Tribulation Period will kill many of the men, women, and children on earth. How do I know this? By faith, of course. I challenge you to read Hebrews Chapter 11, then come talk to me. Try to convince me I am wrong about what I believe, Of course, I will try to convince you that I am right, but it will make for an interesting time of discussion.
Do you need a Bible? Come visit the church office on Tuesday 10-2pm or Friday 10-2pm and they will gladly give you one for free.
