Genesis 7:6-24 NKJV  Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.  (7)  So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.  (8)  Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,  (9)  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.  (10)  And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.  (11)  In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  (12)  And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.  (13)  On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—  (14)  they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.  (15)  And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.  (16)  So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.  (17)  Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.  (18)  The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.  (19)  And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.  (20)  The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.  (21)  And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.  (22)  All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.  (23)  So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.  (24)  And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

• Welcome to Christian Life Church… and welcome to Mission’s Sunday!
  • Now at CLC  we preach through Scripture… we happen to be preaching through Genesis and this Sunday is our second sermon on these verses… it also happens to be Mission’s Sunday…
  • Now what do these verses have to do with international missions…
  • Well to understand that, we need to first understand what we mean by “Missions”… the term “Missions” comes from the Great commission… the point in History where Jesus gave His church our mission… what is our mission, Jesus tells us in Matthew 28…

Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  (19)  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  (20)  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

• So our mission is to go into ALL nations and bring people to Jesus, baptize them, disciple and teach them, amen?
  • So again… our mission is to go throughout the world… into all Nations, and to bring people to Salvation…
  • It’s not all that different from Noah’s mission… Noah was called to gather Animals from all over the world and bring those animals, two by two, to salvation.
    • We bring people to God and His church.
    • Noah brought animals to God and His Ark.
    • Booth we and Noah have global missions
    • This morning is part two of our two part series on the Seven R’s of Faith from Genesis Seven.
      • You see, what I presented last week was that while we all think of Hebrews 11 as “The faith Chapter”, really there are many faith chapters in scripture…
        • Chapters that are just TEEMING with faith, examples for us on how we should be living our lives…
      • Genesis Chapter seven is one of those chapters. Let’s pray.

• But before we talk about all of the examples of faith in Genesis 7, let’s first turn to Hebrews 11:1… in case you missed last week, or forgot, here is the biblical definition of faith:

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

• And we gave the example of this building last week…
  • ALL OF US have faith that someone built this building.
  • Though none of us watched construction workers build this building… though none of us SAW the builders… we have faith that the builders exist and that they built this building… why? BECAUSE THERE IS EVIDENCE… The building it’self is the evidence of the unseen construction workers.
    • And so many of us hoped and prayed for this building… even without ever seeing it… trusting God would make a way… now our hope has substance…
    • So faith is the evidence of things unseen and the substance of things hoped for. When we talk about faith, that is what we are talking about.
  • Ok, back to Genesis Seven. In Genesis chapter Seven we see seven points about faith… And the Preacher’s commentary list these seven points as the Seven R’s of Faith from Genesis Seven:

• Faith is a Response to Revelation.
• Faith is built on a Relationship of Trust.
• Faith is demonstrated through a readiness to Obey.
• Faith Releases blessings.
• Faith is Resource of Holy Spirit Power
• Faith is a Rebuke to the Unfaithful
• And Faith is a Reminder to the Faithful
  • Now last week we went over the first four R’s.
    • Faith is a Response to Revelation…
      • Roman’s 10:17 teaches us that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
      • Thus, faith comes by Revelation… when God speaks to us, we must have the faith to respond… just as Noah did.
      • When God said “Get on the boat”… Noah did not delay, he did not make excuses… he responded in faith and got on the boat.
    • Second, we talked about how faith is a relationship of trust.
      • Noah, after responding, lived on the ark with his family for about a year. And there is no record of God speaking to him during that year.
        • Noah had to continue the work, trusting that God had not forsaken him.
        • Noah’s Relationship of Trust provided the faith he needed to keep doing the work, even without continuous revelation.
      • Third, Faith is demonstrated through a readiness to obey.
        • Noah had to obey, and obey, and obey.
        • Years of preparation, and hard work, gathering lumber, making boards, building the Ark, covering it with pitch, gathering the animals, getting on the ark, caring for the animals.
        • It wasn’t just one revelation Noah obeyed… it was a lifetime of commands… and Noah was ready to obey them all.
        • Faith without works is dead… but Noah and his family lived!
      • Finally, we talked about how Faith releases blessings.
        • Noah and his family were blessed for their faith… they lived while everyone else died.
          • So, too, does God promise blessings on those who trust and have faith in Him.
• This week we are going to talk about the final three R’s, but before we do that, let’s pray!
• So, let’s bring this list up one more time, in case you missed it, then we will get into the final three R’s of faith from Genesis Chapter 7.

• So let’s get into the final three R’s, starting with point one this morning, Faith is a Resource of Holy Spirit Power.

Point One – Faith is a Resource of Holy Spirit Power

Genesis 7:6-9 NKJV  Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.  (7)  So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.  (8)  Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,  (9)  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

• Faith is a Resource of Holy Spirit Power.
  • Without Faith it is impossible to please God… and without faith it is impossible to work the miracles that God so want’s to empower us to work.
    • Peter walked on water… but when his faith wavered, he began to sink.
      • Jesus replied oh you of little faith.
    • In Matthew 17, the disciples could not cast out a demon, and they asked why… Jesus said it was because of their lack of faith.
      • On the contrary, Jesus says that if we have faith, if we just have the faith the size of a mustard seed, then we can tell a mountain to move into the sea and it will obey!

Matthew 17:19-20 NKJV  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”  (20)  So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

• If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move and it will move… OR, if you have the faith of the mustard seed you can speak to animals and they will obey, gathering together and getting onto the ark!

Genesis 7:8-9 NKJV  Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,  (9)  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

• Now Noah was six hundred years old, but I don’t even think six hundred years is enough time for one man and his boys to gather two of every unclean animal and 14 of every kind of clean animal from ALL OVER THE EARTH. Especially when you consider there was no even remotely modern modes of transportation!
  • GOD ASKED NOAH TO DO THE IMPOSIBLE.
    • But Noah had faith. Noah Responded to Revelation, and he was ready to obey all that God commanded him…
      • So even though God asked Noah to do the impossible, Noah knows that with God all things are possible!

Matthew 19:26 NKJV  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

• Let’s read this one more time about how the animals got on the Ark.

Genesis 7:9 NKJV  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

• The went into the ark TO Noah… the way that is written makes it sound like Noah was already on the Ark and the animals followed after him… as if tame… thousands of animals and birds, two by two, entering the ark.
  • It’s impossible… but with God it is possible.
    • Noah didn’t ask how, Noah just obeyed, Noah had faith… and look at the miraculous power that come from that!
• I have seen miracles, I have seen power!
  • I have watched as the blind see, and the lame walk, and even the dead are raised.
    • I have seen it with my own eyes… I have seen MY prayers of faith answered with powers that only the Holy Spirit provides.
  • Faith is a resource of Holy Spirit power… and if you are low on that resource you are going to be low on power.
• Listen if you don’t have faith that a bridge is going to hold your car up… are you going to drive over that bridge? NO!
  • So why would you aske God to heal if you don’t have faith that God can heal?
  • Why would you ask God to deliver if you don’t have faith that God can deliver?
• Listen, I don’t have faith that Geneva Tower is going to stay standing for much longer… it just caught on fire again… if you live there please find a new apartment!
  • I don’t have faith that Geneva Tower is going to stay standing, so I am NOT going in there… whatever is in there, I don’t want it…
    • BUT I HAVE FAITH THAT MY GOD IS GOING TO STAY STANDING NO MATTER WHAT… And whatever is in God, I want ALL OF IT.

John 14:12-14 NKJV  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [has faith in Me], the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  (13)  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  (14)  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

• Faith is a resource of Holy Spirit power… But what does this have to do with Missions? Everything! Because we learn in Luke that the power of the Holy Spirit was intended to be used in the spreading of the Gospel to all Nations!

Luke 24:46-49 NKJV  Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,  (47)  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  (48)  And you are witnesses of these things.  (49)  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

• Jesus says “Go and preach the Gospel to all nations! But wait in Jerusalem until you are empowered by the Holy Spirit”
  • Of course they did so, and on Pentecost they were empowered by the Holy Spirit with powerful gifts… gifts that God intended them to use in the world.
    • Noah had a huge task in front of him… get animals from all of the world on the Ark… He could not have done it without miracles and power from on high.
    • We have a humongous task in front of us… get people from all over the world onto the ark of Salvation… get them to Jesus… we can’t do it with out the power of the Holy Spirit… power that is released by faith.
  • Faith is also, saints, a Rebuke to the Unfaithful.

Point Two – Faith is a Rebuke to the Unfaithful

Genesis 7:20-22 NKJV  The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.  (21)  And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.  (22)  All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.

• Do you remember how Noah was described by God?

Genesis 6:8-9 NKJV  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  (9)  This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

Genesis 7:1 NKJV  Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

• Both of those verses about Noah specify “In his generation” or “in this generation”… in other words, Noah stood out.
  • He was different than everyone else.
    • His righteousness pleased God… but I bet it didn’t please everyone… I bet a lot of people were really irked at this prude Noah and his family.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16a NKJV  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  (16a)  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.

• Preachers commentary puts it this way “Have you ever noticed that the same sun that melts wax will also harden clay?”
  • Saints, as your faith grows, so will your enemies.
    • But don’t be discouraged by this… be encouraged… because they hated Christ first.
    • In fact, it is a sign of a true believer that the world hates you… if the world does not hate you that is a problem!

John 15:18-19 NKJV  “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  (19)  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

• I am sure that Noah had many enemies… many people hated him.
  • As he built the ark, towering over everything around it… people would look on with scorn… “Noah thinks our sin is going to kill us… what does he know? I like my sin! He is just a bigot who doesn’t want others to be happy… look at him wasting his time on that… what did he call it? BOAT? Whatever that is supposed to do… imagine hating people so much that you build a giant boat to try to scare them into believing like you do!”
• Noah’s faith was a rebuke to worldliness… and people without the Holy Spirit living inside of them don’t respond well to rebuke.
  • So then, are we to try to hide our faith? Are we to build the ark in secret? NOT AT ALL.
  • All the more we build the Ark in public, we build the churches in public, we build the strong marriage and nuclear families in public… so that the world sees that there is another way… that some might respond to that rebuke… that some might respond to that conviction… that some might come into the church… that some might be saved.
• Imagine… the last thing you see, as you bob up and down gasping for air as the water raises above your head…
  • Imagine the last thing you see is Noah’s ark… the object of your scorn, floating away across the horizon… what a horrible fate.
    • So is the fate for those who hate Jesus… the last thing they see before an eternity of damnation, will be Christ sitting on the throne, not as savior but as Judge.
      • ALL THE MORE REASON CHURCH that we must urge the world to be saved!
      • Our faith may rebuke their unfaithfulness, but let not our silence give way to their ignorance… least their blood be on our hands.
• But, to end on a positive note, instead of a negative note, let us remember that while our faith is a rebuke to the unfaithful, our faith is also a reminder to the Faithful.

Point Three – Faith is a Reminder to the Faithful

Genesis 7:23-24 NKJV  So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.  (24)  And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

• A couple weeks ago we really hit on this verse from Matthew 24 that Jesus spoke concerning the days of Noah.
  • God destroyed all living things, everything was killed, except for the few who found salvation in the Ark… not that the Ark saved, but that God saved and used the Ark as a means of salvation…
  • In Matthew 24, Jesus says it will be like that in the end times as well…

Matthew 24:36-39 NKJV  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  (37)  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  (38)  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  (39)  and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  .

• In the days of Noah, there were people just living their lives.
  • They probably got tired of listening to the 600 year old little man telling them to repent…
  • They got tired of watching him build his giant boat.
  • They tried their best to ignore it… and to just live their lives…
    • That was, until the flood came and took them all away.
• In the days of Jesus return, it will be the same way…
  • People will just be living their lives… trying to ignore the message of the church… trying to ignore our warnings… they will just be living their lives…
  • And they will be destroyed…
• But Noah’s faith is a reminder to us, the faithful today, to not get too comfortable with this life… to not forget the work of building the ark, Christ’s Church… to not just “live life” as if Christ is not returning soon.
  • We need to remember that our lives should not be focused on eating or drinking… heck, our lives shouldn’t even be focused on marriage, who we should marry, when we should get married…
    • Yes we need to eat and drink to survive… and yes most of us should get married… and yes we better make sure we marry the right person, the person God has for us…
      • BUT THAT IS NOT THE FOCUS. NOT EVEN MARIAGE IS THE FOCUS OF LIFE.
      Noah’s faith reminds us that our lives need to be focused on the return of Christ.
  • Noah ate, and Noah drank, and Noah was married and had kids… and his kids were married.
    • BUT NOAH’S LIFE HAD ONE SOUL FOCUS! Build the Ark, Gather the animals, get on the Ark.
      • Because Noah knew that a flood was coming.
• Let Noah’s faith remind you this morning, JESUS IS COMING BACK! AND HE IS COMING BACK SOON.
  • So our life should be focused on building HIS kingdom, doing HIS will. Because when God shuts that door, this time there is no second chances… anyone who is not saved will be destroyed for eternity.
    • So we need to preach the Gospel, we need to tell people about Jesus, we need to focus on building the Ark, but instead of an Ark, it is a Church, the Global church, the bride of Christ. WE MUST BUILD THE CHURCH AND GET PEOPLE INTO THE CHURCH. GET PEOPLE SAVED.
    • Because I want to be in the Ark when the flood comes, I want to be in the church when the fire comes… and I want as many people as possible with me.
    • I want to plunder hell and populate heaven!
  • So while I eat, yes, and while I am married, yes… I REMEMBER THE FAITH OF NOAH. His faith lead him to live a life building an ark… and so His faith reminds me to build the church.
    • I hope his faith is a reminder to you too… your job is not the most important thing… you money is not the most important thing… even your marriage, as important as that is and you better not give up on it… even your marriage is not the most important thing… CHRIST IS THE MOST IMPORANT THING… and leading people to Christ before the fire starts to fall, amen?!
• Alright, with that, we conclude Chapter seven of Genesis and the Seven R’s of Faith from Genesis Chapter seven.

Conclusion

Let me just bring these seven r’s up one more time as a quick reminder, then let’s spend a moment urging some people to get on the Ark, amen?!

• Gospel Call – The Church is an Ark, Get on the Ark!

Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids. 2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA   52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com