Even Our Faith: Part 6-Abel, Enoch, Noah
June 25, 2023
This is episode 5 of our series “EVEN OUR FAITH” working to discover exactly what it means to live an LIFE of OVERCOMING VICTORY…
We’ve studied that this FAITH comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of [GOD].… so let’s all read together and HEAR together…and let faith grow…
:: 1 John 5:1-4 (NIV) :: 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. PPT 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. ::
Tonight we’re going to jump right into Hebrews 11 where we left off last time and come BACK to some of our previous Faith Training while we talk about the Hall of Faith…
When we left off in Hebrews 10 & 11 we talked about the fact that Hebrews 10:39 tells us
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Then in the original LETTER that was being written, there were no chapters & verses…so the author goes directly from saying, “we do not belong to those who shrink back …, but to those who have faith ” to DEFINING exactly what faith is in Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Then we talked just for a moment last time about the LIST of characters in Hebrews 11 called the “Hall of Faith” … and we said that each of these were people who “do not shrink back” …
Today we’re going to look a few more moments IN DEPTH at a few of these characters & see if we can take FAITH LESSONS from these men & women…
Hebrews 11: 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
FIRST we have Abel :: Hebrews 11:4 :: 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain,
Able was of the first humans on the planet & didn’t have a long history of people to look at & model his life after. Yet when it came to the offering & sacrifice that he brought to God, scripture says in Genesis that The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
The quality of Able’s gift meant he was offering a GENUINE gift of love & commitment, a true sacrifice to God, from a true heart of worship, convinced of a reward he couldn’t see. (assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen)
This FIRST example in the Hall of Faith tells us that as we worship the Lord in giving or sacrifice… it needs to be BY FAITH that we give…a genuine heart of thanks, not from a place of obligation.
Able gave by faith (a heart of worship convince of a reward he couldn’t see) while Cain gave out of obligation… and God wasn’t pleased in Cain’s gift.
Next we have Enoch :: Hebrews 11:5 :: 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. ::
Genesis 5:22 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Some scholars believe that the way this is written, it’s possible that Enoch really didn’t START walking faithfully with God until he had Methuselah… but that perhaps like some of us, the responsibilities of parenthood caused him to become SERIOUS about his faith & leading his family assured of things hoped for, & convinced of things not seen
And he did so to such a degree that he didn’t even see death, but God just took him…
This serves as an example to us that even if we come to live “by faith” later or because we want our kids to know Christ, it’s not too late, maybe it’s even a GREAT reason to begin living according to “faith”)... and don’t forget…this faith, “This is the victory that has overcome the world”!!
Maybe the example we set for our kids is a good reason to walk faithfully with the Lord… This daily reliance for Enoch pleased God…surely it will please God if we live this way as well.
Before we leave Enoch, vs 6 reminds us that 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
This goes back to the statement we’ve been hammering each week: “We do what we have faith to believe.”...Do we have FAITH TO BELIEVE that God rewards those who seek him. Can we LIVE by that faith & belief in front of our kids?
This is the legacy of Enoch…
And Last for tonight we have NOAH :: Hebrews 11:7 :: 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. ::
Noah’s life is described in Genesis 5, 6 & 7… and there are several things that I think we need to see about Noah that make his life “by faith” a great example for us.
Genesis 5:32 32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Genesis 7:6 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
And in between was the warning God gave him, the calling & instructions on how to build the ark & all the preparation with the animals…
WRONG GUY ::
We don’t have much of ANY record of Noah’s life but before age 500 but at age 500, Noah finally gets his life together… has 3 kids, gets called to open a shipyard in a place where there is NO WATER, then a 100 yr career as a part time ship builder, part time zookeeper, then a 1 year carreer as a ocean barge captain.
I think it’s safe to say from a human perspective that Noah is the wrong guy to call for the job: Surely there are younger guys, more able-bodied men God could have called? 500 yrs old and NOW you call me to this?
WRONG TIMING ::
…or at least if he’s the right guy, it’s the wrong timing: “God this is great & all but my wife & I just started our family… I’m a little busy with diapers & bottle cleaners to start a shipyard & build a boat… I’m probably the wrong guy & this is the wrong time in my life…
WRONG PLAN ::
“...And you’re asking me to build the LARGEST STRUCTURE EVER BUILT by mankind on earth… to house the largest collection of EVERY animal on the planet…” that’s gotta be the wrong plan
These instructions, these dimensions… they’re so specific about how long, how wide, how high (remember we talked last week about the fact that these proportions are STILL the exact proportions of ocean-going barges… God did that!)
WRONG MATERIALS ::
“…by the way, What’s gopher wood? God how are you going to call me to build a boat with a kind of wood that nobody’s even heard of?” (scholars really have no idea what Gopher wood is… could be a METHOD for making wood watertight… in my study, the most plausible explanation to me is that it could be a VERSION of acacia tree… I believe this for several reasons but mostly because it’s the same tree used during the temple for the Ark of the Covenant, it’s also likely the same kind of tree used for the actual CROSS of Jesus AND the crown of thorns… it’s naturally antibacterial (so the ancient easterners used it for food service)... it is very durable, not easily scratched and it doesn’t warp with moisture
Regardless of what gopher wood is, because of the arid conditions of the area, there was likely not enough of it so Noah would have to PLANT seeds & wait for them to become mature enough to use for this massive boat & wait for his SONS to grow up enough that they could help in the new family business…it’s the wrong material
The point behind all of this is that whether or not Noah felt like he was the wrong guy, wrong time, had the wrong plan with the wrong building materials… Genesis 6:22 records “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
There’s no possibility that Noah could SEE what God had planned… it was all “By Faith”... assurance of things hoped for, & conviction of things not seen
We’re going to stop there in our people study for tonight because I want us to take the time to see OURSELVES in each of these people…
39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
There seems to be a CUMULATIVE effect of Faith on us that as we “ADD OUR BELIEF TO GOD’S SUPERNATURAL FAITH” based on His Word, we LITERALLY have the opportunity to STAND ON THE FAITH SHOULDERS of these mighty men & women… learning from where journey of faith ENDED with their death (or in the case of Enoch, God just took him…) and BEGINNING our journey where they left off.
ILLUSTRATION: There’s an awful lot of talk on my social media pages (maybe its because I’m a white dude of a certain age… about ‘building generational wealth’… Creating not only wealth for retirement but also a family trust & real estate holdings & annuities & all of these things that allow you to store it away for future generations in a way that taxes can’t take all of it when you die… and that’s great… if the Lord so chooses to give us earthly wealth that sets our children up for success, so be it but greater than family trusts & investment portfolios I want to BUILD ON THE LEGACY OF FAITH that has gone before me so that I leave a FAITH PORTFOLIO to my children that they can build on and grow from: “Look what God did because mom & dad BELIEVED by FAITH … they had an ASSURANCE of a BETTER COUNTRY than just this… and BELIEVED GOD for things they COULD NOT SEE.
So our hall of faith becomes not just a list of great men or great accomplishments but a FAITH PORTFOLIO that says, “Look at the FAITH that has been invested before you! Build on THIS Faith & do even greater things…”
…In ABEL :: are learn to GIVE WITH A WORSHIP HEART of faith… believing in a reward we can’t see… that God will reward those who bring a pure offering whether we see an EARTHLY reward or not! Through able We learn to GIVE BY FAITH
…In ENOCH :: we learn that we can PLEASE GOD with our life by living this life of “Guarantee & Certainty” in hope even in what we cannot see… we can BUILD on Enoch’s life of faith to set this example for our kids…
…and in NOAH :: even if we feel like we’re the wrong person, in the wrong time, have the wrong plan and the wrong materials to do it with, if God has called us, we can obey BY FAITH and God will cause us to GROW on the faith of Noah … 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
I WANT TO BE AN HEIR of the righteousness which is according to faith… and then I want my kids to grow on that faith… & do even greater things
Final question…
…do you have FAITH to BELIEVE that God can allow you to grow on the faith of these heroes so that YOUR family can grow on YOUR faith?
You DO what you {have FAITH to} BELIEVE .
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
