Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): What caused Noah to obey God and prepare an ark? Listen to Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: Now don't tell me that you have faith if you do not obey. And you have to obey even when you don't understand. Noah had not seen a flood, but he had a word and he obeyed. True faith is more than intellectual belief. It is belief with legs on it. Noah was a man of faith and therefore he prepared an ark to the saving of his family.

Some of you are going to lose your children because your faith is a mere intellectual faith, a mere doctrinal faith. It is not a practical living faith that is obeying God and your children see the difference.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the powerful truth of the gospel found in the practical lessons of Adrian Rogers. The Bible examines the importance of household salvation. One of the greatest examples of this is Noah, whose unsinkable faith in God saved his family from the great flood. If you have your Bible, turn to the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11. We'll begin in verse 7 as Adrian Rogers shares more about Captain Noah and his unsinkable faith.

Adrian Rogers: I cannot overemphasize the importance of faith. We meet one another in the hallways and we say, "How are you feeling?" Perhaps we ought to be saying, "How are you faithing?" May I ask you that question today? How is your faith? What is the state of your faith?

We're going to learn some wonderful things about faith in one short verse today, Hebrews chapter 11, verse seven. Look at it: "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."

Now we're going to camp right there and tell you that I do believe, and I hope you believe, that the story of Noah and the ark is not myth, it is true history. As a matter of fact, historians tell us, archaeologists and anthropologists tell us, in all of the great groupings of the world in ancient history, there is a flood story. Now, of course, the Bible has it accurately and other histories have been corrupted and mismanaged, but they all root in a literal fact.

Proof that the flood literally existed is that Jesus believed it. Jesus said in Matthew 24, verse 37, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." If Jesus believed it, I have no difficulty believing in the flood, the time of Noah. And to this generation, I want to say we swagger at our technological advance, but someone has pointed out that while amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic. That ought to tell us something.

Now, Noah may have been an amateur in ark building, but he was certainly technologically advanced spiritually as he trusted the Lord. There are some great ideas and truths about faith here in this chapter of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse seven, as we're talking about champions of faith. Four things I want to lay on your heart about Noah's faith and I pray God that they will buoy your faith, to keep your faith afloat, help you to have an unsinkable faith in treacherous days because that's exactly what Noah had and it made him a champion of faith.

Now, the first thing I want you to notice is what I'm going to call the warning his faith believed. The warning his faith believed. Look in verse seven, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet." Now, God warned Noah of the flood, but he'd never seen a flood. Noah had never even seen rain. Look, if you will, in Genesis chapter two, verses five and six.

It tells of the time before the flood and it says, "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground." Before the flood, it did not rain.

The idea of rain was foreign to Noah's mind, much less any kind of a flood. God watered the earth by springs and by rivers and by evaporation and condensation and dew. And some Bible scholars believe that there was a great canopy over the earth that maintained a constant temperature like a giant greenhouse. And so Noah is warned of God of something he has never, ever seen before.

It was a warning from the word. He had the word of God. Now, again, I want to remind you of a verse that we will mention many times in our study on faith here in Hebrews chapter 11, and it is Romans chapter 10, verse 17, which says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Without a word from God, you cannot have faith.

Faith is not a leap in the dark. It is a step into God's light. You must hear from God. We'll say it many times in this study: you do not name it and claim it. You believe it and receive it because God has named it and you claim it. That's very important. You do not name it and claim it. You believe it and receive it because God has named it and you claim it. God does the naming, you do the claiming.

That brings us back to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse one, which describes faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." I want to remind you one more time that the word "hope" here does not mean maybe, perhaps, or I wish, but hope means bedrock assurance. The Bible calls hope an anchor of the soul. Now, you don't put an anchor in a cloud bank.

Hope is an anchor of the soul. It is solid and the word "substance" here, something beneath us that we can stand upon. Where do you get this assurance, this bedrock assurance called hope? From the word of God. God speaks. Now, it's very interesting. You say, "Pastor, I cannot have faith like Noah had unless I have a word from God. How does God communicate that word to me?"

I'm glad you asked that question. God communicates his word two ways. First of all, there is what we call the written word. That's the word *logos*. That's the 66 books of the Bible, the word of God. Over and over again, the Bible is called the word of God. That means the total revelation of God. But there's another word that is translated word, and it's *rhema*. *Rhema* or *rima*, however you choose to pronounce it.

And this *rhema* means an utterance. That is, it's not merely the written word, and I don't deprecate the written word. I don't fail to appreciate the written word. But you're going to find out that a *rhema* is a word from the word, a word that God communicates personally to your heart, a personal word from God, a *rhema* from God.

Let me give you a verse where that word is used and it is translated word. Ephesians chapter six and verse 17, "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the *rhema* of God." That's what Jesus did when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus took a word from the word, used it as a sword and said, "It is written man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

He used the word as a sword. That's the sword of the spirit, the *rhema* of God. Some people are so superstitious about the Bible. If you've ever seen a B-grade movie when a vampire's coming, somebody gets a Bible and says, "Back, back, back." Like leather and paper and black print. No. The truth of the Bible is where faith comes from.

And when God takes the truth of the Bible and makes that truth to you, when you get a personal word from the word that applies to you in a situation, God is speaking to you. Then you're going to find faith engendered in your heart. Did you know that God speaks today? God has his written word once and for all settled, but then God speaks to your own personal heart.

And when God speaks to your heart personally and you have a *rhema* from God, that's when you find faith growing in your heart and in your life. Big, plain, and straight: you have to hear from God in order to have faith. Romans 10:14 asks a good question. Put it down, let me read it to you: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"

That is, you have to hear in order to believe. But let me sharpen the focus a little bit more. This verse, Romans 10:14, says, "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" That's my translation. I'm reading from King James. But that can be sharpened. The New American Standard says, "How shall they believe in him whom they've not heard?"

Now, listen. You say, "What's the difference, Pastor?" Listen to this. One says, "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" and that's of course a possible translation. But it literally says, "How shall they believe in him whom they've not heard?" You see, you hear God in order to believe him. You don't just hear about him, you hear him.

Now, I can preach Christ today, but if all you hear is Adrian, then so what? You must hear God, not that I'm God. But God takes his word and God will speak to your heart. You have a *rhema*, a word from the word. God is speaking to you. That's the reason the Apostle Paul said in Second Timothy chapter one and verse 12, "I know whom I have believed." He didn't say, "I know in whom I have believed." I've believed him. Faith is believing God.

You must have faith that hears God. Now, let me say this about this faith that Noah had, the faith that he received. It resulted in fear. Look at it in verse seven: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet"--he'd never seen it rain--"moved with fear, prepared an ark." Do you see that? He was moved with fear.

Now, some people say, "I don't believe in a religion based on fear." Bible religion is based on fear. Fear is the foundation of faith. Now, do you know what is wrong with this generation today? May I tell you in a sentence: there's no fear of God in this generation. I'm going to read an extended passage of scripture from Romans chapter three. I'm going to begin in verse 10 and I'm going to read through verse 18.

And I want you to listen to this description that I'm going to read to you and I want you to compare it with society today in America. Listen to it: "As it is written, there's none righteous, no, not one: there's none that understandeth, there's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there's none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known."

And now verse 18: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." All of the above is a description of a generation that does not fear God. Now put this verse down: Jeremiah chapter two, verse 19: "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee and thy backsliding shall reprove thee." Now God doesn't have to judge us, we judge ourselves.

Listen: "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord of hosts." When Noah believed God, he feared God. Listen: fear and faith are inseparably linked together.

Fear sees God's power and God's holiness and God's justice. Faith sees God's lovingkindness, God's grace, and God's mercy. Therefore, the fear of God is not a cringing dread of God. It is love on its knees. I want to mention to you nine things that the fear of God will do for you. I'm going to give you the scriptures very quickly and here's the lead scripture, Proverbs 22, verse four: "By humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."

Now, let me mention some of the riches, the honor and the life that comes by fear. First of all, godly living: Proverbs 16:6, "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Therefore, godly living. Number two, godly knowledge: Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Next, godly wisdom: Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Godly contentment: Proverbs 15, verse 16, "Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith." Next, godly worship: Psalm 5:7, "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." This morning we ought to be worshipping God in his fear.

Godly salvation comes through fear: Psalm 85, verse nine, "Surely his salvation is nigh unto them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land." And godly confidence is in the fear of the Lord: Proverbs 14, verse 26, "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."

Godly insight comes from the fear of the Lord: Psalm 25, verse 14, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant." Godly deliverance comes from the fear of the Lord: Psalm 33, verses 18 and 19, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine."

Now, in my study, I found many more verses that dealt with the amenities and the felicities and the blessings of fear. Noah was a man of faith because he feared the Lord. Listen to it again: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark." The mark of a society on its last legs is when there's no fear of God.

Now, God gave Noah a word of warning. But now here's a second thing I want you to see. Not only the warning that his faith believed, but I want you to see the work that his faith achieved. Having heard from God, he got busy. Now, look again in Hebrews 11 and verse seven: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark." He went to work.

Now, the Bible teaches that faith without works is dead. James 2, verse 20: "But wilt thou not know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" God told Noah to build an ark and Noah obeyed. The word believe comes from an old English word *by-live*. What we really believe, we live by. Now, don't tell me that you have faith if you do not obey. And you have to obey even when you don't understand.

Noah had not seen a flood, but he had a word and he obeyed. Warren Wiersbe, a great Bible teacher, said, "Faith is obeying God in spite of circumstances or consequences." Now, if you work without faith, that is presumption. If you have faith without work, that is pretense. Faith and work is power. Faith without works is dead.

True faith is more than intellectual belief. It is belief with legs on it. It's not what you eat, it's what you digest that makes you strong. It's not what you gain, it's what you save that makes you rich. It's not what you read, but what you remember that makes you learned. It's not what you preach, but what you practice that makes you a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Noah was a man of faith and therefore he prepared an ark. And he prepared an ark to the saving of his household. Some of you are going to lose your children because your faith is a mere intellectual faith, a mere doctrinal faith. It is not a practical living faith that is obeying God and your children see the difference.

Two men in the Bible who are contrasted in my mind: one is Noah and the other's Lot. Lot is one of the most miserable creatures in the Bible and yet he was a saved man. You can read about Lot in Genesis chapter 19. Lot moved into Sodom, the most vile, wicked city on the face of the earth, and he pitched his tent toward Sodom, soon became ingratiated with the people of Sodom, began to live in the fellowship of the Sodomites, had a place in the political office there in Sodom.

God told Lot and God warned Lot as God had warned Noah. God said, "I'm going to destroy this place, Lot. Get your children, get your family, get out of here." Just as God had warned Noah to get his family. The Bible says that Lot, this backslidden, miserable, so-called Christian, went witness to his sons-in-law. They laughed at him. They mocked him because they'd seen the way that he lived.

He got his wife, the angel said, "Get your wife and get out of here and flee." Lot's wife was so filled with her love for that wicked, vile, worldly city that she turned around and was destroyed, turned into a pillar of salt. He took his daughters up into the mountains and there Lot became drunk and had an incestuous relationship with his daughters. Can you imagine that?

Lot had a saved soul, but he lost his family. I don't want to go to heaven without all my children and my grandchildren. Friend, I want all of my children in the ark. Noah, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his household. Now, friend, listen to me: the religion that does not begin at home does not begin.

Have you ever heard anybody say, "Well, you know, my loved ones are the hardest ones to witness to." You're not telling on them, you're telling on you. You know why they're the hardest ones to witness to? Because they know you. They know you. Many of us need to go and say, "Would you forgive me for the life that I've lived in front of you?" and don't even witness to them, just say, "Would you forgive me? Just forgive me. I'm a Christian, but I've been a poor example."

They'll be watching you for a while to see. Then later on you come back and say, "Would you forgive me for something else?" "Well, now what do you want me to forgive you for?" "I haven't shared with you the most important thing on earth to me. Would you forgive me for not sharing Jesus with you?" Just give you an open door to share the Lord Jesus Christ with your loved ones. Noah had faith and that faith was there for the saving of his household.

Guest (Male): Maybe today you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus Christ. We'd love to offer an insightful resource on our website. It's our "Find Answers" page. There you'll find resources and materials that can answer questions you may have about your relationship with God.

We also want to invite you to check out our "Grow Your Faith" page. You can get grounded and dig deeper in your faith. Simply go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says "Grow Your Faith" or "Find Answers." We can't wait to hear from you today.

Cary Vaughn: Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you.

To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD. That's 1-877-LOVEGOD. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers.

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Guest (Male): A long-time listener reached out with this story: "I stumbled across a radio station and heard Brother Adrian Rogers for the first time early 2000. The timeless truth he preached was just what I needed. Brother Adrian pointed me to Jesus. It still amazes me how relevant his messages are today because the word of God is true yesterday, today, and forever."

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