Key scripture – “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”(Genesis 6:22)

Pastor Greg Laurie says that Noah’s decision to build an ark required a supreme act of faith. There was no body of water nearby. In fact, it had never rained on Earth before. At that time, God had placed a water canopy over the planet that created a greenhouse effect of sorts. So in one of the greatest acts of faith in human history, Noah cut down his first gopher tree to start building the ark.

It was such a bold act of faith that Noah was memorialized in Hebrews 11, known as the Hall of Faith: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (verse 7).

Hebrews 11:7 gives us a number of important insights into what made Noah tick.

First of all, we read that he was “divinely warned.” Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Your faith will grow when you read what the Bible says and then take the next step and put it into action, like Noah did.

Secondly, we also read that Noah “moved with godly fear.” Noah had a reverence for, or a fear of The Lord. When you fear The Lord you give Him the ultimate respect that He deserves as The Lord God Almighty and you are in reverence and awe of Him. A good definition for the fear of the Lord is “a wholesome dread of displeasing Him.”

Third, Noah’s walk with God caused him to work for God, and one always precedes the other. If you walk with God, you will want to work for God. Works don’t save you; faith does. But if your faith is real, then it will produce works. That is how Noah’s faith worked when God told him to build the ark. That is why the Apostle James tells us that faith without works is dead. “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?… You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone… As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:17-20, 24, 26)

Can people see your faith through your works? If you were put on trial for being a Christian what evidence, i.e. what works, deeds and witnesses, would they be able to find to prove that you are a Christian and how easy would it be to find them?

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, I want to have faith like Noah so that no matter what you tell me to do, even if I don’t understand why You want me to do it or it does not make sense, I do it immediately because You told me to. I love You, I trust You, I respect You, I am in awe of You, and I bow in reverence before You. Father, You are Holy, Good, Loving, Kind, Awesome, Majestic and Beautiful. I am proud to say that The Lord God Almighty is my Friend, my Savior, my Lord, and my Redeemer. Like Isaiah, I am Your servant and I will always say to You, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8). I want my faith in You, and my walk with You to be evident in all my works. I commit my ways to You and I trust in You with all my heart. I want You to lead me in paths of righteousness. I want it to be said about me that, “I did everything as God commanded.” In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.