In today’s sermon, we will take a look at unwavering faith. There’s a fine example set for us, by Noah, that we will look at and apply to ourselves. We’re going to take this scripture from Hebrews as our key verse for today:

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.

Hebrews 11:7 NKJV

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Today’s sermon concludes this series of sermons on unwavering faith. We have looked at both ends of the spectrum of faith in the first two sermons. At one end of the spectrum, we saw complacent faith and learned that’s not the type of faith for us.  In complacency, we saw that nothing gets done while our faith is at a standstill and not in action.  At the other end, we saw there was impatient faith and this faith was also not for us – we don’t want the Lord waiting for us to settle down.  There is an unshakeable and unmoving faith that we must strive for.

Scripture tells us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).  We took time last week to evaluate our logic and how our logic often gets in the way of our faith.  I’m not saying logic is a terrible thing, after all, the Lord gave us the ability to develop logic.  However, logic often times gets in the way of us having unwavering faith in the Lord.  This proverb speaks to absolute trust and obedience to the Lord and not following after the way of oneself.

We must realize that we are often presented with moments to where we can choose to lean on our faith in the Lord and be unwavering.  The question is whether or not we actually lean on our faith in those moments or do we waver?  Many times we are presented with moments where the Lord will look to see if we’ll take a leap of faith in Him.  In many of those moments, what do you do?

We are going to be honest with ourselves and say that there are several occasions where we hesitate in the moment.  Our hesitation is created because we are taking a moment to think over the moment or think over the logic.  We want to make sure it is safe to take the leap of faith.  We think in those moments, “Do I take this leap (risk) of faith or not?”  Often times, when we feel we are being logical and thoughtful, we are also being somewhat hesitant in our faith – wavering on God.

Our brain goes into overdrive as we think over countless possibilities in our head.  We will doubt what we can do or that the outcome will favor us.  We consider how hard the fall would be if we were to take the leap of faith.  We even begin to worry about what others will think or will say about us – we don’t want to be a fool or seen failing.  After all of the thinking, we decide that the time is not right or that we are not ready.

The problem, however, is that there are many instances where we’re telling the Lord, “I am not ready” for this moment that You have presented to me.  We must realize that God is not asking for you to tell Him whether you are ready or not – He’s telling you to trust in what He has already determined.  Our faith in the Lord should be an unwavering faith; it should come with no hesitation – no doubting or questioning God.  If God says you’re ready for the moment, you’re ready for the moment.

I feel that we can all learn something from the unwavering faith of Noah.  What’s the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the name, Noah?  We remember Noah mostly because of the great flood and him building the ark, but Noah was one of the great men of faith; he came before the patriarchs of the faith.  The writer of Hebrews recognizes Noah when writing a chapter that defines what faith is.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

In Genesis 6, we are told that Noah lived at a time when the Lord saw nothing but the wickedness (Gen. 6:5).  The scripture tells us that the intent and thoughts of mankind in those days were only evil continually.  The Lord was sorry He had made mankind (Gen. 6:6) and was ready to destroy mankind, but He took note of Noah.  There was one man who lived during that time of wickedness who stood out from the crowd.  Noah is described as a righteous man that found grace in the Lord’s eyes (Gen. 6:8).

When I say righteous man, I want to be clear what is meant.  We often believe that a righteous person is simply a good person but there’s more to it than that.  There are plenty of good people in our world, but they are not righteous.  What makes someone righteous in God’s eyesight is if they are walking in His way.  Noah was a righteous man, which means that he was walking in the way of the Lord.  Because of his walk, the Lord presented Noah with a moment of faith – God warned Noah

Noah had two options he could choose from:  believe what the Lord has told him or ignore God like the others of his time.  All of us have this same exact choice – believe in what God has said (His gospel) or choose to ignore the word of God.  The Lord has a plan to save mankind through His only begotten Son; we must choose whether or not we believe in His Son and will get on His ark.  Will you take the leap of faith to go aboard that ark or will you choose to go your own way?

Did Noah waver when he got this divine warning from the Lord?  Our key verse tells us that Noah moved with “godly fear”.  Noah chose not to waver and instead chose to listen to the Lord.  Not only did Noah listen to the Lord, he obeyed the Lord (Gen. 6:22).  Noah could have easily gone along with the crowd because you have to imagine that the people would mock Noah and his faith.

Where can we see the mocking of Noah in scripture?  Jesus, when He talked about the time of the flood, mentions how the people continued to live in their ways. 

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

Matthew 24:38 NKJV

There’s no way that type of people would not say a word of Noah when they realized how big of a ship he was building.  While they were continuing to live in their ways, having a good time, Noah’s faith in what God had said was unwavering.  Through his unwavering faith, Noah stood as a witness to the Lord.  Peter considered Noah a preacher (2 Peter 2:5).  We can imagine that people would ask Noah what he was doing, and when he would tell them, they would likely respond that he was “crazy”.

Have you ever been told that you’re crazy for doing what you believe?  We have this habit of letting what other people think cause us to waver in what we are doing – we do this in our faith as well.  People start sharing stories about how much they hated going to church, and we’ll let it sour our joy and move us away from the church.  Don’t allow someone who has absolutely no faith, move you in your faith – do not waver in your faith!

Unwavering faith does not work that way!  You will notice that Noah’s unwavering faith saved his household from the flood.  It is likely that his sons had moved away when they married, but upon returning to see what Noah was doing, they probably heard the people talking about their dad.  I imagine that they would say things like, “that’s my dad up there!  You can think he’s crazy but if he believes God has said something then I believe him!”

Unwavering faith has a way of moving others towards it.  Unwavering faith is an admirable thing that will intrigue others.  You see, complacent faith will inspire nobody.  Impatient faith will push others away.  Unwavering faith will bring others in.

God has presented us all with several moments where we must be willing to take a leap of faith – be unwavering.  Many times we don’t take the leap of faith, but I tell you that you should take the leap of faith.  Your leap of faith can inspire others to be willing to take a leap of faith as well.  Often times we question if we’re ready for what the Lord has presented us, but I tell you, no longer question what God has for you – take the leap.

In our labor of faith, we will become a witness to the Lord and of His great work.  People will certainly talk, but do not waver in your labor of faith – don’t waver in what the Lord is working through you.  We must be fully convinced that what God has promised He is able to perform (Romans 4:20-22).  We are promised (John 14:14) whatever we ask in Christ name, God will do it.  We are also promised (John 3:16) forgiveness and eternal salvation from the second death (eternal destruction) if we believe in the Lord’s Word.

Do not waver in your faith in God, my brothers and sisters in Christ.  We live in a world that is seemingly always looking to deter others from the Lord.  For what purpose, I often wonder.  If I have found happiness in the Lord, why does the world want so badly to take my happiness from me?  We should continue to be unwavering in our faith.  Unwavering faith is always trusting in God and always being obedient to His way.

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