The Work of Faith

Guest (Male): Noah was called by God to build a huge boat, even though he lived in a place with a dry climate. Yeah, there were some streams and rivers, but neither he nor the people in his community could ever imagine the need for a boat. But by faith, Noah believed, and he obeyed God even when nothing made sense. And today on Leading The Way, Dr. Youssef continues his analysis of those people who are members of the Faith Hall of Fame. He has a look at Noah's obedient work of faith. So let's listen together as Dr. Michael Youssef begins his teaching.
Dr. Michael Youssef: The story of the Church of the Apostles did not begin on Mother's Day, 1987. It began two years earlier in my prayer closet when God began to speak to my heart and says, "Plant a church in Atlanta." I didn't even understand what that is. And for 18 months, I said nothing to anybody. It was between me and God because I was hoping that during those 18 months, and what I was trying to do is to reason with the Lord. I was trying to persuade the Lord to see things my way. I was trying to change the Lord's mind, and yes, to be truthful, I was questioning the Lord. Why am I telling you this? The reason I am saying this to you because I am sure today at this very moment, God is speaking to some of you and He's asking you to do something that you are very reluctant to do. God is asking you to do something that you don't necessarily want to disobey the Lord, but you don't want to do it. And you would rather go around the edges of what God is calling you to do than plunge in the middle of it in total obedience. Why? Because you sincerely and genuinely believe that whatever God is calling you to do does not make sense. To some of you, God may be asking you to give something that is so precious to you, and you hear the voice of God and you don't want to do it. All that God wants is not because He wants anything from you, He wants you to learn to trust Him. And you're dragging your feet, and God is saying to you, "You need to do this because you need to trust me." Or some of you, God may be asking you to come clean regarding the tithes and the offerings, but you want to play God and you want to decide for yourself. To some of you, God may be asking you to speak to somebody about your salvation, to talk about your eternal life, to talk about how He saved you from your sins, but you are so worried sick about what they will think of you and you're keeping your mouth shut. To some of you, God may be asking you to call that person and ask for forgiveness, but you would rather let sleeping dogs lie. To some of you, God may be asking you to obey His instruction in His word regarding your marriage relationship, but you are adamant that you're right and the other person is wrong. I don't know what God is asking you to do that is not making sense to you, but as a person who have been there and probably will be there again, I want to tell you, listen to me very carefully. It is very important for you to get this, that it doesn't matter how much you struggle with God as long as you come in obedience at the end. And now you can turn to Hebrews chapter 11, beginning at verse seven. By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. We have begun a series of messages from Hebrews 11 entitled "They Were Just Like Us." And we saw in the life of Abel the worship of faith. We saw in the life of Enoch the walk of faith. And here in the life of Noah, we are going to see the work of faith. Throughout this series of messages, we have been seeing that faith can only be demonstrated through obedience, through total obedience, through action of obedience, because obedience is not passive. Obedience is active. When somebody says, "Well, I want to be obedient," well, that is wonderful, but you've got to act on that desire. Faith can only be demonstrated by obedient action. I mean, anybody can say, "I have faith," but the difference is those who have faith act on that faith in obedience. And Noah's faith led him to obey God even in doing that which does not make sense, which did not make sense at his time. How did Noah demonstrate his faith? Three things I have for you. First of all, he heeded the word of God. Secondly, he hastened the proclaiming of the warning of God. And thirdly, he harvested the wealth of God. First of all, he heeded the word of God. For 120 years prior to the day of the flood, God entrusted Noah with a secret. 120 years. We can't even last 120 hours. It is impossible to imagine how ludicrous that must have sounded to Noah. It is impossible to imagine living in that Mesopotamia region where it's all dry between the two rivers. Most likely, Noah have never seen an ocean. Most likely he's never seen a boat. And can you imagine the puzzlement that must have filled his heart, the puzzlement that must have filled his mind? "Lord, rain? Now what is that? Flood? What is that?" But even more importantly, I want you to imagine his deepest concern of how he was told to build this gigantic building on a dry land. And his deepest concern is what are his neighbors going to say? What are his friends going to say? And I'm sure they probably said it. Noah is getting senile, he's lost it, he is seeing things, he's hallucinating, he's hearing things. Oh, he needs his head examined. Mocking, mocking, mocking. And just think about this. Noah would not only hear this for a day or two, he would not only hear that for a week or two, he would not hear that only for a month or two or a year or two, but for 120 years. I mean, we are told that if you hear something more often, you're going to believe it, but he didn't believe it. He was to build this huge building on a dry land. Just think, this guy had no expertise of shipbuilding whatsoever, hasn't seen one. He have never had access to building supplies. And he had every excuse in the book to say, "God, call somebody else. I don't know how to do this." But Noah heeded the word of God, and he obeyed the command of God. You know, this past week, a dear friend of mine called me on the phone, and you can tell the excitement in his voice. He had prayed for a long time that he would be able to share Christ with somebody. And you got to know my friend, he's shy and self-effacing, and therefore it's difficult, but he's prayed about it. And then last week, God gave him an opportunity to witness to one of America's top CEOs. You should hear the joy in his voice in that he'd been able to do that. You see, all that happened, God opened the door and he walked through it, and that's all that God is asking for. Listen to me, you've heard me say this and I'm going to say it till the day I die. God is not looking for expertise. God is not looking for professional communicators. God is not looking for slick presentations. God is only looking for willingness and He's going to do the rest. Noah heeded God's word and God privileged him of building what is later became the symbol of God's redemption to mankind. Imagine that. He didn't understand it at the time, but look, we know now as we look back in history. This ark was 438 feet long, it was 73 feet wide, and it was 44 feet high. And imagine, just to give you a frame of reference so you understand it, this was the length of one and a half length of a football field in a land that's never seen boats or people have never seen boat. It was four story high. It had three decks totaling 96,000 square feet. The total volume of all the three decks was about 1.3 million cubic feet. Naval experts have concluded that it was the most stable ship known to mankind. In fact, it was designed for stability but not for maneuverability. And that is why the ark is a magnificent picture of the salvation that is offered to whomsoever, whomsoever would come to the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it was built big enough because God desires not anyone to perish and hope that people will come in, but only Noah's family came in. The ark had plenty of room for whomsoever may come. Listen to me, it is God's design. You read it in the Old Testament, you read it in the New Testament. It is God's desire not for anyone to perish, and those who perished at the flood were not perished because God made them perish, but because they've rejected the voice of God. They rejected the invitation of God. Jesus said in John 6:37 that no one who would come to Him would be rejected, not one that would come to Him He will reject. Noah heeded God's word. Secondly, Noah hastened to proclaim God's warning. Although God's warning did not make sense, although God's warning was rejected by just about everybody except for Noah's family, although God's warning was mocked and ridiculed, yet Noah kept on preaching. He kept on building. He kept on inviting people. He kept on serving. He kept on being on the job. People mocked him, that didn't matter. People laughed at him but that didn't matter. People made fun of him but that didn't matter. My friend, listen to me. God has given each one of His children, if you are a child of God, if you are born of the spirit of God, God has given you the opportunity to build an ark in your life. Now it might not be as impressive, it might not be as big, it might not be as awesome as the ark that Noah built, but it is just as important. Listen to me, as you build your ark of life on Christ, as you build your ark of life by faith, as you build your ark of faith in hope, you are handing out invitations. You are advertising. You are announcing: Come, whomsoever, Jesus loves you. He died on the cross for you. Will you come to Christ? Heed the warning before it is too late. Don't reject Him before it's too late. Don't despise His invitation. But listen to me, regardless of how people respond to your invitation, regardless of how people react to your invitation, whether they accept it or they reject it, regardless how they do with that invitation, you keep on building, you keep on witnessing, you keep on inviting, and you keep on announcing. In fact, the second half of this verse, verse seven, it says by faith, Noah rebuked the world. Genesis chapter six and seven and eight, and you read the whole story of Noah, not one time do you hear Noah rebuking anybody. You say, "Wait a minute, is that the Bible is inconsistent here?" I'm going to explain to you. He rebuked them but he didn't rebuke them. How'd that happen? He invited them to come, but his righteous living, his righteous life, his righteous obedience to the living God in the midst of opposition, in the midst of a world that is turned against God, was a rebuke in itself. He did not have to say it. Those who've rejected the invitation, to them, the very invitation and the man who's doing the inviting is a rebuke. Many years ago, a particular person came to me and he says, "I can't stand your sight." I didn't know what to say. You know, if you cannot react, I said, "Well, join the club, I can't stand my sight either." But he wasn't joking. That's the thing, he wasn't joking. And then he said, "Where do you get off condemning me?" And I said, "I don't even know you. Why don't we talk about it?" He said, "I wouldn't talk to you if my life was dependent on it." I said, "God bless you." Poor guy. In fact, at that moment I remembered a story about a man who used to walk Wall Street sidewalk in Wall Street in New York, like a sandwich, you know, he was sort of in the sandwich in the middle. A board on the front and a board on the back. And the board on the front says, "I'm a fool for Christ," and on the board on the back it says, "Whose fool are you?" Whose fool are you? And I thought this man is absolutely right. He's got it right. Every one of us is a fool for something in the eyes of someone, whether it be in the sports arena, the political arena, the financial arena, the social arena. Some of us are willing to look like fools, and I'm ready to declare to you today, I am glad to be a fool for Jesus Christ. There was the heeding of God's word, there was the hastening of proclaiming God's warning, and thirdly, there was the harvesting of God's wealth. Those who mocked Noah, those who have rejected Noah's invitation, those who hardened their hearts against the gracious invitation, they had to face the consequence of their rejection. And these people suffered the consequences of their rejection. But as far as Noah and his family were concerned, they've inherited the earth. They've inherited God's wealth. Oh, to be sure, listen, that's why I told you they were just like us. Noah messed up royally after the flood. Oh yeah. Yeah, he was not perfect. He was born in sin and messed up royally, and he had to curse one of his sons and Canaan, his grandson. But his obedience was rewarded by inheriting the earth. In fact, I have a word from the Lord for all of us middle age and up. Listen to me, as I was praying and seeking the mind of God as I was pouring myself over this text, over this verse, the Lord gave me that word and I hope you take it to heart. Because sometimes when we get into a certain stage in our life, we begin to entertain the thought that all dangers are over and that we will not have any problem until we journey to the other side. But that is not true, my beloved friends, listen to me. The Scripture and human biography alike testify to the fact that old age has its perils. Noah after a long years of faithful walk with God, failed ignominiously. Moses at the close of his career, lost his temper and could not go to the promised land. Samuel, the man of prayer, the prophet of God, put his family's interests ahead of God and ahead of the people of God, and he suffered the consequences. Solomon began magnificently, and then he ended up disastrously. Uzziah after glorious reign, deliberately transgressed the ordinance of God and finished his life as a leper. The record of all these good men who temporary got distracted from their walk of faith is because they began to look at the blessings and not the blesser. How easy for all of us to fall in that temptation, although younger alike, how easy it is to become focused on the blessing. But as far as Noah and his family were concerned, because God always keeps His word, they've inherited the earth. You don't have to have a seminary degree to realize that we're living in days very similar to the days of Noah. Wickedness rising up to heaven, violence and bloodshed are slowly testing God's patience. Rejection of the only boat of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, is rampant, even in the churches. The mocking of God's word and its message is a daily entertainment, and the judgment of God is on its way. This time it will not be by flood because God said He will not do that again, but it will be by fire that will not be quenched. It's going to be by worms that will not die. But for those who have heeded the word of God, those who have faithfully issued the warnings of the coming judgment, those who have invited others, those who have patiently have invited those mockers, those who have persistently obeyed, those who firmly stood for the truth of the word of God, those who have given God what God asked of them, not what they think they should give God, those who have trusted in the promises of God and took God at His word, those who have faithfully sacrificed of themselves and of resources, they will harvest the wealth of God. You know, sometimes, especially kids in school, they get a clever teacher who would say, "Do you really believe all this stuff about Noah and the ark and do you really believe this stuff about Jonah?" I often say, "Well, do you believe Jesus?" "Oh, yeah, yeah, I believe in Jesus." Well, He was there before the foundation of the earth. It was for Him and through Him all the world was created. And listen to what He said about Noah in Matthew 24:37. Please listen carefully with every ounce of energy. The Lord Jesus said it perfectly: "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days, which were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day of Noah entering into the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall be in the coming of the Son of Man." The similarity of our days and Noah's days are sobering. Those who have ears, let them hear what the spirit is saying.
Guest (Male): Dr. Michael Youssef with a message called "The Work of Faith" from his series "They Were Just Like Us." We thank you for making time for Leading The Way in your day. And if you'd like to talk about your faith journey, won't you consider a conversation online or on the phone with a Leading The Way pastor or counselor? All you have to do is fill out a contact form at ltw.org/jesus.
Guest (Male): My whole life was just as long as I had money, I didn't need anything else. I didn't need help from God, I didn't need His protection, I didn't need His guidance, and money was going to be my protector and my provider. That's when things really started going wrong. All the money in the world, the possessions, would not give you the fulfillment of peace like God could. I realized I needed to change, and the only person that was going to help me change was God. When I hit that wall, I was searching, I came across Leading The Way on Facebook. I was seeing Dr. Michael Youssef preaching the uncompromising word, the truth of the Bible. That just resonated with me because of my life being so compromised, that I could read the Bible in an uncompromising way and worship God with an uncompromising heart. I am thankful that Dr. Youssef has the ministry and that he is leading people all around the globe to Christ. You can purchase CDs, books from Leading The Way, listen to the podcast on your phone, on YouTube, or actually on the Leading The Way site. I love to be praying for the Leading The Way field team. These are field team members in hostile regions preaching the uncompromising truth of Jesus Christ. We pray for their safety, that they bring as many people to Christ as possible through the awesome and good works of Leading The Way.
Guest (Male): Learn ways that you can stand with Dr. Youssef and Leading The Way. Give us a call. We're at 866-626-4356 or ltw.org/jesus. This program is furnished by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.