If we could take our Bibles and open them to the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 5. The title of this session is Enoch and Noah. And Noah wasn't given Abel. Enoch and Noah, Profiles of Faith, Hebrews 11, verse 5. Of course, my wife, when she claims biblical authority for me to make the coffee in the morning, she quotes the book of Hebrews, because it says Hebrews, not she-brews. So some of you ladies might try that out on your husband and see if he'll make you the coffee in the morning. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. Very quickly, as was mentioned in the last session, the audience of the book of Hebrews is just that, Hebrews, Jewish people, who happen to be saved, happen to be believers. I would guess that they were living very near the temple in the land of Israel. The book was written just before the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. And these Jewish Christians are really thinking about throwing in the towel, abandoning the full revelation of Christ, and returning to Judaism. which was a good revelation, but it was inferior to the one that they now had in Jesus Christ. So, the author, through this whole book, is really providing an encouragement and a motivation to Hebrew Christians not to lapse back into Judaism. Why? Because what believers already have in Christ is better than anything that the Old Testament has to offer. So the message of the book is the superiority of the full revelation of Christ in comparison to Old Testament Judaism is shown through Christ's superiority to every major vestige of Judaism. That's the whole point of the book. And chapter 1 verse 1 through chapter 10 verse 18 is what we call the doctrinal section. So it's here we learn of Christ's attributes, verses 1 through 3 of chapter 1. Then we learn Christ is higher than the angels. Angels were very revered and respected within Judaism. Angels mediated the law, for example. So the writer shows Jesus is higher than the angels. Then in chapters 3 and 4, he says Jesus is higher than Moses, the lawgiver. So Jesus is higher than the law, something the Jews respected and revered. And then they also had great respect for the Levitical system, which came through who? Aaron. So the writer, at the end of chapter 4 all the way through chapter 10, basically says Jesus is higher than Aaron. And then you get to chapter 10, verse 19, and it says, therefore, So whenever the Bible uses the word therefore, we have to ask, what is the word therefore, therefore? And typically it's to swing the audience away from doctrine into practice. So what follows in chapter 10 verse 19 through the end of the book is exhortations. Now that the doctrinal foundation has been laid, exhortations, and he gives several exhortations and pastoral reminders, and right there in that section he gets into chapter 11, our section, which is the Hall of Faith. What is the Hall of Faith? The Hall of Faith is a record that the Jewish Christians would recognize from Hebrew Bible of the great men and women of God who continued on in the faith despite great adversity. And those are there as positive reminders of what the author wants his audience to do. Don't, even though it's tough, even though you're under persecution, don't lapse backward into Judaism. So, the section that we're looking at is verses 5 through 7, which really deals with two people, First of all, Enoch, a man named Enoch. And secondly, Noah. Now, these... And I hear all the pages rustling. I've got to warn you that what's in that notebook is a lot shorter than what I'm going to present. So, that goes about two pages. I've got about 50 pages of content. So, don't panic if you run out of pages. Just write small in the corner. But both of these men are very interesting. Both of them, Enoch and Noah, they ministered around the same period of time. They ministered in a time period that we call the Antediluvian time period. Another way of saying it is the pre-deluge, pre-flood era. And it's a section of scripture, Genesis 1-11, that most people have written off completely as myth. The problem with calling this a myth is that Enoch and Noah are in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Luke 3. Enoch is the 8th name mentioned, Noah is the 11th name mentioned in Luke 3 genealogy. So if these men are myths, then so is Jesus. We can't have it that way, can we? There's no doubt that the Bible teaches these men are historical characters. You might want to jot down Ezekiel 14, verse 14, where you'll see Noah's name mentioned right alongside Daniel and Job. So if Job and Daniel were real people, then Noah must have been a real person as well. And by the way, if we're going to play games with Enoch and Noah and Abel, and pretend that they're not real people because they ministered in Genesis 1 through 11. What do you do with all the other 15 names in this chapter? Abraham, Sarah, Moses, right on down the line, Samson, others. They all become fictions also. So I'm pretty zealous about trying to maintain the integrity and the historicity of the Bible, all the Bible. The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. Genesis to Revelation. Now, these two men, Enoch and Noah, they lived around the same period of time. According to a basic chronology, when you study Genesis 5, they probably were not contemporaries of each other. Noah ministered a little after Enoch had disappeared from the earth, which we'll be talking about. And these men really have a lot of parallels with our day. Both ministered in a corrupt world. In fact, the world that they ministered in could care less about God. Jesus in Matthew 24 verses 38 and 39 says right up to the very day that Noah entered the ark, people were marrying, being given in marriage, eating and drinking, and they knew absolutely nothing about the judgment of the flood until it came and took them all away. God was the last thing on this generation's mind. And it was an extremely corrupt generation. We know that from Genesis 6. Verses 5 and 6, where God actually begins to express sorrow that He created humanity to begin with. Those verses, Genesis 6, verses 5 through 13, talk about violence, corruption, the corruption of all flesh. And so this was a very wicked, evil, culture and it was a culture that was about to experience the judgment of God. And even though the judgment of God through the flood was right around the corner, these people really could care less about God. And by the way, it was also a time period of great sexual redefinition. God's standard for sexuality is given in Genesis 2, 24. It's called heterosexual monogamy. And this generation, just prior to the flood, had pushed every boundary of sexuality. In fact, in Genesis 6, 1-4, it talks about how the sons of God began to intermarry with the daughters of men. There's a lot of dispute on what that means. Some think it's The Sethite line intermarried with the line of Cain. Others believe that angels, fallen angels, actually began to impregnate human women. It's a text that people of good minds can disagree on. I happen to hold to the angel view. So if you don't believe in the angel view, you can go your way and I'll go the Lord's way. That'll be fine. But whichever view you hold, this was an area of great sexual redefinition. Boundaries were being pushed. And yet, in this time period, both of these men, both Enoch and Noah, stood out like lights in a fallen culture. Both of them, as I'll be showing you, had not only experienced the justification from God by faith alone, but these were men that were actually walking, as was mentioned in the prior session, walking by faith. They believed to be saved and they were continuing to believe, translating largely into obedience. And both of them were heavily rewarded, as I'll be showing you. So, the parallel for us is obvious. We're living in that kind of a culture, aren't we? It's ripe for judgment. Judgment is right around the corner. Sexual boundaries and definitions are being altered radically right before our eyes. And if we're going to, as God's people, walk with Him, we have to go against the tide. And yet, we have the potential of being similar lights to our world that these two men were to their world. And it's so tempting in this culture as we're constantly seem to be going against its grain to throw in the towel, to quit, It's too difficult and yet we have this great example from Hebrews 11 verses 5 through 7 to comfort us. And I believe this is one of the reasons Satan works overtime to get us to believe that this is just mythological and non-historical. Once you move into a fictional interpretation of this, then the comfort of real historical characters that can apply to our lives begins to disappear. Here's the outline we're going to look at. Enoch, verse 5, he's described. Then in verse 6 we have a description of Faith's benefits. And then in verse 7 we have a description of Noah himself. So let's begin here with verse 5, Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 5. 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. You'll notice at the beginning here this expression, by faith. It's the Greek noun, pistis, faith. It's used about 24 times in this chapter. It's something that was mentioned in the last session. It will be something, no doubt, that will be mentioned by every speaker. What is faith? Festuo, the verb form, defines faith this way, to believe, also to be persuaded of, and hence to place confidence in, to trust. It signifies, in this word, reliance upon. not mere credence. It is most frequently used in the writings of the Apostle John, especially the gospel. He does not use the noun the way the book of Hebrews does, but he uses the verb. Of the writers, John's gospel uses the verb 99 times. In our chapter, it's used 24 times. It means simply to trust, to rely upon, to depend upon. I just read out of Vine's dictionary, it's my source there. So by faith, and then we run into this man named Enoch. Now the story of Enoch is in Genesis 5 verses 18 through 24 which says this. Jared lived 162 years and became the father of Enoch. Then Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died. Enoch lived 65 years and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were 365 years, and then verse 24, Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. Enoch is an example for us because here is a man that walked by faith, not just in justification, the first tense of salvation, but in his progressive, practical sanctification, he kept walking with God. And that is the type of person that God uses. Enoch, as we'll be showing you, was given privileges and rewards as a result. One of the privileges that Enoch was given, even before we talk about him being taken up, was to his mouth was given the first very, very clear prophecy of the second advent of Jesus Christ. Where do I find that? I find that in Jude verse 14, which is about these men that Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones. Enoch walked with God, was rewarded, and was privileged to the point where God actually used this man's mouth to utter messianic prophecy. But there's other rewards that Enoch was given. That's Jude verse 14, the prophecy that Enoch articulated in his generation. But notice the rest there, verse 5. By faith, Enoch was taken up, so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God took him up. Now, unlike Abel, who died, verse 4, he was murdered by his brother, as you all know. Enoch, by contrast, never died. He never died, despite the fact that the human race had been contaminated with the poison of death, thanks to the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, going back to Genesis 2, verses 16 and 17. God says, the day you eat from the forbidden trees, the day you surely what? Surely die. Genesis 3.19, from dust you are, to dust you shall return. Romans 5.12 talks about how death through Adam's sin spread into the whole human race. Hebrews 9.27 says it's appointed for a man once to die and then to face the judgment. Unless we are the rapture generation, and I can't promise we are, I hope we are, the mortality rate is still 100%. Every single one of us in this room will die. In fact, back in Genesis chapter 5, where we learn about the story of Enoch, there's a repetition. Genesis chapter 5, and of course I was in Leviticus, that wasn't going to sound right, was it? Genesis chapter 5 and verse 5, so all the days of Adam were 930 years and he died. Genesis 5.8, so all the days of Seth were 912 years and he died. Genesis 5.11, so all the days of Enosh were 905 years and he died. Verse 14, all the days of Kenan were 910 years and he died. Genesis 5.17, so all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years and he died. Verse 20, all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died. I mean, no one's ever accused me of being a rocket scientist, but I think I see a pattern here. And in the midst of all of this death, then we have this prophecy or description of Enoch and how he was taken up. and never saw, never saw death. In fact, it's interesting here, where it's translated in Hebrews 11.5, God took him, this is the word metatithome, which means change of location. God took Enoch's location and changed it. As you go down in this verse, it talks about towards the bottom, the area I don't have underlined there, he was taken up, that's a different word, that's metathesis, which means change. You'll see it used that way in Hebrews 7, 12. You'll see it used as a change of location. in Acts chapter 7 and verse 16. Enoch was, his location was changed and he was changed. Now, all of this, of course, typifies the great event that is predicted for the end of the age of the church, which is the rapture of the church. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 51 says this, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. This, of course, is the verse that hangs over the nurseries at most churches. We will not all sleep, but we will be changed. Just making sure you guys are awake out there. Also as I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep in other words We will not all die, but we will be changed as we transition from mortal to what immortal How long is it going to take it's going to take the twinkling of an eye a nanosecond So in a generation that was characterized by death Enoch was taken never experienced death and that's a promise, in a sense, it's a type, in a sense, it's a prefigurement, in a sense, to something that hopefully is in our future. Maybe we are that generation that Paul spoke of, the rapture generation. Now, if you get your theology from YouTube, which I don't think you should, what you're going to discover is people have turned a tax on the rapture into a virtual cottage industry. And they say things like this, well, how can you believe in the rapture? The rapture is not even in the Bible. Show me the word rapture in the Bible. My response is, well, show me the word trinity in the Bible. Is the concept of the trinity in the Bible? Of course it is. Well, is the word trinity in the Bible? No, it's not. It's just a vocabulary word to explain a biblical reality. It's the same with this concept Yes, the word rapture is not in the Bible, but the concept is clearly in the Bible. Well, why do we use this word rapture? Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17, in describing the rapture, says, Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The Greek verb used, translated, caught up is harpazo. And when Jerome translated the Bible into Latin around the 4th century, he used a Latin word for harpazo called ripari. And when that word was translated into English, we get the word rapture. So people say, well, the word rapture is not in the Bible. I say, well, OK, break out your Latin copy and I'll show you where it is. And that usually closes down the conversation. The fact of the matter is there have been, in history, multiple raptures, Enoch being the first. Elijah, Christ in a sense, is raptured. Philip. Paul was taken there into the third heaven. John was caught up. Now all those guys, Philip, Paul, and John, had to come back down. I mean, what a bummer that would be. I mean, Lord, if you're going to catch me up, I just want to stay there. And the two witnesses will be caught up also. So people argue that this idea of a rapture is some kind of weird, foreign thing. It's just a matter of reading the Bible. Raptures happen quite frequently. in the Bible. But here's the difference. The next time it happens, God's not coming for an individual. He's bringing a whole bus with him. There's a whole generation of Christians that will not taste the sting of death. Now, I don't want to push the analogy too far because people look at the story of Enoch and they say, Enoch was walking with God, so only those that are really walking with God are going to be raptured. And that's a view called partial rapturism, where only those that are submitted to the Lordship of Christ will be raptured. And it's kind of interesting, everybody that espouses that theory, they always assume that they're the ones submitted to the Lordship of Christ. The rest of us are going to be left behind, and the tribulation period is there to straighten us out. See, that's what you call partial rapturism. What did Paul say to the Corinthians? Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. There's a reason why Ray Steadman, the late Ray Steadman, called the book of 1 Corinthians the book of Californians. When you study the Corinthian letter, you see a group of people that are clearly saved, they're called saints, at the beginning of the book, but their conduct throughout the book is not very saintly, is it? Chapters 1 through 4, they're divided over their favorite speaker. Chapter 5, they're involved in incest. Chapter 6, they're involved in lawsuits and prostitution. Chapter 7, they're involved in rampant divorce and remarriage. Chapters 8 through 10, the stronger brothers are flaunting their freedoms to the destruction of the weaker brother. Chapter 11, they are drunk at the Lord's table. Chapters 12-14, they're taking the tongue talkers or the tongue speakers and putting them on a pedestal with no interpretation. Chapter 15, they're denying resurrection. How would you like to be the pastor of that church? And yet Paul says, we will not all sleep, but we all will be changed. If you have trusted in Christ, and I hope you have, and the rapture happens, You're going. Now, you may say to yourself, well, I still don't believe in all this rapture stuff. And I say to you, fine, we will explain it to you on the way up. No problem. Whether you believe in it or not, you're going if you're in Christ. And it's interesting to me that Enoch was taken up by God before the flood came. Noah, as we're going to see, was tucked safely and securely in the ark, protected from judgment before the flood came. By way of parallel, we will be taken out of the world before the Great Tribulation. That is the plain and clear teaching of the Word of God. We've done many conferences on that. It troubles me greatly to see so much of the body of Christ today not looking for Jesus Christ, but looking for the Antichrist. So many people are weaponizing, militarizing, preparing to eyeball it with the Antichrist. I'm from Texas. I'm around these people all the time. I'm a Second Amendment guy, but I'm not looking for the Antichrist, folks. I'm looking for Jesus Christ. The next event on the prophetic horizon is the rapture of the church. And Enoch is a prefigurement of it. The rest of verse 6 says this, For he, that's Enoch, obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And Prior to him being given this privilege of being taken up before his expiration of his natural lifespan, his life pleased God. Now, you may ask yourself, well, how then do we please God? And I'm so glad you asked that question, because verse 6 answers it. Verse 6, second part of our outline, faith's benefits. See, verse 6 is a description of the life of Enoch, verse 5, and a description of the life of Noah, verse 7. Notice this first expression here, without faith. It is impossible to please Him. The preposition without means absent or separate. And then notice this word impossible. It's an adjective in Greek. It's the Greek word adunitas. It means something that simply cannot be done. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 4. It says, for it is impossible, that's Adunitas, same author, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Just like a bull and a goat cannot permanently deal with the sin question, a person simply cannot please God without faith. It's very interesting, it doesn't say without faith it's hard to please God. Without faith it's challenging to please God. Without faith you've got a low percentage chance of pleasing God. He says very clearly that without faith it is impossible to please God. How then do we please God? You please God when you trust in His provision for salvation. Enoch, we think, we believe did that because he trusted in the promises of God. And Enoch continued to walk with God by way of what? Faith. The same faith that he was saved by is the same faith that he employed, moment by moment, trusting God in daily life. I'm reminded of the book of Galatians. Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? I can't tell you how convicting that verse is to me as I read it almost daily. I'm so prone to take my salvation in Christ Jesus and say, Lord, thank you for all that. But this problem over here in my life, I've got that one covered. And the moment I do that and I begin to walk by sight and human power is the moment I am not pleasing God. I may be pleasing to Him positionally, but not practically. See, Enoch had both. And as I'll be showing you, as did Noah. The verse goes on and it says, for he who comes to God must believe that he is. Most people today have what I call a Frank Sinatra theology. Frank Sinatra of course said, I did it what? My way. And that's how you can summarize the life of Abel. Just think Frank Sinatra. He didn't want to come to God the way, the path that God ordained through faith, through a blood sacrifice. He wanted to invent his own religion. I think I had that backwards there. Abel had it right. Cain had it wrong. There we go. And as you know, God was displeased with Cain and very pleased with Abel. Adam and Eve, when they sinned, they had a Frank Sinatra approach. They clothed themselves, Genesis 3.7. And God said, that's not how you're going to be forgiven. I will clothe you, Genesis 3.21. Through what? Through animal skins. Well, where did those animal skins come from? Well, obviously an innocent animal was killed right there in the place of the guilty, and God used that provision to clothe Adam and Eve. And right there at the beginning of human history, God is showing that you come to me through the path that I ordained by faith alone in what I've revealed, not by your own works of righteousness, the way Cain sought to justify himself, the way Adam and Eve initially sought to justify themselves. Isaiah 64 and verse 6 says for all of us have become like one who is unclean and all of our righteous deeds are like a what? Filthy garment. Did you notice that verse says all our righteous deeds? Not all our unrighteous deeds. If I'm coming to God as I tried to do for the first 16 years of my life, by justifying myself based on what I've done, God looks at that as a filthy garment. And pleasing God, therefore, positionally requires faith and faith by itself. For he who comes to God must believe that he is. Now, he is simply means believing that he is the self-existent one. Remember what God said to Moses? Who shall I say sent me? Exodus 3.14. God said, Moses, you tell them, the Egyptians, I am who I am. I'm just the one that's always been. I'm the one that will always be. I'm the one that's in existence right now. That's the only definition that you need. Hughes, in his commentary on the book of Hebrews, writes this. He says, it should be noticed that our author does not attempt to offer arguments and proofs for the existence of God. Throughout the whole scripture, the existence of God is never a matter of doubt or debate. Such reasonings are found, for example, Psalm 19, Romans 1, always start from assurance, never from uncertainty. God is not a metaphysical concept for questioning and discussion. He is a supreme reality and the foundation and the source of all created being or existence. Hence, when the reader is advised to draw near to God, he must believe that He exists. He is not being invited to take a step into the dark, but to turn to the light. He is not being encouraged to work up blind faith, but to entrust the whole of His being to Him. who is himself truth, light, and life. For he who comes to God must believe that he is. And that's what pleases God. That's what made Enoch pleasing to God. But the verse goes on, and it says at the end of verse 6, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Did you know that God is a rewarder. In fact, at the very end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, chapter 22 and verse 12, Jesus says, Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me. God is in the business of rewarding people who continue to walk by faith, continue to seek Him, allowing the faith that is within us to begin to translate into moment-by-moment obedience. The moment you place your personal faith in Jesus Christ is the moment you are what I would call graced out, maxed out, in terms of blessings. Ephesians 1 in verse 3 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed, in other words, it already happened, who has blessed us with a couple of spiritual blessings. Sorry, it doesn't say that. Who has blessed us with what? Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So as Christians, we come before God and we say, Lord, bless me. And God says, I already have. What else do you want? I mean, you have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Lewis Barry Chafer articulated 33 blessings. But it's interesting that God is the gift that keeps on giving. Because as you now walk with Him, now that your position is secure, now you become a candidate for rewards at the Bema Seat Judgment where five crowns will either be given or not given to believers. The incorruptible crown for the believer that gains mastery over the flesh by God's power. The soul winner, the crown of rejoicing for the soul winner. The crown of life for the believer that endures trials. The crown of glory for the believer that faithfully shepherds God's people. I don't just put pastors into that category. Sunday school teachers, counselors. Anything you do where you're guiding other people, God is going to reward that. And then finally there's a crown of righteousness for simply longing for His appearing. I think I'm probably going to get that last one. Because I can't wait to get out of here. I can't wait for Jesus to come back. Maybe I'm being a little presumptuous. But you see the point is, You're rewarded by God positionally with 33 items the moment you place initial faith in His provision. And then God is the gift that keeps on giving as you walk with Him. As Enoch and Noah did, we become candidates for additional rewards. What kind of additional rewards did Enoch receive? Well, number one, he was preserved from death. What kind of additional rewards did Noah receive? He was preserved from water or a flood. And he and his family inherited a new world. But going back to Hebrews 11 verse 6, one other thing to mention, it says, and that he is a rewarder of those who what? Seek him, the Greek there is ek zateo, which is in the present tense. God rewards the believer that continues to walk by faith. See that? That's why Enoch and Noah are held up to us. as examples. They were counter-cultural, these two. They continued to walk by faith in the midst of a culture that was moving in the opposite direction. Thomas Constable in his online note says this, the original readers faced the temptation to abandon the hope, as we do. Note that those who he will reward are those who are seeking after him, present tense in Greek, not believers who have stopped seeking after him. J. Dwight Pentecost says this, one who could walk to please God must first of all believe that He exists and then believe God will fellowship with those who by faith seek to please Him. Without these two basic concepts, no one would seek to walk by faith. There are many people that have pleased God positionally but not practically. Why? Because they've trusted in Christ. They've got their fire insurance paid up. They're going to heaven. But the fact of the matter is, they're trying to navigate life through their own power. And they're not trusting Him moment by moment. That's not the believer that's rewarded at the Bema Seat Judgment. This is a present tense verb there, seek, in verse 6. Which takes us to part three of our outline, the story of Noah. Noah, like Enoch, had a lifestyle that didn't just trust Christ, what they knew of God's promises for initial salvation, but he continued to walk. Hebrews 11 verse 7 says this, 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. Notice the familiar expression, by faith. Same expression that was used to describe Enoch. And then it says, by faith, Noah. Now, where do we read about the story of Noah? The birth of Noah is recorded in Genesis 5, verses 28 and 29. The death of Noah is recorded in Genesis 9, verses 28 and 29. Genesis 5 to Genesis 9. And, of course, these men ministered in the pre-flood era. Here's Genesis 1 through 11. Creation, verses 1 and 2. Fall, verses 3 through 5. Flood, verses 6 through 9. National dispersion at the Tower of Babel, which I call the First United Nations Conference, Genesis 10 and 11. We're talking here about the flood. These two examples are pre-flood Individuals. Events before the flood, Genesis 6. The flood itself, Genesis 7. The receding of the waters, Genesis 8. Events following the flood, Genesis 9. That's where we find the story of Noah. And yet, what does it say here? By faith, Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen. Why does it make a reference here to things not yet seen? This is what was brought up in the prior session. Because we got a tremendous exposition of Hebrews 11 verse 1, which says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things, what? Not seen. So we're getting an illustration of verse 1 in the story of Noah. And what did God say to Noah exactly? In Genesis 6 verse 13, God said, I'm about to destroy them. That's the wicked generation with the earth. And then in Genesis 6 verse 17, he said, behold, I am bringing the flood water upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall perish. I'm bringing a global deluge. Now, I want you to put yourself in Noah's position. I don't even think Noah understood what the floodwaters or what rain was. Why do I say that? I say that because of Genesis 2 verses 5 and 6 which says this prior to the flood. You don't have such a thing as a rainstorm. What you have is water coming up from the ground and watering the earth. And there's a very interesting verse in Genesis 1 verses 6 and 7. It says, The Lord God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, and let it separate the waters from the waters. God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so. Now, the expanse is sky. The waters below the sky would obviously be the ocean. But what is this strange reference to waters above the expanse? And by the way, it's also mentioned in Psalm 148 verse 4, the waters above the heavens. What I think is what's called the canopy theory. It's a model. I don't know if I'd start a new church over it necessarily. If you don't want to believe it, fine, you go your way, I'll go the Lord's way. But there was a envelope of water that surrounded the earth and filtered the sun's harmful rays. That's why you have people in the post-fall, pre-flood world living into their 800s, 700s, 900s. And so when God brought the flood, he simply released the canopy. That's why all these critics of Genesis 1 through 11 I kind of chuckle at. There's not enough moisture in the clouds, they tell us, to bring forth a global flood. Well, who says God used the clouds? Perhaps God just released this envelope of water that surrounded the earth. What's my point? My point is, when God told Noah a deluge was coming, He had no concept of it. The whole generation had no concept of it. And so Noah had to demonstrate total trust in God's revelation and not his five senses. If he had trusted what he saw and knew to be natural, he would have never obeyed God. And so what happened after he was warned? In reverence, He prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. Now, the dimensions of the ark are given in Genesis 6, verses 14 through 22. It's a ocean-going barge of about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet deep. And can you imagine how ridiculous that whole thing looks sitting in Noah's driveway? in a generation of people that didn't even know what a deluge was. And he's building this giant whatever it is. And he did this because he was not trusting his five senses. He was totally trusting God's revelation. And it says here that he built this ark for the salvation of his household. Now don't Don't do too much with that word salvation, because salvation sometimes in the Bible just means protection from some temporal danger. Philippians 1 verse 19 says, For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance. That's the Greek word salvation, same word here. Through your prayers and provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. There Paul's using salvation to talk about getting out of prison. or jail. Yes, salvation in the Bible typically means trusting in Christ and having the hope of heaven, but sometimes salvation just means protection from temporal harm. Noah did what he was told because he wanted to protect himself and he wanted to protect his family from a coming deluge. And notice this word household. In reverence he prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. Genesis 6.1 says, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, the great creation scientist Henry Morris in his Genesis commentary argues this, that there were probably, when he does all of the lifespans and mathematical computations and the date in which the flood came, there could have been as many as seven billion people on planet Earth. And yet, how many actually got into the ark? Eight. 1 Peter 3.20 says eight were in the ark. 2 Peter 2.5 says Noah along with seven others. And something else I want you to see here is Noah was a preacher of righteousness. And something else I want you to see is Genesis 6.3 which says The time period when these things happened was about a hundred and twenty years. So think about this for a minute. You're a preacher. You're preaching for a hundred and twenty years. You have a potential of reaching seven billion people, perhaps, somehow. And you don't have a single convert outside of your immediate family. You want to talk about burnout in the ministry. Discouragement. And what, you know, it's interesting. I want to know what kept this guy going in this circumstance. Well, the answer's there at the beginning of the underlying section. In reverence, Noah prepared an ark. Reverence simply means pious care. It has to do with a mindset that wants to please God and not man. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 18 says this, while we look at things which are seen. Let me rephrase that. While we look not at things which are seen, but at things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. That's what motivated him. That's what's going to allow you to be a light to this generation. Whether you're walking by things that you cannot see, which is what was happening here with Noah. This is why Noah is held up to us as a great example in the Hall of Faith. Are you discouraged in your walk? Are you discouraged with opposition? Are you discouraged with the Lack of growth in your local church? Think about Noah. Think about his discouragement. And yet, think about what kept him on the straight and narrow all of this time. There's a very interesting clause here. It says, by which he condemned the world. That ark is being built. The human race is laughing. Because for them, it could have been a means of escape, and yet they rejected it. And the moment they rejected it, it changed from being a means of escape to a notification of a coming judgment. They didn't realize it at the time, but their rejection of this arc that looks so ridiculous. And so, contrary to the natural senses, that rejection served as notification that they themselves were under condemnation. Dwight Pentecost writes this, Noah's obedience was seen in his undertaking of the construction of the ark which passed judgment on his disobedient generation. His obedience condemned their disobedience. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes this, the first thing he accomplished is that he condemned the world. The world was condemned by Noah's life and testimony while he was building the ark. It was a visible sign of the people's unbelief. And by way of analogy, if I can do this, this is the way the cross of Jesus Christ works. If you reject the cross, what could have been a means of escape becomes a notification of the imminent impending judgment of God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. You know, if you find yourself today mocking Christianity, mocking spiritual things, mocking the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that places you in a very dangerous category. Because it says right here, that's a sign that you're perishing. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2, verses 15 and 16, For we are a fragrance of Christ to God, among those who are being saved and among those who are being perishing. To the one, an aroma of death to death. To the other, an aroma of life to life. As Noah constructed this thing that seems so out of place, it served notification of condemnation. in judgment when it could have been a means of escape. And look at this very last clause here. And he, that would be Noah, became an heir of righteousness which is according to faith. This verse here reminds me so much of the walk of Abram. You know, Abram was given a ridiculous promise too, wasn't he? The promise that he and his wife, although they were very old, would have a son. The promise that through this lineage would come a race of people that would be as innumerable as the stars of heaven. And it just seems so foreign and ridiculous to believe such a thing. It was contrary to the five senses. It was contrary to what was natural. It was contrary to what they knew. But, you know, Abram just believed it. He believed it. And what does the Bible say? Abraham believed the Lord and he credited to Him as righteousness. That's the NIV translation. Those of you that are NIV positive will enjoy that translation. I don't like the NIV, but I think it's great here. Abram believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness. He got it on credit. What's credit? Credit is getting a goody without payment. Because the payment for what Abram received wouldn't be given for another 2,000 years. Noah is in the exact same boat. Pardon the expression. Noah became an heir of righteousness, which is according to faith. Look at this very carefully. How many conditions do you see for becoming an heir of righteousness? One, faith by itself. J. Dwight Pentecost says this, and it was not his obedience that caused him to inherit righteousness, rather his faith in God who announced judgment produced righteousness which God imputed to him by faith. Oh, Noah had a tremendous walk with God and tremendous obedience, but that's not what gave him the righteousness of God. The walk is what qualified him for future reward, such as being preserved from water, and inheriting a new world, but what gave him the transferred righteousness of God was that single noun, that single condition, faith by itself. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes, the second thing he accomplished is that he, Noah, became an heir of righteousness which is according to faith. This is a righteousness that came out On the basis of faith, God imputed righteousness to him. All these theologians and writers use this word, imputed. What does that even mean? It means transferred. In a nanosecond, the righteousness that belongs only to God is transferred by way of credit to Noah and Abram and anybody else in biblical history that trusted in the promises of God. That means if I have trusted in the promises of God, in my sense, I'm looking backwards, trusting in the provision of Jesus Christ. That means God looks at me positionally as if I'm just as righteous as His Son. I sure don't act like it sometimes. Just ask my wife. But God looks at me that way positionally. And the story of Noah ends with a reminder that yes, he walked with God and was rewarded, but the initial grant of righteousness imputed or transferred to him came by one condition, faith alone. It had to be that way. It couldn't have been based on his walk. You know how I know that? Because the Noah story doesn't end so well. Genesis 9 verses 20 and 21 describes Noah and the post-flood world. And it says this, Then Noah began farming, and he planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine, and he became drunk. Doesn't really sound to me like a guy walking out the principles of the spiritual life. and uncovered himself inside his tent. It made him vulnerable to be disrespected by one of his sons. The story of Noah is fantastic in Genesis 6, in Genesis 7, in Genesis 8, but Genesis 9, the guy doesn't exactly go out with a blaze of glory. And so that's so important to understand because if his righteousness came to him by his obedience, his obedience wasn't so great sometimes. Other times it was great. And when he went into sin in the post-blood world, he never lost this positional righteousness of God. He never stopped pleasing God in terms of his position. What God became displeased with is his practice. which did not take away Noah's imputed righteousness, it disqualified him from the potential of reward. Faith by itself justifies ongoing faith leading to obedience through God's power. leads to reward. Enoch being given a huge reward, an exemption from death. Noah being given a huge reward, being spared from the flood. Well, what do we conclude in the story of Enoch verse 5, Noah verse 7, and the explanation in verse 6? What's in it for us? We're living in the same world, aren't we? soaked with sin. The judgment of God is right around the corner. We, as God's people, have to always swim upstream. And yet what do we do? We follow the examples of Enoch and Noah. We believe God's promises, and for us, it's the promise of Jesus Christ and what He's done for us. We receive the justification by God. And then, we don't just sit, soak, and sour. But we continue to walk with God by faith. In the midst of difficulties, heartache, problems, obstacles, and we become candidates now, first of all for rewards, but secondly you become a candidate for shining and sticking out like a light in the midst of a perverse culture. A Romans 1 culture, as I'll call it. Paul, and I'll close with this, Philippians 2 verse 15, says this, So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world. That's the story of Enoch and Noah, lights in a corrupted world as they were justified by faith and walked by faith. We are lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse backwards world, hurling towards the judgment of God. As we trust in what Jesus has done to experience the positional righteousness of God and as we walk with God, moment by moment, by faith, depending upon Him, and allowing Him to take my walk of faith and turn me into an obedient vessel. May God help us understand these truths in this day as we draw from these examples in Scripture, shall we pray? Father, we're grateful for a couple of stories that have been written off long ago as mythical, irrelevant, they don't speak to our day, yet under your inspiration and illumination today, we've learned that these are very relevant and applicable. Make us the kind of people that you turned both Enoch and Noah into. I ask that you'll do this great work in our midst. We'll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus' name, and God's people said.