How Faith Works For God

How Faith Works For God!

Reading: Hebrews 11v7

Three weeks ago we had a look what faith is.

Then we looked at the life of Abel and discovered that the life of faith begins with worship.

Last week we looked at the life of Enoch and discovered what the life of faith consists of.

Tonight we’re going to look at the life of Noah,…and Noah teaches how faith works for God.

In other words,…when we live our lives by faith,…then the work for God that flows out of that faith will have eternity in it!

It means,…that ministry for God should flow out of intimacy with God!

…and so here’s how the lives of Abel and Enoch and Noah somehow fit into each other: First we worship God,…then we walk with God,…and then we work for God!

Most of us often make the mistake of working for God all we can,…but forget to worship God and we forget to walk with God!

We often get so busy working for God,…that we forget that working for God flows out of worshipping Him and walking with Him.

If you reverse the order,…then your life makes no sense whatsoever.

Your ministry does not last because it runs on empty.

There is nothing backing your ministry,…there is nothing sustaining your ministry.

…and so here’s what we so often miss: We think about doing,...when God is about being!

We think about ministry as the goal,…but ministry is not the goal: The glory of God is the goal!

“Remember the story of Mary and Martha?”

Here’s the story in Luke 10v38-42, “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to You that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." (NLT).

In other words,…Martha was distracted by the big dinner she needed to prepare,…while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet.

Martha was worried about the details,…while Mary was more concerned about worshipping Jesus.

…and who pleased Jesus more?,…Mary.

She had discovered what was more important in life,...because she gave priority to the act of worship.

In other words,…we don’t live to please Pastors or churches or organizations or other people or even ourselves.

We live to please Jesus alone!

Now,…that does not mean we do nothing for God.

God is always at work,…God is a missional God and He is on mission all around us.

Its not the church’s mission or our mission,…its God’s mission.

God is on mission and He invites each one of us to participate in His mission.

In other words,…God doesn’t need us to fulfill His mission,…because God is all sufficient.

Yet God loves us,…and because He does,…He invites us to participate in His mission here on earth.

…and I think that kind of answers the question why so many people in the church are not involved in working in God’s Kingdom.

It answers the question why only about 10% of the people in the church do 90% of the work.

If you worship and walk with God,…then work for God will automatically flow from that!

…but if people are not properly worshiping God and not walking for God,…there is no working for God either.

In other working,…working for God naturally flows from worshipping God and walking with God!

That is why we work for God,…but then we get so caught up in working for God,…that we forget to worship Him and walk with Him.

…and Noah’s faith led him to work for God.

Now,…I know most of us know the story of Noah fairly well,…but we have to realize that Noah still had to do his job right and with the right attitude and with the right approach.

…and so Noah demonstrates faith working in the right way and the right order.

Here’s the story of Noah in the Old Testament in Genesis 6v5-14, “The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart. And the LORD said, "I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them." But Noah found favor with the LORD. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! "Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.” (NLT).