Title: Let's Live by Faith
Content: e="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: 21px; FONT-FAMILY: 'Gullim'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 13px"> Today, I am Noah who lived by faith, not pursuing what I could see. I want to tell the story of The Bible records the world of Noah's day, "The Lord saw that the world was full of man's iniquity, and that every plan of his heart was only evil always" (Genesis 6:5). Concerning Noah in this wicked age, it is written, “Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). The word ‘righteous’ here referring to Noah does not mean that he was blameless and innocent, but that he had a ‘godly disposition’, and ‘perfect man’ means that he was a relatively sincere man compared to the wicked people of his time. Genesis 6:9 begins with the words ‘generations of Noah, account of Noah’. This means that Noah lived a life that was accepted by God from the beginning to the end even though he was living in an evil age.
How could Noah be recognized by God as a righteous man and perfect in his day? The secret was 'only faith'. In particular, it was ‘belief that transcends circumstances’. What is Noah's faith that transcends circumstances?
1. Faith based on the Word
Faith must be based on the Word of God. In the text, Noah received the word of God and believed it. It is not scientific, logical, or rational thinking, but faith based on the Word of God. A mature believer, that is, a person of faith, is not swayed by the voices of those around him, but lives according to the Word of God. Like Peter or Paul. When you have faith based on the Word in this way, you will have a life of faith that does not waver even in desperate circumstances or difficult situations.
2. Respectful Faith
'Awe' can be translated as 'seriousness'. Noah was serious about God. In the text, it is said that Noah prepared the ark out of awe (seriousness). After hearing God's word of the judgment of the flood, I began to prepare the ark with fear and trembling. We must live with a sense of humor in the world, but we must not lose our seriousness when it comes to spiritual matters.
3. Faith in Action
Noah heard the word of God and built a boat with faith to prepare for the flood. In this way, Noah's faith was faith in action. In James 2:22, faith without works is called dead faith. In other words, those who have faith are bound to act. Noah did everything God had commanded him to do (Gen. 6:22, 7:5). He built a ship with faith until the end without stopping in the middle. 120 years or so.
I said that Noah's faith is a faith that transcends circumstances. Even if you don't look like Noah, who completed the ark by faith, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live by faith until the end.