Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Hebrews chapter 11, and reading
for our text, verse 7. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse
7, By faith knower, being warned of God, of things not seen as
yet, move with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house
by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 11 verse 7 and the specific
words in this verse are moved with fear is what was the thing
that moved Noah to prepare an ark. Now this chapter, of course,
sets forth faith, faith in the lives of God's children. It tells
us what faith is, verse one. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We're told
that it is through faith that we understand the worlds were
framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were
not made of things which do appear. And throughout this chapter,
there are many instances given of the Lord's dear people of
how faith wrought in their lives. Some, like Abraham, It brought
him to go out into a place which he should receive for an inheritance. Others, like Abraham, like Sarah,
were able to believe God would give them seed when their womb
was dead, and they were given that promised seed in Isaac. We have many instances of how
faith was very active, it moved the people of God to do things. Later on in the chapter, it speaks
also of what it enabled the people of God to endure and to go through
in fiery trials, in being stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain
with the sword. Faith acts in many, many different
ways and we should not think that it is only to be discerned
and seen in one way, not to read like an obituary or something
like that and think, well, how that person had faith active
in their life, that's how I must be, or otherwise I'm not a child
of God. If anything, Hebrews 11 tells
us what different effects the faith of God has. And we know
from Hebrews 12 that faith is the gift of God. We're told that
in Ephesians, by grace you say through faith that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. And Hebrews 12 tells us that
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. And so the The
narrative here gives us a cloud of witnesses, and I believe we
have a cloud of witnesses around us, those that are alive, those
that we've known, and walked with ourselves, and seen how
faith wrought in their lives. But here is added another thing
of which faith is joined with, and that is the fear of God. By faith, Noah, being warned
of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared
an ark to the saving of his house. And it is that which is upon
my spirit, the working of faith in this way, to give the fear
of God, and that that fear of God then is what is seen as the
moving force, if you like. You know, you might think of
the other passages here and think, well, it is faith that is the
thing that is actually moving and bringing, like to move countries
or to act like Joseph, making mention, departing of the children
of Israel, But here is added to faith that effect of faith
as to have the fear of God. So I want to look first at what
is the fear of the Lord. And then I want to notice our
Lord Jesus Christ as to also having that fear of the Lord. And then lastly, a motivation
to act or not to act. But firstly, the fear of the
Lord. Throughout the Word of God, there
is many fear nots. Many times the Lord would assure
his people that the things that they are going through, that
they are not to fear them. Or those things that they fear
will come upon them, Maybe that they're cast out, they're not
the people of God, or the hand of the Lord is against them,
and they're given those fear nots, those assurances, that
the Lord's thoughts towards them are thoughts of peace and not
of evil. The fear that is spoken of here
is not that fear that causes torment, It is not that fear
that causes terror, but a filial fear, a fear recognizing the
power of God, the might of God, the authority of God, the ability
of God to do great things as the great King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. instances in the Word of God
where the fear of God can be seen in the two balancing sides. We think of David when he was
seeking to bring the Ark of the Covenant up into Jerusalem. It was a good desire, right desire,
and it was a day of rejoicing and joy bringing up the Ark. They had followed the practice
of the Philistines. Instead of putting it on the
shoulders of the Levites, they put it on a cart. And when they
came to the threshing floor, then there was the Uzzah put
forth his hand to steady the oxen, shook it, and the Lord
slew him. And we read that David He feared
to go before the Lord that day. The Lord had made a breach. The
Lord didn't say, well, the people are all joyful, they're happy,
they're rejoicing at bringing the Ark. I won't touch them. I'll just turn a blind eye to
this lack of observance of my way and my direction and that
they have taken on board what the Philistines did in returning
the Ark. No, the Lord dealt with it and
dealt with it severely, made a breach upon Huzzah. And the
effect of David was he could not bring up the ark. He could
not continue to bring it up. And the ark was taken aside to
the house of Obed-Edom and there it rested for three months. But
then the Lord showed another side and he blessed the house
of Obed-Edom. And when David heard that, then
he felt able to bring up the ark and he gave commandment that
the Levites should carry the ark because he said at the first,
he did it not after the due order. He recognized, he realized why
the Lord had dealt as he had done. And so David, In the fear
of the Lord, he had the two sides. He could see the Lord that would
deal so swiftly and in such a way on one side as to chastise, as
to correct, and on the other side that he would bless. And
those two things put together, we think of the Hemrida, my soul,
stands trembling while she sings the honours of her God. The Lord has said regarding those
of his people as against them because they thought that he
was just such a one as himself. Man bringing God down to his
level, making God to be subject to his idea of morality, his
idea of what is right or what is wrong, instead of having that
great high view of God. He who spake and it was done,
that made the sun, the moon and the stars, that formed all things
by the word of His power. He that is pure and holy cannot
look upon sin, without utter abhorrence, to view him as he
really is, but to view him as a father, as a father that loves
his children, but at the same time, because he loves them,
he will chasten them, he will correct them, not in anger, but
in love, in kindness, but in a way that they revere him, they
honour him, They look up to Him. They would trust in Him. And that fear of the Lord is
what is spoken of here. Noah moved by fear. We think of in the early church,
the church when the Lord was first blessing after Pentecost,
And the effect there of those that believed, many, they sold
their houses, their lands, they gave to the poor. Their hands
were loosed from the things of this world and they sought that
which was above. But there were those that wanted
to imitate the effect of the grace of God, Ananias and Sapphira. And yet they still had their
covetous hearts. So they sold their land and made
out to the apostles that they were giving the whole amount
to the Lord. Peter says that they lied to
the Holy Ghost, and it was a conspiracy between them. They both knew
what they had decided amongst themselves, and both were struck
down dead. And we read that great fear came
upon the church. But did it turn everyone away?
Did it make them to say, well, we are not going to serve this
God, we're not going to follow Him? It didn't have that effect. The Lord blessed the church.
Then we have another counter to that. They had a great persecutor
of the church, which was Saul of Tarsus, hailing men and women
to prison. And I've no doubt that many thought,
well, if the Lord dealt with Ananias and Sapphira like that,
what is he going to do with Saul of Tarsus? Well, what the Lord
did with him was to convert him and to change his heart and bring
him down before him, humble him before him. And then we read
with the church that the churches then had rest. round about, their
persecutor had been taken away. But how did they walk? Walking
in the fear of the Lord. They were edified, they were
multiplied. The fear of the Lord, we're told
in Proverbs, is the beginning of wisdom. It is that which is
the key to all of the true knowledge of God, the wisdom of God. God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of the saints, to be had in reverence of all them
that are about him. And we are exhorted in the Psalms
to serve the Lord with fear, that we are to walk in such a
way that we are mindful of who he is, we are mindful of his
all-seeing eye, his holiness, His righteousness, His justice. And we are to walk in that way
that we are mindful, He sees and knows all about us. Thou
God, see us made. And it is this that is to really
mark out the true people of God. The world today thinks nothing
of blaspheming the Lord, though like Pharaoh, who when Moses
came and said to him to let the people of God go, he said, who
is the Lord? Who is the Lord that I should
fear him? And the Lord said, and we read
in Romans, for this purpose have I raised thee up to show forth
my might and power in thee. And we had man lifting up his
fist against God, shaking against the Holy One of Israel. But that was done so that all
nations knew. And 40 years later, Rahab spoke
of it. She hadn't forgotten it. I wonder
how many of us can think back 40 years. And what happened not
to us, but to another nation. That left a real mark on those
nations round about what happened in Egypt. And then when the children
of Israel were coming to Canaan, there was many things that the
Lord did, and especially the drying up or the stopping up
of Jordan, that again, great fear. And that really, in one
sense, was terror because they knew in Canaan that the sentence
of the Lord was against them. With the children of Israel,
the Lord's blessing was with them, but they were to know really
above all people, and they knew it through the wilderness, through
the giving of manna, through the fiery serpents, for Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram, how the Lord dealt with them, and even with
Miriam. the Lord dealing with them as his children, and without
any partiality, the sovereignty of God, the justness of God,
the holiness of God, the fear of the Lord. And that then is
the beginning of wisdom, should affect all that we say, and do,
and think, and all that we act, how we view the Lord, Now with
Noah, we are told here that he was moved by fear. And this was a fruit of faith.
By faith, Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house. But before I come to that moving,
I just want to notice the beautiful prophecy regarding Our Lord Jesus
Christ in Isaiah 11, in our second point. Our Lord, as a man, possess
the fear of the Lord. Sometimes we can overlook this. We think, well, because he is
truly God, he is one with the Father, the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, one God, three distinct persons, But our Lord was a real man.
And every grace, everything that His people were to possess, He
possessed as well. And He imparts to His people
that which He had. The righteousness that is given
to a believer is the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. So
all of those things that he possessed as a man, including the fear
of the Lord, is bestowed upon the Lord's people. That is their
righteousness. The Lord, our righteousness.
And so in Isaiah 11, we read, There shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his
roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after
the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of
his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and
reprove with equity for the make of the earth. And he shall smite
the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of
his lips shall he slay the wicked. Now we read of the Lord Jesus
Christ as the obedient son obedient unto death. Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will,
O God. The view that our Lord Jesus
Christ had of his Father, of himself, perfect view. The Jews, when they sought to
blaspheme him, contradict him, Our Lord answered most so solemnly
that He could not deny Himself. He could not deny that relationship
that He had with His Father. He always spoke in the greatest
terms of reverence and esteem and of love and of greatness
as He viewed His Father. You might say if there was Two
people on earth, and they were partners together, or had an
association together, they may be more familiar with each other,
would use more familiar names, or perhaps have a lack of that
awe or reverence. But is not so with our Lord. With our Lord as it should be
with a father and a son. there was that great esteem and
reverence and fear in this right way of viewing his father and
I believe it's so vital in all that the Lord was to do. We speak here of a motivation
to act and yes we might say with our Lord it was love that brought
him. God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. But one thing that was always
before our Lord, everything that he did was according to the holiness
of God. Everything that he did was according
to the justness of God. It wasn't to be like with David
and the Ark, doing something not right, not in accordance
with it. But everything had to be right,
the payment had to be exact, a just balance, a just weight,
every jot, every tittle, everything had to be done perfectly. And with respect to all of the
scriptures, why we hear Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, when
they came to take Him, and they had the swords, put up thy sword
within its sheath, The cup that my father hath given me to drink,
shall I not drink it? And the esteem, the reverence
that he had of his father. Thinkest thou not that I could
pray my father, and he would presently give me ten, six legion
of angels, but how then, or twelve legion of angels, but how then
should the scriptures be fulfilled? and he has respect to the Scriptures,
to the Word of God, that fear and reverence of what was written
and what was set forth there. And so when we think of the fear
of the Lord, we think the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest
example of it in all that he walked, in all that he viewed
of his Father, in all of his obedience, And all that he knew,
all his understanding, it's hard for us to comprehend that great
is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh. And those things that were wrought
in him, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,
and that his sacrifice might be fully acceptable unto this
great God, holy God, this God whom we would fear also. So I want then to think of the
word that is before us concerning Noah. We read of the account
in Genesis chapter 6 when the Lord gave Noah the direction
to to prepare the ark and to build the ark. The earth grown
so wicked and so much against God, God said that he would destroy
it and gave to Noah the directions, the instructions, how to build
the ark, what to do. We know from other scriptures
that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He didn't just build the ark,
but he preached, and he set before those around him what God was
going to do. Now our Lord, he speaks of the
last days that are to be the same as in the days of Noah,
that the destruction shall not come by water, but shall come
by fire, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the
days of the Son of Man. They bought, they sold, they
married, they gave in marriage, until the flood came and took
them all away. It is a direct parallel to the
times in which we live. The Lord is pointing back to
Noah's day, back to what Noah was told about the wickedness
of those around him and the judgment that God was going to give. And
Noah believed it. And we're told here that Noah
had faith, and it was by faith that he was warned of God, of
things not seen as yet. That applies to us here. Things
not seen as yet. Peter says that they were saying
even in his day, But where is the promise of his coming? All
things continue as they were from the beginning of the world.
He said, in this they are ignorant, that the world standing out of
the water and in the water being overflowed with water perished.
Were innate souls that they were saved by water. And he sets before
them that though the Lord is long delayed, he will come. and
the world will be destroyed, the Lord will certainly return.
And the message is really the same as in Noah's day. The same reason why he prepared
an ark to the saving of his house because of the fear of the Lord
is the same reason why any today will seek to obtain from the
Lord blessed interest in, not an ark of wood, but the ark of
grace, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's a beautiful
time. Noah, he went into that ark.
He was shut in. The Lord shut him in. And the
waves bear up that ark. The ark felt the waves, not Noah. He was safe inside with all those
within. And he was brought safely over
that flood. Destruction around all outside
and inside safety. Safety is of the Lord. And the Lord made known to Noah
in his day how that safety was. What if Noah had left then to
the last year? It'd be too late then, wouldn't
it? There was a needing of that,
preparing of that arm. Heaven is a prepared people for
a prepared place. Sometimes the Lord might begin
a preparation, a work of grace in a sinner's heart while they
are children. Many are wrought while they are
young. But others it might be in old age. Some it might be
many years before they die. Others, like the dying thief,
in the very article, an hour of death, that the Lord gives
them faith. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. When we're thinking of him, what
a difference. At first we read that they both
cast the same in his teeth. If thou be the Christ, save thyself
and us. Where's the reverence? Where
is the fear? Where is the honour? It's not
there at all. But then it suddenly changes
with one. We indeed justly, we receive
the due reward of our deeds. This man hath done nothing amiss. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. What a difference. How we treat
the Lord, our language, how we come before him, how we view
him, it evidences what actually is motivating us and what is
in our hearts. I believe it is the one thing
that will mark out the people of God in all generations, and
in our generation, in generations where there is much, shall we
say, religion, or much form, or what passes to be a faith,
because that which moves a people in that which is truly saving,
or to deliver from the wrath to come, is nothing less than
the fear of the Lord. And it is through that, through
faith, that that is given. Without faith, we do not see
the Lord who He is. They said, but this is Jesus,
this is Joseph's son, the carpenter's son. His brethren we know, and
they're offended at Him. Even though they saw all of the
miracles and saw all of the things that he did, they're offended
at him. Many, they walk back and make
no more with him. Why? Because of the things that
he was preaching. Except you eat the flesh and
drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. How can this man give us his
flesh to eat? They're offended. But where there
is the fear of the Lord, then this man becomes a precious man,
a hiding place, a refuge, that which we sung of for the people
of God. The very God of whom we fear
is the very God that provides that help. You know, a child
that has a father that may be severe or punished and chastened
that child, but the child knows that it is in love, the child
might do things that are wrong, get themselves injured, maybe
go in places they should not. But when they're in trouble,
they look again to that father. They go to that hand because
they know the love and that salvation is of the Lord. In Psalm 68,
it's a beautiful Psalm, that God is the God of salvation,
and our God is the God of salvation. And Psalm 48 as well, this God
is our God, and He will be our guide even unto death. And the motivating, moving to
act, is the fear of the Lord. On the other side is the fear
of man. And we read, on Christ's day,
there were many that believed on him, but because of the fear
of the Jews, they did not confess him. It's a most solemn word. We think even of how it affected
the parents of the man that was born blind. They said, he is
of age, ask him. Because it had been agreed that
any that would say that Jesus was the Christ would be put out
of the temple. So they were frightened, they
were fearful. And these are days in which men are fearful of saying
what they know is the truth because of the fear of man. Fear of man
bringeth a snare. But it needs to be that balance
the other way, the fear of the Lord that is greater than the
fear of man. And we see that with the three
Hebrew children standing before Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar,
he has that burning fiery furnace. He says, I'll heat that one seven
times hotter. If you don't bow down to my idols,
to my gods, then there's where you go. And they said to him,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. The God
whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace
and out of thy hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto
thee that we are not, sir, thy idols or thy gods. And the Lord
did deliver them. They were thrown in, but all
that they lost were their bonds in the form of the fourth, like
the Son of God, in the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
And you see the fear of the Lord so much greater than the fear
of man. Yet they could see that man,
they could see the fire. The Lord was not seen, but seen
by faith. To them He was a living, real
reality. One that truly existed, was alive,
and was able to do far above all that they could ask or think.
And yet He was not a puppet. Now some believe this, well,
The Lord should answer my prayers. If I say this, He should do it.
If I ask for this, He must give it. We have to supplicate our
petitions, if the Lord will, and to be begging, asking Him,
not dictating, not demanding, not saying, give me this sign
and give me that sign. And until you do this, then I'm
not going to act. The Lord gives his people that
fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom, shows them the way. And because of that fear of the
Lord, they walk in that way that he's shown them. Now Noah didn't
stand and say, Lord, but there's not even been rain upon the earth. There's no water here for this
ark. Why build it? How many must have
mocked him? Jeered at the very thought, how
many will do the same today? But with the fear of the Lord,
then we esteem all the words of the Lord to be right. And
it makes it so real to us, so real. And so that then moves
to act, a motivation to act. We sang in our first hymn as
an unctuous lie to all that is right, a bar to all that is wrong. And Nehemiah, it was a bar to
that which was wrong in Nehemiah 5 and verse 15. We read of him as the governor
of the land and the former governors they had been taking eating the bread of the governor
that had what supposedly was their right to have. But Nehemiah,
he saw the state of the condition of the people and he wouldn't
eat of it. He says, but the former governors
that had been before me were chargeable unto the people and
had taken of them bread and wine beside forty shackles of silver
Yea, even their servants bear rule over the people, but so
did not I because of the fear of God. It had an effect on what
he was doing with the wall again. The fear of the Lord was what
was motivating him, moving him. And that is to be with us as
well. What is it that motivates us? What is it that holds us back
from walking in the Lord's ways? What is it that should constrain
us to walk in the Lord's ways? Is it not the fear of the Lord,
the same as what now is granted? And we must say it is the grant. This is a token in itself Faith
is what is the gift of God. All men have not faith. And the
very fear of God is the token in itself. All men have not that
fear. And if the Lord has blessed us
with that, that is a motivation above any to walk in His ways,
to obey His voice, to be like that early church,
walking in the fear of the Lord, not just one day, not just two,
but characterize their whole lives, walking in the light of
the countenance of the Lord. How real is the Lord to us? How
real is our communion with Him, our fellowship with Him? How
real is his word to us? How does it speak to us? Does
it speak with authority? Never man spake as this man spake. Does it speak to us as if we
were his children, his sheep? My sheep, they hear my voice
and they follow me. Not man, but follow the Lord. With Noah, he was moved with
fear. May we think of what moves us.
What is it that influences our lives? Is it just that the fear of man
is bringing a snare? Or do we really have the fear
of the Lord? May the Lord help us to Be a
follower of those that walked by faith, that were blessed with
the fear of the Lord. We read a summary that is consistent
with, or common, with all of those that walked by faith here. And that is from verse 13. These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, Having seen them afar off, we're
persuaded of them and embrace them. Confess that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if
they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they
desire a better country that isn't heavenly. Wherefore God,
the God that they fear, is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he hath prepared for them a city. May the Lord grant us the fear
of the Lord and that effect on our lives, that it moves us as
obedient children, as a people formed for the Lord's praise. Amen.