Radical, Uncomfortable Faith // Having the Sort of Faith That Conquers the World, Part 2

You know, I wish I could tell you that God is primarily concerned about our comfort and convenience, but that’s just not true. He’s much more interested in our character and maturity and so He often calls us into radical, uncomfortable faith.

 

Radical faith

Have you ever felt God asking you to do something that is so radical so counter-intuitive that you felt that you were going mad? I have on more than one occasion, and as I speak with great men and women of God as I interview them as I meet them and get to know some of the giants of faith that I go to church with, that I work with, here’s what I’ve discovered listening to their stories. The more open we are to God the more we spend time in prayer, the more we take God’s word to heart as though it’s true and as though it's actually meant for us, the more God asks us to do crazy things.

I have a dear friend who against every personal desire and aspiration that he had for himself and his family, moved across the other side of the world to take on a job for years that God had called him to do.

Now most days were a struggle, most days he was homesick, most days he didn’t really understand why God had called him into that place. But four years on, as he was heading back home again, can I tell you the impact that his presences, his skills, his wisdom, his insight and energy and persona has had, not just on the organisation that he worked for but in the lives of tens of thousands of people that organisation ministers to, is just enormous.

And the more we listen to God, the more we find Him asking us to do crazy things. Radical things, things we wouldn’t consider doing if it was left up to us. And that’s exactly what happened to Noah.

We’re looking today again at faith in this series I’ve called simply, "Having the Sort of Faith that Conquers the World". It’s a phrase you find a lot throughout the bible and no where more so than in the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 11. It’s a chapter that talks a lot about faith, the sort of faith we need to make it through the trials and the temptations of life. The sort of faith we need to see the big picture, to get life into perspective. The sort of faith that we need to please God, because without faith, without the assurance of things we hope for and the rock solid of evidence of faith in our hearts of the things we can’t yet see. It’s completely impossible to please God.

Now, I want you to put yourself for a moment in Noah’s shoes. You’re living a happy life. Okay, the world around you is a bit corrupt but there is nothing new or surprising about that. You, your wife, your family, you're having a great little life there and God says to you, "Hey Noah, I know you live miles and miles and miles away from the nearest lake or ocean, but I want you to build a hulking great big boat. A big one! We’re going to call it an ark because I’m going to flood the world, kill everyone, and you and your family and two of every species of animal are going to be the only ones that survive. So get to it. Start building this boat."

Now you and I know what happened. We know how the story turns out. But, poor old Noah had none of the benefits of the 20/20 hindsight that you and I have. He didn’t even have the Bible that we have to believe in God through, he’d never even heard of Jesus. All he knew was that this God came along and told him to build a boat in the middle of nowhere. Talk about feeling stupid.

Imagine going home to the little misses that night and she asks, "How was work Noah?" "Well? I was chatting with God and we’ve come up with this great plan, we are going to build a boat. A big one! An ark!" She says, "A boat? Are you crazy?" And not just the little misses, imagine what the neighbours had to say? "Hey have you seen what Noah’s up to? He’s really flipped his lid this time. He’s building, wait for it … an ark!" "N