1. God’s GRIEF & GRACE in His bow... Building on the 3 R’s of Faith’s Commitment Genesis 7:24-8:1, 20-22; 9:12-16 “The waters flooded the earth for 150 days. But God remembered Noah & all the wild animals & the livestock that were with him in the ark. And He sent a wind over the earth--& the waters receded...Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of the clean animals...he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma & said in His heart, ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, for every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood...AS LONG AS THE EARTH ENDURES...SEEDTIME & HARVEST...COLD & HEAT...SUMMER & WINTER...DAY & NIGHT WILL NEVER CEASE’... “...And God said, ‘...I am making a covenant between Me & you...a covenant for all generations to come: I have set My bow in the clouds, & it will be a sign of the covenant. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth & the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant. Never again will the waters destroy ALL life. Whenever the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth’...!” --Genesis 7:24-8:1, 20-22; 9:12-16

2. Hebrews 9:22 & 27 “...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness... (We are) destined to die once, & after that, to face Judgment” Jesus says “As in the days of Noah...” (Mt 24 & Lk 17) Hollywood’s scripts agree:

3. The 3-fold Foundation of Faith (Heb.11:3-7): 1-Understanding...[“by faith we understand”] 2-Conviction (“being convinced...” Rom 4:21) 3-Commitment (Gen 8:22; Rom 12:1-2... Regularly “building an altar” before God’s face)

4. Jesus asks, Would we rather have Satan for a lifetime father?...or GOD? “You belong to your father the Devil; you want to carry out his desire. (But) there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar & the father of lies... (However) he who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:44, 47) HOW? Hebrews 11:7 tells us... HEAR Him...HEED Him (Commitment!): ~Relying totally on Him ~Rejecting the way of the world ~Taking REFUGE in HIS Gospel-way!

5. Insight from Jonathan Edwards (from The Great Awakening of 1740’s) ‘True believers are Christians b/c they see how beautiful God is (& His Good News). Phony believers are those who see how ‘useful’ God is; they try to USE Him...’

6. The 1 st “R” of Faith’s COMMITMENT... I. RELIANCE (that is, trusting God) 11:7a “when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear (Noah) built an ark to save his family” (Heb 11:7a) A. Believe IN God...? OR... B. BELIEVE God?!

7. The 2 nd “R” of Faith’s COMMITMENT : II. REJECTION (that is, rejecting or ‘condemning’ the world) Hebrews 11:7b... “By his faith, he (Noah) condemned the world...” Condemned doesn’t mean ‘scolding’ Condemned does mean ‘to prove it wrong, to reject it’!

8. The 3 rd “R” of Faith’s Commitment : III. REFUGE (that is, taking refuge IN my co-heir) Heb 11:7c* (See also Romans 8:1, 17**) * “...and became HEIR of the righteousness that comes BY FAITH” What is an “heir”? “Someone who gets rich thru someone else giving him/her the riches” ** “Therefore, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN (the Ark)—Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1) “...we are heirs—heirs of God & co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory” (Romans 8:17)

9. HEIR? This all ‘comes’ by faith (Heb 11:7c) from GOD!

10. How to hide in HIM? Rely on the Messiah as Savior, Lord, your Treasure—your only hope for INHERITING Eternal Life! [“co-heir”...Rom 8:17] Understand Him as your all-in-all! Rejecting false idols, be esp. CONVINCED in Him as your only trustworthy & flood-proof Refuge! COMMIT (every area of your life to Him!