(A) Introduction.

I love the second verse of chapter eleven. It expresses with such elegance the 'Big Bang' theory for the origin of the universe - so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. However I am going to concentrate in this exposition on the three ancients - Abel, Enoch an Noah.

I read on Jan 14th 2000 the following headline in my local paper, The Bury Free Press, 'Traffic man George will be missed'. I could visualise George - a small dapper man with a cap who would stand by the traffic lights opposite the Spread Eagle pub directing the traffic. He used to live in Raingate Street near the Greene King brewery and would have a high old time directing the brewery lorries. It was his hobby. There was only one problem - he directed them to the wrong place. On one notable occasion he got a lorry to reverse into the Cathedral Graveyard. All the town policemen knew him and when he started to cause havoc they would take him into the station for a cup of tea.

I found it ironical that George, about whom little else was known, made the headlines for pointing people in the wrong direction. I have spent my life pointing young people in the right direction but I think it is very unlikely that my death will feature in the local paper. Thankfully the Bible does highlight three men who point us in the right direction as far as faith is concerned.

(B) Abel.

Abel made God a quality offering. Gen4v4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the first-born of his flock. He brought the choice cuts of the best of his early spring lambs. I have occasionally given myself a treat and bought from Marks and Spencer a leg joint of the first of the English spring lambs. It is wonderful.

Abel made his offering in the sphere of activity in which he excelled. He was a shepherd and a good one. He didn't make a gift of what he lacked expertise or proficiency in.

The offering was made by faith inasmuch as he believed that:

(a) He owed everything to God - his sheep, goats, good grazing, still waters, safety from predators and successful lambing.

(b) God was interested in his response to blessings received. Able believed that he mattered to God. That his Creator was not indifferent to his gratitude.

(c) The Divine approval was more important than a dinner of the choicest, most succulent, portions of roast lamb.

If we have Abel's faith we shall give God:

(a) Quality time. Sunday is quality time. It is the day most people spend for themselves. Families go out for a day at the seaside. The energetic walk in the countryside. What could be more pleasant for the English sportsman than a gentle game of cricket on the village green. It is the day Christians offer to God. Fewer and fewer Christians seem willing to offer more than the morning of it! The demise of the evening service is a sad indication that Christians value worldly entertainment more than fellowship with His people. I get the impression of a growing resentment at being expected to give quality time to God.

(b) The Best of our Best. It is much better if you are a first class motor mechanic to give the best of this skill to God than preach sermons of indifferent quality. My father, a poor Baptist Minister, was very grateful to Jack Bishop, a motor mechanic, for servicing his car free of charge. I am reminded of the story entitled, 'The Stranger' in Govanni Guareschi's book, 'Don Camillo's Dilemma'. A stranger's car broke down in the Italian village of the communist mayor, Peppone - who also happened to be the village mechanic. Peppone recognised the stranger - he was the much decorated martinet of a captain under whom he had served during the war. Well the captain had fallen on hard times and was now at Peppone's mercy. Peppone intended to pay off a few old scores. But he could not and ended up giving the best of his best as he recalled the courage in adversity of the little captain. As the captain drove away he listened to the hum of the engine, which was acting as if it had only three instead of thirty thousand miles behind it.

So the talented homemaker is not required to lead a Bible class rather poorly - better by far to show hospitality. The DIY expert wastes his time and talents as a lack lustre youth worker when he could be out helping old people with their practical problems. Why is it that we are reluctant to serve in the spheres of our real expertise.

(c) Whatever we can in the hope of pleasing Him first. We must try not to give to be seen of men . We do like some credit for our generosity, to win a reputation for having a heart of gold. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6vs 2 to 4 to avoid this. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Can we do that - keep our left hand from knowing what our right hand is doing. Are we able to wait for our Father's reward.

(C) Enoch.

Enoch walked with God. Gen5v24. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day before the fall. They had communion with God. So too did Enoch. He prayed to God and listened to God. He was in sympathy with God. Enoch would not have walked with God if he had been out of sympathy with God's will insofar as it was revealed. It is always a pleasure to walk with my brother Paul because we share the same interests. We walk at the same pace and are interested in the same things - butterflies, wild flowers, birds and mammals. I wouldn't walk with someone who cannot find time to stop and stare. Enoch was in harmony with God - to walk with Him was the ultimate pleasure.

Enoch walked with God and had communion with Him by faith:

(a) He believed that God was there - anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists.v6. Enoch was sure of a listening ear.

(b) He was convinced that it was a sympathetic and concerned listening ear. We do not always get a sympathetic hearing when we most need it. A sympathetic listener is a rarity. People do not want to hear our tale of woe. Some of the most annoying people on earth are those who ask, "How are you", and never wait for an answer. Never, never ask someone that question unless you are genuinely interested in them and are prepared to listen to their troubles. It is especially important for people living alone to be able to discuss their problems with an attentive hearer. A lot of church leaders in my experience are poor listeners.

(c) Enoch was certain that behind the listening ear and sympathetic attention there was a helping hand - he(God) rewards those who earnestly seek him.v26. The Samaritans provide a very important service by just listening to people in distress. But that is all they do - listen. They are not there to give advice or practical assistance. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps46v1.

If we have Enoch's faith:

(a) We shall pray - alone and with others. It does not matter how few are met together for prayer - it is never, ever, a waste of time. I meet with just a handful of Christians for prayer and no one fresh has joined us for 10 years. Some of our number get despondent from time to time and mutter about discontinuing the meeting. How can we do that if we believe that God is listening, caring and an ever-present help in trouble. Prayer is the ideal activity for a small group. It is a fundamental Christian activity. It is something the church has always done collectively. Two Christians can hold a prayer meeting. We are still together!

(b) We shall be in sympathy with the revealed will of God. People who are in sympathy with us, who think and feel as we do, are our friends. I never grudge time spent with a friend. I am just so glad to be with them. If we are a friend of Jesus we will never grudge time spent with him.

(D) Noah.

Noah's faith resulted in obedience.Gen.6v22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Noah needed great faith to obey God because:

(a) The work was difficult. It required a lot of expertise to build the great boat and to collect the animals and the food they ate for the duration of the flood. It took a long time and involved careful attention to detail. The work was very costly. Noah had to lay out huge sums of money to complete his project. It has not been easy for someone like me with limited IT skills to create a web site from scratch. It is quite costly in time and resources. You need faith to persevere.

(b) The work was lonely. Noah had few willing and devoted helpers. I hope his three sons gave him a hand! He made no converts to the cause. Noah didn't have time for anything else. If he was to finish the ark he would need to be single minded. I cannot imagine Noah was out many evenings socialising. Loneliness is a price you pay for dedication. I read that the biggest % of lonely hearts are teachers. I took a former colleague out for a meal yesterday and she said, "I rarely get up early - I have so little to look forward to." She devoted herself to teaching and to her husband and she has neither now to fall back on and is lonely. I think it is possible to obey God and end up single. There are even circumstance when it is lonely being a Christian. How about those Christians who struggle to keep a little church going for the sake of the old Christians who attend and then are left alone when the elderly have all gone to glory.

(c) The work was derided. Noah's contemporaries doubtless dismissed his efforts as a waste of time. He was labouring to no purpose. Many forms of Christian witness are ridiculed. It requires faith to persevere when no one else shares your vision.

Noah certainly needed great faith to finish the work that he was given, but, and this is an important point, he didn't require so much faith to get started. He just needed to believe God to get started. So he would draw up the plans - that was a start. Then he would order wood for scaffolding and the framework of the ark. As he continued and he encountered and solved problems his faith grew. The development and seasoning of his faith allowed him to complete the project. If Noah could have seen all the problems initially he might never have started. But he didn't see them. God does not expect us to have tremendous faith when we start out. Faith grows strong by being exercised. It never takes too much faith to take God at his word and begin. I am glad I was not aware of the complexities of JavaScript before I commenced my course on web site design!

However Noah's initial faith was essential and it has three features:

(a) He shared God's judgement. The world of men was a wicked place. He was not surprised that God was aghast at how things were.

(b) He accepted God's plan of salvation. If God said he had to build an ark to be safe then that is what he would do. He might have considered that there were easier ways to be safe - like moving away from the area - getting away from all those wicked people. Noah didn't argue with God - he accepted God's plan.

(c) He was certain that judgement would come. God's word could be trusted. He would not make a fool of his righteous servant Noah. He would not point him in the wrong direction!

By faith we should:

(a) Agree with Jesus' judgement of the world. Jesus condemns so many of the world's values and attitudes. Jesus said, as we have seen, that it is wrong to publicise how good we are See Matthew6v2to4 Yet that is just what worldly organisations do. Schools do it all the time. They use web sites, brochures, the press and open evenings to do just that - publicise their achievements. Speech days are an opportunity to tell everyone present how wonderful the school is. It is an occasion to beat the drum. How I used to hate them. It is not necessary. For the last twenty years a local plumber has put leaflets through my letterbox advertising his services. I do not use that plumber. I use one who has never advertised in the last twenty years. He doesn't have to. He gets customers by word of mouth. He has built up a reputation for good work and fair prices. Some Christian organisations adopt the world's standards. They drum up support by painting a rosy picture of their successes. They should tell it as it is. The picture should be painted like the portrait of Oliver Cromwell - warts and all!

I play cricket with men who are in business in a minor way. One of their favourite maxims is that you cannot be honest and succeed at business. Jesus said "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'". They do not follow this advice. They will enter into a contract with the local council to complete a job by a certain date with absolutely no intention of meeting the deadline. Lies are then manufactured to serve as excuses. This sort of behaviour is, according to them, essential for success. They are wrong. In the long run a reputation for integrity and probity will generate business. Do we as Christians share Jesus' contempt for the false expressed in these well known words: "if the salt loses its saltiness ...... it is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.Mt5v13."

(b)Accept God's plan of salvation. God will save anyone who believes in Jesus, his dearly, beloved Son. That means we trust in Christ's saving work on the cross and as our great high priest in heaven, implement his teaching because we accept his authority and follow his example as the only one who pleased the Father in heaven. We need to keep believing just as Noah did. If Noah had given up building the ark just a week or so before the rains came he would not have been saved. He might not have fixed the door or got in a food supply. The day the rains began the ark had to be finished. Jesus told several parables stressing the need for prudence. We cannot afford to take it easy or relax our efforts. We have to be ready for Christ's return. See Matthew24v36to51. v37 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." v44 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

(c) Be certain the judgement will come. This should motivate us. Jesus suggests this in Matthew24v43 "But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready..." If we are sure that Jesus is going to return in judgement then we will be prepared. It will help us to keep on going on when the work is difficult, lonely and derided. The best preparation is to love him and long for his coming. A lot will find it difficult to abandon their plans when Jesus comes again. Some won't wish to leave their houses, others will resent turning off the TV, some will decide to finish off the job they are on... Only those that are glad at heart and full of joy at his coming and who look up and reach out will be taken to be with him in the air. The rest will be left to their destruction.