Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - Noah and The Power of Faith

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Christian faith is more than thinking, because the Christian message, the gospel, is much more than an idea. It is not just an idea; it’s a power.  The gospel bears fruit in you. It’s a living thing. But how does faith move from being an idea to being a power? You stop just believing in God and you start believing God. Noah shows us the way.  Hebrews 11 shows us that Noah does three things that bring the power of faith into life: 1) he believes God, 2) he condemns the world, and 3) he hides in the ark. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on September 25, 1994. Series: The Nature of Faith. Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-7. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Welcome to Gospel in Life. How do you live a life of stability in a world full of uncertainty? This month, Tim Keller is exploring the Book of Hebrews and looking at how genuine faith rooted in the work of Christ empowers us to live with courage, hope, and poise, even in difficult circumstances. The passage we've been looking at is printed in your bulletin. It's Hebrews chapter 11 verses 1 to 7. We've been looking at it for three weeks now, and today we come to verse 7. And I'm only going to read, though you have the entire passage in

front of you, I hope, just verse seven, because we're looking at the case study of faith that we have in Noah. Hebrews 11, verse seven, by faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear, built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." This is God's word. Now, we've been seeing already this fall that faith starts with thinking. Faith begins with thinking and understanding and reasoning. Faith is not at first a blind leap against thinking and against reasoning and against

understanding not at all. We saw that in verse 3 of this passage, Christians are people who have come to understand that God created the world, that the visible world came from the invisible, supernatural, eternal world. And therefore, as we looked at this before, we see that we saw that Christians have come to see through their thinking that the physical universe is not self-explanatory. That if you get rid of the premise that there's a creator God, then our rationality, our humanity, our moral sense, much of history and biology become inexplicable. Now, we're not going to recount all that.

Every single Sunday after each morning and evening service, we have a class downstairs with our other classes called Discovering Christianity. Jeff White teaches it right now. And it is always a class that looks at reasons for faith. And we're not gonna recount that. But you see, one of the reasons that people have trouble with the Christian faith,

one of the reasons that people don't come into the Christian faith is because they refuse to think. That's the first reason that some people won't come in because of intellectual laziness or intellectual impatience. The other day I was channel surfing through cable and I saw a European, just about five minutes of some European movie, and in it there was a philosophy professor and he was running a seminar on Thomas Aquinas' philosophy in his chambers with four other students. And two of the students, a boy and a girl, were making a lot of goo-goo eyes at each other, flirting and not being very interested in what was going on. He noticed and he pointed it out. And the girl just said, well, I'm having trouble concentrating

because the subject matter isn't relevant. He says, not relevant, says the professor. He says, we're asking here whether right and wrong are merely a subjective set of criteria. And she said, well, of course they are. And she looked at the little boy, her boyfriend, and she was thinking about what's going to happen tonight. She says, smiling, of course they're subjective, right and wrong.

And the professor says, oh, really? In that case, what if I just decided today that anybody who smirks whenever I lecture automatically gets an F in this course? She looked at him and she says, well, that would be unfair. He says, ah. He says, but you just said they're all right and wrong. It's subjective. To what do you ask me now to honor?

What is there outside of us both that you tell me I have to honor? You just said justice is a subjective thing. So she starts to roll her eyes and he says, class dismissed. What's the point of that scene? Here's the point. The point of the scene is that she doesn't want to think. She wants to sleep with that guy, but she doesn't want to think out the implications of that. The professor says, wait a minute, you have adopted a view of life and of God and of the world that can't explain your innate knowledge that there's such a thing as justice. In fact, you've adopted a view of the world that

doesn't even support the social order, but she doesn't want to think about it. And you see, that's one of the reasons why a lot of people aren't Christians. The first step in faith is you have to think. And a lot of people just roll their eyes. They don't reject Christianity because they've thought about it. I'm not talking about everybody. I'm talking about a certain strat of people that are definitely there, maybe in this room. You don't want to think. You know that Christianity gets in the way of what you want to do. You know that Christianity isn't very popular. But you don't want to think. As intellectual

impatience, as intellectual laziness, and that's one of the reasons why a lot of people don't come to faith in Christ. But, now we get to today, now we get to this case of Noah. Faith, Christian faith is more than thinking because the Christian message is much more than an idea. Christian faith is more than thinking because the Christian message is much more than an idea. Christian faith is more than thinking because the Christian message, the gospel, is much more than an idea.

It is not just an idea, it's a power. Paul says in Romans 1, I am not ashamed of the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation. In fact, the gospel, the Christian message, is divine power in the form of ideas. Divine power in the form of ideas. That means on the one hand it does have a content. It must be submitted to. That's the reason why faith starts with understanding. You have to understand it. It has to be coherent. But it's a power in the form of ideas. Paul says in Colossians 1, the gospel comes to you. It bears fruit in you, you see. It's a living thing.

And therefore we say that if the gospel is going to be the power in your life, you can't just think about it. You have to let it in. You have to trust. You have to live upon it. In other words, many people don't become Christians because they refuse to think. But there are many other people who don't become Christians because they will only think. That's all they'll do. They'll think about it. But the gospel says, I am not just. The gospel's

alive. It comes to you. The gospel says, I am not just ideas. I am divine power in the form of ideas You can't just think about me. You can't just talk about me. You can't just reason about me. You must let me in You must start to trust in me How do you do that? How does the gospel move from being an idea to being a power? You stop just believing in God and you start believing God You stop just thinking and reasoning about it and you start believing God. You stop just thinking and reasoning about it and you actually begin to live upon it.

You say, if Jesus is a king, if he is a king, I can't continue to live as if I'm my own king. It's to say, if he is the Savior, I can't live as if I'm my own Savior. In other words, you work it out into your life. You let the reasons of faith become the power of faith. Now, how does that happen? How can faith become not just an idea, but a power? How can you move from just thinking

and a kind of intellectual belief into trust? Noah shows us the way. Now there'll be other cases we'll look at as we move on through the fall, but Noah is the case today. He does three things, and these three things, if you do them, will also bring the power of faith into your life. The three things he does is he believes God, he condemns the world, and he hides in the ark. He condemns the world and he hides in the ark. He believes, he condemns, and he hides in the ark. And so must you. Here, let me show you.

Number one. Number one. First of all, we're told he believed God. You see what it says? It says, Noah warned about things not seen in holy fear, built an ark. Now, here's the definition. I've already mentioned it. Here's a definition of faith for us today.

Faith, Christian faith, is not just believing in God, it's believing God. Verse 6, you see verse 6, it says, if you want to come to God, you must believe he exists. In other words, you do have to believe in God, obviously, because the gospel is ideas, but it's more. And so you have to believe in God, but at a certain point you have to believe God. What does that mean? It means you have to begin to let what God says about reality define reality instead of what you see, what you feel.

You let God, what he says, what he tells you be your definition. You stop just believing in God and you begin to believe what he says. You believe God. Now here's the example. God comes to Noah and he says, Noah, there's a wave coming. A dark wave, an inexorable wave, a wave deeper than despair, a wave omnipotent, and it will sweep everything away before it. Nothing will be able to stop it. Nothing will be able to stand before it. I want you to stop it. Nothing will be able to stand before it. I want you to get ready. And so Noah, for years, on the basis of that, for years, Noah, in the middle of nowhere, built an ark. Noah, while the birds were chirping, while the sun was shining, and while the people

of the world were frolicking around sinning against the Ten Commandments without any consequences and laughing, Noah, as it were, built an ocean liner in the middle of Kansas. Why? You know why? It says, moved with fear, in holy fear. Thomas Manton, an old Puritan author, preached a sermon on this text and he says, well here's the difference.

The people of the world did not tremble with fear until the water reached the rooftops. But Noah trembled in fear when God did but speak. Now the word fear here doesn't mean fright. Oh, respect. You see, focus. It means focus. What we're told is this is faith. Noah said, I am not going to be defined by what I see.

The sun shining, it won't last. The birds chirping, they won't laugh. The people laughing, they won't laugh. I will not be defined by this. I will be defined by what God says. I don't just believe in God in a general way. I believe God. That's faith.

Now let me apply it for a minute before we move on to the next part. Do you understand? Christian friends, let me appeal to you here. What defines you? It's up to you. Look, you're bitter, let's say. You're struggling with anger. You're struggling with resentment. You don't want to call yourself bitter, but you are. You're angry because of what somebody's done to you, or what some people have done to you.

You feel wounded. Okay. You want freedom? You can either be moved by things not seen or you can be moved by things which are seen. You can look at your wounds, the wounds that have been inflicted on you, or you can look at Jesus' wounds dying on the cross for you. Which is it?

Are you gonna be moved from the things which are not, the wounds that are unseen, or the wounds that are seen? In other words, if you look at the cross, do you believe he died for you? Which is it? Are you gonna be moved from the things which are not to the wounds that are unseen or the wounds that are seen? In other words, if you look at the cross, do you believe he died for you? To look at the cross is to be moved by that and to say, Lord Jesus, I hurt you and you forgave me. It cost you a lot.

Now, if I forgive this person here, it's gonna cost me something but nothing like what it cost you. And what happens? Freedom comes. Why does the freedom come? You're moved by the things that aren't seen. You tremble before the wonderful things that God has said to you.

Here's the things that are seen. Bills, sicknesses, criticism, and here's the word of God. In Jesus Christ, the great bill's been paid. As the Holy Spirit's come into you, the great disease has been healed. And as God's love has come to you in Christ, it means the only critic you have to fear while you're in his arms.

So you're going to look at the bills? Are you going to look at the diseases? Are you going to look at the diseases? Are you going to look at the criticism? And be moved by that? Or are you going to tremble at the wonderful words, I love you, I care for you, I've given my life to you? What will move you? Do you want freedom? Do you want to be able to say like Noah looked around and says, I am not controlled by anything, no matter how appetizing it looks, no matter how ugly and frightening it looks, I am free. You want to be free?

You want to have the power of faith? You stop just believing in God and you start believing God. Let me put it to you one other way. This is always a poignant example in a place like New York. Are you controlled by what God says? Let's just go with the things that there's consensus on. You know, virtually every single religion believes in the Ten Commandments in some form or another.

Honesty, purity. Let me give you one. The Bible says you must never cut the relationship between sex and total commitment. In other words, all of Judaism and Christianity, here's consensus for you, and all of Islam and most all the Eastern religions have always said for centuries, you must not have any sex outside of marriage. Okay, that's what the unseen word. And then there's all the seen stuff, and my is it's seen in New York. Now my question to you is, what moves you? Do you really think there's no flood coming?

Do you really think that there's no consequences to breaking that word of God? Do you? What moves you? When are you gonna start trembling? You'll either, you know, remember the Fram Wohlfelder guy? You can pay me now or you can pay me later. Hmm? That's what Thomas Manton was saying.

You can tremble when God does but speak, or you will tremble later. You can tremble now at what he says about sexuality. Or listen, if there is a God, it's not good enough just to believe in God. If you believe in God, then he created you. He knows how you operate. He knows how your heart works.

He knows how sexuality works. He knows how your heart works. He knows how sexuality works. Are you saying there's no consequences to violating what He says? You can tremble now, or you'll tremble later. Don't just believe in God. Believe God, and you'll be free. Now, that's the first thing Noah did. What's the second thing?

The second thing Noah did was he condemned the world. Now this word condemned, at first it might look like it meant that Noah went around scolding everybody, but of course if you read the passage you realize that we're not talking about Noah just denouncing people. We're not talking about Noah just scolding people. It says by his faith he condemned the world and there it is. Now look, this word condemn, there's two aspects to it. By his faith, by what he did, by what he believed, he condemned the world. To condemn the world means to prove it wrong and to stand against it.

To condemn the world means you have to have proving power and standing power. Proving power and standing power. Now let me give you an illustration of how this works. There was a, let me just give you, let me just put it in some context actually. There recently was an article in the New York magazine about the big flap over the fact that Anna Quinlan, an op-ed page writer for the New York Times, has recently quit to write fiction, even though she was probably on a track to maybe be a key person at the New York Times, maybe even be the editor.

And the writer in the New York Times, in the New York Magazine, interpreted it this way. He said, if she couldn't or didn't want to run the Times, she could surely have been given a critical part in reshaping the culture that produces it. It would have been the culmination of the themes of her writing. The fact that Quinlan would rather be writing fiction than struggling to change New York Times is a potent statement about the clash of values ripping journalism apart. Okay? Now, if she stood against these values, she tried to denounce them, but this writer says she gave up.

Well, what was the values clash? And he goes on and he says, long an advocate of reform of the newsroom, she dared to use terms in discussion with colleagues like nurturing and happy, providing ways for habitually confrontational men to interact differently, making family an explicit concern of management policy. But reporters complained bitterly about the touchy-feely philosophy increasingly brought to The Times by the editor and embraced by Quinlan. philosophy increasingly brought to the Times by the editor and embraced by Quinlan. There's a lot of hugging at the New York Times now, a manager said, I've been hugged by people I wouldn't even want to shake hands with. Now, I don't know, we can't, I can't be sure, obviously, that the way the writer understands

this incident is real. And therefore, I must not try to attribute heroism or villainy to anybody. I can't know any of these things if true, but the pattern, let's take this as a pattern. And here's what we learn. It is impossible to stand against oppressive values, to stand against the world without faith. There's no greater hope for you today than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, His resurrection is the key to understanding the whole Bible and the greatest resource we have for facing the challenges of life.

Discover how to anchor your life in the meaning of the resurrection by reading Tim Keller's book, Hope in Times of Fear, the Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter. Hope in Times of Fear is our thank you for your gift to help Gospel in Life share Christ's redemptive love with people all over the world. Just visit gospelinlife.com slash give to request your copy. That's gospelinlife.com slash give. Now, here's Dr. Keller with the remainder of today's teaching. And here's why.

Remember, I said you have to have two things which Christianity gives to you. First of all, you have to have proving power and standing power. Here's what I mean by proving power. You can't simply say to the world, you just need to be nicer. You can't say to the world, let's nurture, let's love, let's tolerate diversity. You know why? You have to prove to the world that that's wrong. And here's what I mean.

People say, why should I be nurturing? Why should I tolerate diverse people? If all values, you see, if there is no God, or if we can't invoke God, or if we don't know if there's a God. All values are culturally relative, right? All values are relative. Now you see many people today say, since all values are relative, therefore we should be tolerant of each other. But that doesn't work.

That doesn't prove anything. You know why? If all things are relative, then tolerance is relative. It means, therefore, if everything's relative, if there is no God, then everything is relative and you want a hug, but that's just because you're part of the wimpy Northeastern liberal establishment. And if all things are relative, you can't condemn anything I do. How dare you say, on what basis do you say, that your liberalism is morally superior to my redneckism? On what basis do you say that your tolerance of diversity is superior to my selfishness

and oppressiveness? On what basis? You've cut the ground out from under you. You know what? You can't prove anything. The question is, why should I be tolerant? What reason do I have to be tolerant other than the naked power that you're bringing to bear on the discussion? And the answer is, you see, without faith you cannot stand against the world. You can't prove a thing.

Is there a God? If there is, then you can condemn. If there is no God, if there isn't a judge in heaven, if there's no objective standard, you can't condemn anything. You can't condemn the New York Times newsroom. You can't condemn anything, Betty, for anything. You can't say tolerance is better. Why? Don't you see Christianity, you might think it's false, but at least you can admit, I hope, that it has resources for condemning the world. But if you don't believe in God, if you don't believe in some faith,

if you don't have any religious, if you don't believe in some faith, if you don't have any religious faith, you can't condemn. You can't stand against the mean, oppressive, dog-eat-dog values, you can't say they're wrong, you can't even define what's wrong. But that's not all you need. Oh no, even if you had intellectual resources for condemning the world, you need personal resources.

You don't just need proving power, you need standing power. And the fact is, you need to have some kind of moral energy inside. And the Bible says you get an infusion of moral power when you become a Christian. When you receive Christ, you become partakers of the divine nature. The law is written on your heart. The Holy Spirit comes in. You've got to have that, but you can't condemn the world. Well, let me put it to you this way. We said it's not enough just to believe God. If you

only believe in God, you'll only believe in forgiveness. But if you believe God, you'll experience forgiveness. And only when you experience forgiveness will you be able to forgive. Only when you experience the glory you be able to forgive only when you Experience the glory of God will it humble you and it change the structure of your personality and psychology The only way you get standing power The only way you really become a humbler person become a bolder person become a forgiving person is if something come from the outside Comes inside and gives you that infusion of moral energy and that's what you have in Christianity Before moving to the last point, let me just ask you, how is it with you? Let me ask you this, are you condemning the world?

Are you even trying? Let me put it to you this way. Is anybody making fun of you? Surely you know in a place like New York City that if you live an unselfish life and an honest life and a humble life, people are going to laugh at you, you will be every bit as silly as Noah, old fool, building an ocean liner in the middle of Kansas. You will look just as stupid as that. Is anybody making fun of you for your moral character?

And if not, why is it just because you look like everybody else? Now if you're not condemning the world, it's either because you aren't a Christian and you don't have the resources or else you are a Christian and you're refusing to draw on them. But you can. And you should. And you must. Okay, now lastly, Noah believed God.

Secondly, Noah condemned the world. But last of all, Noah hid in the ark. We have two pictures here. We're told Noah being warned of things unseen in holy fear built an ark to save his family and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Ah, listen here, listen. At this point, figuratively speaking, we should all take our shoes off because we're on holy ground. At this point, we have come into the heart of the Christianity,

the heart of the Bible. Two pictures. Let's look at them. The first picture is an heir. He became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Now what's an heir? It's a great picture. An heir is someone who got rich through somebody else. Put it another way. An heir is somebody who receives something. If you're an heir, you've received something you didn't earn.

Example, here's a woman and she becomes rich because she's a tremendous entrepreneur. Here's a woman that is smart enough. Why is she rich? Because of her performance, because of her achievement. She's smart enough to see that market niche that nobody else saw. She's productive enough to address that market niche and the need. And she's talented enough to pull it all off. Why has she become rich? She earned it. Then she leaves it to her children. Why are her children rich? How did they get rich? Not because of their abilities, but because of their relationship. Now, every other religion and in every other religion and deeply rooted in every single human heart in this room and everywhere

is the conviction that the purpose of religion is to develop a righteousness, is to weave a righteousness, a record of moral decency and give it to God. Everybody believes that in their heart and every religion except Christianity puts it forth. You see, what's the purpose of religion? It's to live this moral life, a righteous life, help other people, be faithful to your family, tell the truth, help people in need.

And you weave it and you give it to God and if you do, and when you do, God loves you and favors you and listens to your prayer and you're saved. But Christianity is utterly different. The gospel says, first, you don't do something, you receive something. The gospel says, faith in Christ makes you an heir. The gospel says faith in Christ gives you a righteousness you inherit not that you earn. Or let me put it this way, there's a righteousness that is not something we give to God but it comes. Look at the word comes. It comes. It's from God. it's not ours. This is utterly different than what any other religion says. It's completely different.

Don't you see? It comes at us. Put it this way. When the children inherit the wealth of the mother, though they did not earn it, they are every bit as wealthy as their mother was. And when you receive Christ, when you have faith in Christ, that faith is not a way to merit the favor of God, it unites you in a relationship so that it comes.

It comes fully, it comes completely, and you become, though you didn't earn it, every bit as beautiful, every bit as loved, every bit as honored, every bit as glorious in God's sight as Jesus Christ. Heir! Joint heir with Christ. Your heirs with Christ, you know what that means. This is totally different. It's a righteousness that comes, not that you give.

It's a righteousness you inherit, not that you earn. Well, how, you say. How could it be possible? And the answer is the last, and the second picture, the ark. There's a flood coming, and no one can possibly survive that flood. We're all going to sink. It's the flood of God's judgment.

We've said here, we've talked about it, we've alluded to it, God is the fairest judge. When you read what the Bible says about God's judgment, you will see there's never been a more fair version of judgment. We're told, for example, God will judge us by the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have him do unto you. That means God is simply going to say what everybody knows in their own heart. He's going to say the golden rule. Meet other people's needs with all the joy, with all the eagerness, with all the strength and all the power with which you meet your own. But nobody does it.

There can't be a more fair way to judge people. Nobody does it. In Romans chapter 2 we're told even further that God will simply judge you according to what you, in your conscience, know and impose on other people. In other words, it's like there's an invisible tape recorder around your neck. And all through your life, it's just picking up what you tell other people they ought to do.

It only comes on, it only records whatever you tell other people they ought to do. It just picks up your moral standards for others. other people they ought to do. It only comes on, it only records whatever you tell other people they ought to do. It just picks up your moral standards for others. And we're told on the last day, God's going to take that tape recorder off, and he's going to play it back. And he says, I'll tell you what, I'll be as fair as a judge possibly can be.

I'm going to judge you just on the basis, only on the basis of what you want other people to be. And nobody on the face of the earth will live up to the recording of your own voice. your own words will condemn you. Don't you see there's a flood coming and who in the world will be able to float in that? In other words, let me put it this way, if there is no judge, there's no hope for the world. Remember? We can't even define what is evil. We certainly have no hope. If there's no judge, if there's no God,

we can't even define evil. And there's no hope of any solution for evil. So if there's no judge, there's no hope for the world. What hope is there for the world? But if there is a judge, what hope is there for you and me? We're all going to sink. Who can survive? The judgment of God is a flood. and the weight of our sins and our records pull us to the

bottom and you know what happens as you get down a couple of miles? Judgment. Who can possibly survive and float in the judgment of God, in the flood of God? And the answer is only one. I'll tell you who, only one. Jesus Christ. Jesus can walk on water. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a perfect death to pay for our sins and as a result the Bible tells us no the way of salvation is not to imitate Christ but to hide in Christ. Christ is

the ark. Christ is the rock. Hide yourself in the rock and you're saved from the firestorm, see? Hide yourself in the rock. Hide yourself in the ark and you're saved from the flood. Rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. When you say, how do you do that, you say? When you admit that you're going to sink in the flood of God's wrath, of any kind of fair judgment of any sort, and say, I rely completely on what Jesus Christ has done for me. And don't you see, Jesus is the ark means he bore, he bore the judgment. Have you ever really been in a hurricane?

Have you ever been in a tornado? Have you ever been in a tidal wave? It beats with this deadly power. What does it mean to say Jesus is our ark? It means the judgment of God beats on him. You're safe if you're a Christian. You are dry because it's beating on him. He's our refuge. He's our shield. It all falls on him. And the most incredible thing is, just as the very same water that crushed everyone else, people in the ark, that water raised them to heaven, the same water. The Bible tells us, and this is the most astonishing thing of all, that what happened on the cross

was Jesus paid our penalty. That means that God's justice now drives him to love us. Don't you see what the cross means? It means that God doesn't love us in spite of his justice anymore. His love and his justice are no longer at odds. He doesn't love us in spite of his justice. He loves us because of his justice. Jesus died for us. God could not take two payments for any of our sins. It would be unjust for God to take us and rebuke us and to cast us off, which means if you are in the ark, the very judgment of God, the justice of God,

you ride the justice of God into the stars, you ride it past the stars into his heart where he welcomes you. And you know what the rainbow means then? You know, the rainbow comes out and God says, I will never again judge the earth like this. And what do you think he's saying? He's saying, oh, I will never do that again. I lost my temper. I will never do such a thing.

Don't you know? He's not saying that. In fact, if you read in Genesis 8, it says, I will never again destroy the earth, though the hearts of every human being is evil from childhood. No, he knows that. What is he saying? He is saying, do you know what it cost him to make that promise?

Do you know what the rainbow cost him? He's saying, there won't be any more judgment on you, because my son will take the judge. Now you see. He says, there won't be any more. The rainbow's for you, but it cost me my son. Hide in the ark. Get into Christ.

Rock of ages cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Now, let me finish this way. If you do the three things that Noah has done, if you believe God, if you condemn the world, and if you hide in Jesus Christ, you will be able to do what Noah did, smile at the storm. You know what Noah's saying when he looks outside? Out through the ark he says, come on, go ahead flood, the lower you seek, come on rain, come on water, the lower you seek to lay me, the higher you simply raise me. Now friends, if you do the three things that Noah did, you're in the same condition.

You know why? First of all, you can look at peace at the storms. You can look at peace at the storms of your sin. You know what your record is? Everybody goes into the storms of life with your record. Have you ever noticed when your troubles are there, when people are criticizing you, when everything's falling apart, you say, but I'm a good person, I take care of my mother.

I'm a good person, I'm better than most people. Your arc is your record. And that arc will never handle the storms of life. There's too many holes in it. But if you're like Noah, you can say, now there is no condemnation for those who are in, in, inside Jesus Christ. Or Christian friends, if you've got suffering and troubles coming, don't you realize?

It says in 1 Peter, it says in James, count it all joy when troubles come, for your faith more precious than gold, says Peter, will be refined so that it might redound with praise and glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ. In other words, if you get in the ark, if you get into Christ, if you obey Him and if you trust in Him, no matter how bad it beats on you, no matter how bad your life gets, it'll turn you into a great heart. That storm will raise you up. It'll make you more compassionate. It'll make you more humble. It'll make you a great person. The same storm, the same troubles, the same things that crush other people make them bitter and hard. It'll make you wonderful and holy and loving and compassionate and trusting. As John Newton said in his great hymn,

by prayer I will wrestle, then he will perform with Christ in the vessel. I smile at the storm. Let's pray. Father, we ask only that you would show everybody in this room what it means To hide themselves in you And if we hide ourselves in you we can smile at the storms of our

We can have peace as we look at our sin and guilt we can have peace as we look at the troubles of life Help us to have the same power that Noah had Because he believes in you and he believes you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thanks for listening to Tim Keller on the Gospel in Life podcast. If you'd like to see more people encouraged by the Gospel-centered teaching and resources of this ministry, we invite you to consider becoming a Gospel in Life monthly partner. Your partnership allows us to reach people all over the world of this ministry, we invite you to consider becoming a Gospel in Life monthly partner. Your partnership allows us to reach people all over the world with the life-giving power of Christ's love.

To learn more, just visit gospelinlife.com slash partner. That website again is gospelinlife.com slash partner. Today's sermon was recorded in 1994. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel in Life podcast were preached from 1989 to 2017, while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.