“By faith Noah prepared...”

Faith works. Faith acts. Faith moves. Faith prepares. Faith is not presumptive. Presumption takes things for granted based on either an attitude of entitlement or of arrogance. Faith responds in humility and expectation waiting upon the promises assured. The Bible promises us a lot of things. It promises us that God will provide. But it also states that we must “go out” and collect what He has provided. Yes, He rained down Manna in the wilderness, but the people had to go out and collect it for themselves. He didn’t dump it in their tents, or in their pantries. If a man does not work, neither shall he eat says the scripture. The law of Moses instructed the wealthy farmers to leave behind droppings of their crops for the poor of the land. However, the poor had to go out and glean the fields for themselves. In other words, there was a provision made but they still had to prepare and work for it themselves in order to lay hold of it. The Bible promises us both times of abundance, and times of lack. “In this world, you will have tribulation” we are promised. In the days when Joseph was in Egypt, God gave Pharaoh a dream of seven years of plenty, and seven years of drought and famine. In faith Joseph took action and prepared for the promised coming drought by urging Pharaoh to build storehouses and to store up enough grain and food supplies during the seven good years in order to prepare for the promised coming bad years. Faith prepares. Faith works. As it is written, “Faith, without works is dead”. The kind of “faith” that does nothing, is no faith at all, it is a presumption that reaps what it sows, which is nothing, and worse still, leads even to death.

The Bible promises us that God’s judgement will be upon a land (any land) that persistently sins against Him and rejects His laws. “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 14:13–14)

Lately, almost daily it seems that we are seeing reports of an impending global food crisis, and yes, even here in America. It cannot be denied that with more and more frequency we are seeing news reports of impending wars, earthquakes, famines, and all other sorts of societal upheavals. In a recent report by Tyler Durden titled: “Devastating Crop Losses Are Literally Happening All Over The Globe’, posted in the online news blog Zero Hedge, Durden writes, “Without a doubt, our planet is behaving very strangely right now, and reports of crop failures are regularly coming in from all over the planet...Ice Age Farmer’s map shows that there are literally dozens of locations all over the globe right now that are reporting significant crop losses, and this is really unlike anything we have ever seen before. Some parts of our planet are dealing with horrific drought, but in the middle of the United States it just won’t stop raining. In some areas of the world it is too cold, while others are experiencing record heat. Everywhere we look we see extremes, and the behavior of our sun is the primary reason this is happening.” This of course is precisely a scenario that the Bible predicts will occur in the end times before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible promises, as I stated above, God’s judgement on all the nations. That judgement can come in diverse ways. Jesus spoke of famines, earthquakes, and the seas roaring. He spoke of wars and rumors of wars. The sword of war coming upon a land is a very biblical form of judgement, as the Lord promised through Ezekiel; “... if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. (Ezekiel 14:17–18)

The Word of God clearly shows us time and time again throughout the scriptures that national calamities are a sign of divine displeasure! (and make no mistake about it, they are already upon us, and will intensify!) * Drought / heat waves * Farms being scorched / Flooded and food supplies being affected * Economic turmoil * Pestilence / disease * “Natural” disasters; storms, earthquakes, etc… * The sword / Terrorism / Wars

George Mason, The father of the Bill of rights understood quite rightly that God judges nations for their public stands and policies. On the floor of the constitutional convention in 1787 George Mason said: “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this [world]. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, [God’s] Providence punishes national sins by national calamities”

When God begins to judge a nation, He always does it incrementally. The judgments come in various modes and facets, (the sword...famine...pestilence, etc...) and, He always gives warnings and wake up calls through both His word by way of precedent, and by way of providence through prophetic voices, that's simply the biblical pattern.

Knowing these things then, what sort of people ought we to be?

God forewarned Noah in the days before the flood of His impending judgement upon the whole planet! And ,“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared [Kataskeuazo] an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Heb 11:7) The word “prepared” in the Greek is “Kataskeuazo” it means to prepare thoroughly. To construct, create: build, to prepare the essential necessities.

It is faith that prepares. It is presumption that fails to prepare.

It is presumption that says, “God will provide and protect and I don’t need to do anything at all!” That is a false faith that is both foolish and presumptive. Yet, I see many saying this very thing today. I see many, (which sadly, is par for the course these days), taking Jesus words out of context. “Do not worry about tomorrow...” Of course, He was talking about needless worrying and fretting over things, with a lack of trust and faith in the Providence of God. But He wasn’t suggesting that we don’t prepare for what we know is coming, otherwise the Spirit of Christ that was in the prophets would not have ever even bothered to warn people such as Joseph or Noah, and many others as well of impending calamity in which to prepare for! When you prepare for the coming storm by faith, then of course Jesus’s words do mean something, and you won’t have to worry, because you’re prepared, and you have done in faith what you could do and can leave the rest in God’s hands in confidence and in assurance!

Of course we all hope that calamities and terrible things won’t ever happen, but there may come a time when you will be called on to care for yourself and your family, and even to have a little extra to help those who are in need, in the face of economic or governmental collapse or widespread natural disasters. Are you prepared and ready to keep your family, as well as others around you if need be, safe and secure during such chaos? Five simple steps can help ensure your family’s survival.

1. Prepare financially - Starting an emergency fund, and getting out of debt will provide you with the financial means to survive, at least for the short immediate term. Have a stash of cash on hand in the event of a widespread grid or power failure when you won’t be able to access funds!

2. Stock up on supplies - People who live in hurricane or earthquake-prone areas understand how important it is to have food and bottled water on hand after a natural disaster hits. If you and your family find yourself in this situation, knowing how to grow your own food as well and properly storing food is essential. It’s also a good idea to have other supplies on hand, such as personal hygiene supplies and medicines you need. It’s possible you won’t have any other access to them.

3. Be prepared for loss of power - The power grid is a prime target for our enemies. It's already being hacked into and attempts are being made to disrupt our power grid. Our enemies know that we are very vulnerable in regards to our power grid. I want to encourage you to get a generator, and get a generator that works on propane gas as well as regular gas. They even make solar powered generators these days, (though I don’t think they are very powerful). However, if the power goes out for any length of time you can still get propane. And have several backup tanks filled and in storage. Your refrigerated and frozen food will spoil If the electrical grid goes down for days or even weeks. You’ll also lose the ability to prepare food unless you have a non-electric source for cooking. You should have an alternate energy source for heating and cooking as well as warm clothing and blankets available for your family.

4. Plan to protect yourself - When an economic collapse or long-term natural disaster occurs, people affected become desperate for food, water and other supplies. Many of them are willing to do whatever it takes to get them. We of course as Christians need to help those as we are able, and have the ability to help. However, looters, rioters, thieves and marauders are altogether a different thing. It is a perfectly Christian and legitimate thing to protect your family and neighborhood even by means of force if necessary. Unfortunately, long-term disruptions in normal daily life often lead to danger from strangers or looters searching for food to take from the weak, as well as other supplies or valuables. You will want to be ready to defend your family when necessary.

5. Community planning church planning/ plans If you have friends and neighbors you can trust, work with them to build a community relationship that can withstand the difficult times ahead. Preparing for impending danger can be overwhelming, but it can also be liberating. Prepare now to take the steps you need to assure your family’s safety and security.

It's not about fearing what's coming. It's about preparing for what's coming! It's not about lacking faith! Which is a false proposition. It's about acting in faith and not walking in presumption! America, along with the rest of the world, is about to face the fiercest storm it has ever faced. Our way of life, is going to be radically transformed. Calamities and destruction's are coming. Real oppression and real persecution is coming to those who live faithful biblical lives, not only in "those other nations around the world", but right here in America!

The writer in Proverbs encourages us to; “...not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the Lord will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.” (Prov.3:25-26). That very same writer in the book of Ecclesiastics said; “For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.” (Ecc. 9:12)

Are you prepared for a 'suddenly"? Are you ready for a suddenly? Now hear me out my friend, I'm not Mr. Paranoid! Playing “the sky is falling game”! But the truth and the reality is that major stuff IS about to hit the fan my friends! And… what If SUDDENLY....your world....my world....our world....erupted into unbelievable catastrophe and chaos? Think it can’t or won’t happen? Think again! Jeremiah cried out..."For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us."

There is a storm coming. We are mere moments away from the greatest storm this entire world has ever seen or experienced! And you need to get prepared! The bible says the prudent man foresees evil and takes refuge! (Prov. 22:3)

I had a conversation with someone some time ago who said it was truly foolish of me to be talking about these things. Things like preparing for the evil day, stockpiling food, and stashing cash and other essentials, because, if I was “truly spiritual” I wouldn't worry about these things. The implication of course was that he was “truly spiritual” and I was “truly foolish”. Of course I disagreed, and said, the position that he held was not the truly spiritual one, but the truly foolish one!

Listen folks! It was Jesus Himself who said it was the foolish ones who didn't prepare!

Jesus said they were five wise virgins who prepared their lamps, and then he said they were five who were foolish. The foolish were the ones who did not prepare nor did they take extra oil for their lamps. The word “foolish” in the Greek is the word “Moros” we get the English word “moron’ from that word. According to Strong's concordance “Moros” means, “dull and stupid”! Hey! Don’t get mad at me! I'm just the messenger! It was Jesus who said five were wise and five were stupid who did not prepare! But...but...didn't Jesus say not to worry about tomorrow? What you will eat, or wear? Yes he did. He said not to worry about tomorrow but he didn't say not to prepare for tomorrow! And, if you responsibly prepare, than you will have no need to worry! So then. You decide for yourself. Will you be “truly spiritual” and prepare for what clearly lies ahead? Or, will you walk in presumption, foolishly imagining that is faith?

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

His grace is still amazing to me! Andy White