I. Introduction
A. One day while studying about Noah in Sunday School I remembered that as a child I heard a preacher talk about how Noah’s Ark was in many ways like God’s Plan of Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
II. There are many ways in which this comparison could be made.
A. The saving the physical life can be compared to the saving of the spiritual life.
1. In Genesis chapter six, verses 9 and 22 we are told that Noah was a righteous man before God, and that he did all that God asked him to do.
2. In verses 17-18, we see that Noah and his family were the only people God intended to leave alive.
a. In this example we see that God saved those who were faithful to Him and loved Him more than everything else, and He saved them from the upcoming destruction of the world.
b. In the same way, Jesus will take care of those who put their trust in Him, so that they would live forever.
1) John 3:16 CEV “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”
2) Everyone who enters the Ark of Jesus’ Salvation will live in spirit, just as those who entered Noah’s Ark of Safety survived.
B. But would you believe that we could even see Eternal Security in the ark?
1. In chapter 7, verse 16, “And when they were all in the boat, God closed the door.”
a. God was the one who closed the door behind them. It was not a rope and pulley like in that old movie. Noah and his family had nothing to do with being saved from destruction.
b. If it doesn’t sound familiar yet let me give you another verse of scripture.
1) Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
c. Just as works cannot guarantee our salvation, Noah didn’t do anything to ensure the safety of his family on the ark. Both are based solely on the Grace of God
2. When God shut the door on the ark, it was symbolic of the way Jesus keeps us safe when we are in His hands.
a. In the CEV, John 10:27-30 says, “My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, and I am one with the Father.”
1) Those who were outside the ark were lost and died, while those closed in by the Hand of God were safe and secure; those whom Jesus holds are safe until the day of His coming, while those who choose to remain outside those loving hands are doomed to destruction.
III. Submit, submit, submit!
A. We can learn a lesson about Divine Direction from the Ark of Noah.
1. By “Divine Direction” I mean the leading of God in our lives.
2. When God puts a call on our lives, we know we are to go somewhere, but how are we going to find what he has for us?
B. Let’s look at chapter six, verses 14-16.
1. In these verses we see building specifications for the ark.
a. Let’s read these instructions together.
2. I am amazed by the fact that there are no instructions on how to steer the boat. Nowhere in these verses do we see dimensions for the rudder.
a. From this fact we can say two things:
1) Noah did not have the ability to steer the ark.
2) God had total and complete control.
b. What a wonderful example of how we are to totally submit to the power of God in our lives.
1) Not only was Noah to build something totally unlike anything anyone had ever seen, but he was to have no control over his journey.
2) How many of you would buy a car without a steering wheel?
3) In the same way God wants us to give complete control in our lives to Him, and to let Him direct us in the ways He wants us to go.
IV. Where am I going and how do I get there?
A. I remember as a child seeing the pictures of Noah’s Ark.
1. It was always full to the brim of animals, with giraffe’s heads poking out, and an elephant’s trunk swinging from the stern. And there stood old Noah, with his telescope, and his rain hat and his yellow slicker, watching the horizon like a good captain should.
a. But I found something interesting as I dug through the scriptures.
B. In chapter six, verse 16, we see the order for a window. It’s there. But as much as I have checked, this doesn’t seem to be a window as we call them.
1. Some sources say that this was the source of the drinking water for the inhabitants of the ark.
a. They say that as the rain came off of the roof of the ark, it would collect into this small opening, giving them fresh water to drink.
1) Think about it for a minute. There they are out in the middle of a vast ocean, and have no water to drink, right? Has anyone ever gotten a mouthful of ocean saltwater? Could you swallow it?
2. Also, the word window as used in the old Hebrew referred to a source of light, with it’s root in the same word as was used for oil.
a. So, this window was most probably only a light source and a way to have potable water, more than a means to see out of the ark.
C. And later we also see that Noah had to do a little work in order to see if there was dry land.
1. Genesis 8:13b CEV “Noah made an opening in the roof of the boat and saw that the ground was getting dry.”
a. This is after he had sent out the birds in order to see if the water had receded.
b. You can read this in verses 6 through 13.
2. Verse 13 speaks of Noah removing the covering of the ark.
a. The Hebrew word used spoke of a weather proofing. I imagine that this was something like shingles that we see on the roofs of houses today.
3. So the question comes to mind: If Noah could have looked out a window, would he have needed to send out birds four times, and then to put a hole in the roof of the ark, in order to see? Probably not.
V. The lesson of the rudder and the window
A. There is a great lesson here for us today in the ark and I believe this lesson hits us where it hurts the most: our free will.
1. As human beings we are proud of the fact that we can exercise our free will on everything, nothing is off limits to us.
a. Some of us even wear it proudly, like a badge.
1) We shout, “Don’t put me in your circle of rules! I am my own man. No one rules me!”
2) I have even encountered it in my life, when I find myself thinking, ‘Hey, I’m the boss now. I make my rules.”
2. Timothy Mcveigh, the man condemned to die for the Oklahoma City bombing flaunted his free will in the face of death.
a. As his last words, he left the poem “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley.
3. This poem truly shows the nature of how we see our free will.
a. I am stricken by a reference to the strait gate.
b. In Matthew 7:13, Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
B. So let us learn this lesson.
1. If the ark is a picture of God’s Salvation through Christ Jesus, then we can see the lack of a rudder as the suggestion that we have no say in where the Lord puts us.
2. And we can see the lack of a traditional window through which to see, we can say that we are not to have our eyes on the obstacles before us.
3. God is saying to us today that he requires total surrender.
a. Once we enter the Ark of the Blood of Jesus, God has the controls. God steers the ship and He alone knows where we will end up in His Plan.
b. Much like Noah and his family, all we are sure of is that God has promised to take care of us and bring us to Him in the end.
VI. Application
A. How do we compare with the lesson we have received?
1. Is God in complete control, guiding you through the plan He has for you?
2. Or are you too busy looking for a place to build a rudder so that you can steer around the next obstacle you encounter?
3. Remember what James said.
a. James 1:2-4 CEV “My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.”
b. Many times, most times God uses the trials and temptations we go through to bring out the qualities He desires most in us.
1) Romans 8:28 CEV “We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,”
c. How are we ever going to grow if we are steering our own ark around all of the chances to learn?
VII. Conclusion
A. This is your invitation to give God the controls of your life.
1. Remember the old bumper sticker-“God is my co-pilot?”
a. God does not want to be your co-anything! He wants it all- or He wants nothing!
1) Revelation 3:15-16 CEV “I know everything you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
2) Are there things today that you haven’t let go of yet? Give it up! Don’t let some small thing be that one thing that keeps you from your greatest blessing!
B. As I begin to close today, there is one more verse that has popped up.
1. Revelation 3:20 KJV “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
a. Is He knocking? Is He saying, “Give Me control?” “Let Me help you?”
b. Won’t you listen, and let Him in?
C. I am reminded of the song that says, “It’s all about You Jesus, and all this is for You; for Your glory and Your fame. It’s not about me-as if You should do things my way. You alone are God and I surrender to Your ways!”
1. Let’s sing that song as our invitation.
D. Prayer: O Lord God, whatever it takes, teach me to let You have the utmost control in my life. I don’t want You to be my co-pilot; I want You to have complete dominion. Forgive me for ever thinking I could do a better job of navigation than You. I surrender the wheel to You now and forever more. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
