Power of Building An Ark

Key Scripture: “And the Lord said to Noah, “Build an Ark.”…I will establish My covenant with you and you shall go into the ark-you, your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you…And Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”   Genesis 6

Power Point:

Cruises are wonderful adventures. As the ship prepares to embark the passengers line up on all the decks, confetti flies, the band plays and everyone looks very happy. The first thing you are required to do after you set sail is to get a number and line up underneath your lifeboat so that if there are any problems, you know exactly what to do.

Somehow, I can’t envision Noah and his family standing on the deck of the Ark-waving goodbye to the people below. I think there may have been total silence, as they understood that, as the swollen rivers and streams lifted the Ark, they would never see those people again. Imagine the onlooker’s uneasiness as rain began to fall for the first time ever and there was no way for them to escape the flood. Did they panic? Did they try to swim to the Ark?

I love the picture that the Ark paints for us. It gives us total safety no matter how high the waters rise around us. The Ark is the picture of coming into Jesus’ arms, forever safe, forever loved, forever separated from the world. The Ark is also the perfect picture of the covenant God has made with us. It keeps us afloat, it keeps us safe, and it keeps us united with Him.

The Bill Gaither trio sings a song called, (strangely enough) “Build An Ark”. These are a few of the words.

“Build an ark, head for the open water. Save your sons and your daughters. My father and my mother, my sisters and my brothers, all of the friends I care about and the woman that I learned to love.

I’ll gather them together. Promise them forever. We’ll be safe from the world around us. All we have to do is to love each other.”

Beloved, that is the perfect illustration of intercession. It’s what we are called to do for our sons and daughters, our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers, and all of the people we care about. We build an Ark, drawing on the Covenant we have with God the Father through Jesus-a promise for life, for wholeness, for peace, and for abundance.

Our prayers build a safe place for them to receive His grace and His mercy and to enter into all that God has for them. When you’re on the Ark, the storms may come, problems may arise, but you have a lifeboat-the Word of God. Make sure that you know the number of the boat you need to be in, chapter and verse.

Save those that you love. Get them to the Ark and then head for the open water.

Power Thought:

The Ark really is your best Life Preserver. Sometimes people just need help getting there.