Hebrews 11:7: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to thee saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
Noah PREPARED AN ARK TO THE SAVING OF HIS FAMILY!
This statement is a challenge for all fathers in all generations. It is important to note that when Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, the same grace that was extended to Noah was also extended to his family of "eight souls" (1 Peter 3:20). That same grace of salvation would have been extended to others if they had believed Noah's preaching as he built the ark over the space of approximately 75 years.*
Out of all the multitudes of people living on the face of the earth, ONLY EIGHT people were saved! Noah and his wife and their three sons and wives (Genesis 7:13).
Noah prepared the ark primarily for the saving of his family. 1 Peter 3: 20 (TPT): "For during the time of Noah God patiently waited while the ark was being prepared, but only a few were brought safely through the floodwaters: a total of eight souls."
We know that there will not be another flood like Noah's flood that brought judgment on the whole known world. However, we learn from Jesus in Matthew 24:37-39 that another judgment, similar to Noah's flood (though different) will destroy all those that are not in the ark of Christ.
"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and TOOK THEM ALL AWAY: so also shall the coming of the Son of man be."
The question is this: are we building an ark for the saving of our present-day families? It took Noah approximately 75 years to build his ark. How much time and effort are we putting in to make sure our families are safe within the ark of Jesus Christ? Over all the years our children are growing, it takes time and effort to build an ark to save them from the floods of evil that seek to drown our precious sons and daughters. And our marriages too.
. By building a strong and loving marriage we are building an ark to save our families.
. By encouraging our wives to be stay-at-home mothers to nurture and care for the children we are building an ark to save our families.
. By providing homeschooling we are building an ark to save our families.
. By gathering our family for Family Devotions each day, we are building an ark to save our families.
. By attending, with the WHOLE family, a family orientated and encouraging church we are building an ark to save our families.
. By keeping a strong watch and guarding over our children's social activities we are building an ark to save our families.
. By make sure our children's friends are also from ark-building families we are building an ark to save our families. It is staggering to note that so few were saved by Noah's ark. Only EIGHT!
Out of all those that left Egypt for the Promised Land only TWO got in-Joshua and Caleb.
Matthew 7:13, 14: "Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it."
Fathers, let's beware. Let's be watchful. Don't the spirit of this worl dtake you away from your highest calling of building an ark to SAVE YOUR
FAMILY!
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell