Building Noah's Ark Series - Lesson 1

Noah's Spiritual Maturity - Gen. 6:9-14
I. Noah built the ark in the sunshine
- he prepared during the sunshine for the coming flood
- somewhere down the road we will have a flood - a crisis, a trial
So we need to prepare for it now while times are good
A. Prepare for financial trials
- set money aside in an ER fund - $500 to start but eventually 3 months of bills
B. Prepare for emotional trials
- read Bible daily & pray daily
- meditate on the Word & memorize scripture for future comfort & help
C. Prepare for health trials
- it is best to do what you can to avoid health problems - preventative is best for bodies, homes, cars, appliances
- take care of yourself by eating & drinking right & by exercise
***Remember - You are what you eat and you sag and bulge where you don't move!
D. Prepare for death
- make sure you are saved - your life is a vapor - we don't know how long we have
- make decisions now about your funeral & let others know
- have life insurance and/or a prepaid burial plan
- decide who will raise your kids
- have a will or a living trust
We don't know when a storm will come but it WILL come so prepare!

II. Noah let God shut the door - Gen. 7:6
- He took himself & his family & got on the ark & let God close the door but trusted God to open it again later
A. We don't have all the answers about life but we can trust the one who does
- Noah built the ark as God said
- He gathered the animals as God said
- He got on the ark as God said
- He watched the rain fall as God said
- He could believe God would open the door again as He said
B. Let God close doors for us
- follow God's will, let Him guide & direct us
I often pray "Lord open doors & close doors in the direction you'd have me to go."
- ignore the saying "When God closes a door come in through the window or kick down th door"
**When God closes the door - listen & wait until He opens it or a different door
- don't put your foot in the door to keep it open either

III. Noah thanked God - Gen. 8:13-20
- firsh thing Noah did when he got off the ark was build an altar to God and sacrifice to Him in thanksgiving
- This is the first mention of an altar being built to God
- 1 Thess. 5:18 - we are to give thanks for everything
God gives us blessings, we are alive because He allows it, He created us, He loves us
- even the trials, though they are hard to go through, are  a way to help us rely on Him and draw us closer to Him, to grow in Christian maturity or to affect others around us
We can learn and grow in our Christian walk from Noah. The ark was used to help save his life and his family's life but HE had to build it! In this series we will learn to build different arks to help us in our lives.