Greyfriars Hall Exhortation delivered at Anselm House August 27, 2013

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

We would do well to examine what transpired leading up to the flood, the preparation period. The time before the flood. The building of the Ark. Consider how overwhelming it may have been to Noah after God instructed him in the Ark’s dimensions. Think about the number of trees that needed to be cut down, moved, shaped, fastened and suitable to the Ark’s purpose. This work was long, tedious, and difficult. It took over a hundred years for Noah to build.

This expression of faith and obedience to God over an extended period of time is something we should emulate because we are all building arks. More specifically, we’re all building the Ark. Just as the Ark saved Noah and his family from a deluge of God’s judgment, Christ saves us from God’s wrath.  Christ’s body, the church, represented by the Ark continues to be built. And if you are a follower of Jesus, then you are a servant, a worker, a partaker in this massive building project.  We have a seemingly impossible task before us: books to read, papers to write, languages to learn, people to save, all peoples to be saved, all nations to be baptized, the ushering in of a kingdom. So overwhelming are these glorious prospects that it can present the temptation to be paralyzed with fear, but we have not been given a spirit of fear. We’ve been given a Spirit of power, of love, and self-control. This time is set aside for us that we may be prepared for the crushing waters. The workload at this point looks like a forest of trees that we’ve been tasked to cut down with a butter knife, but take heart. We live for a Savior who has overcome this world. He gives us better things than knives. He gives us His Holy Spirit. This same Spirit raised Christ from the dead and now lives in us. And if the Spirit living in us, helps us in our weaknesses and declares that we are more than conquerors, which it does, then we may confidently go forward in our work.