When I ask, are you in the safety of the ark, it is a plea to the unbeliever to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior but I am also appealing to the born again believer to remain in the will of God which is where we find safety. We (believers) are charged with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit., teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. We are going to take a look at Noah’s obedience in building the ark and proclaiming the message of pending rain and Jonah’s disobedience in fleeing the call of God to go deliver a message of destruction to Ninevah. We will examine how God provided safety for Noah in the ark and Jonah in the belly of a whale. Both had a message and task to complete. If God can do those things for these people and keep them safe, how much more will he do for us?
In a world where sin is running rampant and blatant disregard for God and His Word, it seems as if the enemy is winning and Christians stay on the loosing end of the stick. Senseless killings, rape, hate, poverty, injustice, homosexuality becoming the norm…..YOLO is the new age term, meaning YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE.
Let’s look at what was going on during Noah’s time. Genesis 6:1-8, 13,18 God look at man’s heart and saw the evil intentions and it grieved him that he had created mankind. Now why the Bible does not give exact details on how long it took Noah to build the ark, Noah did as the Lord commanded Him. Can you imagine the mockery of Noah building the ark talking about its gonna rain? Look at how people mock Christians and disregard God today. To be real about it, how many so called Christians mock God and his world by living a carnal lifestyle?
I want to point out the significance of the ark. The word of God tells us that everyone that cries Lord, Lord will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Can you imagine the rain starting to fall and the people still living it up like there was no tomorrow? The water get knee high and they are still ignoring the signs of the time. Then it gets waist deep, oh it will stop raining soon. The crops needed this water to be able to grow plentiful….then it gets neck deep and alarms start going off…now they people are drowing…Stuff just got real family. Panic sets in and people are going to the ark trying to get in, but the ark has already been sealed by God and no one else can enter. The significance of the ark in Genesis is a picture of Jesus Christ. Think about it. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we receive salvation and we are placed in Him. Safe from penalty of sin. Safe from eternal damnation. That ark that was keeping Noah and His family safe from the flood is a picture of salvation obtained by believing in Jesus Christ and being placed in him.
Now let’s look at what the New Testament says about the state and nature of man. Now the bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3:1-6 the state of mankind today so we need not be alarmed but to what do what 2 Timothy 3:10-15 says.
Now we are going to look at Jonah and Ninevah. We all love to tell the story about the man who got swallowed up by the great fish. Well there is definitely a parallel between Jonah and the everyday believer. Jonah was given a direct instruction. Go to Ninevah and give them a word that I am a about to destroy them unless they repent. First thing Jonah does is RUN….How many times have God told us to do something and we run the other way? When we willfully disobey God we step outside the ark of safety. We open ourselves up to unnecessary pain and suffering. In Job Satan told God that Job only praises him because he has a hedge around him, but move that hedge and surely he will curse you to your face. God called Job upright and ALLOWED Satan to try him and instructed him that he could touch everything but his life. How many times have you left the ark of safety to do your own thing but end up coming back maimed and left for dead? See when you are outside of the ark of safety you open yourself up to all kinds of attacks and allow the enemy to run rampant in your life.
You see Jonah boarded a boat of non believers. When the storm came they were calling on their gods and told Jonah to call on his. They wanted to know why he was bringing all this upon them and when he told him to throw him overboard, they showed him mercy…More mercy than Jonah was showing the people of Ninevah. Isn’t it funny how quickly some Christians will condemn others so quickly inside and outside of the body of believers? Then get mad when God blesses them!!! In the end the crew on the boat started praying to God Almighty and threw Jonah in the sea. Even though the crew was not saved they still knew it was wrong to kill someone yet Christians everyday kill each other with our tongue…You don’t need to physically assault someone to hurt them. Look at God’s grace in swallowing Jonah up in the belly of the fish. Sometimes God will back you up into a place where you can’t get out of to keep you safe until you turn back to him. The whale is a symbol of the ark which is a symbol of Christ coming to save us from our unrighteous ways. It is also a symbol of His mercy coming to catch us and protect us when we fall.
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