Noah built a ship without a rudder…
Noah possessed incredible faith and trust in god
The Bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is the one currency every believer needs to build. You can do nothing in the realm of the Spirit void of faith.
- You’re saved by faith.
- You’re healed by faith (Matt. 9:22).
- You’re delivered by faith.
- You’re set free by faith.
- You’re made righteous by faith.
Noah possessed incredible faith; he built a ship without a rudder. A rudder is the instrument used to guide the direction of a ship. When Noah entered into the Ark with his family, he entered into a trust that few have ever experienced. He had no control over where he was going. When Noah entered the Ark, he placed his life and his family’s lives into the hands of God. Noah’s action conveyed that we are to trust God no matter what our journey may entail.
Faith is building a ship without a rudder!
What incredible faith; to trust no matter what! Think for a moment what total abandonment it is to board a ship, not knowing its destination, and to have no future resources except one – God! That’s faith. We must trust God with our destination if we are traveling on a ship without a rudder. The Bible says that aa righteous person’s steps are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23).
Imagine for a moment what it must have felt like to hear the voice of God at such a time when His voice wasn’t fluent. But when God finally spoke, He gave Noah the instruction to build a ship. God gave Noah the exact blueprint for the ship and the reason it must be built – it was going to rain! It had never rained prior to that moment. Nevertheless, Noah was asked to build a vessel and to believe in something that he had never experienced. Not only was it going to rain, it was going to rain enough to cover the whole earth. For Noah to survive, he had to build an ARK! Build it with one door and one window.
Here’s the catch; Noah was given power over the window but not the door. When God shut the door, Noah was no longer able to open it. So when Noah and his family entered the ARK, they were to remain there until God opened the door. They did not know how long that would be.
Elisha grabbed his servant and prayed, “God open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” Then he told him to open the tent and to the power of being in Christ. Once you’ve entered in, you must trust God for your journey. God didn’t leave Noah blind. He placed a window in the ARK to give Noah a look into his next season.
The door represents the passageway to a new season or dimension. The window gives you the power to see into that next season or dimension. If you were placed into a room with four walls but no door, you would be confined to that room for life. If you were to be in that same room with only a window big enough to see out, you’d be able to look at another place, but you would not be able to get there. Windows give us the power to see. A door gives us the power to move through it and toward what we see. I’ve often heard that faith is not seeing but believing. I tend to disagree! Faith is seeing. To move from one dimension to another will require sight, not human sight, not human understanding, but faith built on God’s sight. We must see it God’s way.
Noah had an Epiphany. An Epiphany is what has always been there but has just now been revealed. What has always been apparent to God is now apparent to you! You now begin to see what God sees. The following story in Second Kings, chapter six gives the best example of what I’m talking about.
Elisha was surrounded by the enemy. When Elisha’s servant opened the tent and saw the enemy encamped around them, he tried to inform Elisha who didn’t even act concerned. He informed the prophet again, “Elisha, we are outnumbered and the enemy has found us out – it’s over!”
Elisha grabbed his servant and prayed, “God open my servant’s eyes, so that he can see.” Then he told him to open the tent and to take another look. When his servant did, he exclaimed in amazement that he could now see a swarm of allies…the army of God was encamped around the enemy.
Noah had to see. He had to see what God was seeing. When Noah looked to see what God was seeing, his faith grew. Noah was able to build a ship without a rudder. He did it in spite of his critics; he did it in spite of what he didn’t know; he did it in spite of what others were saying; he did it in spite of his fears.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. What really happened? It’s obvious that the Lord’s army was always there. We further know that the servant wasn’t blind, even though the prophet asked God to open his servant’s eyes that he might see. I’ll tell you what happened. God opened the window! Before you go through any door, you should first look out of the window. Elisha and his servant escaped untouched. As a matter of fact, they walked right through the middle of their enemy. God had blinded the enemy, or perhaps hid the two servants in another dimension.
Noah had to see. He had to see what God was seeing. When Noah looked to see what God was seeing, his faith grew. Noah was able to build a ship without a rudder. He did it in spite of his critics; he did it in spite of what he didn’t know; he did it in spite of what others were saying; and he did it in spite of his fears.
Noah operated on what God told him. He moved and worked his FAITH! Faith gives you the power to step out on God’s Word alone. Faith is the key that unlocks the doorway to your next season. Remember, we have no power over the door, just the window.
- Wisdom determines your favor.
- Favor schedules your seasons.
- Faith decides favor’s timing.
Timing is a very important key to increase and change. You can have the right idea but if it is implemented at the wrong time, it becomes the wrong idea in timing.
Time is now; Timing is tomorrow.
We live in time. God exists in timing. We always exist in now; God exists in and outside of time! What I do in time decides what happens in timing. I can never live in timing I can only live in now. What I do now decides what happens next (timing). Timing is key to accelerated increase. When you exercise timing you are activating your faith in time. Faith is the key to divine timing. I exercise my faith now which gives me the ability to adapt and adjust my life to prepare to experience God’s timing for my future. Faith is the ability to wait with expectation long enough for God to adjust, or make suitable in timing, what you have believed for in time.
Faith waits for God to do in time what you desire on time, in the right time, for God’s timing.
No one will be able to survive a crisis void of having faith. There must be this sense of hope that no matter how bad it is, or how bad it was, your life is going to turn around for your good and for God’s glory.
FACTS ABOUT FAITH
- Faith gives you strength to stand… “…If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9 NIV
- Faith produces peace… “Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:2-3 NIV
- Faith proves you’re righteous…“…But the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” Habakkuk 2:4 NIV
- Broken Faith wearies the heart of God… “…So be on your guard and do not be unfaithful. You have wearied the LORD with your words…” Malachi 2:16-17 NIV
- Faith produces miracles… “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Matthew 13:58 NIV
- Small Faith can produce great miracles… “…If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6 NIV
- Faith builds a shield around you… “Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:5 NIV
- Faith is required to stand firm… “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:9 NIV
- Faith provides the power to overcome… “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4 NIV
- Faith tears down the enemies’ walls… (Hebrews 11:30)
- Faith is the master key to spiritual adoption… (Galatians 5:5)
- Faith opens the doors to approach God… (Ephesians 3:12)
- Faith is a shield that protects us in times of war… (Ephesians 6:16)
- Faith gives you the strength to stand… “…If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” Isaiah 7:9 NIV
