Keep Building

Noah’s call to build the ark was no small assignment. The ark measured 510 feet long, the same as one and a half football fields. The roof was more than 50 feet from the ground; tall enough to house three inner decks. The storage capacity was the same as 450 standard semi-trailers. In all of history, few wooden ships have ever come close to the size of Noah’s Ark. As a result of this massive construction project, many believe it took Noah about 75 years to complete his work!

The construction of the ark was not a quick job. It was a challenge-filled PROCESS!

Noah didn’t walk away from his prayer time with God, and suddenly the ark appeared. As much as God wanted an ark built, he didn’t give Noah a ready-built boat. God didn’t send angels to build the boat for Noah. Noah had to build it himself. It was seventy-five years of BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS.

If you have ever tried to build something -- a successful business, athletic prowess, a long-lasting marriage -- then you know that it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that requires blood, sweat, and tears. The same is true of the call of God. If God is calling you to build something, you have to understand that he’s not going to snap His fingers and make it happen for you. It is going to take BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS.

The process of building the ark did not deter Noah. He heard God’s call and did not deviate from it. But how was Noah able to endure through all of the blood-spilled, sweat-filled, and tearful days?

Check out this message from week 3 of our new series, Noah: Surviving the Storm, as Pastor Eric, in conjunction with his friend Rich Holmes’ study on the subject, reveals five things that we must do to endure like Noah did and see the completion of what God is calling us to build.

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family…” (Hebrews 11:7 NIV)

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES | TRANSCRIPT

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My friend Rich Holmes wrote a great book on the subject of Noah, and his content inspired several of my thoughts on this subject. Get Rich's book here.

How to Know What God is Calling You To Do

We are all called to build the kingdom of God. But do you know the specific part that God is calling you to play? Can you describe the call of God on your life in a simple way?

Many believe that God only reveals His call for our lives through a burning bush encounter like Moses or Samuel’s visit to David. And when we don’t experience those encounters, we interpret the absence of the divine phenomena as a lack of interest on God’s part. However, oftentimes, God will speak to us as he did to Noah.

Noah knew what he was called to do because he simply walked in close fellowship with God.

Noah didn’t have a burning bush encounter when the Lord revealed his plan to build an ark. He was just walking with the Lord, step-by-step, day-by-day, while living in the middle of a culture that had lost all God-consciousness -- to the point, every thought of mankind was evil.

Through the life of Noah, God actually teaches us that He is more concerned with our DAILY WALK than our MASSIVE CALL. Because we can’t PERFORM THE CALL if we don’t have THE WALK.

Check out this message from Pastor Eric as he reveals how our walk with God is directly related to hearing the call of God on our lives.

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” (Genesis 6:9 NLT)

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

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My friend Rich Holmes wrote a great book on the subject of Noah, and his content inspired several of my thoughts on this subject. Get Rich's book here.

Why You Must Be Different

Jesus referenced two Old Testament periods that will be repeated in the last days - the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

During Noah and Lot’s days, people carried out their everyday lives -- buying, selling, drinking, eating, and marrying -- up until the day that God brought judgment. But, there is something that separates Noah’s experience from that of Lot. The wickedness during Noah’s days was much worse than that of Lot’s era. In Lot’s day, God destroyed two cities. In Noah’s encounter, God destroyed the entire world.

Noah’s civilization overflowed with people who were not just wicked in their actions but wicked in their thoughts. According to Genesis 6:5, wickedness was at the center of their heart, and every thought of man was evil. However, Noah was different. He was blameless, pure in heart, and renewed in his mind. And, it got God’s attention.

Considering the direction that our culture spirals currently, it may seem that we are -- just as Jesus predicted -- living in the days of Noah. However, like Noah, we can live lives that are different. And, we must!

Check out this message from week 1 of our new series, Noah: Surviving the Storm, as Pastor Eric reveals two ways Noah was different and how we can be too!

“This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” (Genesis 6:9 NLT)

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES | TRANSCRIPT

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My friend Rich Holmes wrote a great book on the subject of Noah, and his content inspired several of my thoughts on this subject. Get Rich's book here.