Building a Boat that Floats
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Introduction:
Have you ever felt like you were drowning? Luckily I’m a pretty good swimmer and have never experienced what its like to feel as though I am drowning. I have never not been able to hold my head above the water. I have never had the experience of having to gasp for air while the waves of the water crash into me one after the other. I can only image that it is a rather terrifying experience.
Although I have never had this experience I have like many of you felt as though I was drowning in the waters of life. Many times in life I have felt as though every time I seem to have a good grasp or footing in life the waves of the world come crashing down on me causing me to loose my footing and it is as if I find myself gasping for air just to survive day to day life.
Some of these waves that you may be able to relate to are things like
The loss of loved ones.
Maybe your parents lost their job and just when you were fitting into your new school or church family the waves of life knocked you off your feet because you had to move and start all over.
Maybe you have found yourself caught up in sin and you realize you are drowning in your sin and are just trying to pull yourself out of that so that you can breathe again.
Maybe you or a loved one is struggling with their health.
We could keep listing off examples but you get the point. We all face difficult times in our life and if we don’t have a life preserver or a boat to get into than we will eventually drown.
That is why in this class the directors have asked me to speak to you about how to build a boat that floats.
Thorin shared with us the importance of choosing our captain. But it is pointless to have a captain without a boat for him to navigate.
Since its obvious, I hope, that we are not talking about a physical boat, therefore we can’t do what any logical person would do and just go to YouTube to learn how to build a boat, where should we turn to to answer the question, How do we build a boat that floats?
For me the most logical place to look to find the answer is to examine in the Bible the only place where we learn about building a boat. Where would that be? Of course, in Genesis 6 and following we learn about God instructing Noah to build a boat.
So what I would like us to do is to turn to Genesis 6 and look at the story of Noah and the Ark and see how Noah was successful at building a boat that did in fact float.
We all know the story of Noah and the Ark, right? Noah built a boat and for 40 days and 40 nights the rain came and flooded the earth and eventually Noah’s family along with all the different animals were able to exit the boat on dry land while resting on top of mount Ararat.
So now let’s read starting in Genesis 6:8 and see how Noah was able to build this large boat that did in fact float.
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.
Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
When I read the story about Noah building this large boat there are a few things that stand out to me that I believe can help us to be successful at building a boat that floats just like Noah did.
First we see that Noah was successful at building a boat that floats because he knew who his captain was because he had a relationship with Him.
He knew that if anyone could get him through the storm that was about to come in his life he knew that YHWH was the man for the job.
But how did Noah know enough about YHWH to trust him as his captain? Let me ask you, how does someone build a relationship with someone else to the point that they trust the other person with their life. What goes into building that type of relationship with someone?
Look with me at Genesis 6:8-9
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
I would like to suggest that in order for you to know and trust your captain enough to be able to succesfully build a boat that floats than you need to like Noah daily walk with your Captain.
Noah had a relationship with his Captain when no one else did.
Noah walked with God everyday. What does that mean? What does that look like?
Imagine everyday that you took an hour long walk with the same person everyday for the rest of your life. And everyday this was the highlight of your day. Nothing was more important to you or there was nothing you looked forward to more than this walk everyday.
In order for this walk to be the highlight of your day every day of your life what has to take place?
I’m sure it would look different for everyone but for the most part you would have to enjoy spending time together, talking, laughing, and sharing life with one another. You would have to be in harmony with each other.
Both of you would have to have each others undivided attention. Meaning neither of you ignore the other person on your walks. You don’t let your phones and the world distract you.
It means that you both have to say no to many other things in order keep your walks a priority.
Walking with God and His Son who happens to be our Captain is like that.
In order to know our captain we have to have this type of relationship with Christ.
Let me ask you, Have you spent enough time with Jesus, your captain that you have learned to trust him.
Do you know from all the time spent with him that he has your best interest at heart?
Noah did. Noah had such an intimate relationship with his Captain that he was willing to build a boat to his captains specifications even while knowing that this boat had no rudder. Why is that significant? What is a rudder used for?
Noah had no way to steer this boat. Instead because of Noah’s relationship with His captain he had faith that his captain would keep him safe and thus was willing to put his life in his captains hands.
Guys I think to often our boat that we call life is sinking becasue we are trying to be our own captain rather than letting God direct our path.
We find ourselves banging up against the rocks and cliffs of this life causing our boat to be damaged and thus causing it to sink.
Turn with me if you would to a very well know teaching from our captain.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Although this illustration is about building a house it most definitely applies to building a boat that floats.
I think what we often miss when we read this passage is that Jesus tells us that storms will be a part of our life experience. Notice the wording: not “if” rains, floodwaters and winds come, but “when.” Just like we cannot control the weather, we cannot control what circumstances we will face on the journey of life.
We may face emotional or mental floodwaters, physical or, relational hurricanes, and financial winds and the list goes on and on but we are not helpless and hopeless. If we have a boat that floats and a captain who is trained to weather the storms of life than we will prevail.
If we have a boat that floats and a captain who knows how to properly navigate through storms than we will be able to ride the waves of life that we cannot control.
Let me show you what it looks like to ride the waves of life when we have a boat that floats and a trained captain that we trust.
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Let me ask you why was Jesus able to fall asleep on the boat? Because he had faith in his Captain who happened to be his Father.
Theodore Roosevelt said it best when he said Christianity gives us rest in trouble not rest from trouble.
For today's purposes I would say it this way, When Christ is our Captain he gives us rest in our trouble not rest from our trouble.
Essentially what he is saying is if Christ is your captain than no matter what this world throws at you, you can just like Jesus find rest in the midst of chaos. But only if you have a relationship with your Captain just like Noah did.
The Second thing that stands out to me while reading the story of Noah and the Ark is that Noah was successful at building a boat that floats because he trusted and obeyed his captain.
And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
How much trust would you have to have in someone to be willing to build a boat that was one and a half football fields long and big enough to fit two of every kind of animal on it?
Not to mention trusting that all those animals were going to get on this boat without eating him alive.
God told Noah that if he wanted to survive the storm that was coming that he needed to build a boat that was 300 cubits long X 50 cubits wide X 30 Cubits tall. And that this boat also needed to be made out of a specific wood, Gopher wood.
You see if our life is going to be one that weather’s the storm we must be willing to obey our captain just like Noah did.
How many of you have ever been on a boat or ship that had a captain?
Before you departed from land did you hear from the captain? What did they say? Ya they had several rules for you to follow.
Rules like:
No running on board
Respect all crew members and passengers
In the event of an emergency:
locate the nearest exit, and life preserver or boat. etc.
Why does the captain have these rules? Because it is the captains responsibility to keep everyone safe.
Ultimately that is what our captain Jesus Christ has promised to do for us. He has promised to keep us safe from eternal death.
But just like any Captain of a boat there are things that he ask us to do in order for him to be able to keep us safe.
Just like a ship captain may ask you to put on a life preserver Jesus our captain ask us to do the same. Jesus ask us to put him on in Baptism.
If you are at a point in your life where you have already chosen Jesus to be your captain and you have begun walking with him in order to build that trusting relationship than now you must put him on in Baptism in order for your boat to continue to float.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
If you want your captain to save you from death than you must put him on in baptism. If you were drowning and someone gave you a life preserver you would not hesitate to put it on why hesitate when it comes to putting on Christ in Baptism.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Putting Christ on in Bapotism is the only thing that will save you from eteranl death.
Now going back to the importance of obeying your captain there is one final thing that we must do. Once we have eccepted him as our captain and we have put him on as our life preserver tha nwe must continue to do what he ask us to do.
And ultimately it boils down to two things. If you want to have a boat that floats than you must. Love God and love his people.
For those that were with us last year we looked extensivly at the greatest command in all of scripture.
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
If you want your boat to float for all eternity you must Love God and love your neighbor. I wish I could talk to you more about the importance about loving your neighbor becasue I bet for many of you, you may be struggling with this command and for that reson your boat continues to leak.
I pray that you will think seriously about the importance of having a boat that floats the remainder of this weekend. And if you need to begin walking with the Lord in order to trust him enough to be your captain I pray you will begin that walk before you leave. If you need to accept his life preserver, baptism please dont hesitate to do that either. Or if we need to patch the holes in our boat by doing a better job at love God and our neighbor I pray that you will begin patching those wholes today. I pray that all of us will leave here in a boat that floats for all eternity.