Ark of Safety.

We have been doing a series at church called Living in the Spirit. Go find our Maximize Church podcast and listen to it, it has been awesome! The reason I bring it up is because my pastors shared some very important truths about our Christian walk. Particularly, they shared about how the church is our modern-day Noah’s ark of safety.

Last week I was sharing with you the importance of not only being in church but being in the right church. We cannot underestimate the value of being in a good godly church.

Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.”

But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”

It is important to know that in life we are going to face stuff. Life happens to all of us. It rains on the just and the unjust, Matthew 5:45. As I write this I am sitting at home, instead of being at work, because I have a persistent migraine that won’t go away. Life happens to all of us. Fact is my head hurts, but it does not change the truth that my God is a Healer. Fact is we will all face challenges in life, but it does not change the truth of God’s word. Fact is we may have been in a bad church once before, but it does not change the truth that God wants us to be in church.

Bible tells us that it rained on the wise man who was building his life on God’s word. It also rained on the foolish man who pretty much said, “YOLO” and was building his life his way. The only difference between these two people was what they did with the word of God before the rain, wind and flood came and where they ended up after the rain, wind and flood came. The wise man who built his life God’s way remained standing. The foolish man was destroyed.

Finding the right church and being in the right church is part of building our lives God’s way. The church is the vehicle through which God has decided to protect, cover and help His people. Matthew 16:18 says, “I give you the name Peter, a stone.  And this rock will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death [gates of hell] will not be able to overpower it!” The rock in our verse is the revelation Peter received in verse 16 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus is the rock, the foundation on which the church is built.

For that reason, the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church not individual people. Individually the devil can take us out. It is prideful to think otherwise. Yes, the global church is not a building it is made up of people. But it is not just random people doing their own thing out there. It is made up of a united people doing things God’s way, a body, see Colossians 1:18.  

You may be wondering why I am hammering this home, but I used to be that person who thought I could make it in life with just me and Jesus. I can tell you now, I was living in constant torment and fear. The longer I stayed away from church, the further away I got from Jesus. I thought I was doing fine but I was only deceiving myself.

I think the song “Amazing Grace” is not just about how we have been saved, it is also for people who, like me, were blinded by the enemy into believing we could make it alone outside of the church. I once was fully saved but blind. I once was being tossed around by the flood and the waves but now I am found in the place God has for me. In the church. In the ark of safety.

The church is our ark of safety. Floods are going to come, be in the ark. You get to choose. The people in Noah’s day had a choice. Noah built the ark for 120 years. For 120 years they had the opportunity to decide to get on the ark but they didn’t. By the time that first raindrop fell, it was already too late to get on the ark. The doors had been shut. Get on the ark before the doors are shut. It’s great to be saved, it is even better to be living life God’s way.

We know Jesus is coming back for the church, not individuals. Be in the church when Jesus returns. Hebrews 10:25 says, “This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.”

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.