Since Noah had found grace, walked with God by faith, and inherited righteousness, God was very happy with him. God was continually smiling at Noah. Whenever Noah was with God, God was smiling at him. How about you? Is God smiling at you? Is He happy with you? If He is, you should be able to say, "Amen," secretly to God. Because God was happy with Noah, He opened Himself to him. So, Noah was not only one who walked with God, but also the one who built the ark. The ark was for salvation. At that time, the ark of salvation was built up by Noah. Abel offered gifts to God, Enosh called on the name of the Lord, Enoch walked with God but Noah, in addition to doing all of these things did something more—he built the ark.
Firstly, Noah built the ark by receiving the revelation (6:14-16). While Noah was walking with God and God was happy with him, God opened His heart to Noah and revealed His secrets to him. None of the other people knew the real situation. The worldly people of the time were befuddled, blinded, covered, veiled, and "doped." They did not know where they were or what was coming. They were blinded and drugged by their lusts. Look at the situation today. It is exactly the same. People are lovers of money, lovers of self, and lovers of pleasure, just as the people described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-3. Although the worldly people love money, pleasure, and themselves, they are not lovers of God. They have all been "doped" by their lusts, their pleasures, their riches, and other worldly things. They do not know where they are, where they are going, or what will happen to them. It was exactly the same in the ancient days. But Noah was with God. He saw the true situation because God revealed all His secrets to him. God told Noah that the earth was filled with violence, that the end of all flesh was come and that He would destroy them with the earth (6:13). Moreover, God told Noah what to do: to build an ark. Noah built the ark according to God's revelation.
In a sense, we also are under the same kind of revelation. Do you not know the real situation today? Do you not know what is coming and where you are going? I can boast to you that I know all these things. I know where I am. I know the situation of the world. I know what will come. I know where I will go, and I know where the church will be. We are not the people that are veiled and blinded by modern pleasures. The worldly people are covered with layer upon layer of veils. They go to the movies, to the night clubs, to the dance halls, to all kinds of amusements, pleasures, and sports. They only know those things. But all of those things are "dope." The worldly people have been "doped" and blinded. Are you that kind of person? Praise the Lord that we have been unveiled. We know where we are, we know the world situation, and we know what will come. We know what the Lord will do with this ungodly generation, and we know where we shall be. We are clear about all these things. We are building the ark, not only for our own salvation, but also for the salvation of others. Brothers and sisters, what are we doing here? We are building the ark of salvation for the accomplishment of God's purpose. Even as we meet together, we are building. We are not only offering a gift to God, not only calling on the name of the Lord to enjoy all His riches, not only living, begetting, and walking with God, but also finding grace, receiving the revelation, and building the ark. Praise the Lord that we are building.