Stay in the Ship

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Stay in the Ship
Acts 27:30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

I. Get in the ship—How do I get in the ship? John 14:6
a. The first thing you need to do to get into the boat is to [accept Christ] as your Savior! Jesus said with utmost confidence, “I am the way, the truth, and the life….no man comes to the Father except through me.”

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So…the first step, in getting into the ship is believing Jesus Christ. Jesus has already instructed us in what we need to do. Repent! Be born again of the water and the Spirit. Sometimes that first step can be a little shaky as far as we are concerned. We want to do it our way instead of the way Christ has told us.
[Tell story about getting into the little 8 foot flat bottom boat..]
b. The second thing you need to do is to [trust Christ] to do the work of salvation.
Ill- There is a story about a Kindergarten class that went to the fire station for a tour and some instruction in fire safety. The fireman was explaining what to do in case of a fire. He said, “First, go to the door and feel the door to see if it’s hot. Do you know why we feel the door?” A little boy raised his hand and said “To see if there is fire on the other side”. Then the firemen said, “Next fall to your knees. Does anyone know why you ought to fall to your knees?” One of the little girls said, “Oh yes , you get on your knees so you can start praying to ask God to get you out of this mess!”
TRUST? You mean we have to trust Christ to do the work? YES…and we have a verse of Scripture to assure us that if we do our part God will do HIS! I John 1:9.…“If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Here is the promise…If we confess, our confession will be responded to in two ways…

1. He will forgive us of all our sin! Hallelujah!
2. He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness…any thing that is not like Christ will be dealt with when we get into the boat! Go ahead…get in the boat!

II. Stay in the ship…How do I stay in the boat?
In I Timothy, Paul, the apostle writes to the young Pastor, Timothy, who is facing a heavy burden of responsibility in the church at Ephesus.
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Ephesus was a city famous for its Temple and worship of the Goddess Diana. Its Temple employed prostitute priestess’s and priests who offered sacrifice for money. In I Timothy Paul urges Timothy to stay true in the midst of all this paganism. You know, I do not need to tell you this but if you take a close look at society today…we are becoming more and more pagan by the minute. Not only that it is trying to get into the church! We may have standards but do we have the right scruples? Sin is Adultery, fornication, unnatural desires, lying, cheating, stealing, worship of other Gods.

Paul makes several “charges” (instructions) to young Timothy in this epistle.

1. The First Charge Is Found In Chap. 1: 3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
   NEXT WE NEED TO STAY TRUE TO THE FAITH
   Christians today need “staying power” – especially in our increasingly pagan society.
2. The Second Charge Is Found In Chap. 1:18,19 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
   THEN STAY TRUE TO THE FIGHT
3. War a good warfare
4. Don’t shipwreck your faith.
   a.) Remember what God has done for you.
   b.) Remember the examples of those who have shipwrecked their faith.
5. The Third Charge Is Found In Chap. 6:20-21 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

WE MUST ALSO STAY TRUE TO THE FACTS

1. Don’t be distracted by strange doctrines and beliefs
   We live in a day filled with “strange doctrines”. We have “political correctness” without “biblical correctness!”

III. Love the ship—How do I love the ship? Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Love the fact that you are truly born again baptized in Jesus Name filled with his Spirit! Love the fact that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses you from all sin!
Moses in His song to the Lord pointed out several things and verse 2 has enough information for a sermon in itself!
What is the Lord doing for Moses?

1. The Lord provided strength to Moses. Sometimes, we need to be replenished in our spiritual journey…Moses was singing a song to God and thanking Him for the strength that God had provided. I have needed the very breath of God to strengthen us over the last year!
2. The Lord provided a song…sometimes God has drilled a truth home to me at different times with a song.
   On the CD Greater Vision, there is a familiar song “He loves me” some of the words are:
   When I’m sad, He loves me,
   Even when I’m bad, He still loves me. (In that while we were yet sinner)
   When it seems no one cares for me,
   I talk to Jesus, He loves me.
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   So…the Lord was a strength and a song to Moses!
3. The Lord was Salvation to Moses.
   What had Moses been saved from?
   Well for 1, Pharaoh. Two…bondage in Egypt. Three…The wilderness….Four…the Red Sea …. Five …. Plagues … Six… Moses was saved from the scrap heap of insufficiency. He told God that he was a nobody, “Who am I that I should go?” He told God that he was an ambassador but had no idea who it was that was sending him, He told God that He was slow of speech, “Lord, I have a thick tongue…I can’t deliver the message properly!”
   Moses was saved from several things even himself. What have you been saved from? My friends, if you are here this morning and you are saved you need to thank God for the boat. Stay in the ship. Stop rocking the ship! Make the ship more Christ like! Love the ship! How Pastor Duke???
   Love one another as Christ loved. Start by loving your Pastor, His wife, his family, each other and most of all love Jesus Christ.

Charles Swindoll, in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back,” tells the story of a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. So, he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find and he trained his dog to do things no other dog on earth could do—impossible things that would surely amaze everyone. Then he invited his buddies to go duck hunting with him. After a while a flock of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to make a few hits. Several ducks fell in the water and the proud owner shouted to his magnificent dog, “Sally, Go get ‘em!” The dog leapt out of the boat, walked on the water, picked up a bird and returned to the boat. As soon as he dropped the duck in the boat he trotted off across the water again and grabbed another duck and brought it back to the boat. The owner beamed with pride as his wonderful hunting dog walked across the water and retrieved each of the birds one by one. Unable to resist the opportunity to brag a little he asked his buddies, “Do you notice anything unusual about my dog?” One of them rubbed his chin and said, “Yow… Come to think of it, I do notice something different! That silly dog doesn’t know how to swim!”