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…
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.
WE MUST ALSO STAY TRUE TO THE FACTS
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?
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!”