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Preachers have long been preaching about the boats and the ships in the Bible as representing spiritual truths. Peter, the leader of the Apostles, talked about Noah's ark and used the water rising in the Flood to represent how water baptism saves us today (I Peter 3:20-21). He said that the boat represented the safety and salvation of trusting in God's Commandments and that just as the waters rose to cover the sinful element and pushed Noah higher, so are we saved by the washing away of our sins in baptism which pushes us higher in God above our past life and what we used to be.

One of the most classic sermons using ships is the story of Paul's fourth missionary journey when he was a prisoner being taken to Rome in a boat across the Mediterranean Sea. The story is found in the 27th chapter of the Book of Acts. The boat and it's 276 prisoners plus the crew and Roman soldiers got caught in a terrible, freakish storm. In desperation the crew begin chunking off all the freight and the food and even the smaller life boats and vessels. It got so bad that many of the crew were about to leave, but God spoke to Paul during the night and told him that as long as they stayed with the ship, everything would be alright. When Paul saw the crew about to desert the ship, he mentioned to the Roman guard the message of God and the guard forced the crew to stay. The ship eventually did break apart but every person the ship made it safely by floating on pieces of the ship into the island of Melita. It was there that Paul prayed for the tribal chief's sick father who had been deathly ill. His healing as well as Paul's miraculous recovery from being bitten by an extremely poisonous snake led to a massive revival on the island and an Apostolic Church planted among the barbarians! A magnificent lesson can be preached from the story when you realize that the boat is a type of truth and of the perfect will of God. It doesn't matter how the storm winds may blow against you and what it may look like in your life, don't abandon the ship of truth, and don't abandon the perfect will of God. If you will stay with the ship, then no matter what comes against you, you will be saved, and will also see the miraculous spark a great revival of the unbelievers around you! We sometimes get sidetracked by storms and may feel even that our own faith is going to perish, but when you keep doing what you know you should do, and you stay within the perfect will of God, it doesn't matter what comes against you, you can make it and come out victorious! In this case, if you stay with the ship, then God will keep you safe and strong, as long as you stay with the ship!

Last year we went on a cruise to the Bahamas that was bought for us for free. We sailed at the same time that a hurricane was coming into the east coast. Because of the storm, the water was choppy and my sister-in-law got sick the first night in the dining room of the boat because of the roll of the ship in the water. We ended up having a great time but I was extremely glad that I was on a huge, safe boat that wasn't effected by the storm that much. They told us that we were still going to sail because the ship had been built to withstand a little wind and waves. It's the same way in the spirit world. This ship of truth and God's Word has been built to withstand anything that the world can throw at it. As long as you are on the ship, there's no reason to panic no matter how bad the world seems! Some people have asked me if I am scared to live in such a crazy world or if I am afraid of how evil the world has become. Can I tell you I am not? I serve a God who has created a church that can withstand even the gates of hell! Let the storm of evil blow and try to rock this boat, I can stand contented that I am going to make it as long as I stay in the boat! As long as I don't try to make it on my own, I'll make it with Jesus Christ by my side! This boat of Apostolic truth will not sink nor go down. If I'll stick with it, I'll make it to the other side!

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But I want to preach to you from a different viewpoint in this sermon. In this sermon ships do not represent the Apostolic Church or the perfect will of God or anything that you should stay within. In most scriptures, ships represent something that you need to get out of and that you shouldn't stay within. Most of the time they represent complacency or doubt and my sermon is about those kind of ships. In these cases, the wrong thing to do is to stay in the boat.

When Noah got on the ark of safety that kept him and his family safe during the flood, he got on it with a bunch of smelly animals. There was only one long window on that boat and it was on the top level which was also where Noah's family lived. The smell had to be incredible. Now I know that there was a tremendous lesson because the majority of the animals were sacrificial animals and they teach us about the great sacrifice of Calvary that provided our salvation. But think about it from the natural standpoint for a moment. If you have ever been to the zoo, then you know that animals can be very loud and smelly. Pardon the pun, but the ark must have been a real zoo! And the flood waters were on the earth for over half a year. Noah sent out the raven and then the dove and finally the scriptures says that when the dove brought him back an olive branch, Noah knew that the flood waters were subsiding and that he removed the covering off the ark and looked out and saw dry ground.

The amazing thing to me is that after being couped up in that boat for all of that time and seeing that the ground was dry, Noah did not get off the boat until God finally commanded him to. I don't think that God would have had to command me to get off the boat, but He did Noah. God had to literally tell him in Genesis 8:16 to leave the boat. The cover had long since been removed, but God had to sort of push Noah a bit to get him off.

I don't know why Noah didn't jump off onto the ground and kiss it! But maybe he got comfortable in the security of the experience of the ark. After all, he had a promise that he was safe there. But if Noah would have refused to get off the ark, what would have happened? He would have eventually died of starvation and he would have not had the promises of God that God made him after he obeyed. God had something new and exciting and a "whole new world" waiting for Noah that he could only experience if he was willing to get out of the boat!

That's the way that so many people are when they come to God. They are saved through Repentance and Water Baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, and they love the fact that they can feel God and that they have had their past washed away and been given a fresh start, but sometimes people want to stay at that level in God. They don't want to get any further than just feeling goosebumps and repenting of their sins. They want a spiritual experience in God and they love coming to a church where we feel God's presence and worship outwardly, but they are not willing to move beyond the level of a new born baby. They are like Noah refusing to leave the ark. God has a whole new world for them to experience and even more promises for them to walk into, but they must be willing to get beyond just a one time experience in God. They must learn more about Him and His Word and how to please Him in every area of their life. They must be willing to leave the boat!

In our text, we read the classic story of Jesus' call of His disciples. Four of the twelve were fishermen by trade before Jesus called them to follow Him. Jesus called Peter and Andrew, who were brothers, from fishing on the shores of the Lake Galilee. He told them "follow me" and they immediately dropped their nets and followed him. These men were saved according to their time. They lived under the Law and they were faithful Jews and faithful to worship only Jehovah and to bring Him sacrifices at the temple. They were not stranger to the laws of their time and under law, they were saved. But Jesus Christ had come to introduce a new dispensation. He had come to bring a new life and He was selecting the men who would the founders of an Apostolic Church that He would die to form! They didn't understand where exactly that they were going and there is no way possible that in those few seconds that the call of Jesus reverberated in their minds, that they knew about the ups and downs and miracles and persecution and the cross and the resurrection that the next three years would bring. All they knew was that Jesus Christ was calling them to a deeper relationship beyond just "being saved." That He was calling them to be a follower of Him and to become a disciple.

After calling Peter and Andrew, Jesus called to another set of brothers John and James who were in a boat with their father Zebedee. There were three men in the boat. And the scriptures say that Jesus called to "them." The invitation was to John, James, and their father Zebedee. James and John dropped the nets that they were mending and eagerly followed Jesus and the rest is history, but Zebedee stayed in the boat! Jesus was calling him to go beyond his experience and follow Him, but Zebedee was content to stay doing what he had always done. Later in scripture, Zebedee's wife, the mother of James and John is mentioned several times and it is very obvious that she became a believer and a part of the Early Apostolic Church. Zebedee is never mentioned again except to say that he was the father of James and John. Zebedee didn't make the transition. Zebedee didn't adjust to the call of God in his life.

What's the point preacher? The point is when Jesus Christ is calling to you to go further in God, you cannot afford to stay in the boat of "what I have always done." Zebedee was comfortable with the law system and with his fishing. He was in a routine. He had it down pat. He did not want to be moved from his comfort zone and so he stayed in the boat. In your life, there will be times that you feel the nudge of God to go further and to grow deeper in His Word and the Spirit. You'll know it's time when your prayer life becomes a little stagnant. When your worship feels like it's just motions and when living for God has become a little monotonous. If you will listen to the Spirit, you will feel the gentle nudge to go deeper. To follow Him to a place where you have never been before. If you are to answer that call; if you are to respond, you must not stay in the boat of what you have always done. A new call demands a new commitment. A new level indicates a change of direction. We cannot pray like we have always done and fast like we are used to fasting and worship the same way that we always have and expect to follow Jesus deeper. We must get out of the boat! God is calling us to get beyond living just to stay saved. We must get beyond having to come to church just to pray through over what we did last week. That's living in the ark. That's living on the boat, but the call of Jesus is beckoning to us! We must get out of our boat of "what I've always done" and even though we may have never been here before, walk toward the promises of God with everything in us! Here what God is saying today: DON'T STAY IN THE BOAT!!!

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Deborah was famous because she was the only female judge of Israel. Deborah was a prophetess. She was married, but God had called her to be a spiritual leader in Israel. After Joshua had led the children of Israel into conquering the promised land, he had divided up the land according to the various tribes and then expected the laws of God to govern them. There was no king or prince in charge, but God was supposed to be in charge. If a tribe needed help, then the neighboring tribes were to come to their aid in fighting enemies or protecting the land that God had given them. God had helped them conquer the enemy, but it was up to them to guard it and protect it from invasion.

Let me stop here and say that there better be some defenses and some walls around your family and your life. God saved you and fought the devil and death, hell, and the grave so that you could live free, but it is your responsibility to live according to the Word of God and protect your home and your mind from destruction. That is why we must set parameters of certain things that we do not partake of or participate in. We are responsible for the protection of our homes and families! Every person in this church must constantly guard against an invasion of confusion, doubt, strife, or any other evil spirit because if one person lets their guard down, then we all have to fight against it. As your pastor, I am to be the "watchman on the wall" calling out to you when I see signs of trouble in your life. You'd better learn to heed the warning of the watchmen on the wall. When I stand behind this pulpit, I preach the very words of God that you will one day be judged by. You better make sure that you live by every word of God! It's the only way to protect your family and friends from confusion and turmoil.

The Israelites grew lazy in their defense of their promised land and they allowed the enemy to bring false gods and abominable ways of worship into their midst. It wasn't long after allowing the idols into their everyday lives that they too began to worship the idols. I could preach an entire sermon on how what you listen to, see, read, hear, and hang around DOES affect your spiritual mindset! To punish them, God would send an enemy and allow that enemy to conquer the children of Israel and be slaves and pay taxes to them. Then after a time of punishment, God would move upon someone, a judge, to teach the people about serving only the one, true, Jehovah God and then help the people to fight for liberty again. It's the same way today, sometimes people get sidetracked and become unfaithful and grow cold in God and God has to send a preacher in their life to identify their faults and point them in the direction of where they should be going. If they respond to that correction and get things right with God, God will help them gain victory over the oppression that has waltzed into their life as a result of their disobedience. If you feel like you are oppressed and that your worship and prayers are not free and uninhibited, then you probably need to check to make sure that you have not made something else an idol that you are more devoted to than the things of God! You'd better make sure that you are not allowing the world to affect your view to change from the true teachings of the Word, because that brings bondage and oppression! You can be in the promised land and still bound up because of sin. You can sit on a pew and have received the Holy Ghost and yet be bound because of unbelief and idols in your life! But where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty, and if you will surrender to Him everything that is trying to rob you, you can be set free tonight! I refuse to sit in the promised place bound up by anything!

Back to Deborah. In the time that she lived, the Israelites had been captured and in bondage to Jabin, the king of Hazor for many years. Deborah called the captain of the army and told them to get ready, that God was about to set the children of Israel free. They were vastly outnumbered, and the enemy had chariots and many more men than Israel, but Deborah said "I have heard from God and He WILL give us the victory." So the summons went out to all of the tribes to come fight for the liberty of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. There wasn't a great show up and many tribes did not come to the help of their neighbors and fellow kinsmen. But God WAS on their side, and when God is fighting for you, it doesn't really matter what the odds are. The old song says "me and God make a majority!" A tremendous thunderstorm broke out and bogged down the wheels of the iron chariots. Great hail began to fall and killed most of the vast Canaanite army. Israel was free once again because God had done exactly as He had promised when they were willing to step out in faith and believe Him for it!

Judges chapter 5 is a song in poem form about the great victory. In it, Deborah mentions the tribes that did not come help:

Some of the tribes that were involved were unable to get any help from their brothers that lived across the Jordan river. And the entire tribes of Dan and Asher refused to come and help. They had inherited the wealthiest part of Canaan's land on the coast and had developed a lucrative trade with the Phoenicians. So they stayed with their boats and their commerce and didn't come to the aid of their neighboring tribes.

Deborah put the question like this: "why did Dan remain in ships?" In other words, "what were the reasons that Dan stayed in the boats and did not come fight?" I can only think of three reasons of why Dan stayed in the boats

1. Lack of faith in God so they stayed in the boats of doubt - Maybe the Danites knew the odds against them and were not sure that God would deliver them as the prophet Deborah had said. How many people are content to stay in the boat of doubt, because they refuse to believe the preached Word of God! I'm here today to tell you if what I preach is the Word of God, then you can hang your hat on it, not because I preached it, but because the Word of God cannot fail!

When Jesus came walking on the water on the sea of Galilee, we find that all of the disciples were in the boat of doubt. They were huddled together in a fierce storm and afraid for their lives despite the fact that Jesus had said that they were going to the other side! And as these experienced fishermen tried to figure out what to do, they look up and here come Jesus walking on top of the waves! They thought that He was a ghost, or not really real and that's how God always appears to those who remain in the boat of doubt! They view God as if He isn't real or really there to help Him. But thank God for Peter. I know that his faith wavered a bit and he began to sink before the Lord saved him, but at least he was willing to get out of the boat of doubt. He called out to Jesus "if it be you, bid me to come" and Jesus said "come on." And when Peter was willing to get out of the boat of doubt, he discovered that Jesus was not only who He said He was but that He could do for Peter anything that he needed!

I refuse to stay in the boat of doubt. I refuse to perish with the fearful. If I'm going to drown, then I'll drown moving through the storm toward my savior! If I'm going to die, then I'll die walking above my problems toward Jesus! But if you'll get out of the boat of doubt, you will not sink nor drown, because Jesus will help those who refuse to remain in the ship of fearfulness. Get out of the boat! Don't stay back from the promises of God but step out and put God to the test, and see if He will not come through for you!

Why did Dan stay in the ships? Maybe it was a:

2. Lack of concern and love so they stayed in the boats of selfishness - Maybe they cared less about what happened to their brothers and sisters nearby. Maybe they had "I" trouble. That was what got Jonah on the wrong boat and out of the will of God. God wanted him to go preach to the Ninevites and Jonah did not think that they were worthy of God's mercy. Jonah had a problem with God reaching out to those "low lifes" and so he did not want to preach mercy to them. So he went down and bought a one way ticket to a boat in the opposite direction of where God wanted him to go. Can I tell you that the boat of selfishness and a lack of mercy is ALWAYS traveling away from the direction that God intends for you to go!? You are not the savior, He is, but He does need a messenger. How many people pass us by because we are too selfish to learn the scriptures that we need to share with them, or we don't feel that they meet the criteria of the "sort of people that we would like to see in church with us." A sinner is a sinner, and to God, there is no difference between the prostitute and a doctor that has not obeyed His Word.

God caused a great storm to come up that began to rock that boat that Jonah was on. Finally Jonah knew that the only way that boat would be saved was if they cast him off it. Jonah did not know that the big fish was going to get involved, he was committing suicide. Jonah was so selfish that he would rather die rather than preach a message of mercy to the hated Ninevites. In fact, after the whale or whatever it was swallowed him, it was the THIRD day before Jonah finally repented and agreed to do what God had asked him. God had to take him to the bottom before he finally got a revelation that he must win somebody else, even if that somebody else is someone that you would rather not be around! And then Jonah preached a half-hearted job, because the Bible says that it took three days to walk across the huge city of Nineveh and Jonah only preached one day. Then he got mad when God heard the repentant prayer of the city and forgave them!

Don't make God have to take you to the bottom before you realize that you must win somebody to God. If you are a child of God, then you are called to win someone to Him! We can't fall in the trap of staying in a boat of selfishness and a lack of concern so that we do not have time to pray with others at the altars and reach out and show ourselves friendly to people. What if God chooses to save your worst enemy and wants to use you to give them a message of mercy!? Will you be like Jonah and get on the boat of rebellion, or will you get off that boat and reach out like Jesus did to His enemies? What if, like Jonah, God calls you to do the exact opposite of what you desire to do? Will you jump on the boat of rebellion heading away from mercy?

Let me just save someone a lot of suffering. If during this message, you have realized that you have been headed the wrong direction in any way, get off that boat! Don't wait until God has to take you as far down as you can go, before you will get a burden for others and reveal God's mercy! Get off the boats of rebellion and uncompassion, for they are headed for a shipwreck!

Why did Dan remain with the ships? Maybe it was because they were:

3. Too preoccupied with the cares of life, so they stayed in the boats of uncommitment - It is very probable that the tribe of Dan got so involved with making money and their everyday routine that they didn't feel as if they had time for the commandments and will of God. Like Zebedee, they refused to commit to the will of God in their life because of the cares of life and stayed in their boats. The scriptures say to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things -- meaning houses and land and money and such -- will be added unto you." If we really believe that then church and the will of God takes priority over work. Growing in God becomes more important than putting some extra money aside. Jesus said in the parable of the sower that the cares of life were one of the main areas that caused the Word of God to not grow in people's lives. God has to be first or He will be nowhere near the top. If He is not first in every area, then nothing in my life will ever be correct or proper. But if you make Him priority, then every thing in your life will fall into place.

How many people know that they should be more involved and serious about the things of God but they just "don't have the time." Think about that. Are you too busy for the call of God? Are you too busy to be saved? Are you too busy to grow closer to God? Then you are too busy. Those things are really just an excuse because you do not want to make your flesh submit to the Word of God. Get out of the boat of uncommitment tonight. If you wait for everything to work out to teach Bible Studies or be faithful to the house of God or prayer then you will never commit. Everybody that has ever told me "I'm not sure if everything is ready for me to really serve God" has always really just not wanted to make their flesh to submit to the will of God. Get out of the boat of uncommitment! Don't be like Zebedee and wake up one morning to find yourself far from what God is doing and left out! Don't stay in the boat!

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After Jesus had risen from the dead, John chapter 21 records that some of the disciples did not know what to do so they decided to return to their old lifestyle of fishing. This was not the will of God in their lives, but they were at a loss for direction, because Jesus was appearing on sporadically and He had not yet commanded them to tarry in Jerusalem for the Holy Ghost. Peter, and six other disciples went out on the lake and fished all night long and did not catch a single thing! As they day broke they saw what they thought was a fish buyer standing on the bank and the man asked "did you catch anything?" When they replied that they had not caught a single thing, the man replied "let down your net on the right side and you will find fish." Something about his words and manner caused John to recognize that it was Jesus and, as they are letting down the net, he leaned over to Peter and said "It is the Lord." The net filled with fish so much that Peter had to get out of the boat and into the water to help pull it to land. It was here on the banks that Jesus would renew his command to Peter to "follow me" and reestablish the fact that "I didn't call you to go back to your old lifestyle, but to become fishers of men." Jesus had called them for a great Apostolic ministry.

The great multitude of fishes represented the great harvest that Jesus was going to give the Early Apostolic Church, but for Peter to be able to bring the fish in, he had to get OUT of the boat! If we are to have the Apostolic revival that God wants us to have and that has been promised us, we are going to have to get out of the boat! If we are going to see the multitudes that God has destined for this church to reach, then we will have to get out of the boat. It's not enough to catch them in the net of truth, but they must be brought in to Jesus! It is not enough for us to just reach out and touch various people of the community, but they must be led to Jesus and the only way that we will be able to do so is to "get out of the boats" of doubt and disbelief, and "baby level" commitment and selfishness and wade out into the water of the Spirit! Our world is lost and in need of direction and truth, we cannot be like the tribe of Dan and stay in the boats! It must never be asked of us "why did they remain in the ships?" Whatever you've got to do tonight to get out of the boat, do so!

The tribe of Dan is not mentioned in Revelation as being a foundation of the Apostolic Church! The Levites are in his place. Why? Because He stayed in the boats! If you want to be a part of what God is doing in these last days, we must be willing to get beyond our comfort zone, and what we have experienced in the past and get beyond our fleshly, selfish desires and launch out into the deep! Don't stay in the ship. Get out of the boat! The end time revival is dependent upon you doing so!