Why do we fight the battle alone??

John 6:16-21

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles,they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. 20 But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid." 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. 22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.


This was the context for our sermon yesterday. Pastor Dan preached and man is he good. He delivers a sermon in a way that has you on the edge of your seat just captivated. The sermon title was "Safe Haven". I will paraphrase a lot of what was said.

He put in in modern day terms talking about how we are in very troubling times as a nation. The economy is at the lowest it has been in many years, depression is on the rise, many people are losing their jobs every day, and the church is at the lowest attendance across the nation that is has ever seen. It seems like every way we turn we are buffeted from EVERY side. So why is it that we try to do it alone? We put God in a nicely wrapped box and put him on a shelf and get him down only when we cannot do it ourselves.

Can you imagine being in that boat in a terrible storm when you see from a distance something on the water and while it is still a ways off it says "It is I, do not be afraid". Now, I don't know about you but if it was me I would be more scared than ever. However, they allowed him in the boat and the storm calmed and they were to the other shore in no time. It took them 7-8 hours to get half way across an 8 mile span and as soon as Jesus got in the boat they were immediately there.

This is how it is in our lives, when we try to "go it alone" we just create more problems but when we rely on Jesus, although we may not always get what WE want, he will gives us what we need and a peace to accept it. Folks, we are that spot in the distance saying "Don't be afraid", we are Jesus' representatives to a dying world. How good a rep are you being?

We need to be thinking about saving souls and filling the church pews. In a lost world what else can give them peace like the peace of Jesus??

What are you doing to fill your pews??