Shipwrecked

There once was a large ship that was elaborate, ornate, and very large. There were many compartments in this ship but most people felt unworthy to even board her so they would gaze at her from the shore and while they admired her craftsmanship they still would not venture onto her. Through the years the people would share together about the ship and her construction and shape. Due to the different perceptions that each person had about the ship from a distant vantage point eventually people had wide and varied descriptions about this magnificent ship.

Now this colossal ship never seemed to wear and it was unaffected by the weather and the passing years. It was tightly moored to the dock and there was one and only one gate that was used to gain entrance onto this great ship. Any and everyone who crossed over the extended platform and was instantly brought aboard this great ship never again returned to land. Their lives were brand new and they found fulfillment as a passenger on this vessel. No one from Earth’s shore had ever seen this ship sail and to them it seemed useless and irrelevant in this modern terrestrial society, I mean what good is this ship for them? They were busy on the dry land and boarding the ship seemed counter productive to their lifestyle, most people could not see the benefit.

There had been rumors about the ship’s Captain that He was a powerful and compassionate Person and that He desired everyone to come aboard and not only be a part of this ship, but it was said that all who came aboard became part of the ships crew as well as part of the Captain’s very family. Most land dwellers doubted that story and after all there were many other ships in the harbor that seemed much more attractive to their eyes and their situation. And people would come and go on the other ships and many would go from one ship to the other. No one was allowed to enter this one great ship without leaving all the other ships forever.

The other ships were not moored to anything and they would be tossed around by the wind and the course corrections that were based on where people desired to go. But the oldest and greatest ship had never moved and it was moored constantly to the dock called “The Word”. Many people who might have wanted to try this ship were turned off by its intransigence and it just couldn’t compete with the adventurousness of the other ships. So most people continued to board the smaller and more exiting ships while only those who seemed inexplicably and powerfully drawn to meet the Captain boarded the great and unmovable ship some called “Zion”.

Now here is where the story takes a dramatic turn. Some who claimed to be part of the ship called Zion saw the popularity of the other ships and after a while they decided to try and attract the shore people to this great ship. So they watched and studied the methods of the other vessels and what attracted people to board them. There were many things that seemed to draw the shore people to these ships. One way to attract people was to promise them that they could themselves be the captain of the ship they boarded. You see they said all the captains of these little ships were just like the Captain of Zion and they could take them anywhere the Captain of Zion could take them. Different vessels and a different captain but the same destination. But still the people seemed skeptical because the great ship of Zion was still moored to the same anchor and with that people just couldn’t believe that this great ship could take them where they wanted to go. These new sailors thought about that and they saw these land dweller’s point, this mooring was indeed a stumbling block and kept so many more people from coming aboard. So without consulting the Captain they quietly and with much sincerity and intellect built another ship that resembled the ship of Zion. And after it was constructed the builders were very careful not to completely moor it the Word dock so it could travel on the many different courses that people desired. And without being moored to the Word the changing winds that had no affect on the ship of Zion now could be used to empower this new vessel. So they unfurled their sails and off they went into uncharted waters and low and behold they found all the other smaller vessels sailing in the same waters.

The captains on this new vessel would call out to the other vessels that their passengers could come aboard if they desired but even if they didn’t want to they shouldn’t fear, they were all going to the same place. Back at the original and still moored ship of Zion the Captain would hold meetings to inform His maritime family that these other vessels would one day be consumed with a coming storm. The people of Zion couldn’t always see the storm but they believed the Captain, after all, He had never lied to them and what He told them always was exactly what He had written in the ship’s log. They felt safe.

Now the replica of the ship Zion had been built with cheap material that seemed beautiful to the eyes but was in fact not sea worthy. The different captains told their passengers that they were speaking for the Captain of Zion and that He was in direct communication with all the other ships. They sometimes quoted the Captain’s log but they assured people that the Captain’s written log was not the final authority on the ship but it definitely had much benefit to all of them. Now within the Captain’s log were several entries that foretold of a coming storm which would destroy all who sailed on any ship but the one called “Zion”. The different captains explained to the people that what was written many years ago had to be updated in order to make sense on today’s turbulent seas with the ever changing currents. You see the Captain’s log was written when the waters were much calmer and more is needed today to navigate these modern days. That made sense to everyone and everyone thought that which seemed right in their own minds.

And so the ship that resembled Zion began to see multitudes climb on board and they were for the most part well pleased. But one day storm clouds began to appear in the distance. The people on the many different pleasure crafts for the most part ignored them and the different captains said they believed the storm would come but they gave it little or no attention. Closer and closer it came, more and more ominous and foreboding. The captains assured the people that they were safe and they should think good thoughts because the Captain of Zion did not wish anyone to be harmed and He would protect us all. So they continued to find happiness in their activities and they were consumed with their own happiness.

One day, one horrible and horrific day, the storm arrived with an unimaginable violence. Every ship, every ship, was absolutely destroyed except the ship called Zion. That ship was not at all affected by this storm and it proved to be a shelter in the midst of this storm. The pleasure ships proved to be useless in the storm and all the captains were exposed as liars. But the people of Zion were safe in the eternal harbor and they worshipped their Captain forever who had kept His promise.

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There are many different vessels being constructed today that promise the same safety that the ship of Zion has promised since the beginning of time. They give lip service to the dock called the “Word” but they refuse to be moored there. These pleasure crafts are meeting the earthly needs of their passengers but when the storm comes they will sink and eternally drown all aboard. This little story represents a gigantic phenomenon that has captured the hearts and minds of the western world as well as spreading throughout the world. There is only one Captain of our salvation and there is only one vessel of salvation which is indeed found in the Captain Himself. And now the so called “evangelical” world enjoys the cruise on the ship of their own making and they have built their future upon the works of man and not the Word of the Captain.

The storm is closer than when we first boarded the ship of Zion. May we plead with the Captain to bring revival and with it the repentance necessary to sink these false ships now before the storm arrives so that God may throw out lifelines to the deceived multitudes.

Until then the party continues all the way to hell.