Getting Out of the Boat
John Ortberg was once questioned about whether or not he got out of the boat in his life with this question: “What are you doing that you could not do apart from the power of God?” Each of us I believe has to look at this question and think about our own lives. The root of this question is not whether we are taking risks for God or not, I think what this question is really asking is whether we are truly living or not. You see life is supposed to be lived in the power of God. That is where Jesus lived his whole life, in the power of God. It is the way we were created to live.
Does this mean we take risks? Well in some ways yes, but the risks we take if done in the power of God are not risks at all. They rely on a faithful God who said if we seek first his kingdom, that he will take care of the rest. Who said if we keep our eyes on him and not on the storms of life, that he will hold us up. Who said that he will be with us always, no matter where we are.
God hasn’t called our church to be another statistic in church history. God has called us to be his hands and feet here and now. There have been people before us and there will be people after us, but right now. Right now in this moment in time, in 2008, this is our day. If God’s love is going to flow through our community, if his kingdom is going to come down, it will have to be through us, you and me. God is not going to come down and take our place, instead he has gifted us and told us that he will use us, but we have to get our feet wet. We have to take the first step when he calls.
Henry Blackaby writes,
“Some people say, “God will never ask me to do something I can’t do.” I have come to the place in my life that, if the assignment I sense God is giving me is something that I know I can handle, I know it is probably not from God. The kind of assignments God gives in the Bible are always God-sized. They are always beyond what people can do, because he wants to demonstrate his nature, his strength, his provision, and his kindness to his people and to a watching world. This is the only way the world will come to know him.”
As John Ortberg says, “This does not mean that God calls us in a way that violates our “raw material.” Where God calls, God gifts.”
It does mean though that we can’t be afraid to tackle the call of God especially when it looks impossible in our eyes. What is impossible for us, is always possible for God.
God has not stopped calling us, he has not stopped the miraculous from happening. What has happened is that we have stopped getting out of the boat. God wants to do powerful things through us. He wants to use every single one of his children to glorify him and share his love and grace with the world.
It is time that FBC makes its mark on the world, not as a church that was around for 186 years, but as a church that changed the world when it decided to stop hiding in the boat and take a step out to reach the world for Christ.What are you doing that you could not do apart from the power of God? If your answer is nothing, it’s time to start listening and looking for what God has in store for you and taking the first step. He’s Calling, and Now is our time and our turn to truly live in the power of God and reach a world for Christ!