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America, God's Little Life Saving Station Series
Contributed by Preacher Fo Real on Apr 1, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: (I heard the story told by my father, the late Rev. Roosevelt Leon Walker, Jr. However, you can blame me for the message. )
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The little life saving station
By the seashore of a small fishing village there once sat a small life saving station that one of the villagers decided to build after numerous lives were lost to the sea. Because of the rough currents and the jagged hidden rocks in the opening of the port, numerous ships were damaged or wrecked just off the coast. Often the scared travelers would jump into the cold dark water attempting to swim for their lives as their damaged ships slowly sunk beneath the raging waters.
As years passed, the little lifesaving station expertly performed the job it was destined to do. Every time a ship wrecked on sea, someone from the life saving station would quickly board the lifesaving boat and row out to the rescue. Over the years, many lives were saved because of this one lone station and the valuable services they supplied. Soon, the grateful decided to show how much they appreciated the efforts of those that manned the lifesaving station.
Many survivors returned with needed material and rebuilt the little rugged station into an amazing structure. To make the station easier for the ships to see as they drifted closer to the coast, someone constructed a humongous lighthouse to cast light out into the dark of the night. Someone else raised funds to buy many better life saving boats and built showers outside the buildings for those that were dirty from their dip in the sea. A place they could shower and clean up before coming inside the brand new building. Lastly, the call went out for more volunteers to man the life saving station and many people came and gave their time.
Because the small village started to grow, more ships continued to venture to the shore. Bigger ships came to trade and sell their goods. However, because of the increased traffic, more ships become damaged by the waves and rocks hidden in the port. The people of the fishing village decided to build more lifesaving stations to rescue the larger number of stranded travelers. Soon, the coast became littered with small lifesaving stations. To pass the time when no ships wrecked, the lifesaving stations started competing against each other to see which one were the best. They held rowing and swimming competitions when the sea was calm and still. They held membership drives to see which lifesaving station could get the most volunteers. Before long, a lot of activities developed around the life saving stations.
In time, the now large fishing community raised enough money to remove some of the hazards in the harbor. As expected, the number of shipwrecks decreased as the result of the much need work. Because of the lack of shipwrecks, most of the lifesaving stations decided to become beachfront social clubs. With a safe port and plenty of places to party, the community continued to grow. Almost immediately, the people forgot about life saving and instead turned to parting all night. In time, they stopped turning on the light at the lighthouse because the harbor was now safe. Four years later, they closed the last lifesaving station and forgot about rescuing the lost from the sea.
However, one day a large unexpected storm came to the coast in the middle of the busy shipping season. The storm lasted for four long days causing a great number of ships to become damaged upon in the harbor. Thinking the many lifesaving stations were still manned, the travelers jumped into the cold unforgiving water trying to escape their impending fate. Nevertheless, that week many lives were unnecessarily lost to sea. They were lost not because all of the lifesaving stations were closed or even because they jumped into the turbulent sea. These precious lives were lost because those that had volunteered to be lifesavers decided to spend their time partying instead.
Unexpectingly, the storm of the wrath of God has been released from heaven against our nation and world. The godlessness and wickedness of evil untruthful people have taken control of our societies as we try to imitate their displays of greed and self righteousness. However, God will hold each of us accountable for our unrighteous actions since we proclaim a relationship with Him. The creation of the Global Economic Catastrophe can be blamed only on our willingness to chase after the forbidden things of this world, like greed, corruption, and money. Because of these unwise and unrighteous actions of this God believing world, God’s eternal power is being clearly displayed. Having been taught over the centuries from the multitudes of church buildings in our nations, we understood what is expected from us by the mistakes that were made by ancient and immortal Israel. Therefore, we are without excuse.
Although we know God, our actions have neither glorified him as God nor acknowledged God as our divine creator. With our unrighteous lips, we offer thanks to him, but our actions are ineffective. Our foolish hearts have been darkened with greed, lust, deceit, and other sins. Although we claim to be wise and powerful nations, our leaders have been foolish and filled with pride. Although we profess our belief and love for God, our religious and spiritual leaders exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of a dead man on a piece of worthless paper. Therefore, God is daily pronouncing his judgment on our world.