Drifting Along (Philipians3:12-21))
Intro: The two trappers
In the mid 1800’s their were two trappers that had been trapping muskrat and beaver all summer and fall. They had been working their traps in the Cumberland Platue area of Tennessee. With their packs full of furs and winter coming soon they made their way back to the river , where they had left their canoes hidden . It was a beautiful Indian Summer day when they finially reached the river. The two trappers, Big John and little Joe loaded their packs in the canoes and were soon paddling back up stream towards their cabins in Kentucky. After 3 hour of paddling Big John wanted to rest, but little Joe anxious to be with his family decided to go on.
It was a warm lazy day , so Big John relaxed and took a nap . He was afraid that some wild animal might attack him if he was close to the shore ,so he just let the canoe drift back downstream.
Big John thought that if he slept for just a little while , he would be refreshed, he could always make up the distance he lost as he drifted back downstream.
Mean while Little Joe kept on paddling, getting closer home with each stroke of the paddle .
After a three hour nap ,Big John woke up and began to paddle furiously to make up the lost time. After paddling for two hours , Big John was almost back where he started, but he was exausted.
Big John decided he needed a little more rest. Tired and worn out John closed his eyes , just to rest for a little while. Soon he was drifting back down stream again.
Mean while Little Joe is still paddling along, sure he’s worn out, but the safety of home are just around the corner. As he paddles the canoe toward home, he’s determined to make it all the way home today. Soon he sees the lights of home and smells the odor of beans and bread cooking. Thank God , he’s safely home at last.
Back to Big John, the first sign of trouble is that the canoe is rocking. Big John wakes up startled, he is caught in the worst rapids he has ever seen. John begins to paddle with all his strenght, Big John has always relied on his power and might all of his life, but instead of going forward the canoe is still going backwards. The harder John paddles the faster the canoe travels in the wrong direction. John’s eyes catches the glimpse of a sign on the bank , it says “Point of no Return” Johns drifting has led him to the place of his doom. Terror fills his eyes as the canoe falls over Fall Creek Falls , the highest water fall this side of the Rocky Mountains.
In our Christian walk we can keep going until we receive the prize that God promises us, or we can get lazy and drift our way into destruction.
Text: Continuing Toward Our Goal
12 I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. 13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.
15 All of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, too. And if there are things you do not agree with, God will make them clear to you. 16 But we should continue following the truth we already have.
17 Brothers and sisters, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you. 18 Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now. 19 In the end, they will be destroyed. They do whatever their bodies want, they are proud of their shameful acts, and they think only about earthly things. 20 But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 By his power to rule all things, he will change our simple bodies and make them like his own glorious body.
The Drifter
1. Always going downstream
a. it takes effort to go upstream ( like the enegizer
bunny you have got to keep on going)
b. anything dead can float downstream
c. salmon going upstream
2. seldom aware that they are drifting
a. Samson -didn’t know God had departed
b. Satan don’t try to get you to quit at first-just slow down
3. Endangers others
a. a dirilict (a drifting wrecked ship) endangers other ships
b. A drifting Christian hinders God’s work
c. Jonah was a drifting Christian that endangered
the sailors on the ship
4. Comes to ruin and destruction
a. Drift a little then try to paddle back to where you were,
drift a little more and paddle back almost to where you
were, lying to yourself thing that you are where you
started out. ( I’m just as close to God as I always was)
drift a little more and you begin to loose your desire
to serve God.
b. at first you drift
1. in calm water
2. then a little faster
3. then rapids
4. the point of no return
5. over the water fall
5. Results of drifting
a. the children of Israel
b. Eli-Ichabod
c. Lot -lost wife
A/C rivers and men are a lot alike when they follow the path of least resistance they become crooked
Do you have the paddle in the water or are you drifting?
Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be. "Good enough" becomes today's watchword and tomorrow's standard. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and hate the new. Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course --downhill. They draw false strength from looking back.
One quiet night in early spring: Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon? It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompting deep into their wild yesterdays. Their wings fluttered a feeble response. The urge to fly--to take their place in the sky for which God made them-- was sounding in their feathered breasts, but they never raised from the water. The matter had been settled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempting! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfortable. Temptation is always enjoyed at the price of losing the capacity for flight.
