The Little Boat - a story of salvation

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Back in my Sundayschool days I was told a story that sticks in my mind to this very day. It is a story about a boy and his boat. That Sunday so many years ago, I remember the preacher came downstairs to the Sundayschool area to tell this story. You may have heard it told before as it is an analogy of salvation.

The Boy and his Little Boat                                               
There once was a boy who made his own little toy wooden boat. Day in and day out he worked on it carefully and lovingly carving it to be just the little boat he had imagined. He painted it a beautiful brown taking extra care with the various colors for trimming, and set it on the window sill to dry. The next day the little boy took his little boat out to sail it on the river. He admired it, how beautiful it was!,  and he watched it floating on the water. The boat began to drift farthur and farther away from shore and soon it was out of his reach. His precious boat was gone and this made him very sad. Would he ever see the little boat again? The little boat was always on his mind. Every day as he walked along he wondered if this would be the day he would find his little boat on the shore. He knew he would do whatever it would take to get it back home again.   One day while walking down the street, to his surprise and delight, he noticed his  little boat in the storeshop window. He went in to ask the storekeeper about the boat. Though the little boy had made the boat, the storekeeper insisted he would have to pay the full price for the boat if he wanted to take it home. The boy realized it would take everything he had, his every last penny. Was he willing to pay the price? Yes! The boy ran home and got all his money, every last cent, and paid the storekeeper the full price for the boat. The boy was overjoyed and said to his little boat - "You are mine, twice over. - First I made you and now I bought you though it cost me everything I had. You are forever mine."
The End.

We can plainly see that in this story, you and I are the little brown boat. God created each of us with his own special care - just the way He wanted us to be.
We set sail in our journey called life, and each of us have drifted through sin and have become lost from our Creator - our loving Heavenly Father. Each of us need to be saved and that is what Jesus did on the cross. He gave up His all - His everything to buy us back ( that is to redeem us ) to Himself. Now we are His "Twice Over" if we accept Him into our heart as Savior and Lord.

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Prayer to receive Christ as Saviour:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, ( lost just like the little boat). Thank-you that you gave yourself to redeem me back to the Father in Heaven. I believe you died for my sins on the cross and rose from the dead. Help me now to repent of my sin, I turn from it. Cleanse me from sin. I ask youto come into my heart and my life and be my Saviour and Lord of my life. Thank- you Jesus for saving me. Amen

Church at Smyrna ( a poor suffering church )Revelation Series

In our last study we looked at the message to the church at Ephesus. We learned that though the Lord Jesus commended them for several things, He also warned them in no uncertain terms about the fact that they had lost their first love. He warns the church at Ephesus to repent or else they will face the consequences and be removed from their place.
In today's study we will look at the message to the church at Smyrna. Smyrna was a seaport city located approximately thirty five miles north of Ephesus. You may know that it is called Izmir in today's world.

So lets begin.
Revelation 2: 8-11
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
⁹ I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
¹⁰ Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
¹¹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

* - You will notice in verse 8 Jesus refers to Himself as " the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;" - This is a repeat and corresponds exactly with what we read in our very first study in Revelation 1 verses 17 and 18 where it says: Fear not; I am the first and the last:   I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus is the first and the last, He died on the cross for our sins, rose again on the third day and now He is alive forevermore, at the right hand of the Father.
* - Jesus reminds the church in Smyrna that He sees what is going on in their situation.  Verse 9 -  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Jesus is fully aware of their sufferings, but He also notices their poverty. He tells them - " but thou art rich" - Why would he say that? Can a person be poor but rich at the same time? I think we all know the answer is yes.  The song I'd Rather Have Jesus by Rhea F. Miller comes to mind.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

  When we have the Lord Jesus in our hearts and lives - we are the richest people alive. We do not care for the earthly riches of this world.  The Bible says if we have food and clothes we are to be content. When we pass away, we leave behind all that the world has to offer. Our treasures are laid up in heaven. Wealth can never buy a home in heaven for anyone.
He goes on to say that some who say they are Jews are not Jews at heart but in reality are of the synagogue of satan. We can compare this to Christianity today. Many people will say they are Christians but their hearts are far from the Lord. Jesus says - By their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 20 and 21 : Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Our conduct and lifestyle ( what we do in the dark when no one is watching) tells a great deal about whether Christ actually lives in our heart or not.
 * - Verse 10 starts out with some encouragement for those weary souls who are already struggling in poverty and now will receive word of more hardships to come. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
I think if Jesus encourages us to not fear, then we can rely on Him. We can trust Him and not be afraid. Obviously the Saviour's plan is that He will walk with us and help us in and through our troubles and trials.
* -  behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Jesus says that the devil will cause some of the people to be imprisoned. That is frightening....but we must remember that Jesus has said we are not to be afraid. He is with us. 
* -  ye shall have tribulation ten days: Why ten days? What does is mean? It could very well mean that the time of tribulation coming to the church of Smyrna will last exactly ten days - not nine days or eleven days ....no - ten days is what He says.  From this, I think we can also learn that though Satan is the one who has thrown these people into prison and there is big trouble.....Jesus is still in control. He has His hand on the "timer" so to speak. This time of tribulation will not go on indefinitely.  Jesus is the One who will decide when the trials and troubles must end. When Jesus says the ten days of tribulation are over - the trials will come to an end. Satan is not in control - satan only wishes he were in control and may pretend that he has control. We are safe in the care of  Jesus loving arms so when they days grow long and dreary ....Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus! He will carry you through! This reminds me of when my own Dad was suffering from cancer. It felt like a never ending trial. But the Lord was faithful and carried him through and kept us from despair. Now my Dad is in heaven with the Lord.
*- be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life The Lord Jesus teaches us here to persevere under extreme hardships and in difficult situations. He says : Be thou faithful unto death! We must determine that with God's help we will remain faithful to the Lord. Though we are persecuted we will not sit down or shut up - We will keep living our faith and keep on proclaiming the love of Jesus to everyone around us.
*- I will give thee a crown of life   What is the crown of life?  According to James 1:12 the crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord.
 James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
This ties in quite interestingly with what we learned in our study of the message to the church in Ephesus. They were instructed to repent  for having left their first love - which I believe means to really love the Lord with our everything. So Jesus says we are to love Him and be faithful to Him to our last breath and He will reward us with the crown of life.
This is life eternal!
* - Verse 11 - He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
We all have ears so the message that is given to the church at Smyrna is to each and everyone of us.
* - He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.  We need to be overcomers.  Those who are overcomers by faith in the Lord Jesus and his finished work on the cross need have no fear of dying physically here because for the Christian, death means the door to heaven has been opened for him or her.  Whereas the unbelievers portion will be unending torment.
 What is the second death?  The lake of fire -  hell is the second death. We see that in Revelation 20 and 21.
Revelation 20: 14 -15  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21: 7-8  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

After studying the message to the church of Smyrna all I can say to everyone reading this is to please...please make your salvation sure. Today is still time to turn to the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. Believe in the Lord Jesus that He died for you, that He is the only way to be saved, turn your life over to Him, repent of your sin and turn from it. Put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. He died on the cross to redeem you to God and to save each of us from hell. Come to Jesus today!

Salvation

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

The most important decision we will ever make is that of salvation. It is the decision that will determine our eternal destiny. The choice to accept God's offer of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ will lead to life everlasting in Heaven. The choice to never accept this offer to salvation will lead to the place called hell. The choice is up to each of us as individuals. We have to make the choice here in this life. When death has come, we no longer have the opportunity to choose. Since each of us has no idea when our life here will be over ( many die suddenly through accidents or illnesses), it is not wise to leave this decision undone for another day. So I urge everyone reading this to choose Jesus and be saved today!

The Way of Salvation
1) All have sinned and are in need of the Savior Jesus Christ. There is no person who is good enough to go to Heaven without having come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3: 9 - 10 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one

2) God loves each of us and does not want anyone of us to be lost to hell.
2 Thessalonians 2: 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.



3) God requires the blood sacrifice of His own Son Jesus as payment for our sin. Nothing else will do.
Hebrews 9: 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

4) In order to be saved we must put our faith completely in Jesus alone and believe that He is the only way to be saved, and that He shed his blood for our sin, paid it in full there on the cross where He died, He rose again on the third day, ascended to Heaven and will return to earth at the appointed time. Good works do not save, Jesus is the only One who can save.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Isaiah 64: 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away
Acts 16: 30-31 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

5) Confess to God that you are a sinner, in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, that you want to be saved now. Repent of all known sin, turn from it, to live in it no longer. Ask Jesus to save you now.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Don't leave this most important decison for another day. Come to Jesus today!

Prayer to receive Christ as Saviour:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, ( lost without You). Thank-you that you gave yourself to redeem me back to the Father in Heaven. I believe you died for my sins on the cross and rose from the dead. I repent of my sin, I turn from it. Cleanse me from sin. I ask that You come into my heart and my life and be my Saviour and Lord of my life. Thank- you Jesus for saving me. Amen