We live in a time where people are engaged in selfish living. They are only concerned with what is best for them or their family. It is for this reason that people will cut in line, or will otherwise try to cheat or disregard the polite rules of society. We live in a selfish world. Bro. Hughes laments that sometimes that same attitude can manifest itself in the church. Some people only come to church for what they can get out of it. Some will only focus on what affects them or their family without regard to the other “little ships” that are along for the journey.

Our scripture text is the story of Jesus and the Disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee. The bible references other little ships that were also making the crossing when the storm came up. That storm affected all of the ships on the water that night. None of us are islands and we are not alone. The same storm that comes against us, can also affect the others around us. The disciple’s decision to go to Jesus for help also affected the condition of the companion boats. When they sought Jesus and He calmed the storm, the other boats also enjoyed the calm seas.

There are always others involved in every decision we make. Bro. Hughes asks us tonight: “How is what I am doing going to influence and affect our children, our neighbors, or those who are associated with us?”

We live in a success driven world. The bookstores are full of self-help books. We view people and form opinions of them based upon their success or failure in life. Our society places a great importance on success. Many people in our world are focused on survival. They are struggling to survive and success is a bonus. Many describe life as a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers work on a compounding of heat and pressure to produce results. Most of us can handle problems one at a time, but when problems compound themselves and weigh upon us, we find it difficult to cope. Life has a way of throwing multiple problems at us. Like the pressure cooker, this pressure has a way of breaking us down. The pressures of life just keep building and building.

Our text describes a woman who is experiencing just such a situation. This woman who is dealing with the death of her husband, and now the creditors come to call to collect debts that her late husband was never able to repay. The demands upon her are more than her ability to deliver. God had a remedy for her as he does for each of us. She wisely went to the man of God for help. She knew the right place to go for help. She didn’t go to a bar, or sit at a councilor’s office, or complain about her problems on Facebook. The man of God inquired what she had in her house and she replied that she had one vessel of oil. Elisha tells her to go borrow vessels and to borrow “not a few.” She went out and borrowed as many as she could. Nothing limited the blessing and the miraculous flow of oil but the availability of vessels to contain it. Her blessing was only limited by her ability to provide empty vessels. God’s blessing will continue to flow long beyond our ability to receive it and it will far exceed our needs. He wants to meet our needs and give us enough to live life.

We live in a time where people are engaged in selfish living. They are only concerned with what is best for them or their family. It is for this reason that people will cut in line, or will otherwise try to cheat or disregard the polite rules of society. We live in a selfish world. Bro. Hughes laments that sometimes that same attitude can manifest itself in the church. Some people only come to church for what they can get out of it. Some will only focus on what affects them or their family without regard to the other “little ships” that are along for the journey.

Our scripture text is the story of Jesus and the Disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee. The bible references other little ships that were also making the crossing when the storm came up. That storm affected all of the ships on the water that night. None of us are islands and we are not alone. The same storm that comes against us, can also affect the others around us. The disciple’s decision to go to Jesus for help also affected the condition of the companion boats. When they sought Jesus and He calmed the storm, the other boats also enjoyed the calm seas.

There are always others involved in every decision we make. Bro. Hughes asks us tonight: “How is what I am doing going to influence and affect our children, our neighbors, or those who are associated with us?”

Daniel lived in a time when men were being pressured to bow to a different kind of religion. He felt the pressure to conform to the cultural customs and beliefs that were in contrast with the life of living for God. He found himself in a strained and hostile environment. He was taken into captivity and there was no support system of other Christians to rely upon. Many of God’s people changed their behavior and conformed to the Babylonian culture in which they were confined. Daniel lived in this environment though no fault of his own. He was there because of the failure of pervious generations. Through all of this Daniel maintained a faith and a relationship with God that was extraordinary. In a society that viewed him to be odd and weird, Daniel found the secrets to remaining faithful.

Daniel lived in a time when men were being pressured to bow to a different kind of religion. He felt the pressure to conform to the cultural customs and beliefs that were in contrast with the life of living for God. He found himself in a strained and hostile environment. He was taken into captivity and there was no support system of other Christians to rely upon. Many of God’s people changed their behavior and conformed to the Babylonian culture in which they were confined. Daniel lived in this environment though no fault of his own. He was there because of the failure of pervious generations. Through all of this Daniel maintained a faith and a relationship with God that was extraordinary. In a society that viewed him to be odd and weird, Daniel found the secrets to remaining faithful.

The scripture we are more than conquers does not end there, but we discover it is through Him that loved us. This is not to discredit anything we have become or have been in the past but simply remind us, the best is yet to come. What I can be has little to do with what I am or have been. Some of us have become teachers, doctors, and lawyers, shepherds and even conquerors but that is not the end. We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us… We Are More Than What We Have Become.

The scripture we are more than conquers does not end there, but we discover it is through Him that loved us. This is not to discredit anything we have become or have been in the past but simply remind us, the best is yet to come. What I can be has little to do with what I am or have been. Some of us have become teachers, doctors, and lawyers, shepherds and even conquerors but that is not the end. We are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us… We Are More Than What We Have Become.

In Peter we see a case study in spirituality. We see him at both extremes of uncountable faith and believer and also at a point of denying and cursing Christ. We see his boldness and his failure. In our text Peter recognizes Jesus in a troubling situation, but just after that recognition, he expresses doubt. How quickly he moved from “Lord bid me” to “Lord save me”. Faith and fear often times come close to each other. Like Peter we will not always be strong and courageous. We will not always feel strong faith in our heart. There will be times when we feel weak and vulnerable. We will know Him as Lord, but we will also have our moments of doubt and fear. This is simply life. How we are going to live will be determined in moments like this. In our text, Peter moves from bold faith to sinking defeat. The key is that when things began to go wrong, Peter immediately cried out to the Lord. There will come times in our life when things begin to unravel. When we first begin to sink is the time to cry out to God: “Lord save me.”

In Peter we see a case study in spirituality. We see him at both extremes of uncountable faith and believer and also at a point of denying and cursing Christ. We see his boldness and his failure. In our text Peter recognizes Jesus in a troubling situation, but just after that recognition, he expresses doubt. How quickly he moved from “Lord bid me” to “Lord save me”. Faith and fear often times come close to each other. Like Peter we will not always be strong and courageous. We will not always feel strong faith in our heart. There will be times when we feel weak and vulnerable. We will know Him as Lord, but we will also have our moments of doubt and fear. This is simply life. How we are going to live will be determined in moments like this. In our text, Peter moves from bold faith to sinking defeat. The key is that when things began to go wrong, Peter immediately cried out to the Lord. There will come times in our life when things begin to unravel. When we first begin to sink is the time to cry out to God: “Lord save me.”

It has been said that the tongue is mightier than the sword. We must be careful with our words. Often words form in our head and come out of our mouth. Sometimes we do not take the time to run these words through a filtering mechanism in that process. The bible commands us to control our mind and our thinking process. Imaginations and thoughts are to be in alignment with God’s thoughts. The mind is like a garden. When we plant carrots, we do not get cucumbers, we get carrots. That which we cultivate in our minds, will grow and mature. The tongue reveals the mind. We must learn to discipline our thoughts and learn to govern our minds. The words that come out of our mouth control our life. James likened the tongue to the rudder on a ship. The words that we speak determine the direction of our life. We must have control of our tongue.