Mark 4:35-41 tells the story of a huge storm that hits a boat carrying Jesus and His disciples. The storm takes over the boat and fills it with water. Terrified by the violence of this mega tempest, the disciples cry out to Jesus, who is asleep – untroubled by the commotion. Jesus wakes up, speaks to the storm and peace is restored at last!
This is the picture of the Church of God in Jeopardy! The water symbolizes the world; the boat symbolizes the Church. By design, boats are built to float on water. They are bound to sink when water gets in. In the same way, the Church is in the world, but the world is not supposed to leak into the Church, lest it sinks and impairs its function.
In this end-time Church era, the Church is nearly full of the world, just as the boat was covered with waves. A lot of performance, entertainment, image branding, self-promotion, traditions of men, worldly culture – all done in the name of God. As a result, the potency of the Church has been watered down.
The Bible records that after the storm, Jesus got to another city and heals two men from madness. One of those men, as recorded in Luke 8:38 & 39, brought many people to the Lord. Could it that the storm was a preemptive strike against Jesus to stop that miracle from happening and the resultant increase to the Kingdom of God?
The pandemic has shown us that the days of doing mega things for the Lord are over – the days where we have anointing but no presence of God. Our mindsets have to shift! Going forward, it is not going to be by power or by might. We have to cry out to the Saviour to deliver us – just as the disciples cried out in the boat. We need to be delivered from the perils and dangers of the end times. We need to get the water out of the boat. The true Church must emerge!
