At 11.40 p.m. on the night of 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, the RMS Titanic struck the iceberg that would ultimately lead to the sinking of the ship less than three hours later.
At around 2.20 a.m. on the morning of 15 April, the Titanic disappeared beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, a disaster that resulted in the loss of more than 1,500 lives, almost two-thirds of the people on board.
The main reason for the high death toll was that the ship had only 20 lifeboats. As they pulled away from the sinking ship, many were only half-full or even less.
Titanic’s original design called for 64 lifeboats. That number was later cut in half, then nearly halved again. The ship’s owners felt that too many lifeboats would clutter the deck and obscure the First Class passengers view.
I see some striking parallels be-tween the sinking of the Titanic and the current condition of our nation.
First, we are on a collision course with a massive iceberg, and no one is heeding the warnings or attempting to turn the ship away from it. Our current society is intent on removing Jesus and His Word from public view. His church is equivalent to the lifeboats, and we have been deemed unnecessary and a hindrance to current world view.
Secondly, the lifeboats which were designed to save were less than half full. Church attendance and new membership is in drastic decline and has been for the past 40 years. The boats of the Titanic rowed away from those who needed rescue and similarly many churches are avoiding the very ones who need rescuing.
The Titanic was sailing in treacherous waters and received many warnings of the danger and yet continued on it’s fateful path. No one imagined that the unthinkable collision and subsequent sinking of this great ship could really happen. What if they had listened to those who warned them? What if they had been equipped with more life boats and filled them to capacity?
What am I trying to convey here? Our nation needs rescuing because we are sinking in a sea of immortality and godlessness. Good is being called evil, and evil good. People are drowning all around us, and we seem to be distancing ourselves instead of running to the battle. The captain of our lifeboats is Jesus, and He came to save sinners. We need a great revival and rescue operation to save this ship. Would you join with me in humbly asking God to save us from ourselves? Would you once again fill the churches with a hunger and thirst for Jesus and His righteousness? Here’s the good news; it’s not too late!!!!