Henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). Know the truth of the Word of God and steadfastly hold to it. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines (Hebrews 13:9). Many different winds of doctrine are blowing into the houses of God today, ill winds and not the wind of the Holy Spirit. The devil is hard after God’s true people. He knows that if he can destroy the plan of God, untold multitudes will die and go to hell. That old lukewarm spirit of indifference is seducing, seducing, seducing; and it’s easy to drift away from your dedication to the Lord. Recognize the danger of drifting.

Have you ever been in a boat, enjoying the water and then suddenly realized you had been drifting? You may have drifted a mile without being aware that you had gone anywhere. You could drift several miles in no time, the ride is so smooth, so gentle. That’s the way drifting is, spiritually speaking. The current takes control of people unaware, and floats them away from the will of God. How terrible for people to lose their place in God, to fail to use their faith, to fail in their prayer life!

Daily spend time with God in prayer. Talk to the Lord; talk to Him often. There’s much to be done, and much He’s offering you. In this last and final hour you must keep both your hands in His.

Many Christians have drifted into lukewarmness in this final hour, disregarding the endtime signs all around them, the things coming upon the Earth. Jesus said, Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:32,33). In our day we see the two great signs of the second coming of Jesus: the gathering back of the Jews to Israel, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When you see these things, know that His coming is nigh, even at the door.

The Spirit of Antichrist Is Taking Over

Daily, world conditions are changing, not for the better but for the worse. People might tell you that things are the same; they are not the same. Something happened in the late sixties; and since then we have seen a takeover by the devil in America, a takeover that has swept across the whole world. The spirit of Antichrist is being revealed in unbelievable ways; his power has become so strong that unless you are a praying Christian, unless you are a devout Bible Christian, you’re drifting. You may feel secure in your little boat; but when you drift out of sight of God’s lighthouse, you’re in grave danger. You see no light to show you the way back. If you go too far, you’ll never get back to the safety of God.

Recognize the Danger

Some years ago, two men were boating on the river flowing to Niagara Falls. They evidently underestimated the danger of those rushing waters, and thought they would be all right; they’d just go out and enjoy the water. They didn’t intend to go over the falls, but they had drifted farther and faster than they realized. They probably were talking, laughing and having a good time. Then to their horror, they suddenly realized they were not able to withstand the strength of the current; and they plunged over the falls to their deaths.

In much the same way, from a spiritual standpoint, the devil deceives people. Drifting along in the boat of life with a false sense of security, they relax their hold on the Lord. They let up on praying, close their mind to Bible fasting, skip over Bible study, and think nothing of missing church services. They become indifferent to lost humanity, and drop the burden they had carried for them.

They’ve drifted too far from the shore. The Holy Spirit is doing everything He can to wake up people who are drifting, to sound the alarm day and night, warning them of the danger they’re in.

Gradually you can become unconcerned about the will of God. Drifting is a slow process, a smooth ride; and you’re not aware that you’re drifting. You don’t intend to drift away from the shore very far; you intend to keep it in sight. Oh, I’ll just let up a little bit, you think. I get tired of fighting the devil. I get tired of studying the Bible, and I get tired of praying; I get tired, I get tired.

Jesus got tired, too, but He didn’t drift away from the shore; He stayed on the shore for us. You find that your greatness in Him is on the shore, not out somewhere drifting toward a downfall. It’s terrible to be in a lukewarm spirit.

We see people who are reckless in physical activities today. They risk their lives trying to set records, perform greater stunts than anyone else. People have died playing sports. This is no time to take needless chances with your life. Jesus had a sober mind, and you must have a sober mind, too.

Check your boat to make sure Jesus is really there with you. If He’s on board, you’re not drifting; but if He isn’t, you’re in danger. If your heart has drifted away from Jesus, eternal death in hell will be yours.

Oh dear one who has drifted away from the Lord: You once were saved, once had grown so close to Heaven that you had your passport to glory. You thought: “I’m happy; I’m all right; I’m covered with the blood!” And so you were. You were faithful in keeping your word to God and to people. You were faithful in your character, in your life, in the way you walked, and in the way you lived. You were careful to wear the love bridle all the time; you always spoke the truth, and you spoke it in love. But then that careless spirit began to take over—how it started you don’t even know. You began to drift without realizing you were drifting. You rested the oars in the boat, and left them there. Of course you can’t work your way to Heaven, but you must keep using the faith and love of God, His truth, patience, courage and compassion. Above all, always use the divine blood of Jesus.

“Demas Hath Forsaken Me”

It isn’t enough to have the blood of Jesus in your soul; you need to use it continuously. Demas, once a helper of Paul, had the blood of Jesus in his soul, but he didn’t keep using it; he failed God and Paul both. Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, Paul wrote in Second Timothy 4:10. Demas didn’t mean to go away from Paul. At first Demas counted it a privilege to be working with him; but there were long hours, persecutions; and he decided to rest the oars.

Never ease off from your dedication to God; there’s no place to let up. Don’t be like Demas, who became careless and drifted back into the world.

People who wander away from the Lord will drift. Some will drift back to alcohol or to drugs, to sex outside of marriage, to worldliness—whatever it might be—and finally destroy their life all because of drifting.

Are you drifting off course? Be careful: You may never get back to the shore; you may never be rescued. I’m not going to go very far, you think. When you’re drifting, I say again, you don’t realize how far you’re going, how far away from God you are.

Turn Back before It’s Too Late

You can be overconfident about your salvation, convincing yourself that you’ll be all right. I’ll stay out of church this time but I’ll go next week. It won’t matter. When that spirit takes you over, something is happening: You’re beginning to drift away. When you cease to come to the altar to pray, you’re drifting; you are drifting.

The devil whispers, You get along better when you don’t pray—and you get along lots better when you don’t fast. Look how much trouble you have when you do nothing but work for the Lord. It makes you fanatical. Look how you have to fight the devil. If you just wouldn’t pray, fast, and read the Bible so much, you’d be all right. That’s devil talk in the ears of the drifter; you’ve tuned in to the drifter’s station, the station of ease. You don’t have to do this; you don’t have to do that, and you must admit that you feel better. You’re getting along better since you don’t go to church so much, since you don’t pray for lost souls like you used to, since you don’t do any personal soul winning, since you don’t carry a burden for people in other nations. You’re due to have happiness in this world. But you’re drifting, drifting from the shore.

Recognize how dangerous it is to drift, to lose ground. You say, But I’m at ease; I’m content; I feel better. Yes, you’re drifting. You’re not using the oars, not working, not praying, not fasting, not studying the Word. In other words, you’re simply not looking to God. That drifting spirit has taken you over and you’re unaware of how far you have gone. Turn back; turn back before it’s too late!

If you don’t have the zeal for souls that you once had, do you know why? When you begin to think good Bible church services are too long, that you don’t need to do everything the Bible requires, you are off course. Why do we need to be in church so much; why are we having so many services? Wake up! Listen to the alarm that the Holy Spirit is sounding.

The Holy Spirit won’t drag you back to the shore; you must want to go back to the lighthouse. You must want to get back to the love of God, to grow close to the Lord again, to walk and talk with Him.

Anchor Your Boat to the Truth

It’s easy to look at the wrong kind of things on television, and many fall into that habit. Oh, this program won’t hurt me; I’m really strong, you think; but you’re drifting and don’t know it. You’re on dangerous territory, about to be swept over the falls. Many boats will crash into the rocks before they can turn back. You don’t know, when you’re drifting, if you’ll be swept into the rocks; you have no anchor, no direction. Only if you’re anchored to the truth today are you safe.

If you’re anchored to the truth, you’re not going to drift. Everyone who is not anchored to the truth is drifting, drifting too far from the shore. Have you gone so far that no one can throw you a lifeline to save you? Wake up, I say again, while there’s yet time. Wake up and decide to get back to the shore, to be with the Lord on the winning side, to be all that God wants you to be. Determine to dine at the table of the Lord, feasting on the goodness of God.

Keep Your First Love

Not going after the loaves and fishes, serve the Lord because you love Him, because He’s the love of your life. Go back to your first love; love God first every day of your life.

John the Revelator, in writing to one of the seven churches of Revelation, sent them the words of Jesus. Although that church had performed many good works, the Lord said, Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love (Revelation 2:4).

Some of you have left your desire to serve God. When you were first saved, the light of the Gospel brought you to your senses; you were eager to work for the Lord. But over time your zeal diminished until somehow it became easy to neglect that work. It was easy to not really care, easy to be unconcerned; and in such a condition, you’re in grave danger.

Leaving the anointing of the great, powerful, divine blood behind, you’re drifting right out into the night, right out into the darkness. You’re drifting into what the world calls love—and the world’s love is no love at all. You’re drifting into the counterfeits of the devil.

You once had the real thing, the blessings and promises of God. But now you’re not concerned about His promises, you won’t reach out for them. You don’t feel the need of that help; you don’t feel the need of depending on God, of trusting His holy Word. If someone tries to warn you, you resent it.

The worldly habits you once had turned your back on, little by little you start to pick up again. When you found Jesus, you left the world behind. Now you begin to reach out for the world, for the wrong people. That which is false draws you; you’re tossed by the blowing of ill winds.

Ill winds can push you down to the rocks where you will be destroyed. You may cry for help at that time, but it will be too late; there will be no way of getting back, no help, no lifeline. You didn’t prepare for this. The devil deceived you; the devil fooled you. It all started when you began to drift, when you left your first love.

Moving away from your consecration, you’re no longer dedicated to the Lord; you no longer put Him first. Self rises up and becomes your love again. You’ve turned back into that old self; you’re drifting, you’re drifting. That new self would never have gotten onto a drifting boat. The new self was alive and on fire for God; the new self had the eyes of God, the ears of God and the tongue of fire from on High. That new self had yielded to the power of the Holy Ghost, power to defeat the devil, power to trample devils underfoot. How wonderful! What victory! But then to lose it—my God, what a tragedy!

Carelessness Could Mean Death

When you drift, you become careless with your words, careless with your conversation, careless with what you think about and what you talk about. You are careless in your actions, a carelessness that spells death, death, death. Wake up and smell the odor of death hovering over you. When you’re drifting, you’re on your way to being destroyed.

In this final hour you’re either walking close to Jesus or you’re walking afar off. Cunningly, the enemy seeks to deceive you about your standing with God. He entices so slyly that you’re not mindful of it, if you aren’t close to the Lord. You’re changing, and you don’t even know you’ve changed. But you do have the remedy—if you’ll only wake up in time and head back to shore. You know the truth; use it, and be free again. The best thing to do is to always check the kind of waters you’re in; see if your boat is drifting; know what is happening to you.

Don’t Be at Ease in Zion

Start for Heaven and keep going. If you stop, you’ll sink; if you stop, you’ll drift. You can’t stop. You must continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

If you are afraid of the undercurrent, if you tremble over what could happen to you out in the deep, you will stay on the bank where it’s safe. If you, however, have seen others destroyed but think it won’t happen to you, you’re in danger. You think not struggling and fighting against the powers of the devil will put you at ease in Zion. You are wrong. Jesus didn’t have it easy. Jesus left His place of ease in Heaven, and came down to war. He came down to fight the devil and to win for us, and win He did. It cost Him His life, but He gave it willingly.

Drifting Cost Samson’s Life

Samson had great power with God. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith (Judges 15:15). With the jawbone of an animal, Samson killed a thousand of the enemies of God. What power! Samson had a little way of shaking himself, and then the power of God would come upon him; and he would be as strong as many men. At one time he even took a lion with his bare hands and killed him. Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done (Judges 14:5,6). Samson possessed amazing strength. But one day he drifted too far from the shore, and was disconnected from God, disconnected from the lighthouse. He was inattentive to what God had told him, unmindful of his consecration. There came a time he heard the cry: The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house (Judges 16:20,21).

The enemy gouged out his eyes, put him in the mill to grind like a beast of burden. It was horrible what he went through, but it woke him up. He wouldn’t drift anymore. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life (Judges 16:28-30). For drifting, Samson paid the price of imprisonment, torture and death.

Imagine what a vessel for God Samson would have been had he never drifted away from God! He didn’t come to disaster overnight; he drifted into it. The Bible says, Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (I Corinthians 10:12). Take heed when you think you stand; take heed lest you drift away.

Cherish the Word

Make sure there is no indifference in your boat of life. Make sure you’re on fire for God, that you love the Lord your God with every particle of you. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matthew 22:37).

Cherish the Word of God. When you read the Word, let it leap to life in you through the blood of Jesus. It must become living life to you—the Word. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Drifting is living without the Word, the bread of life. If you’re leaving the bread of life, the Word, behind, you’re drifting away to the place of such ease that you don’t care. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

You once had your passport to Heaven, but that passport can’t save you when the undercurrent takes you down. No, when your ship of life hits the rocks, your passport won’t save you; it’s too late. You will be destroyed. Oh God, help us today! God, wake us up!

The Midnight Hour Is Coming

The Holy Spirit is working overtime to wake us to the time we live in. It’s a sleepy hour just before midnight. Don’t be like the foolish virgins who lost their chance to go with the Lord, the Bridegroom. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves (Matthew 25:5-9). At the midnight hour, the virgins all slumbered and slept; but five were foolish. Five had drifted too far from the shore. When the cry came, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, they had no oil; they had lost out. They wanted to borrow some oil, but the five wise said, We don’t have enough. We’d put our own deliverance, our own help in jeopardy. We don’t have enough for you, just enough for ourselves. We have enough for just one lamp, our own life, and that’s it.

How sad to wake up when it’s too late! How sad to wake up, find you’ve been drifting toward the rocks, and you know you’re going to be destroyed! Think again about those men who were destroyed at Niagara Falls years ago. Think how they struggled right at the end, but the current swept them over too late to be rescued.

Be watchful…Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee (Revelation 3:2,3). The Bible warns us that Jesus is coming for those who are watching for Him; those who are wide awake. Be a person with heart—God gives you heart. You must be awake and working for Him to bring in the lost. A sleeping person will not be working. Jesus worked. He worked among men, doing wonderful things for others. He denied Himself; we must do the same thing.

Are You Drifting?

Check your boat, are you drifting? Are you as close to God as you used to be? Are you as close to God as you were when you first found Him? Do you love Him as much? Are you willing to do as much for Him, or are you trying to back away? When you first were saved, you were ready to do anything for the Lord. You cannot let any ill wind of false doctrine carry you at all; you cannot let those ill winds hit your sails and move you. You must be anchored in Christ Jesus, the truth.

Jesus said, I am…truth (John 14:6). Jesus is your anchor, and if you lose that love for Him, if you lose that anchor, nothing can save you. Your life is adrift; you’re out on an angry sea, and eventually you will be totally destroyed: Your boat will go down.

Maybe the Lord sent you this message to warn you for the last time before your little boat hits the rocks. Trying to rescue you, the Holy Spirit is throwing you the lifeline. Take it. Hear Him crying to you: Turn back to your first love. Turn back to where you once were with the Lord with the fire of the Holy Ghost burning upon the altar of your soul, your innermost being. Turn back and give yourself completely to the Lord to do His work and put Him first.

If you have become indifferent to your dedication to God, stop deceiving yourself, saying, I’m all right; I’m all right. You’re drifting too far from the shore to be all right; you’re in dangerous waters, treacherous waters, and soon the undercurrent will get you; soon you’ll be too far out to get back.

Examine Yourself

Do you feel a careless spirit? Examine yourself; identify what is yours. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves (II Corinthians 13:5). Check yourself daily to see if you’re really in the faith.

Are you Jesus-conscious; are you fellowshipping with Him or are you fellowshipping with the world? If you’re fellowshipping with the world, you’re out where the undercurrent will drag you down; you’re out where you’ll crash on the rocks and be destroyed. Jesus came to give you life, but are you throwing it away by drifting? The devil couldn’t suddenly carry you out. No, he had to cause you to drift out into his waters of danger and destruction. He caused you to drift so that you wouldn’t be so conscious of where you were.

Do you know where you stand with God today? Are you sure there is not one sin in your heart? Are you really born new? Do you know you have the real baptism of the Holy Ghost? Are you sure you would go to Heaven if you were to die right now? Were Jesus to come, even though you had no chance to pray another prayer, do you know you would be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye? Would you go or would you be tossed out on the angry sea? The waves are high. Are you noticing them or are you just drifting along, enjoying the ride? One wave will roar in higher than you were prepared for, and you’ll be swept under for good.

Prayer for Salvation and Healing

You who are unsaved, and you who have backslidden, pray the sinners’ prayer with me: Oh, God, I am lost. Please, God, I don’t want to drift out into the world and not come back. Oh God, I’m coming to you today; save my soul. Take this lukewarmness out of me; take this spirit of indifference out of me! Set me free, set me free! I give myself to you, Lord. I will serve you; I will worship you in spirit and in truth, and I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in, Jesus!

Accept that prayer and praise the Lord: Hallelujah, He has come! Hallelujah, He is mine! I will walk with Jesus the rest of the way.

Now I bring the sick and afflicted to the Lord for deliverance. I bring those with AIDS, those with leprosy, those with cancer, heart trouble, and blindness. I bring those with paralysis. Heal, in the all-powerful blood name of Jesus! Heal! With your blood we are healed—your Word declares it, precious Lord. Heal! Heal, in the name of the Lord!

The presence of the Lord has gone into you now if you believed that prayer, and that means the divine blood has gone into the part of your body that is afflicted, killing out that disease. It may be a death disease, but if you believe the power of the blood, it’s killed out, and life is yours through Jesus. Serve the Lord, give Him all the honor, the praise and the glory; and write and tell me what happened to you. God’s blessings rest upon you as you remember to always recognize the danger of drifting.