Spiritual infants. Sadly, this is what characterizes much of the church today. Overrun by consumers rather than producers, the modern church looks more like a daycare than the body of Christ. 

Hebrews 5:12-13 (KJV)

"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe."

Every baby must grow, or it will die. As newborns, those fragile little bodies can't handle the harshness of life for very long. Babies must mature into functioning adults. 

The same is true in the spiritual. Our faith and experience must develop beyond the infant stage. There comes a time when we need to leave the boat behind. 

BEGIN WITH THE ARK

Genesis 8:15-21 (KJV) 

"15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that [is] with thee, of all flesh, [both] of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, [and] whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. 20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour;..."

(emphasis mine)

The ark was the necessary vehicle of God's salvation for them, but it was not the destination. 

After the waters of the great flood receded, God commanded Noah to leave the ark to be fruitful and multiply. There was something beyond the ark. The ark was the necessary vehicle of God's salvation for them, but it was not the destination. 

The ark of Noah is a beautiful symbol of the salvation provided to us through Jesus Christ. God's judgment was coming upon a rebellious world, and the ark provided safety. It also provided a safe passage to God's continuing plan for man and His creation. There could be no life without it. Even so, it was not a settling place. Eventually, Noah and all the other passengers needed to go forward from the ark to fulfill God's will. 

The cross of Christ has provided safety, security, and new life to those who put their trust in Jesus. He endured the ravages of God's wrath against sin while protecting us. Without the ark of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, there can be no relationship with God. But, again, though, it's not a settling place. Jesus did tell us to take up our cross, but He also included the command to follow Him. 

Luke 14:27 (KJV) 

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

BUILD AN ALTAR

As soon as Noah & his family exited the ark, he built an altar to worship the Lord. God saved this small sample of mankind for a purpose. They were saved to be fruitful and multiply.

Genesis 8:17 (KJV) 

"Bring forth with thee every living thing that [is] with thee, of all flesh, [both] of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth."

(emphasis mine)

Genesis 9:1 (KJV) 

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."

(emphasis mine)

Genesis 9:7 (KJV) 

"And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein."

(emphasis mine)

As Christians, Jesus saved us to be fruitful for God's kingdom. To go and make disciples for Christ and to share the love and mercy of Jesus. But to accomplish this, we must leave the boat behind. Look at these passages:

Mark 1:16-20 (KJV) 

"16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. 19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him."

Matthew 14:25-33 (KJV) 

"25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

John 21:7 (KJV) 

"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [his] fisher's coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea."

Take a look at one particular disciple in the previous verses. Peter responds to Jesus the same way each time and leaves the boat. 

Jesus says, "Follow me." 

Peter follows.

Jesus says, "Come."

Peter walks on water.

Jesus calls to them from the shore.

Peter jumps from the boat and swims to him. 

Our initial salvation experience with Christ is only a starting point - not a settling point. It's our foundation, but what good is a foundation with nothing built on top of it. Salvation is a vehicle to redeem us back to God. We do a great disservice to what Christ accomplished by never pressing on to become more like Him. The goal of salvation is for God to begin shaping me into the image of His Son. 

Romans 8:29 (KJV) 

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." 

(emphasis mine)

Hebrews 6:1 (KJV) 

"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,"

(emphasis mine)

John 15:1-8 (KJV) 

"1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every [branch] that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

(emphasis mine)

To summarize, let us:

1) BEGIN IN THE ARK

2) BUILD AN ALTAR

3) BE FRUITFUL