Most of you know the story behind
the hymn that Horatio Spafford wrote, titled It Is Well With
My Soul. For those who don't, just know
that Mr. Spafford lost all four of his
children in a shipwreck just before he wrote this hymn. And
the hymn that we're used to singing from our hymn book doesn't have
all the stanzas in it that he wrote. And so we've put the hymn
on the back of your bulletin. And that has a couple of stanzas
in it that he wrote that aren't in our hymn book. And I just
want you to be thinking about, you know, Some of us have been quite confronted
recently with the reality of death, and it's a good thing. It is a good thing to be reminded
of our mortality and our need for Christ. It puts everything
in perspective. So Brother Spafford lived about
150 years ago, lost all four of his children in the ocean.
And one of the reasons I wanted to make these comments is because
we're going to be looking at Psalm 93, which speaks about
the waves of trouble that come in our lives and the power that
God has over them. So I hope that we'll all work
together to encourage us. So let's stand together. Bert,
you come please and lead us in that hymn. When peace like a river attendeth
my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll. But ever, my Lord, Thou hast
taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Though Satan should buffet, the
trial should come. Let this blessed assurance control
that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed
his own blood for my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. My sin, oh, the bliss of this
glorious thought. ? The sin not in part but the whole
? ? Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more ? ? Praise
the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul ? ? It is well With my
soul, with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ,
hence to live. If Jordan above me shall grow,
no pain shall be mine. For in death, as in life, Thou
wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. It is well, it is well
with my soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. ? But Lord, it is for Thee ?
? For Thy coming we wait ? ? The sky, not the grave, is our goal
? ? O trunk of the angel ? ? O voice of the Lord ? Blessed hope, blessed
rest of my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. And, Lord, haste the day when
our faith shall be sighed. The clouds be rolled back as
a scroll. The trump shall resound and the
Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Good morning. This is man. A week for reflection. For all the children of God. Scripture says it's appointed
on the man wants to die and after that the judgment. Like Greg
said this morning, we've already been judged. We were judged before
the foundation of the world, declared holy and placed in Christ. But that doesn't change the fact
that there is an appointment for death. And it doesn't change
the fact that there is a judgment. Luke Chapter 16. Luke Chapter
16 and verse 19. There was a certain rich man.
Who was clothed in purple and fine linen? and fared sumptuously
every day. And a certain beggar named Lazarus
was laid at his gate." Something that people overlook is this,
parables don't have names. Parables do not use names. A sower went forth to sow, no
name, that's a parable. The prodigal son, no name, that's
a parable. A man planted a vineyard and
went into a far country, no name, that's a parable. There are three
men in this account and two of them have names, Abraham and
Lazarus. This, no doubt, is an eyewitness
account of something that really happened. It is not a parable. And a certain beggar named Lazarus
was placed at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed
with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Moreover,
the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that
the beggar died and was carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man died also and was
buried. And in hell, he lift up his eyes,
being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off in Abraham's bosom. And he cried, Father Abraham,
have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue, for I'm tormented in this flame. And Abraham said unto him, Son,
remember how thou in thy lifetime hadst thy good things, likewise
Lazarus his evil things. But now he is comforted, and
you thou art tormented. And beside all this between us
and you is a great gulf fixed. so that they that would pass
from us to you cannot, and they that would pass from you to us
cannot. And he said, Father Abraham,
I pray thee, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have
five brethren, that he may testify to them that they come not to
this place of torment. And Abraham said, they have Moses
and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said,
no, Father Abraham, if one came unto them from the dead, they
would repent. And he said, if they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they hear one, though he
be rose from the dead. The gospel church is the last
hope in a hopeless world. This is a call to worship. We
would see Christ and we will see him today in communion. One other explanation, scripture
says, remember now that creator in the days of that I used to,
you know why that is? Because when you get to be my
age, you have macular degeneration and you're almost blind. And I'm not gonna give up the
honor of reading scripture, so I have to memorize it. If you
don't read the scriptures when you're young, if you're not familiar
with the scriptures when you get old, you're gonna lose out
on a whole lot. Father, we come before you this
morning, Father, well aware of our mortality, Father, well aware
of our sin. We know, Father, that all beggars
do not go to heaven, Father, but only beggars are in heaven.
Mercy beggars, Father, that come to you with a knowledge that
they're sinners. And you are the one, Father,
that brings them to that state. We'd ask that you'd bless Greg
this morning as he presents Christ, that you'd give us an ear to
hear, Father, and an eye to see, and a mind to remember these
things, Father. We ask these things in Jesus'
name. Amen. You may remain seated for this
next hymn. It's going to be number 272, number 272, The Solid Rock,
272. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground
is sinking sand. When darkness fails his lovely
face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy
gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid
rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. His oath is covenantous blood,
Support me in the whelming flood, When all around my soul gives
way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground
is sinking sand. When He shall come with trumpet
sound, O may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness
alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ a solid
rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground
is sinking sand All other ground is sinking sand
Only one safe place to stand In the presence of God I was
thinking as we were singing that hymn, when Moses went up on Mount
Sinai and asked the Lord, he said, Lord, show me thy glory.
And what God say, no man to see God's face and live. But I tell
you what, Moses, I got a little, I got a little cleft in a rock
over here for you. I've got a little hollow spot
that I've made out for you, and I'm going to put you in there.
I'm going to cover you up with my hand so that my presence doesn't just
consume you. and I'm going to cause my goodness
to pass before you. That rock was the rock we were
just singing about. The rock that the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner, the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. We are hid in him. And the only
way to stand in the presence of a holy God is to be found
in Christ. Bert, thank you for Leading us
the last several weeks Tom and Cindy have been on an extended
vacation and Bert you've done a wonderful job. We appreciate
you They got back early this morning. They're jet lagging.
I'm sure Tom and Cindy so they should be here Wednesday night,
but Appreciate all that you've done in their absence Tom's absence
Bert Will you open your Bibles with
me to Psalm 93? Psalm 93. I've titled this this
message the Lord. Raineth. He raineth. He's in control. Of the armies
of heaven and of all the inhabitants of the Earth, he hath done whatsoever
he wills. What great comfort there is to
rest the hope of our lives and our souls in a God who is absolutely
sovereign, a God who is omnipotent, a God who always accomplishes
his purpose. We're not serving a God who's
trying to get something done. We're not serving a God who's
trying to get people saved. We're serving a God who reigns,
who reigns. Look at Psalm 93 verse one, the
Lord, who is it that reigns? It's the Lord. Now, you know
this every time you see L-O-R-D, all in caps in the Old Testament,
that's the word Jehovah. It's the same name that God gave
to Moses at the burning bush, the very first time that God
gave us his name. When Moses asked the Lord, he
said, who shall I say sent me? Before that, it was just the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He didn't give
us his name until the burning bush. And when the Lord turned
Moses to hear him at that bush, which was burning and not being
consumed, you know that's Christ. He was the one that suffered
the full wrath, the fiery wrath of God's justice. but was raised
alive. He was not consumed, not destroyed. And the Lord said, tell them
I am, hath sent thee, I am. Not I was, not I will be, not
I shall, not I hope to be, I am. Now that name, tells us something
about God that's not true of anything else. Everything other
than God is created. Everything other than God exists
out of God. Everything. The name I am declares to us that God is self-existent. The word exist we have we get
the word exit from the word exist. The word exit means out of. The
word exists means that we are out of something else and everything
that we know of, well everything that is, is out of God. He's the only one that exists
in and of himself. He's not contingent on anything. He's not dependent on anybody. He's not created. He's not derived. How can I understand something
that's always been? You can't. You can't understand
it. God doesn't say understand it.
He says, believe me. Believe me. For the truth is
that nothing would exist if there wasn't one who was self-existent. Nothing. How could, how would
there be anything? Let the scientists talk about
the Big Bang Theory all they want. They will say that it all came
from an infinitely dense, infinitely small speck of matter and all
this came out of that. Where'd that come from? Well,
we don't know. So you're saying that that speck
of matter is self-existent. Well, yeah, I guess so. But we're
saying that our God is self-existent. Our intelligent, omnipotent,
majestic, All-powerful, all-knowing God is himself self-existent,
and he's created all things. The Lord. That's the one. That's
why they were so offended by the Lord Jesus Christ. When he
asked them, he said, for what reason do you want to kill me? For what works that I've worked,
do you want to put me to death? And what did they say? We don't
want to kill you for the works that you've done. You're doing
good stuff. But we want to kill you because you, being a man,
make yourself out to be God. They weren't in any confusion
about who the Lord Jesus Christ was claiming to be. When he said,
I am the resurrection and the life. When he said, I am the
bread of life. When he said, I am the good shepherd
and I am the sheep of the... He was using that name. The name
of God, a name that no Jew would ever let pass his lips. And now
God is saying to you and me, the Lord, the Lord, Jesus Christ,
the second person of the triune Godhead is himself majestic,
powerful, self-existent and able. Everything that we know is created
by him and sustained by him. Look, the Lord, the Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Man doesn't
reign. Let man in his pride think he's
in control. He's not in control of anything,
nothing. Our God reigns. The scripture says the wrath
of man, those who are in opposition to God, those who would raise
their fist to God and say, I'll not have that man reign over
me. Well, I got something to tell you. He does. He does. He reigns over you whether you
want him to or not. It's not your choice as to whether
or not he reigns over you. He's the self-existent one and
you're his creature. and he has sovereign control
over everything in your life and God says the wrath of man
shall praise me I'm gonna turn their rebellion to my praise
and what I can't turn to my praise what I can't use for my glory
I'm gonna restrain I'm gonna restrain and I'm not gonna let
him do it the wrath of man shall praise me and the remainder He
shall restrain. Now that's a God who reigns. We can bow in worship to a God
who reigns. A God who's trying to get folks
saved, a God who's trying to get stuff done, but he's dependent
on man for it to happen. That God's not worthy of worship.
He's not worthy of worship. The scripture makes it clear
that man in his rebellion against God has set himself up on the
throne of God. And God in response sends him
a strong delusion so that he believes the lie. He believes
he's got a free will. He believes he's in control when
he's not. He's not. Our God reigns. He reigns over creation. As I
said in the previous hour, it does not surprise me one bit
that men have come up with this theory of man-made global warming.
It doesn't surprise me a bit. He believes he's in control of
everything else. Why wouldn't he believe he's in control of
nature and the climate and the world? Why wouldn't he believe
that? Our God reigns over those things. And as we saw in the
previous hour, one day he's going to send a fire. And that fire
is going to melt the elements and he's going to be glorified.
He's going to be glorified. Our God reigns in providence,
in providence. He works all things together
for his good, for them that love him and those that are the called
according to his purpose. Everything that's happening in
this world is right on schedule. The Lord, the one who is unthreatened
by man's rebellion, the one who is omnipotent, the one who is
sovereign reigns in creation and he reigns in providence whether
it be the whether it be the minutia of our lives, my life and your
life, or whether it be the big international affairs of the
world, the Lord reigns. The Lord reigns. Can you rest
there? Can you? Let the fear mongers of this
world cause everybody else to be worried about, you know, the
economy and worried about the weather and worried about this
and worried about that. Our response is, our God reigns. He's in control and I'm good
with that. I'm good with that. I can trust
him. He's going to do what he does and he's going to do it
right. And most importantly, not only does he reign in creation
and in providence, he reigns in salvation. salvations of the
Lord. He's the one who decided according
to his own will and purpose before time ever began who he would
save. He's the one who put them in
the Lamb's Book of Life and put them in Christ. He's the one
who loved them with an everlasting love. He's the one who looked
to his son as the lamb slain before the foundation of the
world as the only hope of their redemption. He's the one who
came and accomplished their redemption by the shedding of his precious
blood, the Lord, the Lord. Did not the Lord Jesus Christ
say to Thomas when Thomas said, said, said, Lord, we don't, we
don't know where you're going. We don't know the way. And what did the Lord say? It's
in John chapter 14, when he said, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me, for in my father's house
are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.
So that where I am, there you may be also. And Thomas said,
Lord, we don't know where you're going. We don't know the way. And what did the Lord say? Yeah, you do, Thomas. You do.
because you know me and I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. And then Philip speaks up and he says, but Lord, show
us the Father and it suffice with us. We'll be satisfied if
we could just see God and what the Lord Jesus Christ say. Oh,
Philip, have I been with you so long that you don't know by
now that when you see me, you've seen the Father for I and the
Father are one The Lord Jesus Christ is the fullness of the
Godhead bodily. He's the one who's reigning. He reigns in creation. He reigns
in providence. He reigns in salvation. He reigned
on Calvary's cross. He got the victory. He accomplished
what he came to do. He is the Christ who came in
the flesh. to accomplish what the Father
sent him to do, the saving of his people. He reigns. He wasn't making a shot in the
dark. He wasn't saying, well, you know, we'll try it this way
and see who believes. Maybe they'll come to me. He's not in the heavens wringing
his hands, hoping that men will let him have his way. The Lord,
the Lord reigns. He reigns in salvation. He actually
accomplished the salvation of those whom God chose in the covenant
of grace. And he reigns in regeneration.
When he's ready, when he's ready to make one willing, he makes
them willing in the day of his power, doesn't he? He opens the
eyes of our understanding and he takes out the heart of stone,
puts in a heart of stone, gives them faith to believe on Christ. That's not a decision that we
make. That's a work of grace that he does in the heart. Our
God reigns. And what do God's people say?
Oh, Lord, reign over me. I'm so out of control. I'm such
a control freak, and we all are, aren't we? We want to be God. Goes all the
way back to the garden. So that's what Satan said to
Eve. God doesn't want you to eat the
tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil because he knows
in the day in which you eat of it, your eyes will be open and
you become like God. Oh, I can be God? Yeah, you can
be God. It's a lie. You're not God. He is. He reigns. The Lord reigns. We don't. We don't reign over anything. Faith is bowing to him and believing
him. Lord, I can't reign in my own
salvation. You're going to have to regenerate me. You're going
to have to make me to come alive. You're going to have to do to
me what you did for dead Lazarus who's in a tomb, stinking. Lazarus,
come forth. Lord, if you'll speak my name.
If you'll call me, I'll come. Call me and I'll come. Turn me
and I'll be turned. Lord, you reign in my salvation. Lord, I think I've been believing
on you for some time. I'm thankful that you reigned
and calling me to Christ. Lord, I see enough rebellion
and sin in my life to know that if you don't keep me, I won't
be kept. If you don't reign in my sanctification,
If you don't cause me to keep coming to Christ and to believe
on Christ, Lord, I won't do it. You've got to reign. If you let
me take control, whatever I put my hand to, I'm gonna mess it
up. That hymn that we sang at the
beginning of the service is Digna's favorite. She wants it sung at
her funeral. Did you did you enjoy those two
verses that we don't usually sing? All you should have heard
Digna singing. We sang him in her bedside the
other day. And she lied there and wept.
Saying those words. Oh Lord, it's well with my soul.
If you don't rain in my death. If you don't take me to glory.
If you don't put me in your hands and usher me into thy presence,
Lord, there's no way I can get there. No way I can get there. The Lord reigneth. That's a message in and of itself,
isn't it? Look, he tells us more. The Lord
reigneth. He is clothed with majesty, glory,
all beyond our comprehension. We look through a glass dimly
now, don't we? We're looking in a tarnished
mirror, but then face to face. See him as he is. Eyes not seen. Ear has not heard. We haven't
even began to imagine the things that God's prepared for us. He's
majestic. He's glorious. I like to think about it like
this. Everything in this world, regardless of how pleasing and
pleasurable it is, loses its luster over time. I mean, lobster is my favorite
meal. I get to eat about once every
couple years. And man, I really enjoy it. I
know I'd get sick of it if I had to eat it every day. There's
nothing in this world, if you had to do it over and over and
over and over again, it loses its luster, doesn't it? It loses
pleasure. The glory and majesty of the
Lord Jesus Christ is going to be just the flip opposite of
that. Every moment in his presence is going to become more glorious.
See, we don't know anything about that. We don't know anything
about that. For all eternity, the Lord Jesus
Christ, moment by moment, day by day, time after time, is going
to become more majestic and more glorious and more pleasing. and more satisfying than the
moment before. So that we're not going to be
looking to anything else. He's clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. Is anything too hard for God?
Remember Sarah? The Lord told Abraham, this time
next year I'm coming back, Sarah's going to have a child. Sarah
was 90 years old. 90. He said, well, 90 back then
wasn't like. The scripture says she was beyond
the time of a woman, which means that she had gone through menopause
a long time ago. A long time ago. And Sarah laughed. Yeah, it's
not possible. She laughed. What'd God say?
Sarah, why'd you laugh? I said it. Why'd you laugh? Well,
I didn't laugh. She tried to lie about it, didn't
she? And what'd the Lord say? Sarah, is anything too hard for
God? Anything too hard for God? No. Why? Because the Lord reigneth
and he's clothed with majesty and with strength. Wherewith he hath girded himself.
Where did he get that strength and majesty? Where did we get
our strength? We get it from God or we get
it from another person or we get it from our possessions or
whatever. Where did God get it? He got it from himself. You see,
this goes back to his name. I am. I didn't get anything from
anybody. Everything I've got came from
me. Now what else and who else can
that be said about? Our God is God. How glorious
is that? He clothed himself with these
things. He hath girded himself. The world
also is established and it cannot be moved. That means that he's reigning
over all the events of this world. It's already been set. Adam,
we were talking before, everything's on schedule. Why? Because God said it. He said,
the world can't be moved. I've established it. Everything's
happening exactly as I purposed it. The world cannot be moved. It cannot be moved. No, not at
all. Whatever floods God send, look
at verse two. Thy throne is established
of old, thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, oh
Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift
up their waves. All the floods of trouble and
trials, the flood of death, the floods of, Lord, they've all
lifted up their waves against me. Things are not going like
I want them to go. The Lord on high is mightier
than the waves of the sea. You think those floods are bothering
him? Our Lord was asleep in the boat,
and the disciples thought they were going to drown. I mean,
these were experienced fishermen. They were on the Sea of Galilee,
and the Lord stirred up a storm. And that's what he does to us.
He stirs up a storm, doesn't he? And he was asleep on a pillow,
the scripture says, in the back of the boat. He said, they went
and woke him. They said, Lord, careth not that we perish? The Lord stood, spoke to the wind and the waves
and made them still. What'd they say? Who is this
man? Even the wind and the waves obey
him. The Lord, the world cannot be,
everything that's happening is happening exactly according to
God's purpose. David said in Psalm 18, when
the waves of death come past me and the floods of ungodly
men made me afraid, I look to the Lord. When the waves of death
can pass me and the threats of ungodly men make me afraid, I
look to him. Turning me back just a few pages
to Psalm 69, Psalm 69. Verse one, save me, oh God. I like the little article in
your bulletin this morning that Chris Cunningham wrote. Peter didn't say when he was
drowning in the water, Lord, there's nothing that you and
I can't conquer together today. That's why men think, nothing
me and God can't handle together today. No, what Peter said, Lord,
save me. And the scripture says immediately,
the Lord reached down his hand. Save me, Oh God. For the waters
are come into my soul. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I'm weary of my crying. My throat
is dried. My eyes fail while I wait for
my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of my head. They that would destroy
me and be my enemies wrongfully are mighty. Then, I restored
that which I took not away. Did the Lord Jesus, did God forsake
his son? Those are the words of Christ
on the cross, you know, and they're our words. And when we're sinking
in the mire of our own sin, what do we cry? Lord, save me. The Lord reigns. He's clothed
himself in majesty and in strength. The world is established. All
that he purposes is happening according to his schedule. He
reigns in creation. He reigns in providence. He reigns
in my salvation. Lord, there's nothing you can't
do. Save me, save me. Look at Psalm 32, Psalm 32. Verse six, for this shall everyone that
is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. Surely
the floods of great waters, in the floods of great waters, they
shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Thou shalt come pass me about
with songs of deliverance. Now, what is the prayer that
every godly person prays and finds the Lord to be their help
in time of trouble? Well, the previous verse. Look
at verse 5. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and my iniquity
have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord, and thou forgave us the iniquity of my sin. For
this shall everyone that is godly pray unto thee. Lord save me. We had a memorial
service for Jennifer Dunbar's father here Friday night and
we looked at that thief on the cross and the Lord you know had
recorded in scripture seven things that he spoke from the cross.
He looked at his mother and he said woman behold thy son looking
to John and said to John, John behold thy mother, he said in
fulfillment, taking care of those who was leaving behind. He said, I thirst, fulfilling the
prophecies that are made about him on the cross. He cried, my
God, my God, whyst thou forsaken me? He said, it is finished. He said, into thy hands, Father,
I commend my spirit. And he said all those things
that I just mentioned after he said to the thief on the cross,
this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. This day thou shalt
be with me in paradise was the second statement made by Christ
from the cross. And we know that faith comes
by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. So what is
it that the thief on the cross heard from the lips of God that
caused him to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and cry, remember
me Lord. What's the one statement I haven't
mentioned yet. Father forgive them for they know not what they
do. They have no understanding of
their sin. And that thief heard the Lord Jesus Christ addressing
his father for the forgiveness of sin. And he knew that was
his greatest need. How am I going to stand before
God unless God forgives me of my sin? No man can forgive sin
by God. Lord, would you remember me?
Would you forgive me? Would that prayer that you just
prayed be for me? Greatest need that you and I
have is the forgiveness of our sin. And the only hope of having
our sins forgiven is by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one that kept the law
of God, and he's the one who shed his precious blood. He's
the one who reigns in the salvation of his people. Lord, the floods have lifted
up. Oh, the floods have lifted up.
When the floods of God's providence lift up, know that he sent the
storm. When the flood of your sin lifts
up, know that he's the only one that can put it away. The floods
have lifted up. Oh Lord, the floods have lifted
up. The Lord is high. The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters. He's mightier. The Song of Solomon, listen to
this, many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods
drown it. Now what fire is there that a
flood wouldn't put out? And what breathing creature is
there that would not be drownded by a flood? When God sent that
flood in Noah's day, snuffed out the life of every
person except those that were in the ark, didn't he? But God
says, many floods cannot put out my fire of love. Whatever
I've sent your way, it doesn't change my love for you. Doesn't change what I've done
for you. Our Lord provides for his people
in the flood. In Revelation chapter 12, the
church is seen as a woman who's cast out in the wilderness. And
the Lord says that he has prepared in the wilderness a place for
her. This is the place that he's provided
for us. In all the storms and all the trials and all the troubles, Most of which we bring on ourselves
because of our own sin, isn't it? The Lord says, the Lord's
mightier. He reigns. Those floods aren't
going to quench my love for you. I've prepared a place for you. You have your Bibles open to
Psalm, turn to Psalm 29. Psalm 29. I've got so many scriptures
here. We're not going to look at any
more. This'll be... Just look up the word waves and
storms and waters in your concordance. And oh, there's so much the Lord
has to say about it. Look at Psalm 29. Verse 10, the Lord sitteth upon
the flood. Yea, the Lord sitteth king forever. The Lord will give strength unto
his people. The Lord will bless his people
with peace. The Lord will bless his people
with peace. Now the natural man's looking
for the absence of conflict in his life and that's what he interprets
as peace. But the spiritual man, there's
another article in your bulletin that I'd like for you to read,
the spiritual man versus the natural man, but the spiritual
man is seeking peace with God. Lord, you've got to remove the
conflict between me and you. Your sin has separated you from
God. The Lord says, I ride upon the floods. I'm going to let
you suffer the consequences of your sin. And you're going to
realize that there. You've got to, I'm the one that
reigns over that. I'm going to bring you to the
end of yourself and you're going. You're going. Believe. That I reign. That I reign. The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters. Yea, the mighty waves of the
sea. Pounding against the seashore.
And I close with verse 5, thy testimonies. How do we know all
this? How do we know all this? The
word testimony is used here to describe all of God's Word. Thy
testimonies. are very sure. People look for help from all
different things, don't they? Now, turn to God. Don't turn
to God. I read a statement this week
that said if you're looking for help, if you're talking to more
than two or three people about your personal problems, you're
not looking for help, you're looking for attention and affirmation. and justification. That's what
men do. They run around. They try to
get help from other people. Men can't help you. They can't
help you. But how quickly we are to substitute
God with men. Look unto me and live. My testimonies
are very sure. Believe God. Men just have another
opinion just like yours. Sometimes they're right, sometimes
they're wrong. You can't trust your soul with their opinions.
But God's testimonies are very sure. You can trust his word
with your immortal soul and with every ounce of your being and
with every part of your life and he will not leave you nor
forsake you. Believe God. Holiness, holiness becometh thy
house, O Lord, forever. God's word doesn't change. Doesn't
change. Why? Because he doesn't change. The Lord reigneth. Amen? Let's pray. Our heavenly Father,
we're so very thankful. We have a God who is in absolute
control. Lord, give us the faith. In the
waves and troubles that you send our way, give us the faith to
believe that you ride upon them and that you are the only one
that can still them. Lord, cause us to come unto thee.
Thank you for this table. Thank you for the bread and the
wine and what it means to the believer's heart. As he looks
to the. The sinless life of the Lord
Jesus Christ for all of his righteousness and the shed blood of thy dear
son. For all of our justification
before the. Lord bless this table to our
hearts. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Ask the men if they'll come please
and distribute the bread and wine number 17 in your spiral
hymnal 17. Yeah. See the table spread before you
See the feast of bread and wine These are symbols of our Savior
Tokens of His love divine Bread that's broken is His body Crushed
beneath the wrath of God, wine poured out is a reminder of our
Savior's precious blood. Children of our God, remember
How He bought your soul and mine In remembrance of our Savior
Eat the bread and drink the wine Jesus came God incarnate to fulfill
God's holy law. On the cross he made atonement
and retrieved us from the fall. Let us ne'er forget the promise
Jesus made to come again. Soon he comes, our King, to call
us home to glory. Praise his name with this obeisance. Expectation, we rejoice to keep
this feast Celebrating our redemption till we lean on Jesus Christ That's what this is, a celebration
of our redemption until we lean on Jesus' breast. What a day
that'll be. This bread was made without yeast. Not that that makes it significant
in and of itself, but it's symbolic. Symbolic. That leaven, that yeast,
represents sin. And a little leaven leavens the
whole lump. So, We got our whole lungs been
leavened with it, hadn't it? The Lord Jesus Christ, as the
glorious I am, was born without sin, born of a virgin, lived
without sin, and died as our sin bearer in obedience to the
Father. The Lord said, as often as you
do this, do it in remembrance of me. Scripture says that all the blood
of bulls and goats never took away sin. All those animal sacrifices
that were made in the Old Testament never accomplished the putting
away of sin. You know what the symbol of that is? That no work
on our behalf has ever put away sin. Nothing we've ever done
has ever put away one sin before God. But when He shed His precious
blood, They put away all the sins of all of God's people. We do this in remembrance of
him. God's people said, amen, amen. God, spirit, go with us. Cause us to remember the things
that he has said and cause us to believe them. All right. Let's
stand together. Brother Adam, would you dismiss
us in prayer, please? Heavenly Father, Lord, thank
you for this table that you provide for us, Lord. Thank you for this
supper, Lord. Lord, thank you for providing
your body, that spotless lamb that was prepared as the sacrifice
that satisfied all of your holy law, Lord. Saving centers like
us. We are.