Stand together, number 62. Crown Him with many crowns, the
Lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem
drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing. of Him who died for thee, and
hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity. Crown him the Lord of love, behold
his hands and side. Rich wounds yet visible above,
in beauty glorified. No angel in the sky Can fully
bear that sight But downward bends his wandering eye At mysteries
so bright Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o'er the
grave, Who rose victorious to the strife, For those He came
to save. His glories now we sing, Who
died and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring, And lives
that death may die. Crown him the Lord of heaven,
one with the Father known, one with the Spirit through him given
from yonder glorious throne. To Thee be endless praise, For
Thou for us hast died. Be Thou, O Lord, through endless
days Adored and magnified. Please be seated. Good evening. I was going to
read from Psalm 39, but as we were singing and I was thinking
about this past weekend and the encouragement that you all were
to the brethren over there, I think I would like to read from 1 Thessalonians
chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. I was asked again by the brethren
in Sarasota to express their sincere appreciation to you for
making the effort to come over. I know you did it because you
wanted to be there, but they were very, very encouraged, as
was I. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1.
and Silvanus, Silas, and Timotheus, Timothy, unto the church at Thessalonica,
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, these letters were written
to local assemblies. There is one church made up of
all of God's elect of every generation, but that one church meets in
local assemblies. where the gospels preached and
where the brethren meet together and where they're committed to
one another and committed to the ministry. And it's so evident that that's
the means that the Lord has designed for his children and for the
furtherance of the gospel. Grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God
always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering
without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father. He's just rejoicing in the evidence
of God's grace that is being demonstrated through the lives
of the believers in Thessalonica. And I could write these same
things about you. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God, For our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance,
as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received
the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost. So that you were examples to
all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place that your faith to God were to spread
abroad, so that we need not speak anything." I didn't have to tell
the brethren over there about your love for Christ, about your
desire to see the gospel. Your testimony was evident of
that. For they themselves show of us
what manner of entering in we had unto you and how you turn
to God from idols to serve the living and true God. You see
the order there. We don't turn from our idols
to God. we turn to God from our idols,
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the
dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. Now that's what you need and
that's what I need, to be delivered from the wrath that is to come. Pray the Lord will comfort our
hearts in Christ tonight as we look to Him as our deliverer. I want to pray for Brian. Brian's out of the hospital and
back home. From what I understand, I'll be seeing him tomorrow.
Cody just texted me. He's back in Houston, just got
home. And Dennis, I guess, got home
on Monday. So everybody's back in their
place. And oh, Savannah had a A minor
car accident this afternoon, but expecting a baby. She was
taken to the hospital and they're doing a sonogram now, but she
seems fine, so it's precautionary. But let's ask the Lord to to
have his hand on on her as well. So let's pray. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we're thankful that you've called us out, that you've knit our
hearts together in Christ, that you've caused us, Lord, to want
to be a part of this local assembly and of your family. Lord, as you enable us to be
a part of the ministry of the gospel in receiving your grace
and in witnessing your dear son. Lord, we pray that you would
bless your word tonight and enable us to set our affections on Christ. Pray that you would lift him
up, that you would bless your word with your spirit. We pray
for Brian and Pam and Charlie and we ask Lord for for your
comfort, for your hope, for your encouragement, for your strength,
for your mercy and grace. Pray, Lord, that you would enable
us to know how we can best help them and encourage them in this
time of need. Lord, that you would show us
how it is that we're to bear one another's burdens and so
fulfill the law of Christ. Father, we pray for Savannah.
We ask that those that are ministering to her now at the hospital would
have the skill to do it well. And we pray for your hand to
protect her and the child. And Lord, that you would use
this for each of us to just be reminded of how quickly you are
able to to change our circumstances. Lord, that we would find ourselves
trusting you with all of our hearts. Oh, we ask it in Christ's
name. Amen. Number 272. Let's all stand together again. 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 veils 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 covenant, His blood
supports me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives
way, He then knows 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 the solid
rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand. Please be seated. Whatever you did to fix that
box from Sunday, Tom, it worked. Thank you. Let's open our Bibles
together to Mark chapter 4. Mark chapter 4. And I've titled this message,
The Fear of Perishing. The Fear of Perishing. It's natural to feel fear if
you have a near-death experience or if you're in a situation where
you think that it's eminent. You're going to die in this situation.
I've been in a similar situation that the apostles were in out
in the ocean, and I know a little bit about some of the fear that
they were experiencing. That's a very natural thing for
man to go through. And yet, These men, though they
wanted to be delivered from the circumstances that were causing
them to be so afraid, had a lesson to learn about what it meant
to perish. In truth, every single one of
them that was afraid, they were, notice with me in our text, In verse 38, and he was in the
hinder part of the ship asleep on the pillow and they awake
him and saying to him, master, care us not that we perish. They
were in the midst of a storm on the sea and they just knew
they were going to die. The boat was taken on water and,
um, and they woke the Lord up and said, master, don't you care
that we're going to die? Now, these men all died physically. They experienced a physical death. And according to tradition, the
death that they probably went through as martyrs for the gospel
was worse than drowning at sea. So they perished in that regard. But what they needed to learn
was that there was a perishing. that is much, much worse than
physical death. And that the Lord put them through
this experience in order to cause them to see that that's the perishing
that they need to be delivered from. That's the perishing. The perishing under the horrible
wrath of God's fiery fury of justice and judgment for sin. You know, we, when we find ourselves
in the midst of the sea, in the midst of troubles and trials,
we naturally pray and ask the Lord to deliver us from those
things. And yet it's the remembrance of our sin that causes our troubled
circumstances to be so fearful. It's the awareness and the remembrance
of our sin that causes our difficulties, our trials, and our troubles
in this world to be fearful. Look what our Lord says to them.
In verse 39, And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto
the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there
was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? Why are you so fearful? Here I am in the boat with you.
I'm the one that stirred up the storm. I'm not going to let you
perish. He did let them perish physically.
Every single one of them died. There's not one of them alive
today. And the death they went through was worse than dying
at sea. But that's not the perishing they need to be concerned about.
And it's not the perishing that you and I need to be concerned
about. Don't we sing in tedious and
tasteless palaces, or prisons would palaces be, if only the
Lord Jesus Christ was there. Something to that. Psalm 23,
we looked at it recently. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not be in want. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art
with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. Goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life. See, if the Lord's with me in
my trials, then I don't have to be afraid. Even if I'm facing
death, I don't have to be afraid. The Lord said, why are you so
fearful? How is it that you have no faith?
That's why we're fearful, isn't it? It's our unbelief. It's our unbelief. Oh, Lord,
help thou mine unbelief. Increase our faith. Enable us
to look to Christ. This story is not a promise from
God to calm the storms of our circumstances. It's not. The way of the Lord
is through the seas and he stirs up trouble in our lives in order
to get us to realize that we've got a perishing that's much more
dangerous to be concerned about. We've got to be concerned about
that overflowing scourge of God's wrath. We've got the condemnation
of the law and the guilt and the shame of our sin and the
accusations of the devil and the fire and fury of God's justice. That's the perishing. And here's
the hope. If the Lord speaks peace to our
hearts and enables us to have assurance that when that overflowing
scourge comes, when that storm comes, when the overflowing of
the Jordan comes that we'll not perish, then we can enjoy his
presence in the midst of our trials. Well, Jane, count it all joy,
my brethren, when you fall into divers temptations, knowing that
the trine of your faith worketh patience, and patience, when
it is complete, makes you perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.
How are we going to be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing?
Only if we're looking to Christ. And that's why He stirs up trouble
in our lives, to cause us to find that the storm of sin is
what causes the storms of life to be so fearful. And if I can
find in Christ the calming of my sin problem, then the circumstances
of my life are no longer fearful. They're no longer fearful. It's
the remembrance of our sin. It's the unbelief that's in our
heart that causes us to be so disquieted. You know, I mentioned earlier
I was going to read from Psalm 39. Turn with me there just a
minute. Verse 1, I said I will take heed
to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue. I will keep my mouth
with a bridle while the wicked is before me. I was dumb with
silence. I held my peace, even from good,
and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me while
I was musing the fire burned. Then spake I with my tongue,
Lord, make me to know mine end. and the measure of my days, what
it is that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made
my days as a hand breath, and my age as nothing before thee.
Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Surely,
every man walketh in a vain show. Surely, they are disquieted in
vain. Oh, that the Lord would, he eateth
up riches and he knoweth not who shall gather them. You see,
it's our unbelief, it's when we look away from Christ that
the that the trials and the troubles of this life cause so much fear
in our hearts. Look how this story ends. And
they, verse 41, go back with me to our text in Mark chapter
four, verse 41, they were, they thought they were going to die.
Master cares not that we perish. We're going to die and you're
not doing anything about it. Look at verse 41, after he calms
the seas and rebukes them for their fearfulness and for their
unbelief. And they feared exceedingly. Now they weren't afraid of drowning. Now they knew something of a
reverential fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom. Lord, use my circumstances to cause me to fear you. Not a slavish fear of wrath and
judgment, but a reverential, worshipful fear of bowing before
him out of gratitude and thanksgiving for what he's done in putting
away our sin, taking care of the law for us, satisfying the
justice of God. and making us perfectly righteous
in the presence of God. That's what we need to do. Let's go back in light of what
we just read in Psalm 39 where David says, that I may know how frail I am
and help me to number my days. Go back with me to our text in
Mark chapter 4 and look at verse 35. And the same day when even
was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other
side. Now the Lord said, I must work
the works of him that sent me, for the night cometh when no
man can work. He said, the day is far spent. I was thinking about, Lord, help
me to number my days. If we think of our life as a
day, born at six o'clock in the morning,
at sunrise and die at six o'clock in the evening at sunset. The
day is far spent. I calculated it up for me. It's
at 4 30 in the afternoon. If I live three score and 10
got an hour and a half left. The day is far spent. And the same day, when the evening
was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over to the other
side. Now that's what you and I need. This whole night, it's getting
dark, and they're going out into the sea, and they're gonna get
to the other side, and the Lord's gonna stir up a storm for them. And the Lord's saying to you
and me, let us go over to the other side. The day's almost
over. Night's coming. Going to be here sooner than
you know it. And that's where you don't want to perish. That's
where you don't want to perish. All that God would put on our
souls, a burden for our own soul, for our own salvation. Let me
say this. The believer's concern for other
people's salvation will be in proportion to the concern that
God puts on their hearts for their own souls. For their own
souls. The more burdened you are for
your own soul, the more burdened you'll be for others. Lord, help me to number my days
and deliver me deliver me from the wrath that is to come, that
we're going to pass over to the other side. And in that day,
if the tree fall to the north, or if the tree fall to the south,
wherever the tree falleth, there it shall lie. Lord, I want this
tree. to be a tree of righteousness
that's been planted by God and I need for it to fall in the
right direction. Because wherever it falls is
where it's gonna lie. And it's gonna fall soon. It's gonna fall
soon. And the more aware and believing
we can be toward that day, the more insignificant the trials
and troubles of this life will be. We'll be able to rejoice
with the Lord when He said that the troubles of this world cannot
be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. Cannot
be compared. Oh, that the Lord would enable
us through faith to set our affections on those things that can't be
seen. We see our troubles. We see our trials. And the Lord
calls them for His children, light afflictions. We've seen
that, haven't we? Light afflictions is what He
calls them. These apostles, these disciples,
were afraid because of their circumstances. They were afraid
they were going to drown. They were afraid they were going
to die. And the Lord had to teach them, and I trust that He will
teach us, that there is a greater perishing that we need to be
concerned with. And having that perishing settled
in our hearts will enable us to walk with Him. Religion's all about teaching
people how to live. Do this and do that. How to fix
things in your life. The truth is that if the Lord
ever settles in our hearts a hope in Christ for death, then living
will be easy. And the same day, when he even
was come, he saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other
side. This day is coming to an end
quickly. And one day, one hour, two hours, maybe you've got three
or four hours left. Maybe some of you young people
got five or six hours left in this day. I don't know. But the
dead, the sun's gonna set. And we're gonna have to cross
to the other side. In verse 36, and when they had
sent away the multitude. The multitude's not going to
the other side. They're gonna stay behind. What the Lord say,
enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the way and broad
is the gate that leadeth to destruction, and many there that go therein. Many they are that go therein.
The road to destruction, the multitude. Young people, listen
to me. If you say to your parents, well,
everybody's doing it. If your parents have any wisdom
at all, the red flags are gonna go up for them. The fact that
everybody's doing it is not going to be good reason for them to
let you do it. What I'm saying to you is that
the multitudes are wrong. You know, I'm thankful that our
forefathers understood that when they established our government
system and we don't have a pure democratic system where the majority
rules all the time. Because the majority's wrong.
Majority's wrong. You know, we have a representative
government. That's helpful. But my point
is that the multitudes are left behind. The multitude, the majority
of people. You say, well, this is a word
of encouragement to the child of God. Because what you believe
is contrary to what the majority believes. But what the Lord's
telling us here is that the majority is wrong. The remnant, the few
there are that find the narrow way that leads to life. There's
only a few. It was the majority that cried,
crucify him, crucify him. It was the majority of the Israelites
that rebelled against Moses and Aaron. and didn't believe God
in the wilderness, it was the majority that stood up. What's he say? When they're passing
over to the other side, he sent the multitude away. Now look at this next phrase.
We're talking about knowing Christ for the salvation of our souls.
We're talking about not fearing our circumstances and not fearing
the wrath of God, but having a fearful, grateful, worshipful
heart for Christ. When they had sent away the multitude,
notice the way the Holy Spirit phrases this next phrase, they
took him even as he was into the ship. And there were many
other little ships with him. What a picture of the church.
Here we are, a bunch of fellows in the same ship, but it's a
bunch of little ships, isn't it? Bunch of little ships. And they took the Lord Jesus
into the ship just like he was. They didn't put a life jacket
on him. They didn't change his clothes. They didn't give him
a parka, you know, or an umbrella. They took him into the ship just
like he was. Isn't it amazing how men want
to change God? The only hope that, we're the
ones that need to be changed. But you know, we tell people
about who our Christ is, and they say, well, we don't want
Him like that. We want Him to bow to our will. We want Him to be submissive
to what we want. We want Him to be there to meet
our needs when we want Him to meet ours. And men make Jesus
to be the way they want Him to be. We saw that. In the Psalms,
Psalm 115, He has eyes, they have eyes but they cannot see,
they have ears but they cannot hear, they have feet but they
can't walk, and they who make them are just like Him. So men
fashioned these gods after themselves. But the disciples took Him into
the ship just like He was, without making any changes, or asking
Him to make any changes. And that's the hope of our salvation.
I am the Lord and I change not. And it's the only reason you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. I've established a covenant of
grace before time ever began. I shed my blood on Calvary's
cross in order to fulfill the requirements of that covenant.
But in that covenant, I was the lamb that was slain before the
foundation of the world. I've got to elect people. And
every one of them are going to be saved. Not a hoof will be
left behind in Egypt. I'm going to bring out every
one of my children. All Israel, Hebrew Romans chapter
11, all Israel shall be saved. Every Israelite is going to be
saved. Here's our God, and we take Him
into the ship just like He is. We don't say, well, we don't
like your sovereignty. You know, it's okay if you want
to be sovereign over certain things, but not over my salvation. I want to have the final say-so.
We don't say, well, you know, We're grateful for what you did
on Calvary's cross, but we know that it's not sufficient in and
of itself. We've got to make some contribution, do our part,
and we're going to change you. No, the ship that the Lord Jesus
Christ is in, the ship that he's in, and I hope he's in this one.
I hope he's here. He comes into the ship just like
he is. If you put any demands whatsoever
on changing him or any way to make him something that he's
not, he won't be in that ship. There's a whole lot of beautiful cruise liners around, you know,
big ships all decked out. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ
isn't on them. They've made Him to be something
He's not. He's the sovereign Savior who
successfully redeemed His people on Calvary's cross. We're brought
by the Spirit of God to bow to Him, to worship Him. Just like
he is. Just like he is. Oh Lord, I don't
want to change you. I just want to know you for who
you are. Can you say that? I want to know God. Whatever
that means, and whatever change that brings to me, I'm the one
needing to be changed. You see the difference? Man's
always trying to change God. But God's only worshipped by
those who want to know Him for who He is and are willing to
bow to Him for Him to change them. They took Him even as He was
into the ship and there was also with Him other little ships. Other little ships. There was
a little ship over in Sarasota, isn't there? Y'all came over
to encourage that little ship. We're a little ship. And little
ships don't get much attention from the big ships, do they? You know, and I don't care anything
about getting attention from the big ships. Not a thing. I want to be in the boat that
the Lord Jesus Christ is on. Let the big ships parade their
success all they want. And there's some big ships in
this world. The Lord said, where two or three
are gathered together in my name there, I am in the midst of them. I love that story in Acts chapter
27 when the apostle Paul is going to Rome and the ship gets in
a storm and the centurion is going to kill all the prisoners
and some of the sailors are trying to bail out. They're trying to
get off the ship and Paul gets a word from God and he tells
the centurion, here's what he says, except you abide in the
ship, you cannot be saved. anybody gets off this ship they're
gonna be lost that's what Paul said and so they the centurion
believed the word that God had given Paul and they all stayed
on the ship the ship broke up into rocks and they were 276
of them survived because they stayed with the ship scriptures warn us about forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. And
the judgment of God that comes against those who walk away from
the gospel and walk away from the church. Oh, the preciousness
of these ships, these little ships. It's where the Lord is. It's where the Lord is. He walks
among the candlesticks. He inhabits the praise of His
people. He is in Zion. He's on the boat. And those who know him and love
him, they just won't be in the same boat he's in. In the book of Jonah, Jonah is
a picture of Christ on that ship, isn't he? There's another ship
in a storm. And the sailors in that ship
were just certain they were all going to die. And they were trying
to figure out, why are the gods treating, who's offended one
of the gods so that this is happening to us? And Jonah stood up and said,
it's me. Cast me into the sea and the
storm will quit. And what a picture of Christ,
bearing our sins, going into the depths of the sea, the sign
of Jonah, who was buried and raised again in order to save
the sailors on the ship. Verse 37, and there arose a great
storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was
now full. The Lord often stirs up troubles
in our temporal circumstances, but that's not our trouble. That's
not our trouble. The storm that's being illustrated
here is the storm of God's wrath. That's the storm that we need
to be delivered from. We're going to be taken to the
other side very soon. The day's far spent. It's almost over for
some of us. That's almost over for all of
us. Life is a vapor. It's a vapor. The accusations of Satan, the
requirements of the law, the guilt and shame of our own
sin, All these things that would cause us to look away from Christ. Oh Lord, I need to be delivered.
I need to be delivered from the wrath. I need to know that the
law has been kept for me. I need to know that all my sin
has been paid for. Once and for all. I've got to
have an advocate. I've got to have a propitiation
before God. I've got to know that when that
storm comes, that I'm gonna be brought safely to the other side.
That the Lord's gonna speak, peace, be still. And I'm gonna
be amazed along with these disciples, fearful of Him, asking what manner
of man is this? What manner of man is He? He's
the God-man. Where was the Lord in the midst
of this storm? Or was he? Well, let me ask it
before we even ask that question. Who was the one that caused the
storm? The same one that causes the
storms in your life. Same one that causes the storms
in my life. And if he has to stir up trouble
in our circumstances in order to get us to realize our real
need is far beyond that which can be seen. in order to, in order to give
us hope in that day, then, oh, it's worth it, isn't it? It's
worth it. Where was the Lord in the midst
of this storm? He was right there with the disciples,
wasn't he? I will never leave you, nor forsake
you. No man can pluck you out of my
hand. Lo, I am with you always, even
until the end of the world. That's his promise. He's never,
have you ever felt forsaken of God? I know you have. And that's all it was if you're
a child of God, was a feeling. That's all it was. It was a feeling. It was a fearful feeling brought
about by unbelief. It wasn't the truth. The truth
is that God Almighty forsook the Lord Jesus Christ and plunged
His soul into death and hell and separation from God. so that
we would never have to be forsaken the Lord was right there on the
boat with him and he's right there on the boat with you and
right there in the boat with me in everything especially when
he takes us over to the other side what was the Lord doing on the
boat All the anxieties that we experience
in this world, all the fears and fear is such a powerful emotion,
isn't it? I mean, next to love, I guess
it's the most powerful emotion in the world. It really is kind
of the flip side of love, isn't it? It's the, it's the opposite
of love and it's, it's, and religion's based on it. Religion's based
on fear. you do this and do that don't
do this and don't do that you know and and and people pretended
to be things they're not why cuz they're afraid the Lord said
perfect love cast out fear these disciples were fearful of their
circumstances and all they need to do is be brought by God to
fear Christ fear him If you fear Him, you don't have to fear the
law, you don't have to fear the wrath of God, you don't have
to fear man. You fear Christ. All the disquieted feelings that
we have in this life, He never had them. He's asleep in the
boat, on a pillow for that matter. I mean, you see him, he's perfect
at rest. He's at rest. And he's at rest
right now. Why is he? He's resting because
he's finished the work. The work's done. The law's been
satisfied. Sin's been put away. And Christ
is resting. In all these fields. And he says
to you and me, why are you so afraid? Why are you so afraid? I'm not afraid. I promise to
never leave you or forsake you. Notice here was their problem.
He was in the verse 38 and he was in the hinder part of the
ship asleep on a pillow and they awake him and saying to him,
Master. Now, you know what that word
means? You look it up. Teacher. Teacher. After this, they wouldn't call
him Master anymore. They called him Lord. Lord. They thought he was just a teacher.
I don't know where their faith was any better than Nicodemus.
We know that you're a teacher sent from God, for no man could
do the things that you do except God be with him. Well, you've
just come here to tell us about God. No, I am God. I am God and I'm in the boat
with you. And I'm resting because I've
finished the work for your redemption and you've got no reason to be
afraid. No reason. Never anxious. Master, carest not that we perish? Yes, I do. Matter of fact, that's what I've
come for. So that you would never have to worry about perishing. I will give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. You shall be hated of all men
for my sake, but there shall not a hair of your head perish."
Not a hair of your head is going to perish. Master, care us not
that we perish? Yes, I do, and that's why I came,
and you're not going to perish. Turn with me to 2 Peter, 2 Peter
chapter 3. Men love to use this verse to support the idea of general redemption. General atonement, God loves
everybody, God wants everybody to be safe kind of thing. Look at verse 9, 2 Peter chapter 3, the Lord is
not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness,
but is long-suffering to usward, not willing. That any should
perish. I'm amazed people take that.
God's not willing that any should perish. There it is right there.
If God was not willing for anyone to perish, no one would perish. Because God's will is always
done. He's talking about us-ward. Us word he's not slack concerning
his promise toward us word He's not willing that any of us should
perish but that every one of us should come to repentance
And the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night None of my children will perish. All right, let me finish up go
back with me I Want you to see three things in verse 39 and
he arose and he rebuked the wind and said unto the sea peace be
still what we see from Malachi I mean from Micah chapter 7 he
will cast our sins into the depths of the sea and you can't find
them But then in Revelation, when John saw the Lord Jesus
Christ seated at the right hand of God, he said, and there was
no more sea. No more sea. Now not only the
sins are gone, but the sea that they've been cast into is gone. He arose, the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ. is the positive proof that God
is pleased with what he accomplished. He was offered up for our offenses
and raised again because of our justification. You want proof
that you've been justified? Look to the resurrected Christ.
Look to the resurrected Christ. God raised him from the dead
because he was pleased with what he did. And all you have to know,
am I pleased with what God's pleased with? Am I pleased with
what God's pleased with? Or am I trying to change Jesus?
Or am I getting in the boat with Him just like He is? He arose, having put away sin,
having satisfied the law, having made himself to be a propitiation
for his people, he arose from the dead and he rebuked the wind
and the waves. He rebuked Satan. He rebuked
sin. He rebukes us in our unbelief
and brings us to faith in him. He arose, he rebuked, and he
spoke. And when he spoke, what did he
say? Peace. Peace. Peace. My peace I leave you. My peace
I give unto you. Not as the world. To the world,
peace is the absence of conflict. And so oftentimes in our unbelief,
we want that kind of peace, don't we? We want that kind of peace. We want the Lord to change our
circumstances. Lord cares not that we perish.
You know, fix this problem. What we need is for God Almighty
to speak peace to our hearts in the midst of our troubles,
in the midst of our trials. And prisons will palaces prove. If Jesus be there. Why are you so fearful? Verse
41, and they feared exceedingly and said one to another, what
manner of man is this? Well, he's the God man. He's
the successful savior of centers. He's the sovereign creator and
sustainer of all things physical and spiritual. He's not like
other men. He's holy, undefiled, sinless, and separated
from centers. What manner of man is this? He's
the man that you and I need. to get in the ship with, just
like He is, without requiring any changes from Him. Know that
He's not anxious. He's fought that battle. What
He's saying to me and you is, I've got this. I've got this. You don't have to worry about
the wrath of God. I've got this. I put away your
sin. The law's been silenced. There's
now no condemnation. And whatever storms I stir up
in your life, I'm going to be there, go with you, go through
them with you, in order to bring you to the other side. The day's
far spent. The night's coming. That's what
we need to be looking to, don't we? Looking to the other side. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for your word, and we ask, Lord, that you would minister grace
and peace to the hearts of your people. By your spirit, we ask
it in Christ's name, amen. Number 290, let's stand together. you Be still, my soul, the Lord is
on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief
or pain. Leave to thy God to order and
provide. In every change, ye faithful
will remain. Be still, my soul, thy best,
thy heavenly friend. Through thorny ways, leads to
a joyful end. Be still, my soul, thy God doth
undertake, To guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence, let
nothing shake. All now mysterious shall be bright
at last. Be still, my soul, the waves
and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt
below. Be still, my soul, the hour is
hastening on, When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief, and
fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. Be still, my soul, when change
and tears are past. All safe and blessed, we shall
meet at last. Okay.