Acts 27 verse 1. And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy,
they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named
Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship
of Adramedum, we launched, meaning to sail, by the coasts of Asia. One Aristarchus, a Macedonian
of Thessalonica being with us, one of the brethren. Now this
was the determination and the intention of those in charge
of the ship. It was determined and meant to
sail by the coasts of Asia. And the next day we touched at
Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated
Paul and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh
himself. And when we had launched from
thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the
Sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, the city of
Lycia. And there the centurion found
a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy and he put us there
in. And when we had sailed slowly
many days and scarce were come over against Sinaites, the wind
not suffering us, we sailed under Crete over against Salmoni and
hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called the Fair
Havens, nigh whereunto was the city of Lacea." Now, if you notice
here, they left Caesarea, and the next day they arrived at
Sidon, at 70 miles. And in order for them to make
that trip 70 miles, the next day they had to have a good wind,
a wind that was on their side, to make them to reach that place
that quickly. And once they were at Sidon,
Julius had a heart to give Paul liberty to go to the brethren
that were at Sidon and be refreshed by them. But the next day, the
winds were contrary. And they had to take an alternate
route under Cyprus. And then much time was spent. They were hardly passing by the
place they were desiring to go. The winds were not suffering
them to go the way they determined and intended to go. And when
it came to the good of Paul and to those brethren in Zion, God
gave a fair wind. He gave a fair wind. But when
it came to the intentions and the will and the determination
of the sailors, the wind blew contrary to them, blew against
them. Who was it that was contrary
to these sailors? Who was it that suffered them
not to go in the way that they willed to go? Who was it that
made it hard for them and suffered them not? God did. Who controls the wind? Who controls the sea and the
waves? You remember when the Lord was
in the ship with His disciples and He was asleep on the pillow
and the wind and the waves became boisterous and it fought against
Him and it was raging all about Him. He got up and He walked
up to the top of the ship and He spoke and rebuked the wind
and the waves and they ceased and there was a calm. And they
marveled, and they said, what man is this? He commandeth even
the winds and water, and they obey him. Man determines, and
man sets sail, meaning to, determining to, to arrive by our will, our
way. But God does His will. And He
brings His children into His way. And the best thing for you
and I to do as sinners is to do what the psalmist said, commit
thy way unto the Lord. That means you completely turn
over your way unto the Lord. And trust also in Him. We just don't commit our way
to Him, we commit our way to Him and we also trust in Him. And the psalmist said, and he
shall bring it to pass. I want to show you a couple of
things here. Just looking at these sailors and their will
and their determining. And I want to talk to you a little
bit about the will of man and the will of God. Salvation comes
to God's children through the wind of the Holy Spirit. Look at John chapter 3 and verse
7. The Lord Jesus was speaking to
Nicodemus, and He told him that he must be born again. And Nicodemus
couldn't understand this, and he said, verse 7, Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth
where it listeth. It blows where it will. Who controls
it? We just saw God does. And thou,
man, you hear the sound of it, But you can't tell whence it
cometh and whither it goeth. So is everyone that's born of
the Spirit." Born of the will of God. Born of the Spirit of
God. Which were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God, John said, in another place. We saw Sunday that God wouldn't
allow Adam to take of the tree of life in His fallen, corrupt,
Adamic will. He couldn't reach forth and take
of the tree of life. Because then salvation wouldn't
be by grace. Then salvation wouldn't be through
faith. Then Adam would have had room
to boast. that with the same dirty hand
that he defiled himself with, that same polluted will now,
he reached forth his hand and took of the tree of life and
lived, and he could boast, I did that. What had to happen? A man's got to be born of God
within that sinner. A new man has got to be created
that's created of God, that's created in righteousness and
in true holiness of God. A man has got to be created that
delights in the will of God and boasts and glories in the will
of God and delights to submit to God's will. That inner man
of is God's creating. That inner man is not of this
Adamic flesh. It's not of this how we were
born the first time. That will and that new man is
completely the creation of God Almighty. And it comes through
the Spirit that blows where it wills and creates this life in
a sinner, makes his people willing in the day of his power, and
causes them to submit and delight in the will of God and reach
forth their hand in faith. The hand of that new man. The
hand of that new heart, that new desire, that new motive.
It's not by the will, by our will. that any of us, by our
doing, is going to guarantee we be delivered from the sin
that we are and delivered to the safe shores of Canaan. That's
not going to be by our will. It's by the will of God. It's
by His will that He brings us to that fair haven, Christ Jesus
our Lord, where we're safe and we're secure and he's going to
land us on those shores, all those he's determined to save,
he's going to land in that fair haven by his will, no matter
how his winds have to blow contrary to us. No matter how his will
is contrary to what we want, our will and our way, he's going
to do his will, and he's going to have his way. That sinner
who's made willing in the day of God's power no longer boasts
of his will. He's not boasting anymore that
I did what I did by my will. That I got to where I was going
by my will. We're not boasting of that anymore.
That's disobedience. That's glorying in the flesh
and not in God. That's glorying in man's will
and not God's will. And the sinner that's been given
this new will submits to God and boasts, glories in God's
will. That's just how it is. Declaring
with Paul, it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy. That's where we're brought to
first of all. We're brought to see our nothingness. We're brought to see how absolutely
impossible it is for us to arrive by our will. We're just as helpless
as those sailors in that ship. who were determining and meaning
to go a certain way, and God blew contrary to them, and they
couldn't arrive where they determined and were intending to go. Just like them. This is in matters
of salvation. It's in matters of eternal security
in Christ Jesus. But there's a second thing here
too. In our daily lives, even in the midst of the most minute
details and plans, commit thy way unto the Lord. and trust
Him and He shall bring it to pass. This willingness, brethren,
will worship go so much deeper. It's so much more than a doctrine
that we accept or reject. It's so much more than that.
It's a true willingness that affects everything about the
believer, affects our daily lives in every aspect of our lives.
We're boasting in God's will and putting all our confidence
in committing our weight to Him continually, every day, constantly. This is our desire. How many
there are who profess to believe Him, profess to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. But like these sailors, everything
about the daily life revolves around the sinful will of flesh. Some have bought a piece of ground
and they've got to go check on that piece of ground. Some have
got their yoke of oxen and they have to go try their yoke of
oxen. Some have their wife and they have to go be with her. All of these are signs and symbols
and metaphors of being married to this world, not married to
Christ. of being under the power and
dominion of the flesh and not under the power and dominion
of God. Married to the world rather than to Christ. Seeking
treasure in the world rather than our treasure being in heaven.
Look over at Luke 14. Luke 14, verse 25. As our Lord was given that parable,
and was saying how that so many began to make excuse. It says
here in Luke 14.25, And there went great multitudes with him.
Great multitudes with him. And he turned and said unto them,
If any man come to me... Now these next things he's going
to give are some of the most cherished things we cherish in
this world. Now listen to what he says. If
any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple. And whoso does not bear his cross
and come after me, he cannot be my disciple. Look down at
verse 33. So likewise, whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple. This new king that's going to
reign in the hearts of His people, that's going to make His people
willing in the day of His power, this reigning king who's able
to rebuke the winds, and they can be calm, and the sea, and
it's a calm. Don't we realize that He can
speak into the hearts of His people and actually in power
make His people willing to forsake all and follow Him? And what
he's saying here to his brethren is, those who haven't are manifesting
that this work of grace is not performed in the heart, and they're
still under the dominion of that selfish, sinful will. The Pharisees were so concerned
about being the straightest sect. They were so concerned about
being the straightest among men. They were so concerned about
yoking fellows and everybody walking in obedience and eating
certain things and not eating certain things. But when they
came face to face with Christ, left to themselves, they would
not submit to the will and authority of Christ alone. and forsake
everything and follow Him. Leave everything and follow Him.
That rich young ruler that came to Him, came to Him and all His
treasures was in the will of His hand. All of His treasures
was in what He had performed from His youth up. And He said,
I've done all these things, what do I lack yet? And he lacked submitting to Christ. He lacked having this new heart
and this new desire for the will of God to be performed. And Christ
said, you lack one thing. And he manifests to him what
he was missing by telling him this. He told
him to to go and sell everything he had. He told him to submit
himself to the authority of Christ the Lord. And the rich young
ruler had never done that. And he would not be ruled by
the will of another. He would not be ruled by the
will of Christ the Lord. And the Lord said to him, He told him, forsake everything
and you'll have treasure in heaven and come. And He's telling him
to believe Him. He's telling him, commit your
way unto Me and also trust Me. All our treasure in heaven is
Christ the Lord. Our righteousness, our sanctification,
our redemption, our wisdom, our all is Christ the Lord. He's
our treasure. And He provides all treasure
in this earth for us. He provides everything. He's
provided full, complete acceptance with God. Will He not give you
all things? Paul said to the Romans. But
the rich young ruler manifested he would not trust Christ alone. He had never done it and he wouldn't
now. Because he was looking to the
security of his own will, his own hand, his own provision. And the Lord said to him, follow
me, follow me. He commanded him to obey him,
not look to his own will in his own way anymore, to obey him
and follow him. And the rich young ruler went
away sorrowful. He didn't hear anything Christ
said because just like all those religious deeds were his riches,
his money was his riches and he never got past selling his
riches. and following Christ. He never
got past that. It was all carnal. Everything was surface. It was
all a surface obedience and a superficial following of the Lord. But when
it came to where the rubber meets the road and God said forsake
everything and follow me, he couldn't do it. He was trusting
in his will. He was trusting in his way. And
he wasn't trusting in Christ in whom God promises, He shall
bring it to pass. And they would submit themselves
to Christ. He wasn't their refuge. He wasn't
their religion and their worldliness. And everything in the world was
their refuge and their security and their safety. In our text,
there was a storm coming. These men are determined they're
going to do what they will. And there's a storm that's coming.
There was a storm. There's a storm coming. There's
a storm coming of God's judgment. It's coming. God's judgment is
coming. It's real. We're not playing
games here, brethren. I'm not trying to get you to
go after a system and go after some doctrine, and I'm not trying
to tickle your ears with what I'm saying to you. This thing
is real, and we're about to meet God that fast. Look at Nahum,
look over at Nahum, chapter one. So just after Micah, just before
Habakkuk, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Look at chapter 1 and verse 2. This is the God we're talking
about, brethren. Listen to this. Verse 2. God
is jealous. He won't share His glory with
another. God is jealous and the Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will
take vengeance on His adversaries. And he reserveth wrath for his
enemies. He reserves mercy for those he
has everlastingly loved. He reserves mercy for thousands,
but he reserves wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to
anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the
world wind, and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of
His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh
it dry, and dryeth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and
Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. This is the God
we're talking about. This is the God we're dealing
with, dear brethren. but it's by His power and His
will. God has made the believer to
delight in His will, to forsake everything else, to forsake all
and obey Him and follow Him and bow to Him, committing our way
unto Him and trusting Him also, confident that He shall bring
it to pass. Look with me at Isaiah chapter
4. Isaiah chapter 4. Verse 6, There shall be a tabernacle
for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of
refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. Look over
at Isaiah 32 in verse 2. Let's look at verse 1, Behold,
a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. Who is this tabernacle? This tabernacle is Christ our
Lord. He's our tabernacle for a shadow
from the heat, from the heat of God's wrath, from the heat
of oppression in this world, from the heat of everything in
this world that would separate us from our God. He's that tabernacle. Enter into this tabernacle. Are
you willing or do you like to enter into Him to seek all your
safety in Him? Christ is our refuge. He's our
covert from the storm. He's our hiding place from the
wind of oppression. He's our covert from the tempest.
Christ is to us the rivers of waters in a dry place. He's the
shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Noah was in a ship one
time, just like these sailors were in a ship. But Noah was
in that ship by the will of God. Noah was in that ship doing the
will of God, by the will of God. He had been drawn into that ark
and there he was, safe and secure. While all the rains and the storm
came down, the storm of God's wrath, the rain of judgment came
down and beat upon the outside of that ark and there was Noah,
safe and secure inside that place, in that covert, safe from all
the tempest, brethren. That ark, that ship, that covert
is a man. He's God. He's man. He's man. He's God. This is the
God-man mediator Christ Jesus the Lord. And He's our covert
from the storm. He's satisfied the wrath of God. He's satisfied justice. He's
declared God just and the justifier of all who believe on Him. He
sent forth this Holy Spirit, this wind that gives us a sure
course for this fair haven. He's the one that's brought us
into this covert from the storm and made us experimentally come
into a realization that He indeed is that covert. That Christ Jesus
is the one in whom, when He says, commit thy way unto the Lord, it doesn't leave anything out.
Not our way in matters of eternal salvation. Not our way in matters
of our daily life, brethren. Commit your way unto the Lord
and trust also in Him. Do you trust Him? Do you know
the power He exercised to call you out of darkness into His
marvelous light? Do you know what power that took? Paul in Ephesians declares it
to the same power that it took to raise Christ from the dead. This is the one who is the king
who is reigning in righteousness. This is the one right now who
still has the power above as He did below to rebuke the material
wind and sea, and it obeys Him. And also to speak into the hearts
of His people, and they shall obey Him. And also to work all
things together for the good of His people in this world,
whether it's at your job, whether it's in this storm of trial,
whether it's in in the valley of trial or if it's on the mountaintop
of rejoicing, He's working all things together. If we were to
be on our own, we would sink so low that we would despair
and leave and forsake His way. And if He left us alone when
He shows us these great things of His grace, we would become
so puffed up in pride we'd do the same thing. Paul said, for this reason he
gave me a thorn in the flesh. Lest I be overcome with pride.
Lest I become vain. Lest I start looking to my way
and to my will and think that I'm the one that's bringing these
things to pass. Lest I climb on board the ship
and say, we're going to go to Italy. We're going to have our
way with the winds and we're going to go the way we want to
go. And He always blows contrary
to that old selfish man of the flesh in us and says, you're
not going that way. You're not going that way. He's
going to bring us to His fair haven no matter how contrary
it is to our will. That's what He does. That's what
He's able to do. And those who've been made to
glory in His will are made willing to be where Christ is because
It's His will. It's God's will. Levi, when he experienced this
blowing of the Holy Spirit, when he experienced this One who controls
the winds and the waves, when the Word of Power was spoken
into his heart, Scripture says, he left all and rose up and followed
Him. That's right. Why? Because everything else
became nothing to him. If you had asked Levi, Levi,
now you left a lot behind, didn't you? You were sitting there at
the receipt of customs and you were making all that money hand
over fist and you were totally dependent upon the Roman government
to keep you in business and on the Jews to put you forth to
do what you were doing. You were dependent on everybody
to help you out there. He said, no I'm not, and he left
every bit of it, left it, and rose up. Left it, and then he
rose up. He left it, right where he sat,
and then he rose up, and he followed Christ. This is the difference
between that defiled heart and that new heart. Before he ever
moved a finger, before he ever moved a toe, before he ever spoke
a word, he left everything because he'd been given a new heart that
beheld Christ his treasure. And one who was holding the puppet
strings of the Pharisees, and of the Roman government, and
of all the Jews, and of all his former companions, and of everybody
in the world, and moving and orchestrating everything in this
world for his good, he beheld Him! And he said, I'm leaving
everything else, and I'm doing what He wills. And He wills for
me to follow Him, and I'm following Him. That's what he did. God's
people want to be with Him. They want to follow Him. They
want to leave everything that's going to hinder that sweet communion
with the One who is this pearl of great price. They want to
leave everything. They want to spend and be spent
for Him. Whatever it takes to purchase this field where this
treasure is, that's what I'm going to spend to purchase it.
Whatever I've got to give up, I want that pearl of great price. Nothing is worth anything. Everything
else pales in comparison to Him. Peter, he turned to those that
walked with him. Many followed after him. And
he turned to them and he said to this multitude the same thing
that he said in that parable. If any man is going to follow
me, he's got to leave everything and follow me. He turned and
he said to them, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood,
unless your life is me, unless you're living, you're eating,
sleeping, breathing, totally dependent, your life is me. You have no life. And they said,
that's a hard saying. And he turned to them and he
said, they left. And he turned to his disciples
and he said, will you go? What's stopping you from going?
What's holding you back from going the way of the multitude? The constraining love of God
for the sinner in the heart of those in whom He's effectually
working is the only thing that made Peter answer and say, Lord,
to whom shall we go? We're going to go to the Pharisee?
We're going to go to the temple. We're going to go with the Sadducees.
We're going to go back and start offering carnal sacrifices. We have everything those things
typified. We have the substance. We have
you. To whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. And we want to be where you're
speaking. We want to be where those words are coming out of
your lips. We want to be where those words are being set forth.
We want to be where those words are being proclaimed because
they're our life. We're eating these words. We're
drinking these words because these words are the words of
our Redeemer, the One who's bought us and purchased us and called
us by His grace and saved us and made us to see who it is
that's Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And we've got to have
You. And we want to be where you are.
We want to hear what you're saying. You think about Paul. All that
he had. You know what Paul had? Think
of what Paul had. Paul had it all. Paul was, he
was rich, he was a ruler, and he was making his way up the
ladder. And he had everything. He had
everything, but he didn't have Christ. And when Christ came
to where he was, and that wind blew, and he spoke these words
of eternal life into Paul, Paul left everything. He left absolutely
everything. And he followed after him. And
you know what he said? He said, and for these causes
they want to kill me. But he told Timothy this. He
said, Timothy, I don't care. You know why? Because I know whom I have believed. I know who He is. I know what
He's able to do. I know what He has done, what
He is doing, and what He shall do. I know whom. I know this One who is King. I know this One who is wisdom.
I know this One who is righteousness. I know this One who is holiness.
I know this One who is able to do in heaven and in the earth
all the same whatever He pleases. I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded by that power
and that wisdom, by that grace, by that will. I'm persuaded of
Him by His will and His power. I'm persuaded He's able to keep
that which I have committed unto Him against that day. What was it He committed to Him?
His way. Everything about Him. Everything
about Him. Everything that has to do with
heaven, everything that has to do with earth. And you know what
the fruit of repentance was? The works meet for repentance
was that God wrought in Paul. When you're married to Christ,
this incorruptible seed brings forth living fruit, living children. And you know what He did? when
he was inseminated with the incorruptible Word of God and made a new creation
in Christ Jesus? You know what he did? He left
everything. He quit looking to anybody else
but Christ the Lord. And he left it, and he followed
Him, and he submitted, and he obeyed Him, and he trusted Him
to provide him and deliver him. In the very ship he was in when
he was sitting here in these chains, and these men were saying,
we're going to Italy. And this is how we're going.
And Paul just sat there in that ship, trusting the one who had
already told him, you're going to get to Caesar. You must get
to Caesar. You're going to speak the words
of this life to Caesar. You're going to Rome, no doubt
about it. But he's going to go through
a great storm because he's in this ship with some fellas who
think it's all by their will and all by their doing. And God's
fixing to declare to all of them, it's by my will, not by your
will. And through it all, you know
what Paul's going to do? He's going to continually continue
to be persuaded because he knows whom he's believed. And he's
persuaded he's able to keep that which Paul had committed unto
him against that day. And Paul said over to the Philippians,
he said, whether I die or I live, It's going to be to the praise
of the glory of His grace. He's going to be magnified in
my body whether I live or whether I die. You see what I'm saying? We get
so bent out of shape. over these things that we think
we have to do in this world and we think that we have to go here
and we get experiencing peer pressure and pressure of all
different kinds. This is that one who causes the
believer to overcome that pressure. Do you think Paul experienced
that? Do you think Peter experienced that? Do you think when that
multitude turned their back and walked away, over 5,000 turned
around and walked away, do you think there was a little inkling
in Peter that thought, well, you know, surely they can't all
be wrong. By this power, he said, Lord,
we have nowhere else. We have nobody else to go to. And Paul, by that same power,
said, I'm persuaded. And wherever Christ was, that's
where His disciples wanted to be. You notice that? All through
Scripture. Wherever Christ was, that's where
His disciples wanted to be. There was a lot of times that
Christ would say, now you go forward and you go make preparations,
this or that, and I'll meet you there. And you know where they
were when Christ came there? Right where He told them to be.
Because they were hanging on His Word. They wanted to hear
what He had to say. They wanted to be with Him. They
wanted to be taught by Him. All those times He would speak
to the masses and to the multitudes, and then they would be with Him.
And they would say, after the rest were gone, they'd be with
Him. They'd say, Lord, teach us this parable. And He'd teach
them. They wanted to be with His brethren.
After He was crucified and He appeared to them, He said, go
back now, go to Jerusalem, go right back into the midst of
that place where you just beheld your Lord and your Savior nailed
to a cursed tree, where you just beheld the religious mob spewing
out blasphemy against God, where you just beheld this whole religious
multitude biting and gnawing and gnashing with their teeth
upon your side, you go back to that place and you wait right
there for me. And you know where they were?
When that rushing mighty wind of the Spirit of God came into
that room? They were right where He told
them to be. Right there. Right there. Because they didn't
want to miss anything. They didn't want to miss anything.
There wasn't anything in this world that was so important to
them that they wanted to miss what their Savior had to say
to them. That hour. Whatever hour that was. Every
hour they wanted to be where it was and hear what He said. Opposite to this, Pharisees and
Sadducees and other religious multitudes, you know what they
were always doing? and going. They'd come to Him,
hang around a little while, leave Him. They'd come and they'd go. And we'd look into the Scriptures
and we'd see what all He taught when they weren't around. And
we'd see how much they missed. You see what they missed? See how much they missed? Why? Because we're going to do what
we want to do. And God said, do what you want to do then.
Do what you want to do. Go wrap yourself in your filthy,
stinking, decaying, dying mistress cloths, wrap yourself in your
decaying dead carcass, hug that dead man, relish that dead man,
feed on that dead man, eat that dead man, delight in that dead
man, and go to hell with that dead man. Aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful? You who
know Him, aren't you thankful Christ came to where you are?
And while you were feeding on that same corruption, He spoke
the words of eternal life and made you forsake everything and
follow Him. Because that's just what me and
you are. Just what me and you are. Aren't you glad in every hour
when you're so consumed with all these things that are of
absolutely no benefit whatsoever to you in the most minute details
of your life? Aren't you glad when you hear
that still small voice speak in your heart and say, this is
the way. Walk in it. He don't speak that
word in vain. When He does, the light comes
on. And we say, oh, what have I been
doing? What am I trusting in? What am
I looking to? Why, no wonder everything's in
shambles. No wonder everything's a mess.
No wonder I don't have any peace. No wonder I have, I've been holding
on to idolatry. I've been holding on to flesh.
I've been holding on to that which will not profit. I've been
as ignorant as a drowning man who latches on to a stone and
says, this will save me. And he makes us come to ourselves. He makes us to see the servants
in my father's house eat better than I do. I'm out here feeding
on husks. And he draws us to himself and
he brings us to himself. And while we're coming, he comes
to us and puts the best robe on. It says, kill the fatted
calf, we're having a feast. My son's come back home. And
whose will is that by? By His will. By the will of Him
that rules everything to bring us to that place. Else, don't
we see it throughout Scripture, if He didn't do it, we'd be just
like the Pharisees, we'd be just like the Sadducees. We got nothing
to boast in. We got nothing to glory in. Saving
the power and wisdom of our God. That's all. James 4, let's read
this. I hope this will give you a little
new perspective or a little new understanding of what James is
saying here, brethren. This is what he's saying. He
summed it up this way. I'm talking about Salvation in
eternal matters and salvation in our life. We need Him to save
us in these minute details of our daily life from our vain
will. We need Him to save us from these things as much as
we need Him to save us from that will that would boast in saving
ourselves for all eternity. We need Him to save us from ourselves
every hour of every day. Look now, verse 13, go to now
ye that say today or tomorrow we'll go into such a city and
continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain. For as
you know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your
life? It's even a vapor that appeareth for a little time,
then vanisheth away. You know what's lighter than
smoke? Vapor. You can see smoke for
a while, and that's the flimsiest thing there is. Vapor vanishes
like that. And he says, our lives are vapor
that vanisheth away. For that, you ought to say, if
the Lord will, we shall live. If the Lord will, we shall live. Why do we ask Him to bless the
food? I need Him to sanctify that food
to my own body so that it will give me nourishment and I'll
live. Everything. If He's willing,
we'll live and do this or that. But now you rejoice in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil. You
know what? The Pharisees, every time they
said, we'll hear you again on this matter. When we have a convenient,
we'll come back some other time. Rejoicing in your boastings.
We ought to say, if the Lord will, I'll have eternal life. And just the same token, if the
Lord will, next minute, I'll live. Well, here's the application,
brethren. We were like those sailors. We
were determining and we were meaning to sail according to
our will, our way. God winked at this for a little
while. He did. But Jesus shall save his people
from their sins. None will be lost. Not a one
will be plucked from his hand. And the Spirit of God blew contrary
to us. and gave us a straight course to Christ Jesus, and now
by His will, Christ Jesus is our safety, our security, and
our covert from the tempest. Our desire is to be under the
care of His holy arm continually, because He said, thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness,
from the womb of the morning thou hast to do of thy youth.
He stood there one day and He said, O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem,
The Lord said this, He said, Thou that killest the prophets
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, those that came with
the word of life, those that came and was God, was Christ
speaking to you, stood a delighting to be where they were and hearing
what they said. You stoned them and you killed them. He said,
How often I would have gathered thee together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would not.
You would not. You were not willing. Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate. That's final. That's final. Brother Paul Mahan likes to farm. They lived on a farm. They had
a log cabin on some acreage there in Rocky Mount. When he was here,
we were talking about all his animals and things. And he had
some chickens at one time. And they were, he just let them
run free, you know, in the fields and everything. But he had a
coop for them. He had a place he kept them. And a big storm came. Tremendous
storm came. Big, just a tempest began to
blow. And he told Mindy, he said, I've
got to go out there. He had a hen that had some baby
chicks. And he said, I've got to get
that hen and those chicks gathered up and get them in that coop.
He said, we're fixing to get hell. And it'll kill those chickens,
those babies. It'll kill them. So he ran out
there, and he found that hen, and he began to look around to
see where those babies were, and he looked everywhere, and
it's pouring down, it's dark, and it's starting to hail, and
he's looking everywhere for those baby chicks, and he can't find
those baby chicks anywhere. So he just grabs the hen, he
scoops her up, and he takes off with her to the coop, and he
says, well, at least I'll spare the hen. So he carries her into
the coop, and he set her down in the coop, and when he set
her down, a chick fell out from under her wing. And he reached down there and
looked under there, and there they all were. right under her
wings. She'd die before she let those
chicks die. Christ our Savior died so that
his little chickens won't die. And he'll do everything in this
storm, in this tempest called life, to put us under the shadow
of his wings and protect us and see to it that we won't die.
We won't die. in all our salvation, eternal
matters and daily matters, in all our salvation, commit thy
way unto the Lord, and trust in Him also, and He shall bring
it to pass. And you know what the next verse
says? He shall bring forth thy righteousness and thy judgment
as the noon day. Right now in this world life,
He'll make it clear, And in the last day, He'll stand forth and
He'll say, I'm their righteousness. And I'm the wisdom whereby they
stand right here. These are my chickens. These
are my chickens. I pray God make you one of His
little chickens. Amen.