I'm really glad you sang that
song because in Acts chapter 27, the name of Christ is not
mentioned and it only speaks of him. Every word of scripture testifies
of the person of Christ. He said in John chapter five,
verse 39, you search the scriptures. In them, in the scriptures, you
think you have eternal life. You think it's a rule book that
if you can figure out and obey the rules, you'll have eternal
life. No, they are they which testify
of me. This passage does speak of the
angel of the Lord, which I believe is referring to Christ, but the
name of Jesus Christ is not mentioned in this passage of scripture.
And yet it reads like an Old Testament type. And the gospel
is so clear in this passage of scripture. And I've entitled
this message, The Place Where Two Seas Met. And there isn't any more clear
description of what took place on the cross. That's the place
where two C's met. Absolute justice without mercy
and absolute grace which destroy, which destroys any notion of
works. Absolute justice where sin is
punished and absolute grace met on Calvary's cross. Now this is the story of Paul's
shipwreck and He was on his way to Rome as it had already been
determined. And this is what took place.
Now look in verse one of chapter 27. I love the way this story begins
when it was determined. Now it was determined before
time began. In Acts chapter 23, verse 11,
the Lord appeared to Paul and said, you're going to testify
of me in Rome. So the Lord had already made
that out and it was determined for him to go. Now, let me say
this. Everything is determined. Aren't you glad it's that way?
You know why you're here this morning that you might not have
thought, well, it's determined for me to be there. Probably
didn't enter your mind. But the only reason you're here
this morning is because it was determined by God for you to
be here. Now, you're here. Is there any possibility that
you wouldn't be here when you're already here? No, no. You're here because he determined
this. That's exciting to me. That's
exciting to me. I'm here because he determined
for me to be here. When it was determined, I love that. When it was determined that we should sail into Italy,
they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners under one named
Julius, a centurion of the Augustus band. He was the man who was
going to accompany Paul on this long journey. And entering into
the ship of Adramiaton, we launched, meaning to sail by the coast
of Asia. One Aristarchus, a Macedonian,
a Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at
Sidon and Julius courteously entreated Paul and gave him liberty
to go in and to his friends to refresh himself. Now remember
this man was the man that was guarding Paul as he was going
to be brought to Rome to be tried by Caesar. And when we had launched
from thence, we sailed into Cyprus because the winds were contrary.
They start meeting some resistance. Uh, this time of year was really
not a good time to sailing. And that's going to be said in
just a moment, it was in November and they started meeting some
resistance. Verse five. And when we'd sailed
over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra city of Lycia.
And there the Centurion found the ship of Alexandria sailing
into Italy, and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly
many days, and scarce were come over unto Sninus, the wind not
suffering us, we sailed unto Crete over against Salome. and hardly passing, we were having
difficulty. We came into the place which
is called the Fair Havens, nigh into where the city of Lacea
was. Now when much time was spent,
and when sailing was now dangerous because the fast was now already
passed, and that's talking about the Day of Atonement. And this
was in the month of November, sailing was now dangerous, the
winds were preventing, you shouldn't be on the Mediterranean this
time of year is what he's saying. Now, when much time was spent
and when sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already
passed, Paul admonished them and said unto them, sirs, I perceive
that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only
of the lading and the ship, but also of our lives. Now, why did Paul know this?
Because God revealed it to him. That's how he knew. God made
this known to him and he warns the people of what is going to
take place. Nevertheless, even though there
was a word from God, nevertheless, the centurion believed the master
and the owner of the ship more than those things which were
spoken by Paul. Unbelief is always a choice. You're given two options and
you always choose the wrong option. Faith is never a choice. You
believe because you have no choice. You don't choose to believe.
You believe because you have no choice. There are no other
options. When you believe, it's not like you're picking one of
two options. There are no other options when
you believe. And you know that if you ever believe. But you're
always going to be able to find someone who tells you what you
want to hear. And that's what happened here.
He believed the words of the owner of the ship more than the
words of Paul. He had two options. What were
they? Verse 11, nevertheless, the centurion believed the master
and the owner of their ship more than those things which were
spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not
commodious to winter in, the more part, the majority, advised
to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to
Phanaise, and there to winter, which is in the haven of Crete,
and lath toward the southwest and the northwest. Now here's
the motive of unbelief. This place is not commodious
for the winter. You know, the things of God are never commodious
to the flesh. Now write that down. The things
of God are never commodious to the flesh. And this was not a
good thing to the flesh. So we'd rather go somewhere where
we can have a more pleasant place to vacationing for the winter. I'd rather be in a warm place
in the winter than a cold place. Most people feel that way. And
that's what they were given these options. And like I said, you're
always going to find somebody who's going to tell you what
you want to hear. And he liked what he heard. He thought, yeah,
that'd be a better place. That's what we'll do. That's
really the anatomy of unbelief. It's choosing what you like best
between two choices. Verse 13, and when the south
wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose,
supposing and presuming is the same thing. Looks like what we
thought is gonna happen. The wind blows softly, it's gonna
take us to the right place. Proverbs 18, 21 says there are
many devices or purposes in the heart of man. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord, that shall stand. We have our purposes, we have
our thoughts, but I know whose will's gonna be done all the
time. The counsel of the Lord shall
stand. Verse 14, but not long after,
after they'd experienced this soft, warm wind that they thought
would bring them where they wanted to go, not long after there arose
against it a tempestuous wind called Uralocton. And what? chaos this wind created and now
we have the perfect storm going on. Verse 15, and when the ship
was caught with this hurricane and could not bear into the wind,
we let her drive. We couldn't proceed because of
the wind and running under a certain island, which is called Plata,
we had much work. to come by the boat. You can imagine the frantic work
to try to control the boat in this fierce storm that's going
on. Verse 17, which when they had
taken up, they used helps under girding the ship. Now what's
that mean? While this ship was being tossed
about, somehow they took great ropes and encircled the ship
and tried to hold it together. Doesn't that sound like me and
you? While the storm is going on, we try to do what we can
to hold the ship together. We had much work. Verse 16, to
come by the boat, which when they had taken up, they used
helps under guarding the ship and fearing lest they should
fall into the quicksands, they strike sail and so were driven. Now here you see this boat. Somehow
they thought these, maybe they wouldn't be broken up because
it was encircled with these ropes that they'd made. And here it
is going back and forth. That's. what I would call self-help. I reckon they read some self-help
books to try to keep them in line at this time. That summarizes
what we do, work. They let the sail down and were
driven with the wind. Verse 18, and we being exceedingly
tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. And the third day we cast out
with our hands the tackling of the ship. Now here they are on
this storm. I don't know if our self-help's gonna do. What we
need to do is start getting rid of stuff. WE GET RID OF THIS
SIN, WE GET RID OF THAT SIN, WE GET RID OF THAT HINDRANCE,
LET'S START THROWING STUFF OVERBOARD, MAYBE THAT'LL KEEP US GOING. AND THE THIRD DAY WE CAST OUT
WITH OUR OWN HANDS THE TACKLING OF THE SHIP, AND WHEN NEITHER
SUN NOR STARS IN MANY DAYS APPEARED, AND NO SMALL TEMPEST LAY ON US,
LOOK AT THIS NEXT LINE, ALL HOPE THAT WE SHOULD BE SAVED. was
then taken away. With all of our efforts of what
to do and what to give up and what to get rid of, still utter
darkness, the storm continued and all hope that we should be
saved was taken away. All that we have done is in vain. All hope that we should be saved
was taken away. Have you ever been there? All hope that you would be saved
would be taken away. You see, it's only then when
you can hear the gospel, when all hope HOPE. THERE IS NO HOPE OF YOU DOING
ANYTHING TO SAVE YOURSELF. THAT'S GONE. IT'S ONLY THEN WHEN ALL HOPE
THAT YOU COULD BE SAVED IS TAKEN AWAY THAT YOU CAN HEAR THE GOSPEL. VERSE 21, BUT AFTER LONG ABSTINENCE, stood forth in the midst of them
and said, sirs, you should have hearkened to me. You should have
listened to me. I told you so. Now that's kind
of irritating when somebody says that, you know that. I told you,
you should have listened. Well, okay, you know, but yeah,
you should have. Now here's the point. Here's
the point. What Paul's letting them know
is this is all your fault. The place you're at right now,
the mess you're in, if you would have listened to me and done
what I said, this would have never taken place. The place
you are at right now where you have no hope, it's all your fault. Have you ever taken, have I ever
taken, I'm asking myself that question, 100% responsibility
for my sin? It's all my fault. I can't blame
God's sovereignty. Well, God's sovereign. He allowed
it. No, it's my fault. I can't blame
God's sovereignty. Well, I've had certain circumstances
that who could blame me? Look at all I've gone through.
Now, I know people go through wretched, difficult trials and
circumstances. I'm aware of that, but you can't
blame your circumstance for your sin. Well, I've been a victim
of what other people have done to me. Your sin and my sin is
100% my fault only. I can't blame anybody else. I
can't blame my circumstances, can't blame the devil. My sin
is all my fault. Now why is it important for me
to come to the place where I see that my sin is all my fault? Here's why this is so critically
important. Until your sin is all your fault,
You'll never ask for mercy. There was a king that had determined
that he was going to have mercy on a prisoner. He had the right
to do that. And he went to one prisoner and
said, why are you here? And the prisoner says, I was
framed. I shouldn't be in this place.
And the king said, well, you don't need mercy, then you need
justice. And he came to another prisoner.
He said, why are you here? He said, well, I am guilty of
the crime I committed, but who could blame me? I was in such
a situation that I had to do it. Well, you don't need mercy
either. You need justice. And then he
came to a prisoner and said, why are you here? Guilty as charged. I'm here because that's where
I deserve to be. I have committed great crimes. It's a wonder they haven't even
put me to death already. I am here because justice demands
it. And he said, here's a man who
needs mercy. And he gave that man mercy. Is your sin all your fault? If it's not, no mercy for you. All you need is justice when
it comes right down to it. You need justice. But if your
sin is all your fault and nobody else's, what you need is mercy. And he delights in mercy. That's who God is. Now, Paul
said, you fellas shoulda listened to me. I can just hear, Anytime
somebody says that to me, I told you, you know, that's irritating,
but it's the truth though, isn't it? It's the truth. If you would
have listened to me, this wouldn't have happened to you. But look what Paul says in verse
22, after he, told them that everything's their fault, and
now I exhort you to be of good cheer. Even though there's nothing
but darkness and the storm is still taking place, I exhort
you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any
man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by
me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve,
saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar,
and lo, God hath given thee all them that are in that sail with
thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer,
for I believe, God, that it should be as even as it was told me."
Now, here he's speaking to these people, number one, all hope
that they would be saved was lost. Number two, all their sin
was their fault, all their fault. Number three, and here's the
announcement of the gospel, be of good cheer, everybody in the
ship will be saved. Now listen real carefully. This
is the preaching of the gospel. All of the elect will be saved.
Everybody in Christ will be saved. There's no way anybody in Christ
can be anything but saved because of who he is. Now, that's critical
in the preaching of the gospel. I don't come up and say, you'll
be saved if you do this and if you do that. No, when the gospel
begins here, everybody in the ship shall be saved. Everybody
in Christ shall be saved. And if I don't begin with that
announcement, I'm not really preaching the gospel. You gotta
begin there. Everybody in Christ shall be
saved. Now that's where the glimmer of hope comes from. Everybody
in Christ shall be saved. I think of what the Lord said
to that Syrophoenician woman when she was saying, Lord, help
me. He said, I'm not sin, but to
the lost sheep of house of Israel. They're the ones who are gonna
be saved. NOW, THAT'S GOSPEL PREACHING. GOD'S ELECT, THOSE
FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED, THOSE WHOM GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT CALLS, THOSE
ARE THE ONES THAT WILL BE SAVED. ALL IN THE SHIP SHALL BE SAVED. ALL THAT THE FATHER GIVETH ME
SHALL COME TO ME, AND HIM THAT COMETH TO ME I WILL IN NO WISE
CAST OUT. NOW, PAUL, HOW DO YOU KNOW EVERYBODY
IN THE SHIP'S GONNA BE SAVED? THE ANGEL OF THE LORD TOLD ME,
I'VE GIVEN YOU ALL IN THE SHIP And I, I love the way he says
this, I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me. There's our statement of faith.
Well, what, do you have a confession that tells everybody what you
believe? The Bible. Yeah, but let's be
more specific. Okay, I believe everything God
says. That's our statement of faith.
And that's what Paul says at this time. You know the Bible.
I love the Holy Scriptures. It's the Word of God. It is inspired
by God. Somebody says, how do you know?
I do. Can you prove it to me? No. Do you feel any need to prove
it to me? No, but I know it is. You see,
God, who created the universe as an act of His will, inspired
me. And this is what the Bible claims.
Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. And I know what the Bible is
given to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. That's the purpose of the Scripture. I know that. Now, let's go on reading, because
we're not finished. That is the beginning of the Gospel, that
announcement. 26, how be it? We must be cast upon
a certain island, but when the 14th night was come, as we were
driven up and down in Adria about midnight, the shipmen deemed
that they drew near to some country. Now, I think that it's interesting
that they'd been 14 days in this storm. How many days did the
Passover lamb have to be examined before it was used as a sacrifice? 14. 14. They were in this storm for 14
days, and the Lord had already told Paul they must be cast upon
a certain island, and we're gonna find out it's the island of Malta.
Lynn and I have been to Malta, and we stayed in St. Paul's Bay. That's when we had a, what do
you, timeshare, and it's all we could get that year. I mean,
that was it. So I would have never thought
of going to Malta, but we went to Malta, and it was, really
enjoyed it, you know, being in St. Paul's Bay and looking at
all the, but at any rate, when the 14th night was come, as we
were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed
that they drew near to some country. They saw they somehow, they were
approaching land, and they sounded. Now what that means, they would
find out 20 feet, the depth is 20 feet, 15, 10, they know they're
getting closer to the land by doing this sounding. And they
sounded and found it 20 fathoms, and when they had gone a little
further, they sounded again and found it 15 fathoms. Then fearing,
lest we should have fallen upon the rocks, they cast four anchors. They were afraid to get any closer.
So what they did is cast down anchors, and just wait for the
day, because they couldn't see anything, and they were afraid,
well, we'll run into rocks and crash and kill all of us, so
let's throw these anchors down, four anchors, and wait for the
day. Verse 30. And as the shipmen,
these were the men on the ship, were about to flee out of the
ship. They were gonna get out. And when they had let down the
boat in the sea under the collar, or pretense is the word, as though
they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. Now these
fellas, they know they're near ground and they thought, we're
gonna put the lifeboat out and we're gonna tell everybody we're
just trying to secure the boat. We're gonna lie to them. But
what we're gonna do, we're gonna escape to the land on the lifeboat.
We're not sure about these fellas, but we wanna escape. And so they
were doing this under pretense. Verse 31, Paul said to the centurion,
to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, you cannot
be saved. Now, this is so important. Paul had already said everybody
in the ship's gonna be saved. He already said that. Everybody
Christ died for is gonna be saved. These fellas say, well, we're
gonna get out. He said, we're gonna make our own way of safety.
He said, accept these, abide in the ship. You cannot be saved. Now what does that mean? Okay, you know that everybody
in the ship is gonna be saved. You know what you do? Stay in the ship. Stay in the ship. Turn with me, hold your finger
there, and turn with me to 1 John chapter 3. Verse 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law and
you know that he was manifested to take away our sins and in
him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him and
this is what faith in Christ is. When you have faith in Christ
Here's what it makes you do. You don't want God to see you
in any other light but in Christ. You abide in the ship. And this is a conscious thing.
You don't want any work, you don't want any thought, you don't
want any deed. LOOKED UPON INDEPENDENTLY OF
SIMPLY BEING FOUND IN CHRIST SO THAT ALL GOD SEES WHEN HE
SEES YOU IS HE SEES JESUS CHRIST. YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SEPARATED
FROM THAT. ALL YOU WANT, LIKE PAUL SAID,
OH THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST AND BE FOUND IN HIM. HERE'S WHAT
REAL FAITH DOES, IT WANTS TO ONLY BE FOUND IN HIM. THAT ACTUALLY
IS THE ACT OF FAITH. I WANT TO BE SEEN ONLY IN HIM. I'M RELYING ONLY IN HIM. I DON'T WANT GOD TO SEE ME IN
ANY OTHER LIGHT THAN IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. EXCEPT HE'S ABIDE
IN THE SHIP. You can be saved. Look at what
1 John 3, 5 says, you know that he was manifested to take away
our sins, and him is no sin. If I'm in him, I have no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him, what are those next words? Sinneth not. Now that's how complete
this salvation in Christ Jesus is. If you're in him, you know
what you do? You don't sin. You don't sin. Now somebody says, explain that
to me. Well, if Jesus Christ didn't sin and
I abide in him, I never sinned. I stand before God without guilt.
He that abideth in him sinneth not. Now go back to Acts chapter
27. Paul said to the centurion and
to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, you cannot
be saved. Within the soldiers cut off the
ropes of the boat. They let the lifeboat go, let
her fall off. And now they were totally dependent
upon being in the ship. Remember the promise, except
these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. Verse 33, and
while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take
meat, saying, this day is the 14th day that you've tarried
and continued fasting, haven't taken nothing. Wherefore I pray
you to take some meat, for this is for your health. For, here's
the promise, there shall not a hair fall from the head of
any of you. All of you are gonna be saved in the ship. Take some
meat. This is for your health. Verse
35, and when he had thus spoken, he took bread and gave thanks
to God in the presence of them all. And when he'd broken it,
he began to eat. Then they were all of good cheer.
And they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship,
203 score and 16 souls. 276 people were in that ship.
276 people. Now, the number of the elect, is an exact number. It can't
be diminished. It can't be added to. I love
that. You know, the church of God's
elect is a church that never grows and never diminishes. It's always the same. An exact
number. Those whose names are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life, the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, that's an exact number. And I love this number,
276. Numbers always represent something
in the scripture, don't they? What's two represent? The two
shall be one flesh. Two represents union. The union of the God man. God manifest in the flesh. The union of the two separate
natures of Jesus Christ. The union of Christ with His
bride, with His church. Number two represents union. What does seven represent? In
the scripture, seven always represents completion and perfection. I
mean, even when the Spirit of God is spoken of in Revelation
1, it speaks of the seven spirits of God having eyes within and
without. Now, that's not talking about
seven different spirits. That's talking about the complete Spirit
of God, seven, the number of completion. What is six? The
number of man. Adam was created on the sixth
day. When we're told of the number
666, what that means is man, failure, failure. Failure upon
failure upon failure. That's man. That's the number
of the beast. Man. Failure, failure, failure. 276. represents the complete salvation
of men by the God man. Two, seven, six. The God man, perfect salvation
of men. Two, seven, six, a number that
can't be added to or taken from. Verse 38, and when they had eaten
enough, They lie to the ship and cast out the wheat into the
sea. Now, what I love to think about this, I've always kinda
thought, man, I'd wanna keep some food just in case we're
gonna be on here for another day or two. I mean, I can't imagine
just eatin' and feelin' satisfied and just throwin' everything
out, but you know what? If you and I ever eat of Christ, we'll
throw everything else out. You haven't eaten of Christ if
you wanna keep anything else. When you eat of Christ, He's
all you want, and you throw away everything else. Verse 39, and when it was day,
they knew not the land, but they discovered a certain creek, that's
the bay that they would go in in Malta, with a shore into the
which they were minded if it were possible to thrust the ship.
They knew they could find safety if they could just get in that
bay. And when they'd taken up the anchors, the anchors, remember
that night when it was night, they didn't want to crash into
rocks they couldn't see. So they took up, they put down
the anchors. Now they take them back up and
listen to the way this reads. And when they'd taken up the
anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea. It was up to the
sea and the wind to get them into the haven. They understood
that. The only way I'm going to get
into the haven is if the storm and the wind brings me into the
haven. I can't get in there on my own.
Now, they committed themselves to the sea. Who controls the
winds and the sea and the rain? Who is the one who could cause
his wind to bring them into the desired haven? They committed
themselves unto the sea. And that's exactly what Paul
meant when he said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded
he's able to keep that which I have committed to him. You see, in this thing of salvation,
I don't have a plan B. I don't have anything else. If Christ didn't do it all, I
won't be saved. I've committed the entire salvation of my soul
to him. I'm not looking anywhere else.
I don't have mutual funds. It's all in Him. And they committed
themselves to the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted
up the mansail to the wind and made toward shore. The wind was
taking them into the bay. Now, verse 41, and this is what
I entitled this message. And falling into a place, where
two seas met. And that's the place in the Mediterranean
where two seas, the currents run into each other. Falling
into the place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground
and the fore part stuck fast and remained unmovable, but the
hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. Now this
ship, is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's plain enough, isn't it?
Everybody in the ship, they were saved. This ship was in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The ship fell into a place where
two seas met. Now what a representation of
the cross. On the cross, when the Lord was
on the tree, nailed to the tree, that is a place where two C's
met. The C of God's absolute justice. Justice without mercy. Full payment for sin. Absolute justice. Undiminished
justice. absolute grace, where your salvation
has absolutely nothing to do with your works. Those two C's met. And when the back part of the
ship's broken, that's the death of Christ. but everybody in the
ship was in the front part, and it stuck fast, unmovable. How complete, how secure is the
salvation that's in Christ? He is the place where two seas
met. Righteousness and peace have
met. Mercy and truth have kissed one
another in this place where two seas met. Now, this is how God
can be just and justify you. The place where two seas met.
GOD'S JUSTICE PUNISHED EVERY ONE OF YOUR SINS. YOU WERE IN
CHRIST. IN THE BELOVED, I WENT TO THE
TREE. CHRIST WAS THERE ALONE. THAT'S TRUE, BUT HE WAS NOT ALONE. ALL OF HIS PEOPLE WERE THERE.
HE BY HIMSELF PURGED OUR SINS. HE DIDN'T HAVE OUR HELP, BUT
ALL OF THE ELECT WERE IN HIM. IN THE BELOVED, I WENT TO THE
TREE. THINK ABOUT THAT. IN THE BELOVED,
I WENT TO THE TREE. AND THERE, GOD'S ABSOLUTE JUSTICE
AGAINST SIN destroyed and punished Christ
as my substitute. But that's where we find absolute
grace. God dealing with me absolutely
graciously through what Christ did. So I am not simply viewed
as sinless. I am sinless through what Christ
did on Calvary. That's the place where two seas
met. That's how God found a way to be just and justify the ungodly. The place where two seas met. And the soldiers, verse 42, and
the soldier's counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any
of them should swim out and escape. But the centurion willing to
save Paul, here Paul's a type of Christ. But the centurion
willing to save Paul kept them from their purpose and commanded
that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the
sea and get to the land and the rest some on boards and some
on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they
escaped all safe to land. Now I want to end this message
by reading a quote from Charles Spurgeon. If you want to know
what my favorite thing I've ever read by Spurgeon is, this is
it. And this is an appropriate quote to read with regard to
these fellas grabbing hold of the piece of boat. Now I know
if I was one of them, I wouldn't be trying to swim. I can barely
swim. I never had swimming lessons.
And so I can swim enough to keep myself from drowning if I only
have to go 10 or 12 yards. But if I'm way out there, I'm
not trying to swim. I'm gonna grab hold of a piece
of the boat and go in to land. Now listen to this. This is from
Charles Spurgeon. He said, I have not the shadow
of a shade of a ghost of a confidence as to my ultimate salvation except
in Jesus Christ alone. And one reason why I dare not
have any confidence except in him is that I do not know anything
I ever did or ever thought or ever was in which I could confide. So I am driven to trust in him
and in him alone I lie at the foot of his cross because I cannot
stand upright. I must do that for like Luther
I can do no other. If I search myself and my whole
life over and over again I cannot see anything but that I call
a filthy rag, and I fling it all away. Good works and bad
works, so far as mine are concerned, are not worthy the trouble of
sorting them out. So I tie them all up in one bundle,
pitch them overboard, and just cling to the ever blessed life
boy of the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my savior. Amen. Let's pray.