There is a new day written down in glory. Amen.
And when my name is called in glory, I'll be
there. For the Lord has heard and answered every
prayer. And with him I've made it right, justified
within his sight. So when my name is called in
glory. I'll be there. Amen. That new name, it
got written down. It's going to be called one
day. Amen. And I'm going to be there. I'm going
to be able to say, yeah, when the roll is called
up yonder, I'll be there. Right? Oh, when the
roll is called up yonder. When the roll is called
up yonder. Oh, when the road is called up yonder,
when the road is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Amen. Well, glory. If you have your Bibles, turn
with me to the book of Acts, Acts 27. Putting
the pressure on today. It's only 10 after 11.
I mean, y 'all liable to get out here before
12. I seriously doubt it, but it's a good thought
anyway. Surely you're not going to preach that
long. Well, I don't know. We'll just have to
see how it hits me here in a minute. Amen? I
mean, what else you got to do? You got all cleaned
up, dressed up, brushed your teeth, combed your
hair, got your Sunday best out, and I mean, what's
the hurt? Right? I mean, let's enjoy it for a
little while. Amen? Hallelujah. Acts 27. 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 own hands the
tackling of the ship. And when neither sun nor
stars in many days appeared. and no small tempest
lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was
then taken away. But after long abstinence, Paul
stood forth in the midst of them, and he said,
Sirs, I love this part. This is, I told you so.
Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me and not
have loosed from Crete and to have gained this
harm and loss. And now 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 sail with thee.
Wherefore sirs be of good cheer. For I believe
God. That it shall be even as it was told me.
With the help of the Lord for the next ever how
long, I'm going to speak to you on this thought.
Shaken, but settled. Shaken, but settled. Amen?
I'll pray for you if you pray for me, and we
may get out of here before 12. Father, I love
you. Thank you so much for your goodness and
your mercy and the power of your word. The abundance
of your grace and the anointing that so stirs
in this house today. Now, Father, I ask according
to that liberty that causes it to be easy to
preach and that liberty that is in this house.
Lord, help me today. Help me to preach. Help
me to preach. Lord, let me preach. Let me declare.
Let me speak forth. Lord, let a word of prophecy
go out. Let's be encouraged today, Lord. Let
your anointing so stir in this house today. And
Lord, we'll be quick to praise you. Lord, those
that have ears, may they hear what the Spirit's
saying to them who are the church today. So use
me today, Lord, as I stand before you a willing
vessel, humbly before you, surrendered to you.
In Christ's name, and the church says, amen and
amen. Ask your neighbor, are you shaken? Are
you shaken? To be shaken means to be moved, to
be disturbed. The word settled means to have
found resolve, to be resolved, to be fixed, to
be established, and believe it or not, to be
comfortable. Some of you are settling in, getting
comfortable in these lumbar -supported, nice
cushioned chairs. I think we did a catch -22
on getting rid of the old slatted wooden pews,
swapping out for padding. We get a little too
comfortable sometimes in church, don't we? At
least we'd have to move because it hurt our back
sitting on those old wood chairs and them wood
pews. They'd screech when us heavier people moved.
And everybody would look around at you. You're
just trying to get settled. The Apostle Paul
was shaken. This 27th chapter of Acts. Man, there's
too much in this to take a long time. Paul is
on his way to Caesar. He's exercised his Roman
citizen right to be tried before Caesar, and
he's making his way to Caesar. And you have to
know, back in the very beginning of Paul's conversion,
he was destined to go to Rome. When they beat
him with those rods, he hadn't been to Rome.
When they had stoned him, lest him for dead,
he hadn't been to Rome. That's the reason he
didn't die in the street. He hadn't been where
God said he was going to go and end up and be
at. But we find him shaking. He had warned those,
said, look, we need to stay here. We don't need
to go any further. The weather's not as nice
as you think it is, and I think we need to stay.
Well. When a preacher tells a sailor to stay,
and a sailor's not going to take that from a
preacher, especially one who's a tent maker.
So the sailor judges the weather, and the captain
says, oh, it's nice, let's go. But I love the
preacher. The preacher in the Apostle Paul. It
has been storming for days and nights, just getting
worse. They have tried their best to steady the
ship. They've tried their best to get the skiff
up close enough to escape. They have thrown the
tackling overboard, trying to stay afloat. And
after long abstinence, in other words, Paul had
been fasting, here he comes in the middle of
the storm. A verse or two past where we stopped
reading, it talks about the 14th and the 15th
day. They're right in the middle of this thing,
three, four, five days in. The storm's raging.
He's been fasting, no doubt praying. Anybody
who knew God had been praying, seeking some relief
because they are shaken by this tremendous storm,
this tempest that has got them all upside down
and inside out. And when sailors become worried,
over the waves and the wind, then everybody else
on the boat might ought to really start praying.
Amen? Sailors have seen it all. They've seen
large waves. They've been in great winds, but
this one was different. Amen? This wind, this
storm was different, and even they have become
shaken. When they threw all the tackling overboard,
that's a telltale sign that that's the last measure.
We may go down with this one. But here comes
the preacher up out of the belly of the ship,
got a good hold on whatever's left standing,
and he looks at them and says, Sirs, I love it.
You should have listened to me. I told you we
should not have left. Now, see, I think in this
day and age in which we live, the preacher has
gotten a little bit soft. Because we are really
concerned about people's opinions and their feelings,
and we don't want to offend people. Well, I'm
here to tell you, I have been sent to offend.
The Word becomes an offense to us. The Word of
God becomes an offense to us because we offend
the Word of God. Our actions, our lifestyle,
right? And what good is a preacher just tells
us all the time, oh, you're just doing great.
Just keep doing what you're doing. What good
is he? We need a man that's come up that's been
fasting. We need a man that's been before God.
We need a man called of God who's on a mission
and who's on a directive. We need to hear from
heaven. Sirs, you should have listened to me
when I told you. And I, you know, I don't care
to tell you. If I ever tell you, God says, don't
do that and you do it, I'm going to look at you
and I'm going to say, I told you, you should
not have done that. And now the harm that it's
caused, we've got to see what God can do to bring
you out of it. Amen. But you should have listened
to me. If I say something behind this desk and
across this podium from the word of God that
offends you, you might or let your ear get pricked
and hear what does set the Lord. Because I don't
know all of you deeply personally. I don't know
everything that's going on in you. your life,
but God does. And if he stirred my heart because
I've been in prayer and you hear some warning
say, you should not do that, you should not go
there, then when all hell breaks loose in your
life and you come whining to me, I'm going to
tell you, well, didn't I preach that about two
or three weeks ago? You were sitting there. I
saw you. The Spirit of the Lord was moving. Why,
oh, why, oh, why did you do it anyway? But okay,
you've done it. Let's go back to the Lord. Sirs,
you should have listened to me and not left out.
But you did, and so here we are. But be of good
cheer, my Lord, when all hell breaks loose and
you're shaken because of life's dilemmas and
the preacher's preached it and God has already
warned it and you've done it anyway. Be of good
cheer. He's a merciful God. Be of good cheer.
He forgives and cleanses and purges and purifies.
Be of good cheer. He is the healer and the deliverer.
Be of good cheer. He still loves you. Be of good
cheer. He has not forsaken you. And in the middle
of the storm, even after your preacher said,
I told you so, you hear from the Lord. Serves
be of good cheer because the angel of God stood
by me tonight. And he said, everything is going
to be all right. Now look, the boat's a total
loss. The ship's a goner. Hello? The ship's a
goner. But if we all stay on board, we're not
going to lose a soul. We're not going to lose
one life. So be happy. So when we're shaken in
life, We have to become settled. We have to have
a resolve that sits in our heart and that sits
into our life. And the apostle Paul went further
on to tell them this. He said, I believe God.
And somewhere in your resolve, somewhere in the
settling of your soul and spirit, you've got
to know if God has already spoken something into
your life, you've got to settle on it. You've
got to get resolved about it. You've got to get
established with it, and you've got to grow comfortable
in it. It doesn't matter even though the ship's
going down around you because God has already
forespoken. God has already said. God has already
ordained. Paul, you will stand before Caesar.
You may be looking like a drownded rat when you
get there, but you are going to get there. You
may be beaten. You may be bruised. You may be
accused and persecuted in every way, but you
will stand. Stand before Caesar. Somebody needs
to hear it today. It doesn't matter how hard
the storm is rising and the wind is blowing and
how high the waves of life are. God said believe
on him. Amen. Why? Because he stood by you. He
has stood with you. He sent a word out for you
to trust in him. And you've got to get a resolve
about you to stand up and say, I believe. God
serves. I believe God. So be of good cheer. Get
happy. I'm telling you it's hard to get happy
in the middle of the storm when everything about
you is being shaken to its core. It's hard to
get happy. What a way. What a time. What timing
to hear the preacher say, be of good cheer. Look,
my ship's aloft. We've done thrown our cargo
and everything else over. Well, it ain't over
yet. Before it's over, you may have to ride into
the bank on one of its boards because she's coming
apart from the seams. Get out of there. Hello?
I'm here to tell you life may come apart at the
seams, but God has already spoken. God has already
declared. God has already said. And if he's thus
said in your life, then be of good cheer. Everything
else around you may come apart. But, sirs, we're
going to be just fine. We're going to make it.
When we think about the church, when we think
about systems, when we think about movements
that have arisen over the years, those that have
been built around. Men and personalities and
dogmas and doctrine, they're going to fall by
the way. They're going to fall by the wayside.
They're going to move and no longer be in existence.
They're not going to have any way other than
the materialistic things that they were built
on and the carnality and the self -serving ideas
that they've had and they've gone with. They're
going to all die and fall by the way. But I'm
here to tell you, the church. I'm here to talk
to you about the church which you are a part
of. Peter said we are lively stones, but we build
up a spiritual house. Amen. And that spiritual
house, he declares that we are chosen and that
we are peculiar and that you are a royal priesthood.
That's who you are. And you've got to get the
knowing down in you that when life is shaken,
God has already spoken something over his church.
In Matthew 16, he poses the question to his disciples.
Who do men? say that I, the son of man, am. What
do people, Jeremiah, Isaiah, one of the other
prophets, they don't really know who you are,
Lord. And then he looks at them pointedly and
he says, but who do you say that I am? My Lord.
And there's something stirred up in the old loud
mouth preacher, old Peter. There's something
that stirred in the depths of his soul. And he
made this declaration, thou art the Christ, the
son of the living God. Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona, for flesh and blood has revealed this
unto you. But my father, which is in heaven and
upon this rock. I want you to hear me now. Upon
this rock I will build my church and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it. If you
are a part of the blood -born again body of Christ,
hear me church, you're the ecclesia, you're the
called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
You are the church. Would the church stand up
and give the Lord a good praise? If you're part
of the church, would you stand to your feet and
give the Lord a good praise? If you are called
out and you know Come on, give the Lord praise.
You and I, we are not going under. You and I
are not going under. We may be shaken, but we're
not going to be moved. You may be shaken to the
core, and everything around you may come apart
at the seams, but you and I, we will remain.
You can sit back down. So you have to gain a
resolve. If God says the gates of hell shall
not prevail against me, then they're not going
to. And if they do, he's a liar. But he's not
a man that he should lie, could lie, or would
lie. So it's not going to happen. Everything
around you may fall to pieces, but you won't.
Hey, hey. Everyone else may be shaken to the
core and unsettled. But because of the promise
of God over you as being the church, if you've
repented of your sins and you're trying to live
as holy as you possibly can every day and do
what you can to please the Lord and live the
Word of God and be Christ in this world, then
you will be victorious. The gates of hell cannot
prevail against you. Shaken but settled. Nowhere
in the world does it say that we can't be shaken.
Apostle Paul was shaken. Shaken enough to fast
and pray. Worried until he heard from the Lord.
And when he heard from God, he comes out onto
the ship. Hey! Say! Listen to me. Storm rolling,
waves spitting seawater. We're going to be okay.
You should have listened to me. We wouldn't have
been in this mess. Just like a preacher, we've
got to get our word in. We wouldn't have even
been in this mess if you'd have listened to me
start with. But here we are. But be happy. angel
stood with me tonight, and he told me that we're
going to be all right. Everything's going to
be okay. Hallelujah. Oh, I got a feeling right.
Everything's going to be all right. He said,
why? Because the angel of the Lord, whom I serve,
the God of whom I serve, has gave me a reassurance
tonight. Somebody needs to hear it, a reassurance
today. You're going to make it. You're going
to be okay. It's going to be all right. All hell
may break loose, and it may fly apart. around
you, but you are going to be okay. We don't like
to hear that. We want to hear that everything
else is going to be okay too. No guarantee in
that. The ship's coming apart. But the foundation
that we stand on will remain firm. You're going
to be okay. The foundation for the church is
the word of God. By the way, which is Christ.
I thought the foundation was Christ. It is. But
you do remember he is the word. John 1 and 1
in the beginning was the word. The word was God.
The word is with God. The same was in the beginning.
Right? He is the Word, the Rhema, and the Logos.
He is the word, and the word is the firm, solid
foundation upon which we stand. And according
to Mark's recording in 1331, heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.
The word of God is more powerful than any two
-edged sword, amen, dividing asunder even to
the soul and to the morrow. Why? Because it's
sharp. It's a razor blade. It cuts to and fro,
and it's able to bring about and equip those.
and to establish why, because it's a discerner
in the thoughts and the intents of the heart.
It's the Word of God, and it's what we stand
on. And if Paul stood up and said, I've heard
a word from God, everything's going to be okay,
then everything will be fine. If you follow the
directive, are you hearing me? If you follow
the instructions, everyone will be safe. But
if you try to jump overboard, if you try to go
out on your own and save your own life, your
own life will be. lost. So stay in the ship.
Can I tell somebody the first thing the devil
wants you to do is bail out and go it on your
own. Somebody hurts your feelings at church.
Somebody makes you mad at church. The preacher
don't do this or he does that or somebody does
this. The first thing the devil will get you
to do is jump out. He'll get you out of the boat.
He'll get you out of the ship and get you going
on your own. And if the devil can get you going
on your own, he will destroy you. There's safety
in numbers and there's safety on board of the
ship. There's safety in the church. Oh, I'd love
to tell you the church is perfect. It's not because
I attend here. So that ruined that right off
the bat. The man behind the pulpit is not perfect.
No amens from the front row. She's a little slow
this morning. She missed that one. Secondly,
you came in. Your husband came in. Your wife
came in. Your heathen children came in. And just
a little sidebar, you can beat most of the devil
out of them. Not all of them, but you put a lot
of them on the run. Amen? There's a real good
cure for a smart mouth. And if you ever want
to know, come ask me and I'll give you my cure.
It works. At least it works while they're in
your presence. The foundation is flawless. The
foundation is firm. It's the word of God. It's
the promise of God. In today's society, in this
culture in which we live in, dishonesty and abuse
of confidence is running rampant. It's everywhere.
There's not much any of us consider perfect anymore.
Amen? Look at our poor old government. I quit
watching the news. It's not fitting to watch.
You can't even trust the weather. They have no
clue. Best thing you can see is that $500 pay
it forward by a McMahon law firm. That little
segment, somebody's trying to do something good
in the community and they're actually getting
rewarded for it. The rest of it, you can't half
trust it. Right? It's all, you just can't trust
it. See, that imperfection almost came out my
mouth. And the more you see, the more they dig,
it's there. But the foundation that you and I
are established upon, church, is perfect. It
is the perfect law of God. It is the perfect
word of God. It is the perfect son of God. It's
all based upon Christ. And it is flawless. And
it is firm. And it's formidable. And Jesus said
it and declared it. The gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Then know this. Get it in
your head. Get it buried in your heart. You will
be saved. the victor and quit thinking about
materialistic things in this world and having
all of it and most of it or some of it as that
point and sign of victory because that is not
the sign and the point of our victory. It's that
we keep and maintain the faith all the way to
the end. Amen. Then we receive the reward. This
world is not your reward. God's Word is perfect
and flawless. There are many denominations in
the world today who started out well but have
forfeited the race. They are entangled in warfare
over the word of God, the belief of the word
of God. The inspiration of the word of God, is
it literal? Is it figurative? How do we interpret,
read it, and do what it says? That's how you
interpret it. When we start trying to manipulate
the idea and to formalize a definition for a
scripture, what we most of the time are trying
to do... is manipulate and formulate something
that will please us because we don't like something
that it's saying. And if we can rationalize and
go around it and we can get to where we can be
at peace in our own mind doing what we want to
do, then we're all good. But the very moment
when the Word of God resists your will and my
will and the way we want to go, we get all been
out of shape and people start to look for a way
around it. harsh verbs. They want to do this.
They want to exegete here. They want to exegete
there. And they want to go on and try to make
a thread hold their doctrine together. But it's
the solid rope of the truth that we stand on.
I had somebody the other day was talking about
scripture, this or that. I said, well, how many
scripture does it take to be the word of God
and we have to do it? How many do you need concerning
a subject or a matter? Well, I only found one
verse that said I can't. Well, how many do you
need? I mean, really. How many is it going to
take for you? This is either the word of God
or it's not. And if it is, then it doesn't take
but one. Amen? God's word is true. It's perfect.
And we've got to remember something. You've got
to get this down. If the devil can ever get you
to doubt any of it, he can get you to question
all of it. And it's funny. He only gets us to
question the parts. where it goes against the
grain of what we want to do. Right? I had to
help a parent here about a month or so ago. They're
not from around here, so they brought their child
and sat down. We began to talk, and the child
began to... Began to say why they were having
the problem. Said, well, I deserve an explanation.
I said, you what? Well, I feel like I deserve
an explanation as to why they say no. And I said,
pray tell me why. You think you need one? Well,
I need to know the reason. I said, the reason
is they said no. His eyes get a little big because
my blood vein popped up. So that's the reason.
The reason you can't is because the scripture
says don't. And there need be no explanation.
Well, God, why? Well, because. If he really were
to explain it to you, he could go down the litany
of reasons as to where you would end up if you
were permitted to do that. And the last point
of reference would be hell. So I began to give
a little explanation as to why. I said, well,
right here, let me help you, son. Here is...
The reasoning and the definition and the explanation.
He's looking. Because they said so. I said, that's
all you need. Shut your mouth. I know this person
very well. I might not talk to your child that
way. But I did theirs. I said, because they said
so, son. Because they know where that could end
up for you. And then a little light come on.
Oh. I said, no, really, they just don't like
you and they just want to punish you. I said,
son, that's sarcasm. They just don't want you
to be happy. They don't want you to have any
fun whatsoever. God doesn't want you to have
any fun at all. That's the reason there's all
these can't dos. No, no. That's not why. He wants
you to be in heaven with him. That's why. And
he's holy. And if you're going to be around him,
then you've got to be holy. And the only way
to be holy is to take the do -nots and the don'ts
and apply them to your life. But there's a whole
lot more to the Word of God and loving God and
serving God than the things that appease your
flesh. There's the things that feed and appease
the spirit of man that causes it to be a joy
not to go, not to watch, not to listen, not to
do, not to say, not to... I act not to behave
the other way. Why? Because it brings great joy
into your soul knowing that the firmness of the
foundation is that you believe God and God has
already said amen and already declared. And because
I believe in that firmness of that foundation.
write to Timothy in that second letter, fourth
chapter, he said, for the time will come when
men will not endure sound doctrine. They will
turn away their ears from the truth and be turned
unto fables. Why? Because fables tickle the ears.
Fables tell you, well, just do what you want
to do. You don't have to be born again. Just
go to church every once in a while. Give a little
to one of the special projects. You don't have
to tithe. Why would you have to do that? Why
do you have to give every week? You don't if
you don't want to be blessed. I just so happen
to want to be blessed, and I've proven it. And
he does it. They're going to have their ears
turned aside. In latter times, in the last days,
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits. Doctrines of devils. I don't
know if you realize it or not, but there's a
doctrine of cheap grace out there. That declares
you just do whatever you want to do. In the end.
You'll be okay. I don't think so. When I look
at a vacant cross, no, no. He died for more than
you and I just appeasing our flesh. I'm sorry.
It cost heaven the royal diadem. It cost heaven
the pearl above and beyond price. It cost heaven.
The Son of God. His life. So that you and I could
have life eternal. But not only that, so that
we could have life in free pardon and cleansing
of our sin. Amen? He paid that price. And do
you think it was so cheap that you can just keep
doing the same old junk? I don't think so. I
don't think so. I've said it before and I'll
say it again this morning. When the end comes
and that second resurrection takes place and
all the dead come forth and all the dead and
the living stand before the judgment. I hope
I have over preached this thing. I hope and pray
that you've been able to smoke, drink. all that
other junk, party, carouse, whatever. I hope
that you'd be able to get by by doing that stuff.
But I've got a feeling. And I believe God, and
I believe God's Word. In Romans chapter 1, where
there's a list of everything that I did, all
the lifestyles. There's a list of all of that.
And at the end of the list, it says, and none
of these shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
So with that, I'm just going to keep preaching.
You can't live any way you want to live and still
expect you'll see God, but you won't see heaven.
You'll see God. You'll see him in his wrath.
You'll see him in his judgment. I still believe
God. I believe that in the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth. I believe that the
people were so evil they built a tower saying
we're going into the heavens. We're going to
make our way to God. And God confounded their
language. Scattered men all over the earth. I
believe that men's hearts grew so evil that Noah
found grace in the eyes of God and received a
divine blueprint for the ark of escape. I believe,
according to the word of God, it took him 120
years to build it. I believe the word of God
where it said that it had not rained one day
until God closed the door and the heavens opened.
that it covered the face of the earth, the depths
of the water. I believe God's word. I believe
the children of Israel ended up in Egypt for
430 plus years, but I believe he sent Moses to
lead his people out. I believe in doing so that
the musicians of Pharaoh threw their staffs down.
and they become serpents, and Moses cast down
his rod, and it swallowed theirs up. You believe
that? I believe that. Why? Because the Bible
tells me so. I believe that when they left out,
they got before the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's dust
cloud is behind them, and the people are all
up in arms. I believe. God said, Moses, what
you got in your hand? I got my rod. Stretch forth
your rod toward the sea. I believe that the old
man Moses raised his rod and stretched it before
the Red Sea and that each wind began to blow
as the Word of God declares, I believe that it
split the Red Sea. I believe the children of
Israel walked through on dry ground. I believe
it. I believe Isaiah, the eagle -eyed prophet
who saw through time. I believe when he declared
his name shall be called. Mighty God, Prince
of Peace, Everlasting Father, right? You're going
to call him Emmanuel for God is going to be with
us. I believe Mary had it right when the Holy
Ghost appeared to her. The angel said to her
and said, look. Mary, thou hast found favor in
the eyes of God. And the Holy Ghost is going
to come upon you and you're going to conceive.
And you're going to bring a son. And here's what
you name that boy. You name him Jesus. Hallelujah.
For he is the redeemer of all humanity. You name
him Jesus, for he is Emmanuel, God. When you
call him, and you know what I believe? When they
took him in on that day, and the old prophet
took him in his arms, and the Holy Ghost moved
on him, and they called that boy Jesus. I believe
at 12 years old, he stupefied the doctors and
the Pharisees. I believe that he made his way
down the dusty streets of Galilee and through
Jerusalem. I believe he spoke to Bartimaeus and
he healed his eyes. I believe he touched a bearer
one day and a dead boy rose up. I believe it.
I believe it. I believe it. I believe he healed
the man that was at the pool of Siloam when he
said, Will thou be made whole? And he began to
make his excuses. And when he got done with his
excuses, he healed him anyway. I believe God.
I believe when he said, as Jonah was in the belly
of the whale three days and three nights, so
must the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.
I believe he was in the tomb for three days and
three nights. But I also believe what he told
them. You tear this temple down, and in three
days, it's coming up again. I believe when Rome
put their seal on the old stone and rolled it
in front of the door, the guards stood at attention.
I believe they were not slumbering. I believe
they were not sleeping. But I believe they were
fully awake when the ground began to shake and
the stone was rolled away. Do you believe he
was literally crucified? I believe he was literally
nailed to a wooden cross. Do you believe he really
died? I believe he gave up his last breath and
the flesh died. Huh. I believe God. I believe
those 40 days after that resurrection. I believe
he walked with them. I believe he talked with
them. I believe he was standing on Galilee's
shores when he told Peter to come and dine. I
also believe he began to levitate before their
very eyes in Acts chapter 1. And I believe that
those angels actually stood by the disciples
and spoke to them and said, you men of Galilee,
why stand you here gazing? This same Jesus, in
like manner as you see him go, shall return to
earth again. I believe it. I believe we're in
a warfare. I got seven minutes. I believe we're
in warfare. I honestly believe, because the Bible
says so, that there is a thief out there seeking
to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And I become
shaken in life with the ups and downs and the
crisis. But I also believe if I don't lose my
faith, I'm going to overcome it. I believe I've
got to maintain my faith. I believe I've got
to have good cheer, even though all hell's going
on around me. Huh? The boat's coming apart at
the seams. Shaken, but I'm settled. I've got
a resolve about me. I have become resolved. No
matter what, I'm not giving up. I'm not going
to turn around. I'm not quitting. I'm not getting
mad because one of y 'all hurt my feelings. I'm
not quitting the church. It's a good thing me
being the preacher in it. I'm resolved. My resolve
happened a long time ago. Not six months ago.
Not a year ago. My resolve came a long time ago.
Right at 30 years ago when my resolve came. When
I accepted this call, then I knew that I knew.
Because I know that I know. I know me and I know
him. And I know what's him in my life. I know
what his hand is working. And I know what my
little feeble hands can do. And my resolve come
a long, long time ago. That's the reason it phases
me not one bit to give. Whatever the Lord lays
on my heart, I just give it. Why? Because I've
had nothing. And still had good cheer. Because
I had his word. And his word declared in my nothing
that he would still not forsake me. I had his
word and my resolve in the words of the psalmist
David. I was young, now I'm old, and in all that.
I've never seen the righteous forsaken or his
seed begging bread. I've come in on the paddle
and the boat and the boards and the planks of
the ship that's come apart, but I always come
in. I've stood to warm myself by the fire. You
need to read the rest of that story that I read
to you. I've stood to warm my hands by the fire
and the serpent leap out and take hold of my
hand, but I've also shook him off. What are you
saying, pastor? I can say you can be shaken but
settled. You can be shaken but established. You
can be shaken and be comfortable because you
have a resolve. Stand with me this morning. I
quit. We're in a battle. But you have to know
that the weapons of your warfare are not carnal,
but they are mighty through God. To the pulling
down of strongholds and casting down every imagination
that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
I quit before 12, so I'd give you time to get
down here. How many of you would honestly say,
life is shaking me, Pastor? I got both hands
up. I've been shaking. I've been shaking, but
I'm settled. I'm settled. Because I know it really,
somehow I know that it really doesn't matter
if the boat comes apart. Because God said he's
got me. He said, I'll never leave you. I will
never forsake you. That's a promise in his word.
That's a promise to every single one of you.
If you love him, he loves you and he will not
ever stop loving you. For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish. But have
everlasting life. Look, I know life isn't always
positive. Life isn't always grand. It wasn't
grand for Paul. He's on a boat and it's going
down. You may feel like you're on a boat and
it's going down, sinking around you. Well, that's
okay as long as you're safe in the arms of God.
You're not the boat. You can get another boat.
There's not another you. So with that, very simple
this morning, I want to pray for us who feel
like we're shaken. If you feel like life is shaking
you to your core, that means crisis. It means
emotional crisis. It means financial crisis.
It means family crisis. It means any kind of
crisis, work -related. If you're feeling shaken
by life, And you want to be settled. You want
to find comfort in the midst of the shaking.
You want to find resolve. I need to get to where
I can make my mind up that this stuff does not
affect me. If that's you, I want you to make
your way down.