I Believe God - 7/19/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

You know, I was thinking

singing that that song,

particularly that first one. I love that

second song, but

>> you think about what the words of that

first song says.

It was our sin that nailed him there.

>> That's right.

And truly the love of God is greater far

than tongue or pen could ever tell.

What a savior we have.

>> Amen.

And I appreciate the good singing.

Appreciate the good spirit of God. Take

God's word. Turn with me to the book of

Acts, chapter number 27.

Acts, chapter 27.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

In my prayers for the service today,

simply could not get away from this

text. Those of you that were here last

Sunday night know we started this text

and I just was going to finish it

tonight, but I just it's just on my

heart and uh do believe looking like I'm

going to be here again tonight. Got

another message the Lord's put on my

heart out of these verses. And so when

you find your place, I invite you to

stand. Acts chapter number 27.

We'll read the text this morning and

we'll pray and uh thank you so much

McKenley and brother Gayen. Thank you

all for singing this morning. I

>> I just I just appreciate the spirit of

the Lord and uh I want to say this. I

appreciate the spirit of everything

that's been done this morning

>> and the meekness and the humility and it

has blessed my heart as your pastor. And

uh from brother Todd starting us off

this morning all the way through. It's

just been really refreshing and I thank

God for it.

>> Amen.

>> Churches all over this country is

longing for what you sing this morning.

>> And I'm not talking about singing

ability. I'm not talking about teaching

preaching ability. I'm talking about

just a genuine spirit

>> of worship. Amen. And I appreciate the

Lord gracing us with his presence this

morning. Acts chapter 27. Let's begin

Acts 27 · chapter mention

reading uh in verse number let's begin

reading in verse number 16 or actually

let's look in verse number 14.

But not long after there arose against

it a tempestuous wind called Uraiden.

When the ship was caught and could not

bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

Running under a certain island which is

called Claud, we had much work to come

by the boat. When they had taken up,

they used helps undergirding the ship.

In fear, unless they should fall into

the quick sand, straight sail, and so

were driven, and we being exceedingly

tossed with a tempest, the next day they

lightened the ship. The third day we

casted out with our own hands the

tackling of the ship. And when neither

sun nor stars, and 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

said, "Sers, you should have hearkened

unto me, not of loose concrete to gain

have ga and to g have gained this harm

and loss. 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, sers, be of good cheer,

notice this, for I believe God,

>> that it shall be even as it was told me.

Father, I ask you humbly this morning,

God, that you would help us. I thank you

for your presence this morning, Lord,

that has manifested itself so sweetly.

And Lord, I thank you for the spirit of

worship. I thank you for the meekness,

the humility, Lord, that we feel this

morning. And God, I count myself the

least, Father, to be able to be a part

of this. And Lord, I thank you for it.

And God, I ask you that you would help

us this morning. Hide us behind the

cross, Lord. And I pray that you would

remove any flesh, Father, that would

stand in the way of us worshiping you.

And Lord, remove uh any hindrance, Lord,

from hearts hearing the truth this

morning. God, I ask you, Lord, that you

would give us wisdom, preach through us

and to us this morning. And God, I pray,

Father, you would exalt yourself and get

glory, Father, unto yourself. We pray

that you would strengthen our church and

for the many needs this morning. You

know every heart and life. You know

every burden. You know every request.

And God, we ask your grace would abound

in every need, every situation. And

Lord, I pray most of all for that sinner

that's here today that's lost, that's

never been saved. They never asked you

to forgive them. Lord, I'm thankful you

told us in your word that if we confess

our sins, that you are faithful and just

to forgive us our sins and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness. And Lord, I

believe that's what that song says,

Lord, that you will always patch it up,

Lord, when we come to you and ask for

your forgiveness. And I just say thank

you. Thank you God for being so kind.

Lord, we love you this morning and we

exalt your holy name and we ask all this

in Jesus name and for his sake we pray.

Amen. Amen. You can be seated this

morning. Thank you for standing.

I preached last Sunday night out of this

text on uh the thought here in the text,

what to do when you're stuck in the

storm. And uh I wanted to title this

part too, but the more that I studied

this text, I really believe there's one

phrase that sticks out here in the text

and and I like to preach line by line,

verse by verse. Try to the best that I

can. Don't always do the greatest job at

it, but I do my best. And this phrase

jumped off of the page at me as I was

refreshing my mind for this study. It's

something that we've all seen before in

this text. But I notice there in verse

number 25, the Apostle Paul makes the

statement. He says, "Sers, be of good

cheer, for I believe God." And I just

want to preach on that thought this

morning on I believe God. Now, I tell

you this, there's a lot of things in our

lives today. We could examine things

that we believe in, trust in, and there

ought to be some things that you can

have confidence in this morning. And I

have confidence in my wife this morning

that she is going to be faithful to me.

And she has been such a wonderful bride

for these years that we've been married.

And I have great confidence in her. And

I have confidence in this church and the

members of it. And you people here this

morning, confidence that you're going to

remain faithful. But I'll be honest with

you, the circumstances of life arise and

our confidence comes and goes. But I'll

tell you this, when we place our

confidence in him, Amen. We are placing

our confidence in something that cannot

and will not ever waver. Amen. He never

changes. Amen. He's never moved. He's

never disturbed. Amen. And that's why

the Apostle Paul could say in Acts

chapter number 20 that none of these

things move me. Amen. That nothing

around him had any effect on his life.

Amen. Because God was the one who was in

control of his life. And I want to lay

just a few things on your heart by way

of introduction to remind us where we're

at in this text. Of course, the Apostle

Paul here is a prisoner of Rome in the

text, and he is being brought to Italy

here in the text. And we noted in the

last message, it was my introduction,

but I preached the three points of my

introduction and didn't get done. Amen.

And so, we just going I'm going to give

you that and then we're going to try to

move on from that. All right. But I

notice in this text that there was a

warning that was disregarded in verse

number 10. Paul said that he said sers I

perceive that this voyage will be with

much hurt and damage not only of the

lady and of the ship but also of our

lives. And in verse number 11 and 12 it

reveals to us in the text that the

shipmaster and the owner of the ship

believe the centurion believed them more

than the words of the apostle Paul. And

and so out of that warning that was

disregarded the wind begins to make

their decision for them that they are to

leave. In verse number 13, it says, "And

when the south wind blew softly,

supposing that they had obtained their

purpose, loosing thence, they sailed

close by." And it says that not long

after that, there arose against it a

tempestuous wind called Euroclide. And

so this typhoonish wind has come against

them. And out of the warning,

disregarded the way that this soft wind

makes their decision. And then a greater

wind shows up in the text and then it

begins to poof push the waves. And the

Bible said in verse 15 that the ship was

caught and could not bear up into the

wind. And so they let her drive. So out

of the warning that was disregarded and

the decision that was made because of

the wind, the waves are now driving this

vessel. And we made the statement that

when you disregard the admonition of the

word of God, ultimately what you're

going to allow in your life is your

feelings to make your decisions for you.

Amen. And when your feelings make your

decisions for you, ultimately the waves

of the waters of this life begin to toss

you about. And so we've come to this

part in the text. And I want to give you

three things this morning and we'll be

done this morning. I notice in this now

they're in the midst of the storm. And

remember the statement we made that they

went into this storm by their own

choice. Amen. They decided to enter into

this because of their own will. And I

want to remind you, not everything in

your life, let's just be real this

morning. When we think about people that

have cancer, some of the most godly

people I've ever been around in my life

have gotten sick and gotten ill. And

there's no fault of their own. Amen. It

wasn't God punishing them for their sin.

But just as real as that is, many times

it is our own decisions that bring us

our heartache. Amen. And so they enter

into this storm by their own will. And I

want you to notice first of all in the

message this morning, number one, I

notice the help that they employ. You

say, "What do you mean, preacher?" Well,

look what the Bible says. It tells us

that the waves have caught this boat in

verse number 15, "And they are letting

her drive." So they are at the mercy of

the waves in this text. And the Bible

said in verse 16, "And running under a

certain island which is called Claud, we

had much work to come by the boat." And

I want to say this this morning. When

you allow your life to be driven by the

waves and by the waters of this world,

you know what's going to happen to you?

It's going to destroy you. Amen. Paul

says, "We had much work to come by the

boat." And what that simply means is is

that the waves were battering the ship.

Amen. It was tearing it apart. And you

notice what they do in the text, verse

17, the Bible says that they tightened

it. Notice that. which when they had

taken up they used helps underguarding

the ship and fearing lest they should

fall into the quick sands straight sail

and so were driven. So they tighten this

boat up. What they do is they take ropes

that were wound up in the floor of this

boat. Amen. Stay with me. I'm going

somewhere. They take ropes that were

wound up in the floor of this boat and

they throw them under the boat and then

they bring them up the other side. And

then there would be a block and tackle

on the floor of the ship and they would

literally anchor the boat together to

keep the boards from flying apart on

this ship. I'm saying they tightened it

down. I noticed not only that they

tightened it in the text, but they also

lightened it in the text. Notice verse

number 18. And we being exceedingly

tossed with a tempest, the next day they

lighten the ship. So they've taken ropes

and they've tightened this boat down

trying to give it all the extra strength

that they can to hold this thing

together. And and you know, you know,

any weight, any cargo that would be on

this boat would further increase the

pressure on this boat. And so they begin

to throw out the tackling. They begin to

throw out the cargo of the ship. The

next day they throw out the tackling,

the things that would bring them

survival aid if they were to harbor.

What I'm saying is is they ARE THROWING

OUT EVERYTHING THAT THEY POSSIBLY CAN TO

HOLD THIS boat together. And if that's

not enough, they're tighten they've

tightened it up. They've lined it up,

but now they're fighting with it. Notice

what happens in the text. Verse 17. And

fearing lest they should fall into the

quicksands. Look at this. They straight

sailed and so were driven. Well, you see

what happens here in the text is they

took the sails down because the waves

were driving them. But they saw that the

waves was going to tear the boat apart.

So they throw the sails back up again

trying to spare some of the pressure on

the hull of the boat. And you SAY,

"PREACHER, WHAT DOES THAT mean for me

this morning?" Well, I've seen a lot of

people down through the years come and

go, and this is what I've seen about

every one of them. When their life gets

in a mess, when they get in a storm that

they're in by their own choosing,

what'll happen to them is they'll begin

to tighten things down. They'll begin to

lock things down in their life and try

to make it the best that they can to

make things right. And out of that,

they'll not only tighten it down, but

they'll lighten it up. They'll begin to

get things out of their life and and get

things out of the way to try to make

things right. And what they'll do is

you'll watch them. They're fighting with

that thing all the time. They're

lightning and they're tightening.

They're fighting with it. AND YOU KNOW

WHAT HAPPENS? They cannot change the

storm.

>> Some of you this morning are wanting so

badly to turn over a new leaf. But you

can't get out of the mess you're in by

your own strength.

>> You can't fix your problem by yourself.

>> You see the helps they were employed.

There's no doubt in a shipm's mind

everything they were doing. Sister Angie

was exactly right. They're trying to

save the boat. But I want to say this.

Your life this morning, you can't

preserve your own life.

>> You can't preserve your own marriage.

You can't preserve your own home. I'm

telling you this morning, sometimes the

decisions we make, get us in places, get

us in circumstances that otherwise there

is absolutely nothing that we can do

about it except do one thing, and that's

trust God.

>> That's getting ahead of myself. All

right, but you see where I'm going. All

right. So, we see that the the help that

they have employed in the text. I notice

not only the help that they employed in

spite of everything that they do in the

text, you notice the hurt that they

experience. Look what the Bible says. We

see the help that they employ in verse

number 16 down through verse number 19.

But in verse number 20, notice the hurt

that they experienced. The Bible says,

"And when neither sun nor stars in many

days appeared and no small tempest lay

on us," notice this, "all hope that we

should be saved was then taken away." In

spite of them tightening down the ship,

in spite of them lightening the ship, in

spite of them doing everything that they

can to fight with this ship to keep it

afloat, the Bible says that they are

still in darkness. Notice what he says.

And whether when neither sun nor stars

in many days appeared, they've not seen

the light of day. What you're going to

find, it's over two weeks that they're

on this boat struggling, wrestling with

this boat, doing everything that they

can to keep it afloat. They're in

darkness. But not only they're in

darkness, they're still in destruction

in spite of their efforts to hold it

together in spite of their efforts to

take some of the pressure off. There is

still destruction coming to this ship.

And this ship is still going to be

destroyed. And I notice out of that

there's darkness. There's destruction,

but there is still despair. Notice what

he said in verse 20. He said, "And many

days appeared and no small tempest lay

on us." That's that destruction. Notice

what he says. All hope that we should be

what? Saved was then taken away. You

know what? They were in despair. Because

you know what they had done? They had

done everything that they could do and

they still couldn't fix it. You can't

build your life strong enough to make it

against this world.

>> Amen.

You can't you can't set it up strong

enough. You can't set it up sturdy

enough. You say, "Preacher, this service

was really encouraging till you started

preaching." Well, I'm going somewhere.

All right, y'all. Just hang on. Okay.

But I'm telling you this morning, until

you get to the place, Amen. where you

realize that you're hopeless AND

HELPLESS WITHOUT GOD. AMEN. You can

tighten it down. You can lighten it up.

You can fight with it all you want to

LISTEN TO ME, YOUNG PEOPLE. YOU CAN TRY

TO HOLD IT TOGETHER YOURSELF. BUT I'M

GOING TO TELL YOU, UNTIL you get to the

end of yourself and THE END OF ALL THAT

YOU HAVE IN THIS WORLD, YOU'LL NEVER

FIND DELIVERANCE. AMEN. THEY'RE STILL IN

THE MIDST OF THIS STORM, THEY'RE STILL

FIGHTING AGAINST THE WIND. THEY'RE STILL

FIGHTING AGAINST THE WAVES. BUT YOU KNOW

WHAT? THERE'S an answer that COMES TO

THEM JUST SHORTLY AFTER THE VERSE IN

VERSE NUMBER 20. Verse number 21, it

begins with that little word but. Aren't

you thankful for that little word but?

Amen. Aren't you glad when God just

steps in, Amen. and makes it all right?

Amen. NOTICE THIS. THIRDLY, AND I'll be

done this morning. We see the help that

they employed and the hurt that they

experienced. But I want to say this.

They had a hope that they couldn't

trust. Amen. You say, "Preacher, what is

that?" Well, notice it again in verse

21. But after long abstinence, Paul

stood forth in the midst of them and

said, "Sers, you should have hearkened

unto me and not have loosed from creed

and have gained this harm and loss."

Paul is going to give them a sermon.

Amen. Aren't you thankful? Hallelujah.

Boy, I FEEL GOOD IN MY SOUL THIS

MORNING. AREN'T YOU THANKFUL FOR EVERY

STORM IN OUR LIFE? THANK GOD THERE'S A

MAN OF GOD SOMEWHERE DOWN LAST WAY THAT

HAD A SERMON FOR YOUR STORM. AMEN. THAT

HAD SOME HELP FOR YOUR HURT. AMEN. THAT

HAD SOME HOPE FOR YOUR PAIN. HALLELUJAH.

BOY, BLESS HIS NAME. I'M SO GLAD,

FRIEND, THAT WHEN GOD WHEN GOD PASSES

BY, HE LETS ME KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE ALL

RIGHT. AMEN. AND PAUL'S GOT A WORD FOR

THESE BOYS ON THE SHIP. AND LET ME SAY

THIS TO YOU THIS MORNING. IF YOU'RE IN

THE SHIP, YOU SAY, "PREACHER, WHAT DOES

THAT MEAN?" WELL, IF YOU'RE ALIVE AND

BREATHING THIS MORNING, I DON'T KNOW

WHAT STORM YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF, BUT

GOD SENT ME HERE TO TELL YOU TODAY THAT,

"HEY, FRIEND, IT CAN AND IT WILL BE ALL

RIGHT IF YOU'LL JUST TRUST HIM." AMEN.

>> You say, "Preacher, what can I trust?"

WELL, I'D SAY NUMBER ONE, you can

entrust the prayer.

>> Amen.

>> You say, "How is that?" Well, notice in

verse 21. But after long, what?

Abstinence. You know what? The storms of

life have a funny way of getting us to

get tired of eating, don't they? That's

right.

>> We literally think of this text. This is

what we remember. Well, they've been on

this boat for a week rocking and

reeling. Water's no doubt filled the

decks. You know what it's done? It's

ruined every bit of supply they've had.

>> That's right.

>> All their foods wasted. But I'll tell

you this, they didn't want to eat.

>> But I tell you this, all them ones that

wasn't eating, they man, that wasn't

helping them none.

>> But there was one that wasn't eating, a

man, that he was praying. Amen.

>> Paul said after after long absence, Luke

said after long absence, Paul stood

forth in the midst of them. And look

what he says. He says, "Sers, you should

have hearkened unto me and not have

loosed from creed and gained this horn

and lost." Paul looks at him and says,

"Hey boys, you should have listened to

me when I told you the first time." Oh,

but aren't you thankful that ain't where

it ends? Amen. That's not the last thing

that he HAS TO SAY, MAN. I'M THANKFUL

that where there's rebuke, thank God,

there is rest. Amen. That comes right on

after that. If we can just make it past

the rebuke. Amen. God has some

relaxation and some rest to come to us.

Look what he says. There's a prayer in

the text. PAUL'S BEEN PRAYING, BEEN

ASKING God what he needs to do. And

notice out of that prayer, there is a

promise. Amen. Look what he says in

verse 22. 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. Amen.

>> Paul said, "Hey boys, we going to make

it."

>> Amen.

Amen.

>> Hallelujah. Amen. I don't know if that

helps you this morning, but it helps me.

Amen. To know you say, "Preacher, that's

awfully simple. I just needed some

simple preaching today." Amen. I'm

telling you, I just needed some simple

help. I sat in my study and said, "Lord,

is this really what you want me to

preach?" Amen. And God looked at me and

said, "No, this is what you need, son."

AMEN. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, THANK GOD FOR

A PROMISE AMIDST THE PAIN. AMEN. THAT

EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT. HEY,

HEAVEN'S NOT ALARMED THIS MORNING.

THERE'S NO STRUGGLE FOR AUTHORITY IN

GOD'S LAND. AMEN. THERE'S NO PROBLEMS ON

THE OTHER SIDE. HEY, I'VE GOT A PROMISE.

AMEN. I KNOW IN WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED.

I'M PERSUADED. HE'S ABLE TO KEEP THAT

THAT I'VE COMMITTED UNTO HIM AGAINST

THAT DAY. AND PAUL SAID, "HEY, BOYS,

IT'S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT." AMEN. HOW

DID HE KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE ALL

RIGHT? BECAUSE HE HAD SPENT TIME IN

PRAYER. AMEN.

>> AMEN. And the reason why we flounder

around and fuss and flop in our life is

because we forsake the prayer clause.

>> The reason why we don't have no

promises. THE REASON WHY WE DON'T HAVE

NO PEACE. The reason why we can't have

any rest IS BECAUSE WE FORSAKE THAT TIME

OF PRAYER WITH GOD. OH, BUT FRIEND,

EVERY TIME I FOUND MYSELF IN A PLACE

WHERE I COULDN'T GET OUT, THANK GOD I

FOUND ME AN ALTAR SOMEWHERE, WHETHER IT

WAS IN THE BEDROOM OR IT WAS DOWN AT THE

HOUSE. AMEN. OR IT WAS AT A ROCK

SOMEWHERE OUT IN THE WOODS. THANK GOD

GOD HAD AN ANSWER FOR ME IN THAT PLACE.

AND I HAVE NEVER LEFT WITHOUT A PROMISE.

AMEN.

>> You say, "Preacher, I don't like what

you're doing." Get over it. You'll be

all right.

>> I'm excited.

>> You know why? Number one, I ain't going

to hell.

>> Amen.

>> Number two, I'm going to make it.

>> Amen.

>> I don't have to burn out. I don't have

to rust out either. Amen, brother Todd.

>> I can make it by the grace of God. We

can make it. Thank God.

He had a promise. He said, "For there

shall be no loss of any man's life." You

see, that's the that's the ministry of

the gospel. You see, your life, and I

made this point last Sunday, there's all

kinds of people that come in and out of

your life. Some people come into your

life and out of your life because of

sin. Different things. We get involved

with people we should never be involved

with because of sin. Some people come in

and out of our life just because of the

scriptures. Amen. There's the children.

Amen. When they get older, they come

into our life because a man shall leave

his father and mother and cleave unto

his wife and the twain shall become one

flesh. And out of that, you know what?

Children are born into that family. God

brings children into our life. But you

know what? There comes a day when those

children have to go out and do the same

thing that mom and daddy did. And

there's children that enter and exit our

life. There's sin. There's the

scriptures. Amen. And storms have a way

of bringing people in and out of our

life. But all this is what you need to

remember, friend. this storm in this

text right here, these boys made the

wrong choice. But thank God they had the

right pe right man with them in the

boat.

>> Amen. That's right.

>> Amen.

>> You know what? If they hadn't had the

Apostle Paul in this boat, they'd have

never made it.

>> Amen. Because he was the one praying. He

was the one that God gave the promise

to. And you know what? They were just

beneficiaries.

>> Hallelujah. Amen. They were just

beneficiaries of the promise that God

made to Paul. Hey daddy, you got some

promises for your family?

>> Hey mama, you got some promises for your

family. Grandmama, grandpa, you got some

promises for your family. Amen. They

might get out just because you pray.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. They might make it just because

you pray. Oh, is anybody hearing me

preach this morning? I'm saying, "Thank

God there is deliverance for the storm."

I'll say this. Not only this hope is

manifested in the prayer, it's

manifested in the promise. But I'll say

this, it's manifested in the presence of

God. Notice verse 23. For there stood by

me this night the angel of God whose I

am and whom I serve. Amen. Paul knew

exactly who he belonged to. Amen,

friend.

>> He knew who he belonged to and he knew

where his help come from. Amen. David

said, "I'll look under the hills." Amen.

I'll look under the hills from whence

cometh my help. My help cometh from the

Lord. Amen. Thank God we have help. And

thank God in a time of trouble. His

presence is always with us. Amen. He

said, "I'll never leave you nor forsake

you." Amen. Hebrews, he tells us so that

the Lord so that we may boldly say, "The

Lord is MY HELPER." AMEN. HE'S ALWAYS

WITH US, FRIEND. HE'LL NEVER FORSAKE US.

HE NEVER LETS GO. HIS PRESENCE is always

there when you need him the most.

>> And in this text, we see the apostle

here. He said, "For there stood by me

this night the angel of God." Now, of

course, this is in the text probably

Michael or Gabriel here in the text. And

you say, "Preacher, was it not Christ?"

Well, it mentioned there in verse number

24 his words. Look what he says. Saying,

"Fear not, Paul. Thou must be brought

before Caesar. And lo, what's that next

word? God hath given thee all them that

sail with thee." So his angels obviously

one of God's deputed ones to look after

the man of God. And uh now I want to say

this this morning. All right. A little

lighter note. Okay. When your mama went

to heaven, she didn't get wings.

>> All right. I ain't trying to bust you

bubble this morning, but she didn't turn

into an angel. Okay.

>> Amen. She didn't turn into an angel. And

no, I I I know you mama probably sang

good, but angels can sing better. And

she's not teaching angels how to sing.

Amen.

>> Don't get mad at me. All right.

But I will say this. I do believe this

that God has angels

to protect his children.

>> That's right.

>> You say, "Preacher, I've seen them." No,

you haven't.

>> No, you haven't. You say, "Well, Paul's

seen him in this text." Well, let me

just say something. He's an apostle.

>> All right. There's a lot of things comes

with that. I'm not trying to get in all

that doctrine this morning. What I'm

telling you is you ain't never seen an

angel. Okay.

>> But God has ones deputed

>> to look after you.

>> But I'll say this, the reason you ain't

never seen one is because angels don't

take honor for themselves.

>> They don't ask for glory. They never

will. You'll never see that in

scripture. You'll never see that in the

future to come. Not one time when we get

to heaven, Sister Betty Jean, is they

going to be anybody worshiping an angel.

>> All right? You're not going to get up

there and worship your guardian angel.

Okay? It's not going to happen. But

here's what I want to tell you out of

this. All right? There's a person called

the Holy Spirit.

>> He's always with you.

>> Amen.

>> And Bible tells us he'll guide you into

all truth. And he is, what is his name

in the scripture? He's called the

comforter.

>> Amen. When he has come, Amen. He will

guide you into all truth. Jesus said he

will not speak of himself, but

whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he

speak. And Jesus is telling him what to

tell us. Amen.

>> And I want to say this. This angel come

to Paul in the text because the Holy

Spirit was there and they needed to have

a conversation.

>> I wish I could preach all of this right

now, but I'm not going to. You say,

"Preacher, what I need to know about

that?" Well, I'll say this. It don't

matter how dark of a place you get into.

God's aware of it.

>> More than that,

>> he's with you.

>> Amen.

>> He's present. Amen.

>> Paul said, "He stood by me this night."

That's present in time. That's present

in place. God's present in time and

present in place.

>> He's always there.

>> Thor in every place, beholding the evil

and the good. His presence is there. But

notice his provision. Verse 24. For not

Paul, thou must be brought before

Caesar. You see, Paul knew what the will

of God was for his life. He knew where

he was supposed to be. He knew where he

was headed. And he knew that if nobody

else on that ship made it, he was going

to. Cuz God had already told him he was

going to make it. But you know what?

That ain't the last thing that the angel

says to him. Brother Todd, look what the

Bible says. He said in verse number 24,

"And lo, God hath given thee," notice

that, "hath have given thee all them

that sail with thee." Let me ask you, if

your prayers and the promises God has

made to you, if if if if there were if

there's going to be people that are

saved because of the prayers you've

prayed and the promises God has made to

you, how many people are going to make

it because of you?

>> Amen.

>> These boys made it because of Paul.

>> Amen.

>> How many people's going to make it

because of you?

>> You see, the difference in all of our

life is it's not about how much we go

sowinning. And we need to go

soulwinning. But you know what? We could

go from now until the cows come home.

But if we don't pray,

>> that's good. Amen.

>> Paul was in absence. These boys are

working. Let me remind you what they're

doing. They're tightening the boat.

They're lightening it up. They're

throwing everything they can get their

hands on out. They're fighting with this

ship. You know what Paul's doing? He's

curled up in the bottom of that boat

praying. You know what they probably

thought about him? Man, I wish he'd get

serious about what we got going on.

We're going to die. And he's sitting

down there praying.

Oh friend, what they didn't realize

>> was that man of God

>> down there in the bottom of that boat

was doing more to save them than any

labor they had ever done for themselves.

Amen. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, HE LOVED them

and he loved his savior AND HE KNEW

MORE. HE KNEW THAT BOAT was going to go

down. Oh friend, I've looked at them in

my short day and I've seen their lives

in disarray. I'VE SEEN THEM, FRIEND,

WHERE THEY'RE JUST GOING TO FALL APART

AND I KNOW THEY'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT.

BUT OH FRIEND, WHEN I CAN'T DO ANYTHING

TO HELP THEM, YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT TO

DO? I WANT TO get in the BOTTOM OF THE

BOAT AND BEG GOD, GOD, PLEASE HAVE MERCY

ON THEM.

>> AMEN.

>> Cuz Paul knew. You say, "How did he

know, PREACHER?" WELL, LOOK WHAT HE SAID

IN THE TEXT. LOOK WHAT HE SAID. VERSE

NUMBER 10. HE SAID, "SERS, I perceive

that this voyage will be with her and

much damage, not only of the lady and

the ship." What does it say? But also of

our lives. Paul knew it was at stake.

Paul was doing the most important thing

that could have been done. And you know

what? Out of that, you say, "Preacher,

well, that's not encouraged." Well, that

here's the encouraging part. God said,

"Look, I'm giving them to you." How many

souls are being given to you?

Let me ask you that. How many souls when

you go to the judgment seat, their blood

will be on your hands

>> because you didn't tell them the truth?

And they'll look at you across that

GREAT DIVIDE AND SAY, "WHY DIDN'T YOU

TELL ME? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT

HEAVEN WAS TO GAIN AND THAT THIS PLACE I

AM WAS TO SHINE? WHY DID YOU NOT GIVE ME

THE GOSPEL? YOU KNEW THE TRUTH, BUT YOU

KNEW THE TRUTH AND YOU DID IT NOT. YOUR

MY BLOOD IS ON your hands."

But I'll say this. The Bible says the

angel told Paul, "Oh, God hath given

thee all."

He didn't lose a one.

I know another man and ain't lost a one.

>> Amen. Friend, Jesus said, "Then them

that the father hath given me," he said,

"I've take got them all." He said, "And

of them, I've lost none."

>> Amen.

>> He's never lost a one.

He knows where they're at. Paul told the

Thessalonian church, he said, "The Lord

knoweth them that are his, and let

everyone that nameeth the name of Christ

depart from iniquity." He knows where

you're at this morning. I'll say this

and I'm done. We see the provision for

Paul's prayer. There were souls given to

him for his labor. But notice the

profession in verse 25. You see, none of

this has happened yet. Paul's trust in a

promise. They're still in the storm.

They're still in the boat being rocked

and reeled to and fro. But Paul says in

verse 25, look what your Bible says.

Wherefore, sers, be of good cheer, for I

believe God.

>> That it shall be even as it was told me.

You see, Paul had a profession, and it

wasn't a profession of his salvation,

but it was a profession of the salvation

of everybody on that boat. You say, "How

is that?" Well, just think about the

text. Paul said, "God done told me we

going to make it."

Amen. You say, "Preacher, what does that

mean?" Well, there's a biblical

terminology for this. All right? And we

talk about salvation as salvation from

hell all the time. I'm going to say

this. Salvation in the scriptures

doesn't only apply to that. All right?

Now, listen to what James says. One of

my favorite verses in all the scripture.

Turn with me. Book of James, chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

I'm slowing down because I'm out of

breath. All right.

James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

Listen to what James says. Verse number

verse number verse number 20. Verse 19.

All right. Wherefore, my beloved

brethren, let every man be swift to

hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For

the wrath of man workketh not the

righteousness of God. Wherefore lay

apart all filthiness and superfluity of

naughtiness, and receive with meekness

the engrafted word, what's that phrase?

which is able to save your souls. You

say, "Preacher, well, well, my soul,

that's that's what got saved when I got

saved." And you're right about that. It

got saved from hell. But who is James

talking to in the text? Notice it again

in verse number verse number um verse

number 19. What's that that first

phrase? Wherefore, my beloved what?

>> Brethren, you know he's talking to he's

talking to people who are saved. So why

is he saying receive with meekness the

engrafted word? Let me ask you, is the

word engrafted in somebody who's lost?

>> That word gets put in you when you get

saved.

>> So what's he saying? He said, "Receive

with meekness the engrafted word which

is able to save your souls." That word

saved means to keep,

>> means to preserve. And when Paul looked

at them boys and said, "Hey, we're going

to make it." You know what he was

telling them? He was saying, "Look,

we're going to survive because God's

given me a word." And you know what? The

same word that saves you from hell is

the same word that'll save you a lot of

hurt in this life.

>> Amen. Amen.

>> You hearing me?

>> Amen.

>> The same word that'll save you. This is

a term we use. The same that same word

will keep you.

>> It'll keep you. You know what? We have a

lot of people who are saved, but they're

not kept.

You say, "Preacher, why is that?" Well,

the keeping parts on our terms.

You say, "How is that?" Well, think

about the text in the book of Acts. I'm

going to preach on it tonight, but I'm

going to give you part of it. Turn with

me back to Acts 27. All right? I'm going

to spoil a little bit of the message

tonight. That's okay. You say,

"Preacher, how does the how is the

keeping part up to us?" All right. Well,

listen to what the Bible says. Verse

number 30, and I'm probably going to

give it away. That's all right. May not

preach this tonight. Verse 30. And as

the shipmen were about to flee out of

the ship, when they had let down the

boat into the sea under color, as though

they would have cast anchors out of the

foreship, verse 31, Paul said to the

centurion and to the soldiers, "Except

these abide in the ship, ye cannot be

saved." You know what that means? The

shipmaster

and the ship owner were going to leave

them to theelves in the boat. You know

what Paul says? Common sense says,

"Well, if we ain't got nobody here to

buy the boat, we're going to die."

You say, "Preacher, what does that mean

for me?" Well, sir, if you want your

family to be saved, you can't leave

them.

>> Hear what I said,

>> mama? If you want your family to be

saved, you can't leave them.

>> That's right.

>> You say, "What do you mean? I'm not

talking about salvation from hell. If

they need to be saved from hell, it's

going to hinder them. But I'll say this.

You can't keep them. You're not going to

be able to protect them if you walk

away.

>> Paul looked at him and said, "Hey, look,

if these leave, we're going to die." You

say, "Preacher, but God had already

promised him that they were going to

live." But it was stringent upon their

obedience.

Let me ask you something.

You say, "Preacher, does that denote the

promise of God?" God's promises apply

where there is obedience.

You know what? God has promised to save

any sinner and every sinner who will

call upon him.

>> But you know what? The ones that don't

call upon him, you know what they've

done? It's not that the promise wasn't

made to them. It's that they didn't

receive it.

>> That's right.

>> Let me ask you something. You say,

"Preacher, how does that go with the

title?" Well, Paul said, "I believe

God." You know what that implies? Said,

"I believe God. I'm going to do what he

says."

>> Amen.

>> Amen. If you believe God, you know how

we going to know it? If you live it.

>> Amen.

>> That's right. Amen.

>> Paul, James said this way in James 2, he

said, "Faith without works is what?"

>> I want to ask you something. Do you

really believe?

Peter said, "We need to examine

ourselves."

Need to examine ourselves on every head

bowed and every eye closed as we stand

this time of invitation.

We need to examine ourselves. You say,

"What do we examine ourselves?" You say,

"Preacher, I believe." Let me ask you,

do you obey?

If you believe the truth in your life

and mine is this, how much you believe

is determined

by how much you obey.

>> You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,

if you believed him to save you, you had

to obey his word when he said, "Call.

Whosoever shall call upon the name of

the Lord shall be saved. But you know

what? If you didn't call, it don't

matter how much you say you believe it.

Belief implies

that there is a response

to a given truth.

And it's like the preacher said the

other week, and I don't want you to ever

forget this, true worship is a humble

response to revealed truth. as she

begins to play this morning. Let me ask

you, some of you making big decisions,

big decisions right now, biggin.

Here's what you need to know about that.

Have you asked God about that thing?

You talked to God about that?

Let me ask you this.

The biggest decision you'll ever make

for your salvation, have you talked to

him?

I'd say this. He's talking to you this

morning.

Paul said, "I believe God." You know

what that says? Hey, boys. God will hold

up his end if we'll hold up ours.

You say, "Preacher, I've never been

saved. I need to ask the Lord to save

me."

Preacher, would you pray for me? I I'm

not saved. You just slip your hand up.

Nobody's looking around. Nobody's

looking around. Preacher, I'm not saved.

You pray for me. Just be honest between

you and God. It's written all over your

face. You can't hide it.

I tell you what, the storm will take

you.

It'll take you.

But God's put some people in your life

in this church this morning

to give you some deliverance. I want to

tell you, you can try to tighten it

down. You can try to lighten it up. You

can try to do all that. You can fight

with it from now until your dying day.

But until you get some divine

deliverance from God,

until faith cometh by hearing, amen, and

hearing by the word of God in your life,

you'll never get out of the storm.

I'll tell you the way they got out. It's

cuz one man said, "I believe God."

You say, "Preacher,

I'm saved. I know I'm saved."

But preacher, there's a storm around me.

Preacher, it ain't a storm of my own

making. But preacher, I want to be like

the Apostle Paul and I want to pray that

God will bring deliverance to all who

are in this boat with me.

Preacher, I want to pray that God will

bring deliverance to all those that are

with me. You be honest about that this

morning. You really want that for your

family, preacher. Would you pray for me

and my family?

God sees that.

God sees that. Tell you this, God will

give you deliverance. He'll give you

that.

But I tell you, it's stringing upon your

obedience.

You got to be obedient to him. You have

to do what he says

because to him that knoweth to do good

and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Now, Father, I ask you this morning,

Lord, this is a broad broad subject,

broad sermon this morning, but you know,

you know what was needed.

And Lord, I I pray this morning, God,

for each heart that's here. Lord, I pray

they'd realize, Father, that

failure is not final with you. And their

choices, Lord, don't have to end their

life. It doesn't have to end their their

their ministry. Doesn't have to end

their family, Lord. There is forgiveness

that's available. But Lord, they're

going to have to trust you. They going

to have to learn how to pray. They're

going to have to learn how to trust your

promises. Amen. and and watch your

provision, Lord. Would you help us? Help

me, God, to do that. Lord, as a pastor

of this church, you've entrusted me with

this precious these precious people. And

Lord, even in my short tenure here, God,

I know I've failed them many times. But

Lord, I believe this. Lord, I know that

we're headed in the right direction

because we're following your word. And

God, I ask humbly that you would help

us. Help us to stay humble, Lord. Number

one. Number two, God, I pray you'd help

us to stay obedient, Lord, not to back

up, but Lord, not to rise up against you

either, but Lord, just to stay humbly

compliant as the Apostle Paul was, Lord,

just faithful to do whatever you ask.

And Lord, I pray for these families

that's represented here. I know there's

many hurts, God. I know there's much

burdens, Lord, I pray, Father, that you

would bless their lives, their families,

God. Lord, I know that many of them are

in storms right now, Lord. That they're

not even of their own making. Lord, the

apostle and those men went through that

storm by somebody else's choice. I pray,

Lord, for those today who are suffering

because of others choices. I pray that

you give them grace. And I pray that you

give us grace this morning, Lord, to be

obedient to you in spite of everything.

Lord, help us to do what we're supposed

to do because Lord, you gave your life

for us in spite of everything that we

are. Lord, I thank you for that. I give

you praise today and we ask it all in

your son's name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.