When You’re Stuck in the Storm - 7/12/26 - 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.

If you have a Bible, I invite you to

turn with me to the book of Acts. The

book of Acts, chapter number 27.

And uh

I could go home on that and be

satisfied.

And uh that's been good. I I'm just

still I'll be overflowing about that

weeks from now. And uh Amen.

Two weeks, son. You going to preach your

first message?

Two weeks. Sunday night. Two weeks from

tonight. Can you do that? We'll talk

about it after church. All right. And uh

I'm telling you, I love the Lord. Don't

you?

>> Amen. He's so good. Acts chapter number

27.

Want to read several verses. I invite

you to stand when you find your place

and uh stand to the reading of God's

word. Acts chapter number 27.

And uh I don't want to in any way,

shape, form, or fashion be a damper to

the service tonight, but I this is what

the Lord put on my heart for uh the

meeting this evening. Don't know. I

don't know where you're at, but God

does, and he knows what we need. And I

think these kids have got it figured

out.

>> I'm staying in.

If all of us had the same mindset, we'd

be all right.

>> Amen. If we just decided tonight, we

just going to stick with it. Come what

may, whoever leaves, whoever walks away,

whoever comes. Amen. I pray that God

sends us 150, 200 more. Amen. Just like

him. I don't know what we'll do with

them, but I pray that he does. Amen. And

uh but I'm telling you this, I ain't

going to let anything change me.

>> By the grace of God. Amen.

>> By the grace of God, Brother Shelley, I

don't want to let anything or anybody

change me. Amen. And you say, "Preacher,

you're awful young. You got a lot of

life in front of you." Well, I'll tell

you this. It ain't my pride. I can tell

you that cuz I wouldn't have made it

this far if it wasn't been for his

grace. But boy, I'm thankful he's

allowed me to make it safe thus far.

Amen. Oh, I bless his name. Hallelujah

tonight. Thank God. Acts chapter number

27. Let's begin reading in verse number

nine. Acts chapter 27 verse number nine.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

The Bible says, "Now when much time was

spent and when selling was now

dangerous, because the fast was now

already passed, Paul admonished them and

said unto them, sers, I perceive that

this voyage will be with with her and

much damage, not only of the lady and

and ship, but also of our lives."

Nevertheless, the centurion believed the

master and the owner of the ship more

than those things which were spoken by

Paul. Because the haven was not

commodious to winter in, the more part

abise advised to depart thence also, if

by any means they might attain unto

attain to Fenus, and there winter, which

is an haven of cit, and lith toward the

southwest and northwest. And when the

south wind blew softly, supposing that

they had obtained their purpose, loosing

thence, they sailed close by cit. But

not long after there arose against it a

tempestious wind called your

and when the ship was called and could

not bear up into the wind, we let her

drive. And running under a certain

island, which is called Claud, we had

much work to come by the boat, which

when they had taken up, they used helps,

undergirling the ship, and fearing lest

they should fall into the quicksand,

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.

When neither sun nor stars in many days

appeared, 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, "Sir, you should

have hearkened unto me and not have

loosed some creed, and to 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,

for thou must be brought before Caesar,

and lo God hath given thee all them that

sailth thee. Wherefore sers be of good

cheer, for I believe God that it shall

be even as it was told me. Father, I

come to you tonight and thank you so

much for what you've already done our

midst tonight. And Lord, I know without

a shadow of a doubt that this is your

will for this service. And I'm thankful,

Lord, for a church that loves preaching.

And God, I ask you humbly tonight that

you would help us. Lord, I realize I'm

nothing without you. And God, there's a

lot of things in my mind right now. So,

Lord, I pray you'd empty me out of self,

cleanse me, purge me thorly with his I

may be clean. God, I ask you, God, you'd

clothe me in my calling tonight. Lord,

help us to receive with meekness the

engrafted word and draw us near to you.

Lord, as we draw near to you tonight, I

pray that you'd get glory unto yourself.

And I pray you'd be lifted up. We'd see

no man save Jesus only. And Lord, I ask

you that you'd get glory and honor out

of this service. I sure thank you for

the privilege to be here, God. Thank you

for all that you've done. But Lord, we

need a fresh anointing from you. We need

a fresh touch and we need this message

tonight. and I pray you'd help our

hearts do what's needed to be done and

may all your will be accomplished and

you get glory alone to yourself. We ask

it in Jesus name and for his sake we

pray. Amen. Amen. You can be seated

tonight. Thank you for standing in honor

and reverence to the reading of God's

word. I was praying this afternoon about

the service tonight and didn't really

know which direction the Lord would have

us to go. I love this story. Acts 27,

the story of this wind. I've never

preached out of this text. Wanted to

several times, but the Lord has never

let me and I got the green light from

him today to preach here out of this

text. And I want to lay some things on

your heart this evening by way of

introduction. And we know that what has

transpired in this text according to the

message this morning is that Paul has

appealed unto Caesar and he has went

from Felix u there in the leadership

change unto Fesus and then Fesus has

brought him before King Agria in chapter

26 and then chapter 27 rolls around and

then it is determined that the the crew

is going to set sail uh they're heading

to the land of Caesar's kingship. And we

notice in this the me it's mentioned

that they enter a ship in verse number

two and there are some passengers on

board that are mentioned here that are

selling with Paul. There is Aeris

starches who he makes mention of later

on in his epistles and then there is one

who's not mentioned as well that the Dr.

Luke is present with him. Of course, we

know that he is recording uh this book

of acts, the record for the apostle in

the text. And so, they are journeying

with the apostle Paul. And the Bible

says that the centurion that had charged

over the apostle Paul found a ship of

Alexandria in verse six, selling into

Italy, and he put us therein. And so,

they are start starting to make their

journey in the text. And the Bible tells

us in verse number seven that they had

sailed slowly many days and the winds

verse number seven was not suffering

them. And basically what that means is

for all you youngans that have never

seen a a oldtimey sailboat. Amen. That

means if the sail there's no wind, the

boat ain't going nowhere. Amen. And so

the boat did not help them in this text.

Amen. The wind not suffering them. And

so they are sailing slowly. Verse number

eight. They came unto a place which is

called the fair havens. The Bible says

and they are there uh docked on the side

of this island in the text verse number

nine. Now when much time was spent and

when selling was now dangerous because

the fast was now already passed Paul

admonished them and said unto them sers

I perceive that this voyage will be with

her and much damage. And so they are

leaving out from the fair havens in the

text or they are deciding to leave out

here in the text. And what we find is is

that Paul speaks up here in the text and

says hey look I don't really think this

is a good thing to do. You say preacher

what did Paul know about selling? Well

one of the epistles records that Paul

suffered shipwreck not once not twice

but three times. Amen. And so Paul knows

a little bit about the ocean. Now we

know that the mariner here in the text

as well as the ship owner here in the

text they are going to speak differently

in just a few verses but I need to say

this. All right. What we can know about

this text by way of introduction is is

that Paul gives them an admonition. And

what happens in that warning? They reply

to that warning with complete disregard.

And I'm preaching tonight on this

thought on when you're stuck in the

storm. when you're stuck in the storm.

Now, I I thought about this this

afternoon, and I I the Lord just sort of

put some things together in my heart

about this. And you know, there's a lot

of different applications that men talk

about the ship that, you know, the ship,

the lifeboat, amen, that is floating

down the the sea of time, amen, we have

not long to stay. We sing about the old

ship of Zion. Amen. But when I think

about the ship in this text and the

particular application that I want to

make based off of this text, I want to

say this ship is your individual life.

And what I mean by that is is that your

this ship is your life and and you are

this ship and you are sailing. You are

on a journey in your life. But you know,

you're not the only one that's on the

ship. Amen. You have people around you.

You have children if you're a parent

that you have brought into this world.

You have a wife. You have a husband, you

have family that you are bringing with

you on this journey. And I thought about

the ship of life. You know, it's the

true it's a true statement that many

people come and go on this voyage that

we're on. Isn't that right?

>> We'll not start I mean, we'll we'll not

finish with the same people that we

started with that's in our life. Amen.

There'll be people that leave by

sickness. There'll be people that leave

by sin. And and some people, amen, when

your kids grow up, they leave because

the scripture tells them to leave.

Because the Bible says when a man, he

comes to his wife, he said they'll leave

their father and mother, the man shall

leave his father and mother and cleave

unto his wife. And so there's all

different reasons why men exit our life.

But I I notice in this text when and you

SAY, "PREACHER, WHAT DOES THIS have to

do with this story?" Well, what you're

going to find is is that this text

reveals to us that these men were in

this boat. They had to be on the boat,

but there is somewhere they went that

they did not have to go. I want to ask

you this question. Where are you headed

tonight?

Where is your ship headed to? What

direction is it headed in? Well, I

noticed some things in this text that

are mentioned here. And I want to say

this already mentioned the first point

by way of introduction. There is a

warning that is given by the apostle

Paul in verse 10. And he said, "Sir, I

perceive that this voyage will be with

hurt and much damage, not only of the

lady and ship, but also of our lives."

And so he warns them concerning not just

the cargo, but concerning the citizens

that are on the ship. He says, "Look,

men, this voyage, this this trip that

you're fixing to embark on is going to

BE DANGEROUS NOT JUST TO YOU, but to

everybody else on the ship."

And if I could say anything to you

tonight, if you are beginning to embark

on a journey this evening that would be

dangerous not just to you but to

everybody around you, you need to take

some self-inventory tonight because the

Lord has sent this message as a warning

to you. But we know not just like many

times it happens. The warning is called

the preacher preaches a sermon. Amen.

And just like the Apostle Paul said in

this text, that warning is completely

disregarded. that warning is completely

laid aside. Well, uh this person said I

need to do this or that person said I

need to do that. And we will take the

scientist. We will take the scholar. We

will take the professor. We will take

the parent. We will take literally

anybody and everybody's advice except

the preacher and the people at the

church house.

>> Why is that?

>> The reason that is is because we are

desiring carnal advice.

>> Amen.

>> For our carnal future.

>> Amen. And if you don't want to live a

spiritual life, you ain't going to want

spiritual advice. Somebody say amen

right there.

>> And so he tells him in this text, you

say, "Well, preacher, what do you mean

by that?" Well, let's just think about

where Paul is. Paul's what? He's a

prisoner, ain't he?

>> And so there's a shipmaster on this

text. Not only a ship master, but

there's a ship owner. And the centurion

here is speaking to them, the one who

has control, this Roman soldier over

Paul in the text. And they are speaking.

And the Bible says this in verse number

11. Nevertheless, the centurion, notice

this, believe the master and the owner

of the ship more than those things which

were spoken by Paul. See, here's your

problem. Here's my problem tonight is

this. We believe what the world says

more than what God says.

>> Amen. We believe what people tell us

>> more so THAN WHAT THE PREACHER PREACHES

to us. Amen. And I'm not telling you

this tonight just because I'm your

pastor, but God put me here. Amen. And

you voted me in. So hallelujah. Amen.

>> But what I'm saying is Paul was the man

of God and but they were they refused to

believe the words of the man of God in

verse number 11. They believed more

those things that were spoken by the

master and the owner of the ship than

were spoken by Paul. Let me just say

this. You better be careful where you

get your advice from.

>> You better be careful, amen, about going

down to uh the worldly psychiatrist and

the worldly counselor. Amen. You better

find somebody, amen, that's got a

Christian perspective on life.

>> Because here's what you gonna find. You

go to a counselor that's carnal, they're

going to tell you, "Well, yeah, you need

to get out of that relationship."

>> Amen. You young, you listen to me. You

go to a counselor that's carnal, they're

going to tell you, "Well, you're not

really a girl. Well, you're not really a

boy."

>> Amen.

>> You say, "Preacher, that's crazy." And

in Stokes County, friend, that stuff's

on is in our back door.

>> Amen.

>> That's right.

>> It's all around us. Probably every

family in this room has been touched by

some form of homosexuality or another

>> distantly. I hope distantly. God help

you. If you are, Amen. You need to get

right with God.

>> Amen.

>> But I'll say this tonight. I see that

these words were completely disregarded.

Do you notice the words were

disregarded, but notice their wills

expresses their disregard. Verse 12. And

because the haven was not commodious to

winter in, the more part advised to

depart thence also, if by any means they

might attain to Fenus, and there to

winter. Now, what what the problem was

that word commodious is mentioned. You

ever heard the word accommodating?

Essence, in essence, that's the same

term. All right? He's saying, look,

where we're staying at, it's it's not

accommodating to what we need for our

ship. And what I studied on that, I

found out that the place where they are

docked in this ship, that 75% of the

horizon was water. And so basically,

they were on a peak like this. And so

the wind could come from every direction

and hit that boat and they were afraid

of it. Well, I'll tell you this. I'd

rather be docked in the middle of the

ocean with no land around with a man of

God telling me to stay there.

>> Yeah.

>> Amen. I'd rather put my anchors down a

100 miles from land anywhere with God

with me. Than to be parked on land,

amen, sitting on the back of a trailer

with no water under me. Amen. And to be

out OF THE WILL OF GOD. SOMEBODY SAY

AMEN right there.

>> And so they make their decision on what

is MORE ACCOMMODATING. LET ME TELL you

this. There is a more accommodating

church 5, 10, 20 minutes away from here.

And matter of fact, there's more than

one.

There are churches that will suit your

fancy. There are churches that will, use

a scriptural term, tickle your ears.

>> They'll tell you what you want to hear.

They'll be what you want to be. Amen.

They'll be buddy with you. Amen. In your

sin. They'll let you do whatever. Let

you wear whatever. Let you act however,

and say whatever. And you CAN BE ALL

RIGHT AND ENJOY THAT. BUT THE TRUTH IS,

GOD IS NOT THERE. AMEN.

>> If you're looking for something that's

accommodating, you need something other

than Christianity, friend. Cuz you know

what? The Bible still says that we're to

be a living sacrifice. Amen. Hey friend,

that is a cost. That's a price that

they're used to pay. And it reveals to

us here in the text. Their will is shown

that they wanted to go to Fenus the

winter here in the text. But notice what

happens. You see, when a warning is

disregarded, there's going to have to be

something that's going to bring about a

decision. What is it that brings about

the decision in the text? Well, let's

notice verse number 13. And when the

south wind did what? Blew softly.

Supposing that they had obtained their

purpose, loosing vents, they sailed

close by creep. So here's what this

means. All right. The direction they're

headed in south. The first time that a

wind blows in the south direction

softly, you know what they do? That's a

sign.

Why in the world, answer me this church.

Why in the world do we as Baptists

preach that scripture

>> is the final authority is what we is for

faith and practice. Not just not just

worship but for faith and practice. How

we live our life by the Bible. But yet

well I got a feeling.

>> I had a dream. God help us. I got a

feeling I had a dream. You know I it's a

coincidence preacher but I really don't.

I think it's providence. We hide our

carnal ideas with spiritual lingo. Amen.

That and providence has nothing to do

with it. Nothing to do with it.

>> Amen.

>> I tell you this, the devil provide you

whatever you want. Amen. If you going to

go away from God, somebody say amen

right there.

>> He'll provide. Hey, friend, he'll make

the south wind blow hard if that's what

you need. Amen. But I'll say this. This

south wind blew gently.

>> I'll say this. Just because something's

comfortable don't mean it's correct.

>> Just come Just because something suits

your fancy. Just because the first time

you get an inkling that maybe you ought

to do something, man, I don't tell you.

Alan Barker said this. I think it's the

greatest thing in the world. He said

about every decision in your life, he

said, you need to pray real hard and

move real slow.

You need to pray real hard and move real

slow. Because let me say this, some

decisions you can't take back.

>> Amen. And let me say this, this this

text here, you you see this storm was

not going to be prevented. But you know

what? Their voyage through it could have

been.

>> Let me say this. There are storms that

this world go through every day, but you

don't have to go through it.

>> You don't have to live there. You don't

have to experience that. You know what?

They didn't have to go through it.

>> You know why they went through it?

Because they chose to.

Oh, preacher, I'm just in a storm. I'm

just burdened down. I'm just beaten up.

Well, maybe you got yourself there. May

maybe you walked right into it with eyes

wide open.

That's what they did in the text.

Notice what the Bible says.

You see, after the warning is

disregarded, you see the wind is what

decided

>> for them to leave. You ought to be

careful making your decisions based off

off of wind. You say, "What's wind

typical of?" Well, it's feelings. That's

what it is. Emotions.

We don't trust our emotions. All right.

>> Here's what it comes down to in our

life. We judge righteousness off of that

book. Amen.

>> We judge motives off of that book. But

here's the truth. in our life, worship,

you can't you can't separate emotions

from worship. But here's what you got to

realize. If the character of the life of

the individual that's that's putting on

a front of worship does not match up

with the worship that they are trying to

be a part of,

>> it's not worship.

>> David said the sacrifices of God are a

broken and contrite spirit. And if a man

or woman is living in in habitual

repetitive sin and they say that they're

worshiping God, they ain't worshiping

God. They might go be going through the

motions of a physical outpouring, an

emotional thing, but that's not worship.

Worship is an obedient response to

revealed truth. And I noticed here in

the text that the wind decided for them

where they were going. Notice this.

Thirdly, I don't even know if I'm going

to get to the message tonight, but

notice this. The Bible says in verse

number 13, "When the south wind blew

softly, supposing there's that that

supposition again, that they obtained

their purpose, loosing fence, they

sailed close by. But not long after

there arose against it, a tempestuous

wind called Euride." So what happens in

this text? This soft wind blows toward

the south. All right. Well, we gonna get

up and go because this is a sign. It's

time to move. Well, what happens? They

start sailing close by creek. Now, I

don't know if any of you have ever been

on a boat out in the ocean. I never

have, but I do know some sailing

principles, okay? When you think about

wind that comes off of the land, many

times there'll be ravines, there'll be

um rivers that run in and those rivers

will funnel wind onto the ocean. Well,

what your cliden is is that typhoonish

wind that comes off the mountain. And

what this wind is doing, the Bible says

they're sailing close by cit. And when

that south wind blows, then there's

another wind that comes. And you know

what it does? It pushes them out in the

middle of the ocean. You say, "How is

that?" Well, notice what happens in the

text. The Bible said in verse 14, "But

not long after there arose against it a

tempestuous wind." So this not only

there was a south wind blowing, but then

there was a north wind coming back. And

and and one writer said this. He said,

"It is now recognized in that part of

the world that a gentle breeze from the

south is the harbinger of a typhoon.

When a gentle breeze from the south, one

writer said, when it blows, he says,

"All right, that's a sign that there's a

typhoon coming." What's a typhoon?

That's a wind pushing a wave, isn't it?

Notice what happens in verse 15. Y'all

looking at me like a cash star in a new

gate. Amen. Y'all all right?

>> Amen. Okay. Verse 15. And when the ship

was caught and could not bear up into

the wind, we let her drive. Now, what

happens out of this? I I'm not even

going to get to the message tonight. I'm

going to close out with this. All right.

What happens when the warning is

disregarded? The wind is what makes your

decision. Here's what happens. The waves

end up being what drives you. You say,

"How is that?" Well, notice it again.

Verse 15. And when the ship was what?

Caught. What was it called in? It wasn't

called in the wind. Because notice what

it says in the in the next part of the

verse. When the ship was caught and

could not bear up into the wind, you

know what that means? It means the water

was moving the boat more than the wind

was pushing the sail.

And so, you know what they did? Notice

the text. When the ship was caught and

could not bear up into the wind, we let

her drive. You know what they had to do

to keep the mass from getting tore off

of that boat? They had to take down the

sails and let the let the ship be at the

mercy of the waves. You know what?

There's a lot of people's lives that are

exactly like that.

>> They have got so far out of touch with

reality, they allowed the wind, that

soft gentle wind that's so comfortable

to make a decision for them. And so what

happens? It leads them out into waters

where there's danger. And when the wind

is no longer soft, you hearing me? Amen.

That's the way it starts out. Amen. That

prodical son when he left the father's

house, he was thinking about all the

wealth he was going to have out there.

You know what happens is wealth is never

lost. It just changes hands.

>> So you know what he did when he left the

father's house? He took all the wealth

that the father gave him and give it to

somebody else.

>> So you know what this wind that they

thought was a good sign became a wind to

destroy them. And matter of fact, the

wind didn't just affect the boat, but

the wind got to move in the waves and it

pushed the boat. So now they're out in

the middle of the ocean and the Bible

says in the text verse number 15, "When

the ship was caught and could not bear

into the wind, we let her drive." You

know what they're doing? They are

completely stuck in the middle of the

storm. Now, I've got I've got 45 more

minutes of preaching on this. I'm going

to spare you. Okay. Here's what I need

you to know.

Paul has told them what they were

supposed to do. This is the crux of the

message tonight. Basically, we'll

probably preach another part to this

later on. Paul has told them exactly

what they were supposed to do. But you

know what they did? They disobeyed. And

so, you know where they're at now?

They're in a storm that they chose to be

in. That they chose to get in. Are you

hearing? Did you hear what I said? They

are in a storm that they chose to be in.

They made the decision and they've

launched their ship out at the the

deciding factor was the wind. It wasn't

the word of the preacher, but it was the

wind

>> that decided for them. And now THEY'RE

NOT IN SAFETY'S HARBOR. Now they're not

in a place of peace and rest, but now

they're in the middle of a typhoon THAT

IS GOING TO DESTROY THEM.

>> And the waves are driving them. And so,

you know what happens when waves drive a

ship?

What do we know about waves? Y'all know

about waves? All right. Waves don't have

any direction that they go in, do they?

Of course, they all go towards land. One

comes this way and one comes that way,

and they're all different directions.

When you get out in the middle of the

ocean, waves go every which direction.

They are completely uncontrolled. And

so, you know what happens? The waves

just begin to beat that boat

>> to destroy it. They just begin to

destroy it from the outside in. You

know, the Lord changes you. Amen. He

changes you and makes a difference from

the inside out. But you know how the

devil gets to you? Amen. He's going to

work on you from the outside

>> and destroy you. You say, "How is that?"

Well, if he can get people around you to

destroy you, get them winds blowing.

Amen. Then for long you're out in the

middle of the wind with them, then a

wave start beating and you know what

happens? Somehow or another, he gets

them out of it.

>> You know I'm preaching, right?

>> Amen.

>> He gets them out of it. You're left in

the middle of the wind and rain and the

storm and your life's about to be

destroyed.

You know what could have been could have

made it different? I'm going to save the

message because I there's a lot more I'm

preaching this that I want to give you

later. You see

what would have saved them all the

trouble is if they would have just

listened to what Paul said.

>> Amen.

>> Now look, listen to me tonight. I am not

the Apostle Paul. I am fully aware of

that. I have no wisdom in and of myself.

I have wisdom that comes from that book.

And God has called me to be the one that

goes between that book and you and share

you the truth. But here's the truth

about it. Anything that I share with you

from that book, you can go yourself

because you are a high priest yourself

because of Jesus Christ. You can go to

that book and get the very same truth

out of it.

>> Don't get upset at me when I tell you

something. Go look in the book for

yourself and find out what it says.

>> But here's what you'll find. And this is

what I found in my younger days and I

find even now if I just listen

>> if I JUST QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THE WIND

WHICH WAY IT'S GOING TO BLOW. SOME

PEOPLE in their life all they're doing

every day they

>> what's coming down the pipe. What's the

next big thing? What do I need to join

now? What do I need to be a part of now?

And the thing is what they're doing is

they're setting themselves up for

disaster. Amen.

>> Yeah. Right.

>> This is what you need to do. You need to

listen to what that book says.

>> And here's the thing about it. If you

know what's right and refuse to do it,

you know what you're doing? You're doing

just like them. You are driving your

boat

>> right into the center of the storm.

>> Right into the center of it. You know

what? That's not just that's not just

for for for for you. That's for me. If I

if I willfully choose to go against what

God has revealed to me from that book,

what he has told me to do, WHO HE HAS

CALLED ME TO BE, if I choose to do that,

>> then I'm going to be driving into the

middle of the storm. Paul said this, he

even said it for himself. He said, I

fear, he said, myself, I preached to

others that I myself should become a

castaway.

Nobody's exempt from this,

>> young people. Well, you're not exempt

from this,

son. You told me this week, you told me

six times God has called you to preach.

And you know what? I believe he's called

you. But I'll tell you this, only you

and your heart know that

>> between you and God. But I will tell you

this, if he has called you, and I

believe he has. He wants to use you. But

if you mess that up, you can't fix it.

>> The gifts and callings of God are

without repentance. And that simply

means he don't take it away. If you

disqualify yourself, amen, the calling's

still there. And you know what you'll

do? You'll live the rest of your life in

ministry

>> because you can't do what God called you

to do. Yes, sir.

>> And you know what? That goes for every

one of you.

>> Amen.

>> If you choose to let the wind make your

decisions for you, you gonna end up in

the waves. That's

>> right.

>> You're gonna end up in the waves. I

don't ask you. I don't know where you're

at tonight. Every heads bowed and every

eye closed tonight. Just felt like the

Lord said that was enough.

I don't know where you at tonight.

Let me ask you, is the wind driving you?

Is the wind making the decisions for

you? You say, "Preacher, how do you know

that wind is a bad thing?" Well, what is

the devil described as? He's the prince

of the power of the what?

>> Of the air.

You know what that means? He wants to

destroy you.

And if he's going to do it, he's going

to do it by the wind.

He's going to do it by

the wind.

Let me ask you,

how much of the wind's controlling you?

How much of the wind's driving you?

How much of the wind's pushing you? You

say, "Preacher, I'm done beyond the

wind. I'm in the middle of the waves

now." Well, we're going to learn in

another message what you going to have

to do. But I'm going tell you this.

If you'd just listen to what the Bible

said, you wouldn't be where you're at.

But you know what the wonder is?

The only way you going to get out is by

listening to what that Bible says.

The only hope you have of survival is

the same thing that would have kept you

from going through the storm in the

first place. These altars are open. You

need to come tonight. You need to come.

Hello.

Who's that?

Father in Jesus name,

thank you Lord for this great day, for

your grace and your mercy, for your

love. Thank you for what you've done in

our hearts tonight.

And Lord, I ask you, God, tonight that

you would help us to be obedient to your

spirit. I thank you for these youngans

that testify to the grace of God that's

worked in their heart. And Lord, I pray

that you would continue to strengthen

them in their service for you. Lord, I

pray you'd protect their purity. God,

you'd protect their testimony. Lord,

help them to make wise decisions. Lord,

they're coming to the age now, Father,

where mom and daddy can't do everything

for them. Lord, I pray you would help

them to make wise decisions, God.

Protect their mind. Lord, keep the evil

out of their life, Fathers. And Lord,

guard their their testimony in their

heart. And Lord, help them to do so.

God, help them to choose to serve you

every day of their life and to stay in

just like they sung about. God, I pray,

Father, 10 years from now, they're all

serving you. They're all being faithful

to you and they're all sticking with it,

Lord, just like this song tonight. And

Lord, I pray for every adult here in

this room that I pray, Father, for every

heart, Lord, would you help us, Lord,

because Lord, I know many people,

Father, and Lord, I myself have got

stuck in the storm at times, but Lord,

if I'd have just listened to you, if I'd

have just did what you told me, Lord,

I'd have never had to go through all

that. But Lord, I'm thankful that you

got me out the same way you would have

kept me out, and that's by your word.

And I bless your name for that. Thank

you for this service, for these people,

and Lord, for what you've done. We give

you thanks for it because we ask it in

Jesus' name. And God's people say it.

>> Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you 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 7:00 p.m. For

more information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.