Shaken, But Settled

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

Romans 1 · chapter mention

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

Acts 1 · chapter mention

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.