Stay In The Boat

What a what a phenomenal incredible exceeding abundantly above all that I could have asked or even thought of. And I think the team standing behind me and the team that sound media production, singers, choir, musicians, they need a hand of appreciation for the spirit of excellence and anointing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Wow. What an all nations Sunday reflection, an example of who we are. And um I could not be I could not be more pleased today. Uh wow, it's hard to preach after all that. I'll be honest with you, that's tough. But I do believe the Lord has a message of encouragement for us today that is going to encourage, equip, empower. And if you've come ready for the preaching of the word, would you say amen? Acts chapter 27 verse 18. Acts 27 and 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 taken away. But after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, "Sers, ye should have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from creed and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer. There are some things you should have, could have, would have done if you' just listen. But I've come to exhort you today. 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 who 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, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. How be it, we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the 14th night was come and we were driven up and down in Adria about midnight, the shipment deemed that they drew near to some country and sounded and found it 20 fathoms. And when they had gone a little further, they sounded again and found it 15 fathoms. than fearing less we have fallen upon rocks. They cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. And 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 four ship. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Except these abide in the ship." I'm going read that slow. Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. I want to preach with a burden and with passion today on this all nation Sunday. Simply this. Stay in the boat. Stay in the boat. May not seem like an all nations message to begin with, but before I finish today, I believe the word will find a lodging place in every heart. and you will hear what thus sayeth the Lord for this hour. To all of our guests, it's so good to see you. I see so many. If I start calling names, I'll be here and I will miss someone and I wouldn't never want to do that. But thank you. Today I preach to all of us. Stay in the boat. You may be seated. Today is All Nation Sunday. Yes, we have celebrated and we will continue to celebrate the truth that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for every nation, for every people, for every language, for every generation. I told our Sunday school class, and I'm going to reiterate it in this service, Jesus died for everybody. The blood has never lost its power and it's for everybody. The Holy Ghost is still being poured out on everybody who will receive it. Somebody say, "Amen." Amen. For Luke would write in Acts 2:39, "For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." And I'm glad I can stand before you on this gorgeous autumn Sunday morning and declare to you that the promise found in the book of Acts chapter 2 was not and is not restricted by geography, by nationality or by background. The gospel is for everybody. Somebody say everybody. But if we are going to be a church, if we are going to be a people to reach the nations, we must be determined to stay in the boat. We cannot allow the winds, if you will, of culture, of pressure uh to blow us uh away from biblical truth and biblical principles. Uh we cannot allow this wicked uh cruel society to convince us uh that what we are in who we are is unnecessary. Uh and that church commitment is optional. We cannot allow the opinions uh of this generation to make us and cause us to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot reach a lost world by abandoning the very truth that has the power to save it. I told and I've been feeling this and it's come out in my preaching. I've come to declare aresh today. SEC revival is not coming but revival is here. It's here among us. There is a revival. And some may sin and say, "Can these bones live?" Uh, and I say the deadest of situations uh can come alive again. I do believe that prodals are coming back home. I do believe that sinners are finding their way to an altar of repentance. There's no sinner that's outside the grip of grace. We must remain faithful to this mission. I'm on a mission this morning. We have a great commission, but we've got a mission today. And I've come to preach. Somebody, you've been in a storm. Somebody's finding yourself like Paul and those those men. You've been in a storm. But I want to preach to somebody who you've watched the winds blow against your family. You've watched the winds blow against the the the surrounding parts of your world in your life. Uh but I want to challenge every saint under the sound of my voice. You're trying to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. You're trying to put godly principles in them. And it seems like God, I don't know if I'm making headway. I don't know what you're doing. It seems the harder you try, the greater the storm. Anybody understand where I'm preaching today? It seems like the more I commit, it seems like all hell breaks loose. It seems like God, I put my best foot forward and I start doing good and I come under attack and here's another storm. I got a few words for you today. Just stay in the boat. Don't let the storm make you forget the very promises that God's already gi you. Don't let the wind make you question the very word that came from him. Don't let the condition of the ship convince you that God's lost control of your life. For I find the setting of this scripture that I wrote. It's what I wrestled with this week. And I and I felt like I I need to lay just a little bit of a groundwork. And I just need to invoke something in your spirit that storms if we're attentive. Storms, if we're alert, often happen on the way of God fulfilling his purpose in your life. That's right. Because before we understand the power of the end of the story, we got to understand how Paul ended up on the ship. Paul was a prisoner being transported to Rome because he had to by God he had to go to Caesar. He had been preaching the gospel declaring Jesus Christ, this risen Lord who had redeemed him and saved him and he was a prisoner under Roman custody going to give his testimony. But Paul was not just simply being transported to a destination. He was moving toward a divine assignment. I just want to tell someone if you're in a storm right now, it could be you're not being transported just to a destination. There is a divine assignment connected to the storm you're in. Because I find in Acts 23 and 11, be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. God had already told Paul that he was going to Rome. It does not matter how bad that storm got, Paul was going to Rome. He may have ended up by himself swimming across those treacherous waves and sea, but I but if he just he stayed tuned to the voice of God. He stayed tuned to what God had told him that when the storm came, I believe in the back of Paul's mind. And it's like what's happening right now in the spirit realm. The journey look nothing like the promise. All right. How many will agree with you, pastor, today I feel like God's taking the scenic route with my life and my promises? It don't look like nothing I've been prophesied over. It doesn't look like anything I've believed God for. I know the winds are contrary. I know the waves are are coming over the bow of the ship. I know the voyage of your life may look dangerous. Matter of fact, this is the temptation of humanity that when it looks like it's hopeless, we start throwing cargo overboard. We start getting rid of we we start laying aside things and we start we we start and some of that stuff we need to get rid of. Yes, sir. But sometimes before we get to safety, there's going to be days and night where the sun and the stars don't appear. You can't see the sun and the stars for days. You got to imagine this with me. No sun like no stars is what I read earlier. No clear direction, no confidence if we're going to even see tomorrow. Matter of fact, I don't know what God's doing. The Bible says that that all hope was taken away. But what the sailors could not see was God's purpose had not changed. That's right. The storm could not cancel the assignment of Paul. The waves, the darkness could not overturn the the promises of God. And when I studied this and I looked at the the context and the setting, something got up inside of me to tell you as a people, the storm did not mean they were outside the purpose and the will of God. Right? Because sometimes we mistakenly believe that if we're in the will of God, everything should be smooth sailing. But Paul was on a God-given mission and he still encountered this violent storm. Serving God, hear me sanctuary does not mean we will never face opposition. Standing for truth does not mean everybody's going to just applaud us with our testimony and with our message. Raising godly children in this wicked world doesn't mean culture is not going to make a not going to make a pull for them. There will be seasons when our faith is challenged. There will be seasons that our families will be tested and our convictions. You'll wonder, is that really God? Is that me? But the difficulty does not mean that I should abandon the purpose and the mission that God's called me unto. Uh I rise to tell you on this Sunday uh there must be a faithfulness that rises uh that even though the winds may be unfavorable uh though the winds may be contrary uh there is a storm that you may be in but it cannot cancel the destination. It can't cancel where you're going. If God told you you will. I don't care what the storm say. I don't care what the winds may predict. God had already told Paul, "You're going to testify before Caesar. You're going to Rome." We must never hear me today in the Holy Ghost allow the storms of life to make us forget what our assignment is. We're called to preach the gospel. We're called to be ambassadors of this great glorious truth. We're called to make disciples. Uh we are called to reach uh our our children and our communities and our neighbors. We're called to reach people from every nation with this only saving message. We are not here to simply occupy this building. We're not here just to buy four acres of land to see the vision of God just continue to f unfold before us. No, no, no, no, no. What good's a building if the spirit's not in here transforming lives? What good is a building if we're not seeing the moving of the Holy Ghost like we've experienced today? I don't want to have a building and just preserve tradition. I don't want to check the box and say, "I went to church today. I got my children dressed. I made that drive. I got No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're here because there are people who have not heard of the gospel. There's families that God's bringing into our path uh that have not yet been reached. There's people in your realm of influence. There's people on your street. There's people in your neighborhood that need to hear the gospel. I've come to preach to the heart of this church, to the fabric of this church, to the fabric of families. We cannot afford to abandon our assignment because the voyage of life has become difficult. Yes, we're in a storm. Yes, it's tough. Yes, times are difficult. I just got a word for somebody. Things have to get worse before they get better. But when the storm got worse, God sent a word. When your storm seems like it's spinning out of control, you ought to thank God. I've got a word today. God sent a word down my row, down my I'm going to get in my vehicle in a little while and the storm may still be raging, but I've got a word. Acts chapter 27 tells us that Paul stood among the people aboard the ship and began to encourage them. My God, I feel the Holy Ghost. When's the last time in the middle of your storm you stood up and said, "God is still a healer. God is still a way maker. I don't know how. I don't know, but I know he can. Well, you don't know the storm I'm in. I don't know the storm you're in, but I've got a word from God. I challenge you this week. Get encouragement back in your vocabulary. Get a word back in your spirit. Get a promise resurrected. Oh, get a word flowing again. Get a word speaking back in your life. What I love about this story, [panting] Paul was a prisoner. He wasn't the captain of the boat. He was not in charge of soldiers or sailors. Go read it. But in the middle of the crisis, the man who had a word from God became the only voice of hope on the boat. Could you be the only voice of reasoning and the only voice of hope in your house, in your family, in your marriage, among your children? They're looking to you. Where's your voice, Daddy? Where's your voice, mama? I know that. I know the finances are tight and I know the job is questionable. I know the schedule's tight. I know. I know. I know. But there needs to be a righteous voice in the middle of crisis, brother Roy. That'll say, "Be of good cheer. For there shall be no loss of any man's life among you." See, it doesn't matter how bad the storm is. You can still get a word from God if you want one. I said, I don't care how bad the storm is. You just got to get in tune with the spirit. I don't care how bad the waves are. I know how bad I I know the sun ain't shone in days and you ain't seen the stars. You don't even know if you're going in the right direction. But can you get a word from God? Can you recognize he still pilots this ship? Can you get a word and say, "You better get happy. You better get joyful. We ain't going under. We just got to call. You just got to stay in the boat. You can't abandon your position. Could it be that God has placed us in storms so that our promises can be revealed? God gave Paul a promise before he changed the circumstance. Oh, I could stay there all day. We're praying God change the circumstance, but you just need to hold on to the promise before the circumstances ever change. Brother Hastings, you just got to get a word up in your spirit and start declaring, "I don't know how it's going to work out." Brother Spuren, I don't know how it's going to work out, but I got a word. And until that happens, until that happens, you know what my job is? I'm going to be of good cheer. I'm going to have a smile on my face. I'm not going to look like I drank prune juice before I come to church. I'm going to somebody's going to know. Yes, the storms are raging, but I still got a cheerful spirit. I've still got a smile on my face. I don't know when it's going to I don't know how. What I love about the Apostle Paul, he stood up in the middle of a hopeless situation and declared what God spoken. I wish that somebody's got to believe when everybody else is scared. That's right. Come on, men. I don't need a bunch of weak, whimsy men. I need some men that'll say, "I may be the storms may be raging, but I've got a word, and we're going to make it through this." I believe God when everybody else is afraid. I know what the wind's saying, but I've got a word. I'm going to make it. I know the waves are speaking and they're coming over your boat. This is not the end. I know you're in a season of darkness. How do I get out of here? He's the way. He's the truth. He's the light. [panting] The difference and what I got to get into you today. If you're in a storm, you got to hear from God. You got to get a word in the storm. When you've heard from God, you don't have to let the storm have the final say. You don't have to. The storm will not have the final say if you get a word from God. I wish I had a little help in here this morning. I got a word. When the doctors or sports says one thing, you got to still declare, "I believe God." I wish a mom and a daddy that looks like their we were children. They look and say, "There's no way they're coming home." Would stand in the congregation and declare, "I still believe God. They ain't come down the road. They've not gave the phone call. They've not sent the message, but I believe God. I believe God's working. I'm going to stay in the boat. I'm going to stay on the porch. I believe God. I stand today as your pastor to tell you I refuse to place my confidence in the condition of the world. My hope's not in the condition of this world. If I find hope in this world, I've above all men, we're miserable. I'm placing my confidence in a word from the Lord. Amen. This church. Somebody say, "This church." Yes, sir. Must become a voice in a hopeless situation. This all nation Sunday as I sat in my chair and I began to type and I I begin to see in the spirit, we've got to remember there's people all around us looking for hope. There's people walking in a coffee shop. There's people walking on your jobs. There's people walking in Walmart. Some people are wounded from their past. Some have never heard the gospel in a clear, profound, more perfectly way. Some have been told they will never be good enough for God. Others are trying to build their life without knowing the one true and living God. But God has placed his church in the middle of a storm. God has placed his church in the middle of this world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. He's put us where we are at 11:49 Main Street West, Hartzell, Alabama. He is allowing this service to go across the globe. Why? Because he needs one more voice. He needs one more on an assignment that's going to carry the gospel to whosoever will. I wish I had some young people who would take this for pastor today. There are people in your schools that are on the verge of suicide. There are those in your school that are struggling with identity and who they are. They're looking and they're searching. They're fighting depression. They're fighting abuse. They're fighting addictions. But if I just had a few, sister Penny, that would say, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed of it. I know whose I am." We cannot be embarrassed of who we are. We cannot hide this message of repentance, water baptism in Jesus' name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We can't hide that. [panting and sighs] This is the very message that changed my life. It's the message that changed my children. It's the message that changed my wife. It's the message that changed people in this church. And if it changed them, it can change you. This book of Acts message is still the message. There's no addendum. There's no revision. It's still the same. Jesus still saves. Jesus still delivers. Jesus still fills people with the Holy Ghost. Jesus still transforms families. We've got a word to proclaim. And we've got a world that needs it. They need your voice. So I declare unto you on this Sunday morning, don't let this culture, I don't care who's sitting in the White House or on the Supreme Court, who's sitting in the halls of Congress, what laws will be voted in over the next generation. We cannot let we cannot allow culture to talk us out of the boat. Don't you let some voice get you out of the boat. You got to stay in the boat. I don't care what's passed. I don't care what voice rises and say though an angel come preaching any other gospel let him be accursed because there will come a time brother Graham that you will feel like jumping there will come a time when you feel like getting out of the boat there will come a time matter of fact Acts 27:30 and 31 tells us some sailors attempted to escape from the ship they were lowering the lifeboats they were intending to abandon the vessel. They had reached a point, and I felt this is where some of you are. They had reached a point where they wanted an alternative to staying aboard this storm battered ship. I know this ship may not look real good today. This ship may look in terrible condition, but you got to look what this this ship's been through. the storm. This isn't the first storm that ship ever faced. This situation looked desperate, but how many more did it weather and make it? Some of the very men who understood the ship better than anybody were preparing to leave the ship. But a word came from God, except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Those ship dwellers, those sailors, they knew how to operate a ship, but they had lost confidence in the ship they were sitting on. When I started reading this, it was sobering, Brother Adam Maddox. It was sobering at how they were now looking at the vessel who they had been upon through storms before. And I couldn't help but think people who have known truth in a storm can begin to grapple with doubt. People who have experience the power of God, they begin to lose confidence in the church. People who once stood firmly in convictions and righteously firmly in the word of God start looking for a a lifeboat when the winds start blowing a little different than they've always blew before. I'm going tell you what you better be careful of when the world starts offering you lifeboats. When the world starts offering you options, you better be careful. [panting and sighs] things like you don't have to believe everything the Bible says. We're in a different dispensation. You you you can love God without being committed to his church faithfully. Or if pastor in the church challenges you, find somewhere else to go that won't challenge you. What if Oh my good. What biblical truth? when it becomes uncomfortable, I I just want something to pacify my flesh and I want my beliefs instead of this truth transforming me into a new creation in Christ. We must be careful what voices we allow to direct our lives and our choices. You can't jump out of this boat and think you're going to survive when we've got a word from God. The loudest voice in the culture is not necessarily the voice you need to listen to. Don't confuse. Hear me today. Don't confuse the condition of the church with the value of the mission. I'm telling you, as I sit at my computer and I said, "God, we are a great church, but not a perfect church." If that is what you're looking for, you've come to the wrong church. We are learning. We are growing. I, as your pastor, am learning and growing and maturing. 17 years. This is the only church I pastored and I'm still learning and growing. I'm maturing day by day. [panting] But hear me from my heart. We must never lose our hunger for more of him. That's why you could come in this church. And there's people at different phases of life. They're on their journey living for God. And some are here and some are here. Some are here and some are here. And we're all just hungry for more of him. We must do this. We must let him correct and guide us. We must let him correct and guide us. Don't let the failures of a few cancel the truth of God's word. Don't let what happened in a few dictate to you how you're going to live and how you're going to respond. The answer to imperfection in a body and in the boat is not abandonment. I'm telling you, everybody's normal till you get to know them. Everybody's normal till you get to know them. Then you realize they got dysfunction, too. You're going to realize they need Jesus, too. Sometimes the answer is still repentance. Sometimes it's still prayer. Sometimes it's still accountability. Sometimes it's just making up our minds in a renewed commitment to what God has called us. Don't let a bad experience in a church keep you from committing to what God's doing here. Don't let somebody else's failure rob you of your faithfulness of God to God. Don't let your disappointment cause you to disconnect from the people of God. You begin to question motives. You begin to question this. Oh, God. God's put people alongside of you right now. He's trying to put in your world and in your circle to make you better. But because you look at them through the lens of hurt and pain and mistrust, we're missing what God has prepared before us. God, help us. Don't put the church in your calendar as a weekly appointment. [panting] Just don't put it church. No, no, no, no, no. It's where we gather under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It's where we get committed to one another in the word and his mission. We come here to get empowered. We come here to get rejuvenated and renewed and then we go out into a lost and a dying world. I started looking at the list today of guests and thank you brother Dallas and your team working so diligently and I look across this God brought us here and there's there's there's Alexis and there's Chase and there's April and there then there's Corey and Madison and Maggie and Cath uh Keith Anna I hope I said this right and there's Clayton and Brianna and there's a million Juliet and Stella and there's Michael and Brandy there's Misty, there's James and Hannah. And there's there there's Elizabeth. And And I'm sure we didn't capture everybody, but we're trying. And I'm like, if we'd have done what we felt like today, we'd have stayed home. Take your church mask off. You could have stayed home and got rest. You could have went to the hunting club. And boy, I bet you the deer were moving. And I ain't even looked at my camera, but I bet you there's a nice buck probably wandering around where But if I'd have listened to listened to the voice of convenience, uh, I would have missed my weekly engagement and my commitment to who's going to be in this househ, that needs what this church offers. Come on, parents. Our babies need to see that level of commitment in your life. Uh this is the house of God. This is not plan B. Our young people need to see saints uh who stand firm in the midst of storms. We need new converts that need a church family. We become their family. We can't build a revival culture while teaching the next generation that church commitment is optional. No. No. No, no, no, no. We got to make it a priority. It becomes first priority. It becomes our priority. This is where I belong. This is where I get empowered. This is where the truth is preached to me and I go out and live it. Please don't allow Please don't allow trying to be culturally relevant cause you to abandon biblical truth. It still says, "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." You got to keep this mind on the altar. You'll be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. That storm of doctrine will come in and crash waves against your life. But if you don't know what you believe, you'll abandon the very ship God put you on to see you saved. [panting] This church will be a church that loves people without surrendering truth. I hope you're hearing what your pastor is trying to say today. Stay in the boat. Stay in the word. Stay in prayer. Stay committed to the house of God. Stay faithful to the kingdom and the gospel. The world does not need another church that's abandoned its convictions. It needs a church that's full of the Holy Ghost. They need a church that's got truth so oozing out of them that when you walk into their presence, something just stands up. Oh, I'm feeling something that I ain't never felt before. I've seen it happen in that little room right there. I've seen them walk in and I They weren't coming to church. They was coming to the well. But when they left the well, they met a man. They felt the presence of a man. Not humanity, not who was working, not the smile they saw that opened the gateway for them heart, their hearts to be open. But when we tell them that's where we prayed for many years before we started praying in here. Oh, I feel the prayers in this room. I feel peace in this room. I feel something I don't feel anywhere else. Hallelujah. You think we're going to abandon that? No. Not on not on our worst day. This world needs a church full of the Holy Ghost overflowing with love, committed to reaching the lost. And I'm going to close with this. Do you know why the enemy is trying to take you out in the storm? It hit me last night. Why was the enemy trying to get Paul's voice? Because there were people that needed what he was about to say. Fear not, Paul. Thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Can I just make it just elementary plain today so we can all get it? The storm is bigger than you. It's bigger than you. You don't realize who you're going to reach after the storm. That's why the storm's trying to get you out of the boat. That's why the storm's trying to get you to question doctrinal beliefs. And while the while the storm's trying to get you to It'd just be easier I jump on this lifeboat and sell off into my forever tomorrows. Paul had received a promise, though. But it wasn't just a promise for him. The promise concerned everybody on board. God had placed Paul in the middle of that situation and his presence became the means of preserving the lives of those around him. You don't think you're powerful. You don't think you belong. You don't think you have a voice. You don't think you're your presence or absence matter. I beg to differ with you. There is God has placed us in this community, in this church filled with people desiring of people to hear this gospel. I said it in Sunday school. I'm going to say it again. They may not look like us. They may not speak like us. They may not share the same background, education, family history. You just keep going. But they're the ones Jesus died for. They're families who have never heard Acts 2:38. I just did a Bible study at a table on Friday on Jesus name baptism. And the young lady said, I see that. I can understand that. Never had heard, never had come into the knowledge of just hearing the truth of God's word. God has not called us to stand on the shore and criticize the storm. He's called everyone under the sound of my voice to carry the gospel into the storm. Why? Because your faithfulness can influence somebody else's future. I could go on. Musicians come. You may be one person's introduction to the church where they discover who he is. All nation means we cannot build walls around this gospel. John wrote on that aisle of Padmas, "After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb." Different nations, different kindreds, different people, different tongues. Yet they all gathered around the same throne and the same lamb. That's the heart of who we are. We must not decide in advance who is likely to respond to the gospel. You can't limit You can't limit a burden for I I've just got a burden for that color of people, that ethnic group that Well, if we get too many, the devil is a lie. We better get a hold of this gospel and not limit the burden to people who look like us and understand us and have the same culture as us. This gospel is for the whole world. If it's to the whole world, we got to start praying bigger prayers. We got to start believing God for bigger. We got to start believing God not just to fill this building with people, but we've got to see people as souls. We've got to see souls as messengers. We've got to see messengers as ambassadors. We've got to see people and families that don't live here, but the ripple effective one gets the Holy Ghost here. And they've got family in North Carolina. And they've got family uh in West Africa. And they've got family in Italy. And they got family in Russia. And they've got family in Belgium. And they You don't understand the power of one until you recognize if this one is converted. The power of conversion has a way of affecting who's next. Who's next? Who's next? That's why the enemy is trying his best to circumvent his purpose in the midst of your greatest storm. I close with this and I mean that the ship did break apart. It's not the end of the story though. Acts 27:41 tells us the ship ran ground and break apart under the force of the waves. And the Bible says, "Oh, this will preach all by itself. Some swam to shore, others made it on boards, others made it on broken pieces. But I do have a word that Paul would write." And it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. Every one of them made it cuz they stayed in the boat. The ship was destroyed, but the people survived. It did exactly what God said it would do. They didn't all survive the same way. Some had to swim a little bit, but they stayed in the boat. Some had to grab a hold of that. They got a they got a hold of a boat and they got a hold of a piece. Some clung to the broken pieces of what once held their life together, but the beautiful picture of a broken boat or a broken ship, they made it all safely to shore. And it hit me last night. God never made the promise that the ship would escape damage, but it was his purpose to survive the storm. If I've ever felt a an urgency in a word, this old ship may take a beating, but this mission will continue. This church belongs to him. It don't belong to me. It It belongs to him. Upon this rock, I'll build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Yes, we're going to face battles, but Jesus is still building his church. Yes, we're going to face storms, but if you'll stay in the boat, you're going to be saved. Hear me, weary saint of God. As you stand to your feet, don't get distracted by the storm that you forgot why God put you on this voyage. The storm is not your assignment. The harvest that lies on the shore, it's waiting on you. Oh, I asked the Lord today that a burden would grip our hearts. And so, I'm going to ask you, who is willing to align themselves this week with the mission of sharing this gospel to the world. I know your boat is being rocked. I know your worlds are in a storm. But maybe God has a Bible study this week. He's getting ready to use your voice. He's getting ready to use your influence. I know you're in a storm, but we've got a mission. I know you're in a storm, but you still got a testimony. When's the last time you really prayed prayers that souls really matter? When's the last time you took yourself and laid it to the side and say, "I'm going to let my worship be resurrection resurrected because he's worthy." I'm preaching today because the gospel is still true. I'm loving people today because he died for them. Some of you need to let the bitterness of yesterday go. The pain of what's been h what's been done and what's happened, you need to let that go. And you just need to make your mind. I'm staying in the boat. Don't get out now. Don't don't get out now. Stay on the boat. Stay in the ship. This old ship of Zion's going to make it. This old ship of Zion's going to one day hit that shore. One day this gravel is going to turn to gold. One day you're going to hear him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." One day you're going to come in. You're going to sit at the marriage supper of the lamb and you're going to be glad. I stayed in the boat. I stayed on course. I stayed in agreement with the word. I wish we lift our voices all over this house. Maybe you need to repent today. Maybe you need to come into an agreement that repentance is the next step you need to take. And that's asking God to forgive you of your sins. Maybe you need to be baptized in Jesus' name. Maybe you've never been buried in baptism in the only saving name of Jesus. We've got towels. We've got robes. We've got everything ready. But maybe today you're ready for God to fill you with the Holy Ghost. Why don't you step to this front and accept the free gift of God unto salvation? Why don't you receive the gift of the spirit of God? As they begin to sing, I want you to begin to pray in Jesus name. Behind me, always stay in the boat. You won't find me. I am not before behind always where you won't find me. I am not afraid. I am not afraid. When I walk through the waters, I won't be over. When I go through the river, I will not be my way. So I am not afraid. When I am in the fire, I will not feel the blame. I stand before the giant victory. My God will make the way. So I am not afraid. I want to make this plea right now. I know I've got ministry and I've got leaders here and I want to I want to make a response to the front of this church. If there's a desire in you, if there's there's something that got stirred up in you today and you want God to use you without limitation, you want God to use you to help advance the kingdom of God. Whether it's to teach a Bible study, to become an effective witness, to become a disciplemaker of those that God would bring in your path. I want you to come and stand and push yourself as close to this altar right now. This altar call today, God's about to transition some of you into allowing your mouth to become the greatest mouthpiece. Not for your glory, but for his glory. Come on. There's some of you right now, there's some of you right now, God's getting ready to elevate you. Elevate your voice. Elevate your influence. You're about to come in agreement with the purpose of God, the plan of God. You're not your own. You've been bought with a price. Uh, and God's getting ready to use you. God's getting ready to use your voice. Uh, use your testimony. Use the storm that you're in. God's getting ready to do it. Sing right now. Behind me. That's it. Begin to pray. Begin to pray. You will find me God. Use me God. Use me. Use me God. always sh. Come on ministry. Come on ministers. Come on. Let the hunger begin to come forth out of you. Let the hunger come forth. Let action go beyond. I don't I will not use when I walk through the fire. I will not feel the pain. I'll stand before the share victory. My God will make the way. So I not behind always beside me. No sh behind me. Always beside me. Oh sh behind me. Stay in this world. Stay on this. Do it. Do it. Do it. I feel that's Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. I am not afraid. When I walk through the waters, I won't be overcome. When I go through the rivers, I will not be my way. So I notic my way. Oh, I Heat up here. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Lord. This building will not contain what God has reserved for it. There's not enough seats in this building to contain what God's getting ready to do. I see it today when our choir begin to walk down these aisles. to step on this platform in a song congregation. God revival you have given us the revival you have done before us to give us wisdom beyond our years to navigate. But today we're committed with the level of support you have just given in response to this altar. the level of response you have given to this legacy commitment offering. There just is my God.