Our text this Lord's Day is taken from Acts chapter 27, a longer portion of God's Word today. Acts 27 verses 1 through 26. And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy They delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship of Adramendium, we launched, meaning to sail all, sail by the coast of Asia, one Aristarchus, a Macedonian, a Thessalonica being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon, And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia, And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria, sailing into Italy, and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Sinaitis, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmoni, and hardly passing it, came into a place which is called the Fair Havens, nigh wherein too was the city of Laecia. Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already passed, Paul admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading 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. 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 Phanesi, and there to winter, which is an haven of Crete, and lie toward the south-west and north-west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete, but not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind called uroclodone. And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island, which is called Plata, we had much work to come by the boat. which when they had taken up they used helps, undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksand's strait sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with the 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 said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me and not have loose 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, howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. Have you ever been in desperate circumstances in which there seemed, at least from a human perspective, like there was no way out? You felt perhaps trapped. You were afraid. You could not seem to find any open door. Perhaps you despaired of hope at such a time. You saw nowhere You could escape. You knew of no one upon this earth that could come to your help and to your aid. Dear ones, God ordained that particular case or situation that you're thinking of right now. God ordained that in your life. Why? in order to bring you to that very place of hopelessness in anything that you yourself can do to rescue and to save yourself. In order that you might cast your faith, your trust, your confidence upon God alone. Though God uses many means to rescue us, it is God who does rescue us. Even the great prophet Elijah came to such a seemingly hopeless place in his life when he was sent a note, a letter from Queen Jezebel stating that she was going to kill him. by tomorrow, that he would not be alive. In 1 Kings 19 too, she said, so let the gods do to me and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow, about this time. She's talking about the lives of those whom Elijah slew, the 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah fled in fear, in fear, in desperation, A sense of hopelessness overwhelmed Elijah at that time. Verse 3, and when he saw that, that is, when he saw the letter, the note, he arose and went for his life. Interestingly, Elijah did this when just the day before God had granted such a mighty demonstration of his power in overwhelming these false prophets of Baal and bringing fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice which he offered to the Lord God. And then slaying these false prophets and then God bringing where there had been no rain for three and a half years. God bringing a mighty torrential rain upon the land at that time. He fell into a state of discouragement and perhaps even hopelessness as we read his words in 1st Kings 19.4, but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree and he requested for himself that he might die. and said, it is enough now, oh Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my father's. It's interesting. You hear there the words I and my a number of times in that one verse. And dear ones, any time we place the focus upon I and my and me and mine, this is where we will find out, find ourselves to be. When our eye of faith is upon us or when our eye has been taken off of the Lord Jesus Christ and is upon us, whether, again, our desperate circumstances, whether our sins, regardless of what it may be, We can almost count on we're steering a course for despair and hopelessness, if that's where we keep our eye, upon ourselves. Did God bring this upon Elijah because God hated him? Was the Lord here just being cruel? Was he being unfair? Was he being unloving to Elijah and servant? Or was the Lord teaching Elijah and teaching us the necessity of keeping our eye of faith upon him in those most desperate times in which we feel like it would be better just to die? What was it that revived the hope within Elijah? It was the promise of God that revived his hope. It was the promise of Almighty God that Elijah was not alone, that God himself was with him, though he felt alone, and that he had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal who were standing with Elijah, though he did not know that. Praise God. Praise God for his merciful promises, dear ones, which uphold your faith and my faith, when all hope seems to be vanishing very quickly before our eyes. When your eye is upon yourself, dear ones, again, let me repeat, there is no hope. When your eye is upon the Lord and the promise of His help, hope abounds. You are not alone. God Himself has said in so many places in His Word, promised, He is with you, He will not forsake you, He will not abandon you. Paul himself, he found he was in a desperate situation, a seemingly hopeless storm from which he did not expect to survive. No deliverance was in sight. Everything looked dark and gloomy from a human perspective, but it was, dear ones, at that time, it was the promise of God that upheld Paul, Paul's faith, Paul's hope. Just as God's promises, dear ones, will uphold you and your faith and your hope, God's promises will never ever let you go. Main points from our text this Lord's Day are first of all, Paul's journey by sea goes from good to hopeless in Acts 27 verses 1 through 20. And the second main point, Paul's faith is upheld by the promise of God in Acts 27 verses 21 through 26. Before I get started, if you want to track the journey of Paul, you might want to open the back of your Bible and a map that you'll probably find there, which lists the journeys of Paul in this final journey that we are going to be discussing this Lord's Day. And you can recognize as I read and as I preach, you can find those locations on the map in front of you so that you have a good idea as to how Paul, actually how Luke is describing this venture because Luke was present. Luke was an eyewitness. He was on the ship as we'll see in just a moment along with the Apostle Paul. Well, Paul has now finished his testimony before King Agrippa. in the previous chapter, chapter 26, after which both King Agrippa and Festus, the Roman governor, agreed that Paul was innocent of any crime and that he might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. Paul now sets sail on this most dangerous voyage to Rome. Paul embarks with two faithful Christian brethren. First of all, Luke, the one who authored Humanly Speaking. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to record the words he did, but Luke is here because notice in verse one, and when it was determined that we, first person plural, should sail unto Italy. And then in verse two, likewise, and really throughout the chapter, you'll find various references to us, to we, which indicates Luke is an eyewitness. He's going through this storm with the Apostle Paul. And the second friend, Christian friend and brother that the Lord provided for Paul was a man by the name of Aristarchus, in verse two, who was a convert of the Apostle Paul in Thessalonica of Macedonia, through one of Paul's journeys there to Macedonia. And they have likely received, these two friends of Paul, have likely received a courtesy from Festus, the governor, for them to be able to accompany Paul because there were a number of other prisoners on this ship as well. This was not a luxury voyage. This was not a tourist voyage. This was basically requisitioned to carry prisoners from one location to another location. And so how was it that Luke and Aristarchus were allowed to accompany Paul, well, we don't know for sure, but it's likely that this courtesy was extended by Festus. Because, as we'll see in a moment, Julius is the name of the Roman centurion here. He doesn't know Paul. He's never, at least to the best of our knowledge, he's not familiar with who Paul is. But not only are these two men allowed to accompany Paul, but also Julius grants a courtesy to Paul that when they leave Caesarea and go north about 70 miles to Sidon, the port there in Sidon, that Paul is granted leave to be able to leave the ship to go and be refreshed by his Christian friends in Sidon as well. No doubt accompanied by a soldier, but yet he was permitted. We don't hear of any of the other prisoners being allowed to leave the ship, but Paul was. Again, I submit to you that Festus knows that Paul is innocent of any crime, he's no threat at all, he's appealed to Caesar, and furthermore, Festus hopes that Paul will put in a good word for him, probably, when he arrives in Rome before Caesar. The ship then sets sail from Sidon, and as it leaves Sidon and heads for the island of Cyprus, It runs into some contrary winds, some winds that were confronting, opposing the ship, that were slowing down the ship. These winds were not so severe as to be a major threat at this point in time, but they were of sufficient force to slow the ship down so that it took longer for them to sail where they were seeking to sail because of these contrary winds. The voyage continues without incident as it comes to the port of Lycia where they transfer to a ship from Alexandria that is heading to Italy, that's where they wanna go. So they make a change of ships there in Lycia in verses five through six, we read. And still there have been no major complications, only some contrary winds that were blowing against them and as we said, slowing them down, slowing their progress in verse seven, we read. These strong contrary winds forced them, however, to alter their route to some degree by having to sail to the opposite side of Crete, where they stopped to resupply at a port called the Fair Havens near Lycia. There they waited. There they waited and waited for an opportune time to set sail for Rome in verses eight through nine. Just a little bit of information because it mentions here in verse nine, now when much time was spent and when sailing was now dangerous because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them. What is this talking about? Well, the time for sailing in the Mediterranean Sea was coming to an end, that season for sailing was coming to an end as severe winter storms descended upon the sea until spring arrived. Luke notes that the fast, that is, the fast that he's referring to is the Day of Atonement, that the fast had already passed. there in Judah, in Jerusalem. It had already passed. That's significant because that would have put the time at which they were seeking to set sail at around October the 5th, 59 A.D., October the 5th. The dangerous time for sailing was between September the 14th until November the 11th according to ancient records. And that time was soon to come to an end. It was dangerous during that time. But after November the 11th, all sailing ended in the Mediterranean Sea during that period of time because of the severe storms that arose. says here tempestuous storms We'll see in a moment. That's actually typhonic Tempestuous literally in the Greek word that's used there is typhonic storms, so very severe storms to the degree that they just stopped sailing. There was no trade in the Mediterranean Sea during that period of time because of the severity. But here they are in this dangerous time leading up to the time where none sailed at all. And here we read that Paul admonished them. Why would Paul admonish the centurion, the master or the captain, and the owner of the ship? Who is Paul by way of experience compared to these men to admonish them not to set sail but to stay where they are to winter there at Fair Havens for the winter? In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 25 through 26, Paul has a little bit of experience because he says, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep. the perils of waters he speaks of in perils in the sea so he had some experience and this was not a what he admonishes them with was not a A prophecy, thus saith the Lord, but it was a deduction. It says that he, I perceive, he says, that this is going to end not in a good way if we proceed at this time. Based upon, again, the knowledge that he had, having been shipwrecked and been in perils of sea, he had a little bit of knowledge about this. You see, he was thinking of lives. the master or captain of the ship and the owner of the ship, they were thinking of profit margin. And had they thought in terms of lives, they probably would have sided with Paul at that particular time, but they didn't. And so they, Centurion, who was basically because it was requisitioned, he was in charge. He did the advice of the master of the ship and the owner of the ship and he set sail with those 276 souls that were upon this ship according to verse 37 of this chapter. They set sail for a more commodious, a better port than New Havens. They sought to sail to Phenicia or Phoenix as it is also called on the island of Crete. They were already on the island of Crete but this was about 35, 40 miles farther toward in the direction they wanted to go. There, they said, was a port that we could winter in, that would be more comfortable during the wintertime. Not that it was unsafe where they were, but they wanted it more comfortable. Maybe there was more to do in that port that they wanted to sell for, that is Phanesi. And at first, when they launch and embark upon this the next stage of their voyage, it says the wind was favorable, calm. And they were hopeful at that particular point, this is going to work out just great. This is going to work out fine. Paul was wrong. But then arose, as we said, a tempestuous wind in verse 14, a typhoon. Perhaps, again, that type of a swirling of the wind, like a typhoon. That's the word that's used there. This typhoon, which likely had been the means of death for many sailors, not the same one necessarily, but this typhoon had a name. Euroclodon was the name of this typhoon. And so it probably had led to the death of many in the past. In the next several verses, in verses 15 through 20, I'm not going to go into any detail with regard to those verses, verse by verse, but let me summarize for you the steps that they took to try to salvage this ship. Luke, who was on board, relates the various measures The ship's captain and the crew took, and no doubt Paul and Luke and Aristarchus all jumping in there, perhaps the prisoners as well, because this meant their life. They're not going to be jumping overboard and trying to escape in this storm, so they could probably safely put everybody to work. First they cast overboard all that might encumber the ship by way of cargo, anything they don't need. Then they brought down the sails and simply let the ship run in the midst of this typhoon. Rather than ripping the sails and the mast completely down, they took the sails down. Can you imagine the desperation upon that ship? We even recently have heard about the desperation upon an airline, on the part of an airline where part of the engine came back and broke the window. The desperation that existed, the fear for lives, the shouting, the crying for help and that type of thing. Well, again, If you've been on an airplane that you thought, this doesn't look good, this is pretty bumpy, this landing, you're kind of not flat, you're sideways here. You can understand to some extent what these men were going through on this ship out of fear for their lives. They took large ropes, cables, that were twined and intertwined together. They took them underneath the ship and with a winch brought those ropes together, those cables to hold together the bow and the stern of the ship. And they as well, it says for the past for three days, they fought for their lives. Moreover, they could not guide or direct the ship in the least. It was out of their control. The ship was just going whatever direction the wind and the waves were taking them. They had tried everything they knew to keep the ship in one piece and afloat and to preserve the lives of those that were on this ship. And to make matters worse, there was no sun. There were no stars visible by which to navigate at all. They were sailing blind. They were sailing blind. And when we read in verse 20, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. Notice, It doesn't say all hope that they should be saved was then taken away, but all hope that we should be saved. Luke includes himself, probably Paul, probably every person on that ship had lost hope that they would be rescued, that they would be saved because of the nature of that storm and how severe it was. Could their hope for survival, at least from a human perspective, look any more bleak or grim? They were wet. They were cold. They were shivering, no doubt. They were exhausted from fighting this storm morning and night. With every ounce of strength that they had, they could not eat. Probably it wasn't merely the fact that they did not have time to eat, but how do you eat and keep anything down in a storm like that? No strength. Merely running on adrenaline. There seemed to be, dear ones, no end in sight for this storm. They were not, clearly. They were not in control. But on the other hand, God was clearly in control. All hope in man was gone. And that's where precisely the Lord wanted them to be. No hope in man. Why? So that hope might be placed in the living God alone. Although, dear ones, you may not have been in this identical situation, you can likely relate to being hit with the storms of life that threaten to sink your family, to sink your job, to sink your your struggle against sin, the sink you're seeking to pay those bills, the sink you're being overwhelmed by a chronic illness or a terminal illness, or sinking you by way of the tyranny of wicked rulers who seek to threaten your life, in your property. These storms are not designed, dear ones. These storms are not designed to destroy you. They are designed by God. They're designed to make it clear that there is no help in the arm of flesh. There is no help in princes. There is no help in man. There is no help in horses or in chariots. There is only hope. in the Lord Jesus Christ. And just when it all seems so dark, so dim, so bleak, so gloomy, when you are so weak from the struggle, exhausted from the struggle that you're facing, by way of anxiety and fear, and again, a sense of hopelessness, The Lord mercifully comes to you because you're here today. You're here to worship Him, to glorify Him. The Lord mercifully comes to your help with His promise that He is with you and that you are not alone at all. God has not forsaken nor abandoned you. He's in control of the waves, of the winds against which you now struggle. or have struggled. Dear ones, he could have prevented that storm altogether had he chosen to do so. Therefore, because he didn't restrain that storm, but allowed that storm, brought that storm forward in that situation of which we just read, it was his plan. He was in control. He can stop a storm anytime he wants. He can bring forth a storm anytime he wants. But he didn't stop that storm at all. He didn't because he was sanctifying Paul and Luke and Aristarchus and he was, through Paul's words, bearing a faithful testimony to all the unbelievers on that ship that God is in control. God will rescue and save us. There's nothing you can do. And likewise, dear ones, He's sanctifying you through all the storms, through all the suffering, the trials that you face, He's sanctifying you through those. The second main point is Lord's Day. Paul's faith is upheld by the promise of God. Verses 21 through 26. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and 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. how be it we must be cast upon a certain island. Dear ones, without God's promise to save you, to forgive you, to sanctify you, to guide you, to cause you to persevere, and to provide for all that you need in this life and in the life to come, in order to glorify Him, you would have no reason to hope, apart from God's promise to you. Without the Lord God, who cannot lie, who is ever faithful, who is almighty, and able to bring His promises to pass, you would have absolutely no hope. This is why, dear ones, when you grow in the knowledge of God, when you grow in your understanding of God from His Word, understanding who God is, His nature, His attributes, that He cannot deny Himself, that this builds faith within you, not only His promises build faith within you, but also who God is, His nature, His character, His attributes. If you are estranged from God, if you don't care to grow in your knowledge of God, what faith you have is going to be very weak, because your faith is only as strong as the God who makes those promises to you. And so this is why it's so important that you read the Word of God, that you study it, that you learn who God is in all of His character and attributes and nature in order to uphold your faith. We could find all manner of people who make promises, but we would not trust those promises because of the person who made the promise. But when God makes a promise, we have every reason to believe and no reason to doubt, no legitimate reason to doubt the promises of God. There's only hope because you are assured by God's promise that you are safe in Jesus Christ. You're safe in that ark. the Lord Jesus Christ, and that you are not alone, you are never alone. You are assured by way of God's promises that you're not a victim, that you are more than conquerors through Christ who loved you, who gave his life for you. The constant fighting against the world, the flesh and the devil, that are relentless. Believe me, dear ones, those enemies are not gonna give up. Not until they are cast into hell, they're not gonna give up by way of their assault upon the Christian. We must make up our minds, we must determine that therefore our fight is in the Lord, that our fight is done with our eye of faith upon what Christ has already accomplished, that He's already a conqueror and victor over all His and over all our enemies. You see, we've all heard the little whisper in our ear that Satan wants us to believe that there's no hope. You're in a desperate situation. You can't find a way out to take your eye off of the Lord. But Satan, dear ones, is a liar. He is the father of lies. Why would we believe a liar when a God who is all truth, who is absolutely faithful with whom it is impossible to lie has promised us that we are safe in Jesus Christ now and for all eternity. There is hope because Jesus Christ through his death and his resurrection has shown and demonstrated there is hope because he's not dead, he's alive. Our hope is firmly fixed in Jesus Christ, dear ones, in a resurrected Jesus Christ who lives, who's overcome death. He has overcome all of our enemies. He simply calls us. In the midst of those storms, those trials, when you feel like just giving up, surrendering, cast yourself before the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you can't even utter a prayer, you don't even know what to say, The Lord knows your heart. He knows your size. He sees and understands and can interpret your tears. Cast yourself there, for therein you are safe, you are secure. After going without food and nourishment during those days and nights of fighting the winds and fighting the waves, and as I said, likely very seasick, Paul is renewed by the promise of God and says to the master, to the owner, and to the centurion, sirs, I told you not to set sail. Remember? Is Paul rubbing it in? Well, maybe a little in verse 21, maybe a little, but it's not for the purpose. It's not for the purpose of getting even with them. It's not for the purpose, as well, to draw attention to himself, look what I, this has all come to pass, just as I said, you should have listened to me, you know, to build himself up. No, it wasn't for that purpose. Why did he bring it up? Let me suggest to you, Paul was getting their attention by saying, remember, I told you about this kind of a situation, now, You didn't heed what I said before, now heed what I'm about to tell you by way of the promise of God. Listen to what I've got to tell you now. You should have listened to me the first time, but now listen to what my God told me through his angel. The promise, dear ones, is that all on the ship will be saved, though the ship itself will be destroyed. In verses 22 through 24, Paul in effect says, cheer up, the end is not near, but rather God, my God, the God whom I serve has sent his angel to assure me, just as he sent his angel, the angel of the Lord into the den of lions to close the mouth. of those lions, just as the angel of the Lord, the messenger of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ came into that fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So the Lord sent his angel to give to Paul this promise. Not one single life will perish. for every life should have perished in such a typhoon. God had earlier promised, you recall, that Paul would make it to Rome in chapter 23, verse 11. He assured Paul that he would be in Rome and that he would bear testimony and witness to Caesar in Rome. God will fulfill that promise, even if it's a few years later. as it was here with Paul. Even if it's through typhoon-like storms, even if it is through many trials, literally trials that Paul went through, standing and having to give a defense several times, being imprisoned, afflictions, physical afflictions that you may face, God will fulfill His promise. He will keep His word. Paul declares that he believes in verses 25 through 26. He believes what God has said. He had not only heard the promise Paul believed the promise of God because God was the one who gave it. You see, dear ones, today, the problem is not in your life or mine that God has not made promises to us. That's not the problem. The problem is on our behalf, we've not believed the promises that God has made unto us. Many hear the promise of God in sermons from the Word of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Regardless of what you have done in the past, regardless of whether you consider yourself the chief of sinners, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But many are not saved by simply hearing that. Many may know, many Christians may know the promises and have read the promises. And I'm going to read to you a few promises in God's Word. Many, probably most of you have heard these promises. Isaiah 26 verses 3 through 4. Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Do you need peace of mind? The Lord has told you, here's a promise of peace of mind. Do you feel like you're overwhelmed by a temptation, that you're going through something that very few people have gone through? Here's God's promise in 1 Corinthians 10, 13. There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. You're not unique. I'm not unique. Paul was not unique. Whatever temptations he went through, he went through temptations that are common to man. But God, notice, God is faithful. He's faithful to his word. He's faithful to you. who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. He won't take you out of the temptation necessarily. He won't take you out of the trial, the storm necessarily. He didn't take Paul out, but he will make a way to escape in that temptation that you may be able to bear it. How about this promise in Isaiah 41 10? Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Fear thou not. Why? is as much standing there with you, and even his angels standing there with you, as he did with Paul. In Hebrews 13, verses five through six, the Lord says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Paul says in Philippians 4.13, you don't think you have the strength? I agree with you. You don't have the strength. You don't have the power, but you have the power of Jesus Christ. Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me. You have a need. You have something that is necessary in your life. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And we can go on and on and on. And you have heard, you have read these promises. The issue is not that God hasn't made the promise. The issue is whether you believe it. Is he a God that is worthy of your faith, of your belief, of your hope? Or is he like those that you know, like yourself, that falters and fails, fails to keep our word? No, God is not like us. He's not a man that he should lie. Each promise of God to you, dear child of God, is like a love note. from the God of your salvation to you. God says, I love you, and I promise I will be with you, and I promise I will provide for all that you need. Be not afraid, only believe. Dear ones, that is the only way out of the darkness of despair, discouragement, hopelessness, you must believe and hope in the promises of God, which are all yea and amen in Jesus Christ. He is not insufficient, he is not feeble to bring about the realization of promises that he has made. He would not have made them if he could not keep them. but because he has made them, you have assurance that he, the living God, will keep his word, his promises. There is no hope, Germans, for us at all. There is no hope without God's promise unto us. You are all alone, and there is no salvation or eternal life without God's promise. There are only two ways to be justified, to be right before God. It's either by perfectly keeping the law of God and attaining that righteousness yourself, which, again, no man can do. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And the only other way, since none of us can keep perfectly that righteous standard of God's holy law, the only way for us to be right before God is through promise. The promise that Jesus Christ has kept the law of God perfectly for all those who will trust him for that salvation. If you look, dear ones, to your own obedience, you will perish in an eternal storm in hell. that that's the foundation upon which you believe you'll be rescued and saved, your own obedience, not a chance. Not a chance you'll be rescued and saved. If you look, dear ones, to your obedience, you will perish and there in hell. If you look by faith alone to the promise of Christ's perfect obedience alone, you will be rescued and saved from that storm. On this I close. How we look for ways to excuse ourselves so often, to excuse our doubts, to excuse our unbelief, as if our situation warrants our doubts, as if what we're going through in some way warrants our unbelief in the promise of God. Our situation is exceptional. That's in effect what we often say to ourselves. If anybody else was in my shoes, they'd be doing the same thing. They would be doubting in the same way that I doubt. Or another way in which we excuse ourselves is to say, well, if an angel appeared to me like an angel appeared to Paul, I would believe the promise of God, come what may. Dear friend, don't you yet understand, don't you yet understand that it is not the way that God delivers the promise that determines whether it is true or not true? The promises of God are all true. It's not the means that he chooses to deliver the promise that makes it true, that if it was by an angel, then I would believe it, Or if the Lord Jesus appeared to me, then I would believe it. He appeared to his disciples and they doubted. Jesus said that even if one is raised from the dead, they won't believe. They won't believe what Moses says and the commandments of God. in the Word of God. If they won't believe the Word of God, they won't believe even if one is raised from the dead. It's not how God extends to us and gives to us His promise that determines the truthfulness of that promise. It is the one who makes the promise that determines the truthfulness of the promise. The Living God is condescended to give to you his promises. Moreover, who would argue, who should argue, truthfully, that this isn't miraculous, that this is not supernatural, that God has inspired men to write exactly what he wanted in His Holy Word. Dear ones, if this is not miraculous to you, if this is not supernatural to you, no wonder you don't believe. No wonder you doubt. But if you believe it is miraculous, it's supernatural, then to cling to the promises of God is what you are called to do. Dear ones, believe the promise of God. Whether you read it, whether you hear it preached, because it is God who cannot lie, that declares that promise. Do not make excuses for your doubts, for your unbelief, lest those doubts multiply in your life. You begin to doubt one thing, and where will the doubt lead but propagating in giving birth to doubt after doubt after doubt. Stop the doubts right where they are. Trust God that he is faithful. Rather, let us all cry out to the Lord. Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. Amen. Please stand with me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we praise Thee and thank Thee for Thy promise. Thy multitude of promises found in Thy word that we are safe in Jesus Christ, that we need not fear what man can do unto us. That, O Lord, Thou has promised to us not only forgiveness, promised not only unto us the righteousness of Jesus Christ, but Thou has promised unto us that Thou would sanctify us. Thou has promised that Thou will glorify us in heaven. Thou will give unto us everlasting life. We praise Thee, our Lord, for Thy word today, for instructing us, convicting us, challenging us, reproving us, and encouraging our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And Lord, if there is anyone within the sound of my voice who has heard this sermon and has heard the promise, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Lord God, stir up their heart, granted them, Lord, faith and trust in thee to lay hold of that promise even now. We ask our Lord that thou would hear now and bless Lord. As we turn our attention to the baptism of one of our covenant children, we do ask and plead with thee our lord because the promise is made unto her just as the promise was made unto us father we pray that that promise would be realized in anna's life as she grows as we pray for all of our covenant children and oh god the promises made in baptism would not be ignored they would not be cast off But as we behold, even now, the baptism of this child, Lord, may we realize those promises have been made to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that gospel of Jesus Christ is what baptism signifies and seals. Father, grant faith to lay hold of this promise. We do ask that thou would bless now the sacrament of baptism as thou hast appointed it to encourage our faith as we observe but also as a means Lord to that Anna as she grows back grows up that she would be able to look back and and understand the promises made to her in the gospel and in her baptism. We do ask Lord that thou would bless as well Josh and Amanda as parents Lord that thou would Lift them up that thou, God, would use their testimony, their example, their leading their children in the ways of truth and righteousness and proclaiming the gospel to them and teaching them, oh God, thy holy law and commandments and the faithful and right doctrine that thou has revealed in thy word that God, thou would bless, Lord, their efforts, bless the efforts of all of us as parents are God, that that seed that has been sown would not be sown, O God, upon soil that becomes hard, that, O God, it would be sown in the field that has been softened by thy word, by thy spirit. We ask, Lord, hear our prayers. For Jesus' sake, amen.