It Is Well 5-12-96 AM

 5-12-96 AM

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

2 Kings chapter 4. Would you turn there? Sometimes we, you know, we men, we have jackets on and uh hair on our chest, and we keep warm that way. And uh 2 Kings chapter 4. I'm not gonna go any further with that. 2 Kings chapter 4. Look if you would at verse 8, please. Verse 8. Many of you have heard about the Shunammite woman, but I want you to see something this morning that may you maybe you've considered and maybe not. Second Kings chapter 4, verse 8, and it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunam, and there was a what? Say it. Great woman. Say it again, a what? A great woman. Now, if the Bible says it's a great woman, she must be a great woman. And it looks and she says, She constrained him to eat bread. I tell you what, that's a great woman, amen. Come on, man, is that right? First thing she did is said, Hey, you come in, I want to fix you something to eat. Amen. And so it was. That's preaching. John, I finally got a rise out of you, amen. And it was and so it was that as often as he passed by, he turned in hither to do what? Eat bread. I mean, that is a real woman, amen. Now, guys, stay with me. And look what he says. Uh and she said unto her husband, Behold, now I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passeth by us continually. She makes this uh, if you would, initiative, verse 10, and let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall. Let us set for them a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. Now, what happens is she begins to, every time he passes by and wants a place to stay, she begins to, if you would, minister to him at the at the uh approval of her husband. And then uh Elisha goes to her in verse 12, and he said to Gehazi, that's his servant, call the Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him, and he said unto her, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this what? Care. You know what Elisha says, You've taken care of us very well. What is to be done for thee? What dost thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, Look what she says, I dwell among my own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Fare she hath no child and her husband and old. What happens here? Uh Elisha, if you would, promises a child, and she has a child, and it's a boy. And notice verse 18, verse 18. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day that he went out to his father, to the reapers, and he said unto his father, My head, my head, typical father. And he said to the lad, carry him to his mother. Amen. And when he had taken him, he brought him to his mother, and watch very carefully. He sat on her knees till noon, and then what? Say it, died. Here's that boy that she had been promised, and that she had had, and this boy now is dead. Verse 21. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the who? The man of God. And they shut the door upon him and went out. And she called her unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, The husband says, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? It is neither at new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, here's her first statement, It shall be what? Say it. Well, it shall be well. Future, she says to her husband, Shall, future tense, it's going to be well. In the future it's going to be well, it shall be well. Then she sat on an ass and said to her servant, Drive and go forward, slacken not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. Now she comes to the man of God in verse 25, and the man of God sends her his servant down. Verse 26, run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And look when the servant gets down there, she's now close to the man of God, and she answered, Would you say it? It is well. First thing she said was, It shall be well in the future. It's going to be fine, it's going to be well. And then when she gets there to the man of God, she says, It is well. Now look a little farther, if you would. And uh verse 27. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. Watch it. And the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and the Lord hath hid it from me and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I not desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? Hey, please look up there here. Even though that woman said, It shall be well, she was grieved in her heart that that son was dead. And even though when the servant came up and said, Is it well? And she said, It is well, her soul was vexed and there was heaviness. Why? Her son had just died. And now she's pouring out her soul, if you would, to the man of God, as an ambassador of God, to God. Verse 29. Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and he sends his servant off to take care of the situation. But look at verse 30 about this great woman who becomes a great mother. And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. You know what she's saying? I'm not going anywhere, you're coming with me. Amen. And he arose and followed her. It's a persistent situation where this mother said, No, the servant's not good enough. I want you to come. I want you to take care of this situation. It's, it's, it's, it shall be well. Everything's gonna be fine. And then she got to the man of God and she said, It is well. Present tense. But when she got there, she poured out her soul, she poured out her her heaviness, if you would, but she said to the man of God, I'm not gonna leave you. I need you to come, and I need you to help me with this situation. And if you would, look at verse 34. The man of God comes, and he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hand upon his hands. And he stretched himself upon the child, and the flesh of the child waxed warm. If you read on when you get to verse 37 or verse 36, and he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. That's the mom. So he called her, and when he was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, fell at his feet, bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son and went out. And by the way, brethren, this is the lesson of a great woman. When she went into this situation where she had a great tragedy that happened in her life, when her husband said, You know, what's going on? She had enough faith to believe that it shall be well. Let me say it again. She had enough belief and had enough security in her heart that she said, In the future, it shall be well. She gets to the man of God, if you would, in our mindset, she gets to the ambassador of God, and when asked, she says, It is well. There was something in her that said, It's going to be fine, it's going to be well, but she wouldn't let the man of God send his servant. She wanted him to come, if you would. She wanted God to show up on the scene. And finally, when it came to the pass that the son was raised up again, she she went in, she didn't run to her son right away. She fell on her feet, she bowed herself to the ground, and then she took up her son. Brother, this is a great woman. Now I want to say something to you. We're supposed to live as Christians like it shall be well. Let me say it again. We're supposed to live like Christians with the mindset, it shall be well. Let me say it one more time. I don't know what you're facing this morning. I don't know what you're gonna be facing next week, I don't know what you're gonna be facing a month from now, but brethren, there ought to be something in our heart that says, it shall be well. By faith, in the future, it's gonna be just fine. Hey, brethren, all of us face death. May I say something to you? It shall be well. Everything's gonna turn out just fine for the Christians, amen. If you're a Christian in here and you're born again and you've received Christ as your Savior, we ought to live with the hope that it shall be well. And when we get to the place where the faith is grown enough, we say this in our heart. You know what? It's not only going to shall be well, it is well right now. Everything's fine right now. God's still in control, God's still on the throne, and God's gonna make everything come out the way he wants it to come out. Look, if you would at Genesis chapter 22, stay with me. Genesis chapter 22, let me bear this out just a little bit more. With Genesis 22, would you also pick up Hebrews chapter 11? The woman said, It shall be well. And then when she got in the presence, if you would, of the man of God, which is the uh ambassador for God, she said, It is well. She still poured out all their heart and heaviness, and she wouldn't let it go, and she was a woman that was, if you would, as a mother, very concerned, and God came and took care of the situation. Look at Genesis 22, and let me give you another illustration to help with your understanding. Genesis 22 and Hebrews chapter 11. In Genesis chapter 22, God told Adam Abraham in verse 2. Verse 2. And he said, Take now thy son, and then he qualifies it in verse 2, thine what? Only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him therefore a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. What an interesting thing to ask a man who has a son, his only son that he loveth to do. Take him up on that mountain and sacrifice him. So look what Abraham does, verse 3. Abraham rose up early in the morning, saddled his ass, took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and claved the wood for the burnt offering, rose up, went into the place which God had told him. Now they go up towards this mountain, if you would. And if you if you know the story, verse five, and Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass. And I and the land will go yonder and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, laid it upon Isaac, his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together. Look at verse 7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father, and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood. But notice what the son asked, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Good question, amen. This son had done this before with his father, and the son says, I see the wood, I see the fire, I see everything, but where's the lamb? And look at verse 8. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. You know what he's saying with that statement? It shall be well. God had given Abraham a command to do, and though Abraham didn't understand everything maybe that he was supposed to do, and the why behind it, when his son said, Where is the lamb? Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself for a lamb, for a lamb for a burnt offering. You know what he was saying? Hey, listen, son, it shall be well. Look at Hebrews chapter 11, and let me show you why it was going to be well. In Abraham's mind, everything was going to work out, everything was going to be taken care of. Look if you would at Hebrews chapter 11, verse 17, verse 17. Stay with me. By faith. Abraham, when he was what? Tried. When God tested him, offered up Isaac. And he that had received the promise offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now, why did Abraham have peace? Because of his faith in verse 19. Look what he says. Abraham, he accounting that God was able to raise him, Isaac, up, even from the what? Say it, dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. The idea was this. Abraham believed God was able to, even if Abraham raised the knife on his son and plunged the knife into his son and killed himself out of killed his son out of obedience to God, Abraham still believed that God was able to raise him up again from the dead. And so in his mind it said, it shall be well, and that the fact that he was going to be able to raise him up again, he said, It is well, everything's fine. God's going to take care of it. It shall be well, my son. I know God can raise you up again. It is well, my son. So he goes up, and if you know the story, please look up here. He goes to lift up the knife, and God did provide himself a what? A ram over in a thicket. But by the way, Abraham didn't know that when he raised the knife. The point of it is, Abraham knew by faith that it shall be well. And if you would, he was living like it is well. Everything's fine. By faith, the peace inside of him said, It is well. Look one more time at Luke chapter 7. Stay with me. Luke chapter 7. Brother, I wonder this morning. Is it well? Is it well? Let me ask you again, is it well? No, no, not not not. Is it well? I'm not just talking about for an hour at church. Is it well? Are we living our life like it is well? Hey, there are people in here that uh have uh uh diseases that sooner or later, if God doesn't do something, those diseases could cause uh terrible effects on these bodies. May I say this? It shall be well. It's gonna be okay. You say, well, you don't have to go through it. I don't know what I have to face. But I'll guarantee you we got things to face, don't we? It shall be well. My question is, this morning, with whatever you faced last week, is it well? Look at if you would at Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7. And you know the story, maybe, but I want you to see it. In verse uh 2, a certain centurion's servant. A centurion is a man who commanded a hundred men, if you would. A certain centurion's servant who was dear unto him. Now we already talked about Abraham offering his son. We already talked about the Shunammite woman's uh son dying. And here we have a certain centurion, uh servant who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. And when he had heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. Now, these elders, these leaders of the Jews, they came to Jesus in verse 4. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying that he, that's the centurion, was worthy for whom he should do this. Look what they say about this centurion, for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. So the centurion asked some of the ones that he had helped, if you would, of the Jewish nation. He asked those elders, Would you go see and would you go talk to Jesus about my servant who's about ready to die? Verse 6. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore? Neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee. But say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. You know what that centurion's faith told him? It shall be well. Is that right? It wasn't so much that Jesus had to physically show up at his house. All he said was, the centurion said, Listen, I'm not gonna, I didn't come myself, I didn't feel worthy. I sent the elders of the Jewish people to come to you, and now that you're coming, and now that I hear you're coming, listen, Lord, you don't have to come any farther. Don't trouble yourself, you've got a lot to do. All you need to do is say the word, and it's gonna be fine. Just say the word, and it shall be well. Look if you would at verse 8. He says, This, for I am also a man under a set under authority, having under me soldiers. I say unto one, go and he goeth, and the other, come, and he cometh. And to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great, what? Say it, faith. You see, brethren, it's our faith that is able to say, It shall be well. And Jesus Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith, and inside of us there's a spirit, uh the Holy Spirit that witnessed to us and says, Listen, it shall be well. And by faith we believe that. And he says, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. Verse 10. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant what? Whole that had been sick. Let me ask you a question. Did Jesus ever even make it to the house? Did the centurion ever physically see Jesus? Absolutely not. And by the way, it's a type of what we are today. I've never seen Jesus, have you? Never seen him. I've never laid eyes on him yet. Look at 1 Peter chapter 1, please. 1 Peter chapter 1. You say, man, I thought this was a Mother's Day message. Oh, it is. 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. We take it from the great woman, the Shunammite, who said, It shall be well. And when she got to the man of God, she said, Hey, it is well. And she poured out her soul, if you would, before God, and God took care of the situation, and it was well. In 1 Peter chapter 1. Look, if you would, now at a verse of scripture that brings it into play for us. Verse 6. Verse 6, brethren. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, a little time, if need be, ye are in what? Say it. Heaviness. Through manifold temptations. Those are those trials. That the trial of our of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth. Though it be tried with fire, it might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Please look up here, brethren. What he says there is, your faith is more important than gold or money or precious things. Your faith is more important than anything like that. And if need be, sometimes we need to go through these heaviness times, these times of trial. Look what he says in verse 8. Whom having not seen, who's the whom? Jesus Christ, ye what? Love. In whom though now ye see him not, yet what? Say it, believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The Shunammite's woman, the Shunammite woman's son is laying dead. The husband says, Why are you going to see the man of God? And she says, It shall be well. She had not seen the man of God yet, but she said, It shall be well. The servant comes up and he comes running up and says, Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy son? And she says, It is well. And she goes to the man of God and throws herself and grabs his feet and says, You must come. I'm not going to leave you. And he came, and by the way, he raised that son up. Please look up here. Abraham. God said to Abraham, Listen, I've got a test for you. I want you to take your son, your only son, who you love. I want you to take him up to the mountain. And I want you to lift the knife up and I want you to sacrifice your son. And in Abraham's mind, he said, You know what? God is able to raise him from the dead. So if I do this, God is still able. Let me say it again. God is still able to take care of my temptation, my trial. His son said to him, Where's the sacrifice? And he said, God will provide himself a lamb. In Abraham's mind, it was well. Everything was okay. Everything was taken care of by God. He was just going to do what God wanted him to do, and it was going to be well. The centurion came to uh the elders and he said, Listen, I don't even want to go down to see Jesus. I'm not even worthy to go down to see him. And I don't need to see him. Would you just go down and would you tell Jesus that my servant is almost dead? And the elders go down and they say to Jesus, please look up here. One who has helped us, one who has built us a synagogue, one who has been kind to us, the servant of almost dead, and he bids thee to come. So they go towards the house, and the centurion says, No, there's no need for you to come all this way to my house. Why trouble yourself? All you need to do is say the word, and my servant will be healed. And by the way, I've never seen Jesus. He's never showed up physically at my house. He's never showed up physically at this church, but I know this. All he needs to do is say the word, and whatever problem you have, it shall be well. All he needs to do is be heard. All he needs to do is know that all you need to know is that his presence in here and it shall be well. I'll tell you something about prayer. When you get before his throne, and you know you're in his presence, and you lay your supplication down, and you say, God, I'm facing this and I don't know quite what to do, and you know that he's heard, you can get up off your knees in your mind and walk away and say, It's gonna be okay. God's heard my prayer, it's in his ability now to do whatever he wants to do, and I can walk around with a peace of God that passes all understanding of my heart, and I know it shall be well. I know he's gonna take care of it. His way, whatever he decides, it's okay with me. We've got to get to the place where death is okay. We've got to get to the place where sickness is okay. You know what? We don't believe in this stuff that if you're sick, you're out of the will of God. Let me say that again. We don't believe in this stuff that if you're sick, you're out of the will of God. Lazarus died in God's will, amen. And God raised him from the dead, and there's gonna be tragedies that come, and there's gonna be heartaches that come, and there's gonna be temptations that come. Hey, think it not strange the fiery trials that are the trials. We're gonna go through some things. Why? The trial of our faith is more precious than gold. And ladies, here today, you're gonna carry some things in your heart that was heaviness, and then things happened in your life. But may I say this if your faith is strong in God, it shall be well, and today it can be well. It is well right now if God gives you the faith. Stay with me a little bit and look if you would at Philippians chapter 4 and John 14. Philippians chapter 4 and John 14. You know what we need? We need some Christians that walk around and say, it is well. It is well. It is well. You know what? I take something from the Shunamite woman and men. If we ever, ever take anything from so many types of situations is this Bible. This woman was not mowed rubbed down. This woman, please look up here. She was not drooped shoulders and she was not just walking around and saying, Oh, life isn't fair. And you know, you just don't know what it's like. You don't know what I've been through. You don't know, you don't know if you could understand. You'd know why I'm I'm this way. The Shinemite woman didn't do that. She said, It shall be well. We need some men that say, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be fine. With God's help, it's gonna work out. Are you listening to me? Ladies, sometimes you go through some things. And you say, Well, you're you're a young pup. You haven't been through some things. I've been through a few things. I've been through a few funerals in my days. I've known a few people laid in a casket before. We know we got some things coming up in our life. You know, after you get in the 40s and 50s and 60s, more and more tragedies come, don't they? More and more heartaches, more and more heaviness, and more and more manifold temptations. But somehow we gotta lift up our head and say, you know what? It's gonna be alright. It's gonna be well. It's gonna be fine. I don't want to be like the children of the Israel out in the wilderness murmuring and complaining and saying, God isn't fair and this isn't fair, and why did this happen over here? And I don't understand this. And if God loved me, and if God really loved me, why did He let that happen? God is God is God is always good. That's the way it is. Look, if you would at John 14, please. John 14, and you're also gonna pick up, if you would, Philippians chapter 4. John 14 and Philippians chapter 4. Look at John chapter 14. In John 14, it says this in verse 27. Look at it. What's the first word in John 14, verse 27? Peace. May I say what that word has connotations of? Peace. Please look up here before I read anymore. Peace has the connotation of security. Is that right? Peace has a connotation that if you would, there's an assurance. Peace I leave with you. And then he says, This my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be what? Trouble. You see, when we get his peace inside of us, it takes away that troubled heart. Let not your heart be trouble, neither let it be what? Say it. Afraid. Afraid talks about fear. You know what God's peace does? It takes away our fear. Come on, yes or no? His peace, not the world's peace, but his peace, if you would, takes away our fear. You know what? There's no doubt that this world is afraid of death. Before I got saved, I was afraid of death. How about you? Come on, yes or no? Absolutely. I mean, I feared death. The farther I get into this Bible, the more I understand his word, the more that peace comes to me, I think, you know what? Death is something I must go through to get to God. Now I understand the rapture, but if God tarries, I'm going to go through death. But there's a peace about going through death because I, though I've never been there, and though I've never talked to anybody that's been there and came back. There's a peace that passes all understanding, if you would, and it's a peace that God gives us, and we can say it shall be well. We can also say it is well. Is there grieving? Sure. The Shunammite woman grieved. Is there tears? Is there crying? Is there vexation? Sure. But there's a peace that this world doesn't have, and there's this peace that this world cannot give. May I say to you this doctors do the best they can. But an honest doctor will sooner or later look at someone and said, I don't know. I don't know. You may make it, you may not. I don't know. We'll do the best we can, but I can't guarantee you anything. I like honesty, amen. You know what God can say? If I get involved, you'll make it. Even if you die, you'll make it. Because I have the ability to raise you up again. Amen? And that's why when Abraham went up on the mountain, Abraham he went up and there was a peace in his heart that passed all understanding. And he said to his son, hey, listen, God's going to supply, if you would, a sacrifice for himself. And he accounted that God was able to raise him from the dead. That's why the centurion didn't have to have Jesus come all the way to his house. He said, just speak the word. Look, if you would where the peace comes from. Look at verse 26. Verse 26. But the what? Comforter. Which is the who? Say it. The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you. And then he says this in verse 27 peace I what? Leave with you. The reason he left peace was because he left the comforter. The Holy Spirit is left behind. The Holy Spirit at salvation comes into us, and the Holy Spirit, if you will, brings that peace that passes all understanding. And you say, I'm a Christian, why don't I have that peace? Maybe he's grieved. Let me say it again. Maybe the Holy Spirit's grieved. If I don't get to know the Holy Spirit well enough and my faith doesn't grow, then I don't have that peace in all situations. In fact, I find myself troubled sometimes. It's interesting, the time I find myself most troubled is the time I'm not abiding with the Holy Spirit. It seems like the closer I abide with the Holy Spirit, the more peace there is. Even when big situations come up, it just seems like there's a peace that says, it shall be well. It's well. Everything's fine. Look if you would at Philippians chapter four, or chapter four. Philippians chapter four and one other verse of scripture. Stay with me. Philippians chapter four and Colossians chapter three. Philippians four and Colossians chapter three. And I realize this morning you think, man, I come into the services, someone invited me here. Man, I wanted to get some soft message where we laugh. May I say this? We can laugh tonight, but today we need to face some things that we're facing now and find out that God can put a hope within us that says, it is well. And you say, I don't even need this message. By next week, you may get a phone call and you may need it. By next week, you may be laying in a hospital bed somewhere, unable to move. If you wouldn't, you say, Don't say that. I don't even want to think that. Life is that way, and you never can tell. One of us may be laying in a hospital bed somewhere, unable to move, unable to talk, but in our mind we can say, It is well. Last night I was in a hospital visiting somebody and I the CNN was on. I looked over and I saw about that airplane crash down in Florida. None of those people decided that would happen to them that day. None of those people had any idea. I get on an airplane tomorrow to go to Michigan. You say, Are you afraid? No, it is well. It shall be well. You say, What if you don't get there? It is well. It shall be well. And my wife's probably thinking, you better get there and you better come home again, too. Amen. Nobody knows what's going to happen to us the next day. We don't know. That's why may I say this? If you don't have that peace of God, well, look at verse uh chapter 4, look at verse 7. Verse 7. And the peace of God, remember that assurity. The peace of God. The peace of God. My peace I leave you. Not like the world leaves to you, not like they try to convince you. Not like they try to, you know, they say, well, you're brainwashing uh your young children. We're brainwashing them into believing in God. We're brainwashing them trying to believe that mankind's going to get everything together and mankind's going to square everything away. But may I say this? There are some things that men can't do that only the peace of God can do. And the peace of God, the one that takes away that fearfulness, the one that takes away that unassurity, the one that gives that assurity, the one that gives that security, and the peace of God which passes all what? Say it. Understanding. May I say this to you and don't take this wrong. Psychologists do not understand the peace of God. Scholars don't understand the peace of God. I don't care. Rocket scientists don't understand the peace of God unless they are saved. Only saved people who have received Christ, who have the Holy Spirit dwell within them, can they understand a little bit the peace of God? Because the peace of God passes all understanding. And it says that peace will keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus mothers today. May I say something to you? You carry a heavy weight. It would be a foolish statement for me to say I know what it's like to be a mother. I've watched my wife, mother, and I've known people in the church who've mothered. And by the way, once you're a mother, you're always a mother. Amen. You say, well, once you're a dad, you're always a dad. But you know, dads have a way of detaching themselves, it seems like, sometimes. Mothers. Once a mother, always a mom. Still my little son at 40. Amen. I'm the baby of the family. You know my mom's eyes? I'm still the baby. She treats me different than all the rest of them. I'm the baby. Guess what? The baby's losing his hair, amen. But still, mother. Once a mother, always a mother and a dad, always a dad. But may I say it just seems like that, that mothering. And mothers, uh, may I say to you, ladies, you need the peace of God that passes all human understanding and will keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus. Look at Colossians, if you would. Now watch this very carefully. Watch this, please. And this is this is key to everything I'm trying to get across to you today. It's so key. Look at Colossians 3. Colossians chapter 3. I'm gonna ask you to turn to one other scripture, too, and that'll save some time. Go back to 1 Peter chapter 1 again. Colossians 3 and 1 Peter 1, and I won't ask you to turn to any more scriptures. You came to get the Bible, though, didn't you? It's got more answers than any man should have, amen? It's got more any man you know, men and women they dream up ways to have peace. You know, some of it I understand it helps our mind and it soothes our mind. But the peace that God gives us is unlike any type of human peace. Colossians chapter 3. Now watch this very carefully, and I think you'll see how it all ties together. Colossians chapter 3, verse 15. Verse 15. And let the what? Say it. Peace of God. Now wait a minute. Let the peace of God, what's the next word? Rule. Rule. Now, rule means let it have control. Is that right? Rule. Rule means it's in control. Rule means I give myself over, submitted to not my own mind, but to the peace of God that passes all understanding, that is in me through the Holy Spirit. I give my mind over it and say, I'm not gonna worry about whether it's logical or not. I'm gonna trust this book. I'm not gonna worry whether it's logical or not that I'm supposed to go up and sacrifice my son. I'm gonna trust God's word. I'm gonna trust that God has always been faithful to me, and I know God can take care of it. I'm I'm gonna go to the doctors tomorrow and I'm gonna find out some things, and I'm a little scared about the whole thing, but whatever the doctors tell me, I'm gonna try to let the peace of God rule my heart, and I'm gonna try to make it so I'm not gonna go out in a panic and get all uh upset and go get drunk and go get on drugs and go down here to this person and complain to them and complain over them, and God is not fair. I want the peace of God to rule in my heart, and I don't want to be able to say what the doctor tells me. It is well, it shall be well. God will take care of it all, and it's always harder when it's someone else and not ourselves. What do we got going on? Somebody preaching back there? Well, let it rip, buddy. The peace of God must rule in our hearts. When I grieve the Holy Spirit, the peace of God doesn't rule. Why? The peace of God comes from the Holy Spirit. He's the one who comforts, he's the one who gives. Why should I fellowship with God? Why should I walk with God so I don't grieve the Holy Spirit? Why should I be worried about grieving the Holy Spirit? Because when I grieve the Holy Spirit, that peace of God that passes all understanding, that keeps my heart from being afraid, is not ruling my heart like it should anymore. Are you listening to me? If you're in here today and you say, you know what, I don't have that peace, may I say this to you? Abide. Get close to Him. Don't make church just a Sunday morning affair. Please look up here. Don't make church just a Sunday morning affair. If all you're getting is one hour on Sunday morning, that's not enough to have the peace of God rule your heart. It's absolutely not enough. May I suggest coming back to church on Sunday night? Well, we we we just don't do that. Well, why don't you give it a try? May I suggest a midweek shot on Wednesday night? Just a little half an hour shot shot of whatever you want to call it, of peace. Of the word of God. Now, may I say this to you? Please look up here. But if you come Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night, that's still not enough. I think we need it daily. I think you say, well, how can I get church daily? We've got a book. We've got the Holy Spirit, the teacher, the author. Daily you can get in your word, and daily you can let the peace of God rule, and daily our hearts can be comforted, and daily we can we can walk along the side of the one that took care of the Shunammite woman and took care of Abraham and took care of the centurion. One more scripture. Look at 1 Peter chapter 1. And you're doing well, and I hope you're not offended because I've listed my voice a little bit. 1 Peter chapter 1. Look at verse 3, brethren. Verse 3. Watch how this goes here. Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us again unto a what? Lively. It's not a dead hope. It's a hope that's living. And may I say this when you see that lively hope, please look up here. I'm doing a little gardening now, and I tell you what, it won't be long. We'll be eating those garden tomatoes. Now, some of you don't know anything about garden tomatoes. They're maters, amen. But I'm watching the plants grow now. And may I say, hope is not something that should grow just a little bit and stagnate. Faith and hope is not something that should just grow up a little bit and stop. Faith and hope is not something that grows a little bit more and then just stops. If it's a lively hope, it's continually supposed to grow. And it's only where sometimes it continually grows, please look up here, is to be tested and tried. And God knows what it takes for our hope and our faith to grow anymore and to keep it alive. It's not a dead hope, it's a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Verse 4, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. It's going to be well. Look what he says in verse uh number verse eight again. Whom having not seen, ye what? Ye love. I haven't seen Jesus just like the centuries, but I know he can do it, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, and ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory in verse 9, receiving the end of your what? Say it, faith, even the salvation of your souls. And look if you would, verse 13, please. Verse 13 says, Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and do what? Hope to the end. For the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Brethren, the hope that we had five years ago needs to continue to grow. It needs to be continue to be nurtured along the way. And please look up here. If your hope is stagnated, then the fears that come about as life goes on, and the bigger problems and the bigger trials and the bigger temptation and the bigger tragedies that happen, our hope and our hat, our faith have to grow to be able to counterbalance that. And that's why it's so important to stay in church and stay abody and stay walking with the Holy Spirit of God. The little things that used to happen to me when I'm 20 are nothing compared to what happened to me now at 40. And the little things that happened to me at 40 are going to be nothing compared to the things that are going to happen to me at 60. Are you listening to me? And my hope has to grow, and your faith has to grow, and we have to continue to grow in that lively hope. And then we can say, when we're 40, it is well. When we're 60, it shall be well. You may be saying that, sitting there and saying, Well, let's see what this guy goes through and let's see if he makes it. You know what? Others have made it before me. I've got it in the book. I've got an example of others who've made it before me in the book. I've got an example of those who've stayed faithful all the way through. And Paul said he finished his course. We've got that, we've got that example in here. Brethren. Is it well? Pick up your songbook real quick, please. And watch the time. It shall be well. You'll get out of here on time. Pick up your hymn book real quick. Look at hymn number one five nine. One five nine. You say it's Mother's Day. We've got to get out of here. We've got to get to the food. It shall be well. Oh, what if my roast burns? It is well. He'll take thee out to eat. You say, I don't have anybody. We'll loan you the money. 159, look at it. 159. Look what's written here, and I want you to see it with this in mind. 159, when peace. Now remember, surety, security. That peace that passeth all understanding that only comes from God. We're not talking about man's peace, women's peace, as far as the idea of mankind giving out their thoughts for peace. We're talking about the peace that God gives to us as a gift, when peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast what? Say it, taught me. And that's what we're doing this morning. You say, aren't you born with this? We're not born with it, we have to learn it. Oh, we're born again with the Spirit, but we still have to learn faith. We still have to grow in faith. Thou hast taught me to say, It is well. It is well with my soul. You know what our children need? They need some parents to walk out that door and get in the car and say, Children, I just want you to know today it's going to be fine. It's just going to be well, and it is well. When it's well, it'll cut down the arguments in the home. When it's well, it'll cut down the contentions in the home between mother and father when you're listening to me. And we need to have some children, whether you're a single parent, whether you're a single mother or a single father, or a married couple, or trouble. Our children need to find out it is well. Verse 2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come and it will. What? Say it? Assurance. What's the next word? Let the peace of God that passes all understanding. He said, Let that peace rule. Rule. Control. That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate. Please look up here. You know there are things that happen to us that we have no control over. Oh, I'm in total control of my life. Grow up, big boy. You're not either. Oh, I'm in total control. You're not in total control that you're even going to get home on that freeway. You can't cause what's going to happen to another driver. Amen? I'm not in total control. I'm getting on an airplane tomorrow. It's no big deal. I've gotten on hundreds, but I'm not in control of that. You know who is, though? God is. You say, well, why would a loving God let tragedies happen? Because he said it's going to happen. Look what he says. That Christ has regarded my helpless estate and has shed his own blood for my soul. My sin, verse 3, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross. And I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. You know what he's saying? Hey, that sin, it's all forgiven. It is well. And Lord, haste the day. When the faith shall be what? Side. Please look up here. The Shunammite woman ran and grabbed the Elisha's feet and she wouldn't let go. She had faith that he could go down there and he could raise that child from the dead. And finally he followed her down and he went into the bedroom. And he and he and he and he laid himself on top of the child and did it twice. And finally the woman's faith turned into sight when she came in and saw that boy alive again and saw that boy moving. And she bowed her knee down and she thanked the man of God. Are you listening to me? And by the way, please look up here. We're not talking about thanking us. Preacher. Back in those days, the man of God was the power of God. Are you listening to me? It is well. It shall be well. And Lord haste day when the faith shall be sight. Please look up here. Abraham took his son by faith, believing that God was able to raise him from the dead. And that day he went up and he lifted the knife up and he went to kill his son, and there was a ram caught in a thicket. And don't you know that it was well when his faith turned into sight? And he went walking back down the hill with his son still alive. That centurion said to Jesus, You don't have to come here, just say the word. That servant who is dear to me, it shall be well. And the Bible says that that servant did rise up again from whatever sickness that that servant had. And Lord haste the day when the face shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. Let me ask you a question this morning. Is it well? Ladies, is it well? Let's be honest. If it's not, then what we need to do is we need to go to God and say, God, I want to grab hold. I want to come to your throne. I don't want to let go. Please look up here. Even though I've never seen you. You don't have to show up to me physically. The centurion didn't need that. All you need to do is say the word, and it will be well. All I need to know is that you're attentive to my problems, and it will be well. All I need is that peace of God that passes all understanding in my heart. I need your peace given to me, and it shall be well. We can walk out of here and we can say it is well. Do our children know it's well? Does our spouse know it's well? Do our friends know it's well? They're watching our life. If you don't know for sure if you're saved this morning and your sins are forgiven, if you're not sure where it says that my sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, may I say this to you in closing? It can be well with your soul this morning. God can forgive sins. Please look up here. God can forgive sins that quickly. Just like that. Well, you say when I'm a better person, it doesn't have to be a better person. Just a saved, forgiven person is all. Just coming to him and in humble contrition and saying, Father, forgive me. I've sinned. Please wipe out my sin slate. Put all those sins that were laid to my charge and lay them to the charge of that cross where your son died. And then the Holy Spirit comes in at salvation. And the Holy Spirit, please look up here, is the one who witnesses to our spirit when we face things in life and says, Relax, calm down. It's well. I've got everything under control. I know what's going to happen. I'm going to carry on through. I'm going to work it out for you. I'm going to help you. I know you're through manifold temptations and heaviness right now, but I'm going to work it out for you. It's going to have to be me. You're not going to be able to work it out. It's going to have to be me. And I will work it out. I will take care of you. You say, well, it's not me, preacher, it's somebody I know. Sometimes that's even harder. It's a mother who has a wayward son. It's a mother who has a wayward daughter. It's a mother who has some memories that just haunt her. It's a mother who's fearful for her children. It's a mother who can't control everything going on in her children's lives. It's a mother who, even though those children are 30 or 40 or 50, she's still a mother. And she's still their mother. And she still carries the grieving heart, if you would. And may I say this to you, mothers, although I've never been one, and although I'll never be one on this earth, I know this. There's a Shunammite woman that says, It shall be well. And then she said, It is well. And then her faith turned into sight. And it was well. And it's going to be fine if you're a Christian. Let's all stand. Please don't leave. Please look right up here just for a moment. Stretch. I know you've been sitting for a while. The son's life was regained. The Shinemite woman fell down before God. I know she fell down before the man of God, but she acknowledged it was God's power. And she knew where the power came from. And please, you don't have to fall down in front of any preacher or any man down on this earth. But it's good once in a while to fall down on our knees before God in heaven and say thank you. Thank you for the promises that it shall be well. And I want to live more, Father, like it is well, presently. And mean it. God, would you allow the peace of God that passes all this understanding and even my understanding? Would you allow that peace of God to rule my heart? And Father, would you increase that hope and make it lively, make it living, help it to grow, help my faith in you to grow. Grant me more faith with the tragedies and the trouble that I face in the future. That I face at the present. Measure out more of that faith, like you said in Romans 12. And grant me to have that peace of God that I could look at somebody square in the eyes and say, It is well. It really is well. And they can look at me and say, How can it be well? Look what you're going through. And you could say, it is well because God rules my soul. And God rules my heart. And he's given a peace that passes all understanding. And you can have that peace too. This morning, if you've never received Christ as Savior, you'll not get the peace without bowing your knee like a little child, repenting and coming to Him and asking forgiveness. You'll never have the peace that passes all understanding, but it's available today. Silver and gold won't buy it. He wouldn't cheapen it by making it to be something dealing with money. He wouldn't lower himself and say, you pay this and I'll give you my peace. It's far more worthy and valuable than that. You can have it today for the asking. If you've never received Christ and have your sins forgiven today, on Mother's Day, would be a good day to receive Christ as Savior. And today on Mother's Day would be a good day for some of us to gather around an altar and say, God, thank you. That one of these days my faith is going to be sight. And all that I face down here will roll away like the clouds be rolled back like that scroll. Help me to live a life that says it is well with my soul.