Many of you know who R. C. Sproul was.....and many of you don't. He went to be with his Lord in December of 2017....but was in my opinion....and that of many others.....one of the the finest teachers of Christian doctrine in the entire world. High praise but this opinion of mine is from 35 years experience. Anyway....his ministry website remains active.....probably as active as when he was with us. It provides a daily audio....and a daily video. I wanted to recommend today's daily audio. It's a little bit more casual than usual.....it only lasts for about 25 minutes.....but it gives a glimpse of who R. C. was. The topic today is Looking For God's Will. I want to give a little warning though before you go there. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ....you may not come out that way if you give these daily audio and video messages a try. One more thing. You will understand why I'm retelling the following story after you listen to Looking For God's Will....(note: it's no longer the daily audio but you can Google it easily...and I also recommend to you his last sermon....A Great Salvation....which can also easily be Googled:
It was 1982. My wife of five years and I were on a cruise in the Caribbean. We made the normal port stops on the ship....I believe it was Norwegian's Starward....that was much smaller than cruise ships of today....and we were circling the west end of Cuba. It was the last day as we headed back to Ft. Lauderdale and there was a storm at sea. The waves were so high that no one could take advantage of the entertainments on the ship so we headed back to our cabin....hands bracing on the left wall and then the right wall all the way.
We had the bargain inner room with two single beds...a table....and a bathroom.....no television. I was new to the Christian faith but so very excited....as we all are when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. I'm just as excited....even more so today....36 years later. I didn't even know enough to take a Bible along on the cruise. I did take along with me a Charisma Magazine and copy of a B. J. Thomas autobiography Home Where I Belong....both of which I gave to some Russian sailors whose Bauxite ship was docked in Jamaica. Hey...that's the best I could do at that stage.
With nothing to do in the room I opened the table drawer and there was that old faithful Gideon's Bible. Not knowing very much about the Bible....I did what many others have done.....usually very unwisely.....I randomly opened the it up....and put my finger on the page....and then read what was there. It was the 93rd Psalm of only five verses.....so I read......
The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established from of old;
That it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
The LORD on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea. (things were sliding off the table from the rocking of the ship)
Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O LORD, forever.
I have rarely been without a Bible or access to one since that day! Please go to ligonier.org!
It was 1982. My wife of five years and I were on a cruise in the Caribbean. We made the normal port stops on the ship....I believe it was Norwegian's Starward....that was much smaller than cruise ships of today....and we were circling the west end of Cuba. It was the last day as we headed back to Ft. Lauderdale and there was a storm at sea. The waves were so high that no one could take advantage of the entertainments on the ship so we headed back to our cabin....hands bracing on the left wall and then the right wall all the way.
We had the bargain inner room with two single beds...a table....and a bathroom.....no television. I was new to the Christian faith but so very excited....as we all are when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. I'm just as excited....even more so today....36 years later. I didn't even know enough to take a Bible along on the cruise. I did take along with me a Charisma Magazine and copy of a B. J. Thomas autobiography Home Where I Belong....both of which I gave to some Russian sailors whose Bauxite ship was docked in Jamaica. Hey...that's the best I could do at that stage.
With nothing to do in the room I opened the table drawer and there was that old faithful Gideon's Bible. Not knowing very much about the Bible....I did what many others have done.....usually very unwisely.....I randomly opened the it up....and put my finger on the page....and then read what was there. It was the 93rd Psalm of only five verses.....so I read......
The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established from of old;
That it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
The LORD on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea. (things were sliding off the table from the rocking of the ship)
Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O LORD, forever.
I have rarely been without a Bible or access to one since that day! Please go to ligonier.org!
