In this sermon, the preacher shares stories and illustrations to emphasize the importance of accepting God's invitation for protection and salvation. He describes a scene where a child is left behind in the midst of a battle, and a brave soldier risks his life to save the child. This act of bravery is compared to the sacrifice of Jesus, who gave his life for humanity. The preacher also warns about the consequences of rejecting God's call and emphasizes the need to prepare to meet God, as He is both a loving God and a God of judgment. The sermon encourages listeners to accept God's invitation and find safety and confidence under His wings.

O Father, we come as women before Thee, and we so long as women, as young girls, as children, Lord, to be what Thou wouldest have us to be. And therefore we ask Thee to come in this morning and to speak to us, to encourage us, to guide us, to lead us, Lord, and to help us as we walk with Thee. O Father, reach out to us in this morning. May we sense Thee here, and may we sense Thou speaking to us. In Jesus' name, Amen. Now, this morning I felt led to share with you about an amazing position, amazing place that the Lord has for each one of us who know Him as Saviour. A place that He has invited us to. It's a place of shelter. It's a place of reposing trust. It's a place where there's an incentive for confidence in our Christian walk. And it's a protected place. And that place is under the shadow of His wings. Under the shadow of His wings. And there's a lot of scriptures. I'm just going to read a few. Psalm 91 verse 4 says, He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 61 verse 4, I will trust in the covet of thy wings. Psalm 36 verse 7, How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Thy children put their trust in the covet of thy wings. Psalm 91 verse 1 and 2, He that abideth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress, my God. In Him will I trust. Keep me as the apple of my eye, says Psalm 17. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 31 verse 19 and 20, Again, it doesn't speak of it as wings, but it gives the picture. O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence, from the pride of man. Thou shalt keep them secretly from the strife of tongues. Psalm 55 verse 6 says, In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpassed. Then we get the third verse in Matthew 23 verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thee together as a hen gathereth her chicks under her wings, but ye would not. The hen gathers the chickens under her wings to protect them from the hawk, to protect them from danger, to protect them from their own silliness sometimes, foolishness. What wonderful thought it is that for you and me there is a place of refuge, a hiding place under the very shadow of the Almighty's wings. Now the first thing we've got to consider is that we are not automatically under His wings. We are not automatically under His wings. The very words of the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee together as a hen gathereth under her wings, but ye would not. If we think of all the prophets and how often they spoke to Israel as a nation and called them to repentance, called them to that place, that position under the protection of God and their rebellion and their refusal to move into that wonderful place of protection. And then in Amos 4 we get a very clear picture of God calling, because God is calling you and me, every one of us. He calls us to that place of safety and we either say yes or we say no. Now in Amos 4 we get God being almost amazed at the refusal of man to come to this place. He speaks in verse 6 of cleanness of teeth, want of bread, which speaks of hunger and famine. You see, sometimes God, when He wants to call us to that place, He speaks with a hard voice to get us there. And the amazement of God that on this nation He sent hunger and famine and they were not willing. He said, yet ye have not returned unto Me. Then He said, I have withholden the rain from you. God sometimes sends hard times upon us. Cause it to be rained on one city and not on another. When it was months to the harvest, verse 7, and again the sad words, yet ye have not returned unto Me. I have smitten you with blasting and milled you, verse 9. When your gardens and your vineyards and your olive trees increased, the palmer worm devoured them. Yet ye have not returned unto Me. I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and you were as a fire brand plucked out of the burning. Yet ye have not returned unto Me. And then we get to verse 4. And it says, prepare to meet your God. For lo, He that formeth the mountains and createth the wind and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hosts, is His name. Initially we are called to the wonderful, protecting, loving arms of God, the wings. Under His feathers can we trust. But if we reject God's call, if we refuse to come to that place, then we face not a loving God, but eventually a God of judgment. We are under the wrath of God if we refuse His call. How sad to find the winds of mercy folded and instead a God of judgment. Prepare, the earnest prophet cried. More time that day will be denied. O man, take care. O man, beware. You will surely meet God over there. God calls to you upon life's way. You still His voice from day to day. You do not think, you do not care that you will meet God over there. God's grace extends the midnight hour. His clarion voice goes out with power. Prepare. Prepare. O man, beware. You will surely meet God over there. If you but turn, receive God's Son, your soul, O man, is one, is one. Too late, O soul, at Heaven's door. Damnation falls forevermore. The scripture has concluded, All under the Son there is none righteous, no, not one. If we do not believe in God, the wrath of God abideth on us, falls on us. Instead of the protection of His wings, we are under the dark cloud of judgment, of wrath, of condemnation. So what am I saying? I'm saying that we are not born under His wings. We do not land under His wings. But we are invited to that special place where there is forgiveness, cleansing, mercy and protection. And the question we need to ask is if we have come to Him. Now war is of course a terrible thing. If you read in the Bible about the wars, right from those times, it's terrible to think of the devastation that war brings. I mean, Saul killed his thousands, slew his thousands, David slew his ten thousands. What a picture that brings up of the carnage of war. But sometimes the stories that come out of war, that are very encouraging, even Bethlehem's well and the water, the bravery of the men. Now I was reading in a chatterbox, a 1908 book, a wonderful story about what happened in Europe in the war. There was a man called Lord Charles Hay, and he was a British officer of the first lifeguards. He was a very brave man. He was known for his bravery and therefore he was called by the name of Salamander. They called him Salamander. And the French and the British were arrayed against each other in Europe. And the fighting was a heated fighting. The guns were volleying from one side to the other. And then suddenly the British saw something very strange. Because suddenly Lord Charles Hay, Salamander, started walking towards the French lines. And they weren't very polite. I don't think they usually are in the army. So they shouted out, come back you fool. That man is a, they called him an idiot. Why is he walking to his death? And then there was just smoke from the battle again. So they didn't know what was happening. And then when the smoke settled a bit, they thought, well they are going to see him lying flat on the ground, dead, slain. But instead they saw him steadily walking. So the British stopped fighting, I mean stopped shooting. They shoot him. Then the French wondered what was happening. So they looked and they said, well perhaps this man is an emissary from the British. And he is coming with a negotiation. So they stopped shooting for a while. And then they suddenly saw what this man was about. It was in Belgium that this battle happened. And there were some Flemish peasants. And they were living in hovels. And they had thought that the battle, which was very organised in those days, would have happened to the right of them, not close to them. And so they thought they would be able to be safe in their little hovels and watch what was going on on the right. But the direction of the battle changed. And suddenly they realised that the fighting was going to be directly where they were. So they grabbed their belongings, grabbed their children and ran for the woods. But in the scuttle and everything a little child was dropped. And there where the guns were blazing forth, there was a little child lying flat on the ground, petrified, the smell of death there in the atmosphere, not knowing what was going on, lying face down. And so Salamander, Lord Charles Hay, was walking directly to that child in the face of the fire. And then a French officer begrimed with suit from the war and he shouted, Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't shoot! Because they saw what was happening. And Salamander walked straight up to the child, picked the child up. And then with his back between the French guns and the child he was holding, he walked and handed the child to the mother, kissed the child, turned round and walked back again. How precious that between that child and the guns of the French was the back of Salamander, Lord Charles Hay. His back was a sheltering wall. And in the same way there is a back that is between us and the condemnation and the wrath of God. And whose back is that? It's the back of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed. He gave His life. He did not survive it. He gave His life for us. His back became a ploughed field as it says in the Psalms. Are we going to accept that protection? As that child had to accept the arms of Salamander. Are we going to accept that place that the Lord Jesus Christ holds out to us? A French officer stepped out. He was old, dignified. He had medals all over. And he said, I want to shake the hand of the bravest man that I've ever met. One of the other soldiers said, stop fighting because he said, this man is like an angel from heaven. Even if he is an Englishman. But we've got somebody far greater who is willing to put His back between us and the wrath of God. And how sad if we say no to the invitation that comes to us. Secondly, under His wings is a place of safety and confidence. It's a place of safety and confidence. You know, when we're under His wings, we are His responsibility. And that takes such a load off a person. You know, when we're in this world today, it's not an easy world to be in. There are lots of things that cause fear and anxiety. But to know that I'm His responsibility, to abide under His wings, to stay there. Perfect love casts out fear. And under His wings is a place of perfect love and perfect trust. Psalm 61 verse 4 says, I will trust in the covet of His wings. A place of trust and confidence. What have I got to fear? You know, if you were to talk to a little chicken and the chicken was under the mother hen's wings, the little chicken would cheek and say to us, what have I got to fear? My mother's wings are over me. My mother's wings are protecting me. And in the same way, what have we to fear? No matter what happens to us, if we are under those protecting arms and wings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Romans 8 brings this out from Psalm 34. We read, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And shall, and it enumerates a lot of things. It's the same idea. The love of Christ, the protection of Christ. What and who can separate us from that? First of all, he speaks of tribulation, affliction. Now there was a lady at a convention recently that shared with me. I was at a ladies convention in a town. And she said how the Lord took her son so suddenly, so unexpectedly. She was phoned and the daughter-in-law said, your son is dying. He's never had heart problems. He's never been ill before. He's been a delight to them. He was expecting a baby after 10 years of marriage. And a few minutes later, they phoned and said, he's gone. So sudden. And she said, but you know Jenny, she said, I have not lost my joy in God. I have not lost my trust in God. There is a God in heaven. And I know he loves me and he cares for me. And even though I cry, and I do cry quite often, it hasn't taken away my joy in the knowledge that I am his responsibility that I belong to him and that I trust him in what he has done and what he has allowed. Now, Paul was shipwrecked. He had told them, he had given them advice. They had not taken his advice and he was shipwrecked. But even in that position of being shipwrecked, he had that trust that overhead are the everlasting wings of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can think of Paul and Silas in prison. They were hurt in prison because the man had to dress their wounds later on. But they sang. Why did they sing? Because even the prison and the chastisement and hurt that they had could not separate them from the love of God. Now in Hebrews 11, there are further examples. It's just too wonderful. We read from verse 35 and it says, Women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, morever, of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn asunder. They were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. And these, all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise that the Lord Jesus had not come yet. The day without us should not be made perfect. We have a scene we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us run with patience the race set before us. Look at all those people. Nothing, not nakedness, not famine, not being sawn asunder, was able to separate them from the protection of God, His love. We can think further of Nero, of the Inquisition. There are people that have been persecuted even in this day. In Africa, North Africa, Eastern countries, Christians that have to give their life for the Gospel. But that is not able to separate them from the love of God, from His protection. And it is a place, of faith and trust. It doesn't mean it's an easy road. It doesn't mean that we're going to be without difficulties, but there is a God in Heaven whatever we go through. Daniel knew that there was an all-presiding God whose protecting wings he could shelter under. Now, we know the story of Daniel when they told him that the wise men were going to be killed if they didn't not only interpret the dream but tell the dream. Now, when you interpret a dream, anybody can do that because any interpretation could be the right one. But to tell the dream you have to be spot on. And for that you need supernatural intervention. And that he knew. Daniel did not lean on his own wisdom under the protection of God. He leant on God's wisdom. And under His wings, we as women, I mean there are so many things that we face, decisions that we have to make, wisdom that we need as young people, as older people, as parents. And to lean on God as Daniel did under His wings. God's protection, His protecting wings did not spare Daniel from landing in the lion's den. And God's protecting wings does not spare us from landing in the lion's den of men's anger, opposition, turmoil, even as the Bible said, from those in our own household. It can be those in our own household. But for Daniel, the mouths of the lions were shut. I'm sure they growled that they weren't able to bite him. However, in Nero's time, in the Inquisition, the wings of God were not able to stop them from being slaughtered and slain and brutally killed. So where is God's protecting love and wings when we are hurt? And there are Christians that are hurt across the world. How can there be joy and trust when people can be hurt? And I think the wonderful thing is that the wings of God protects us. And even though man may hurt us physically, even though man may hurt us emotionally, if we stay under the wings of God, our soul is safe. And that is what the Christians in the Inquisition, and that is what the people in Nero's time, they had such joy despite their persecution, despite their suffering, despite their death, because they knew that there is a God in Heaven and over them was His protecting wings of love. And their body could be brutally brutalized, but their souls were safe in God's hands. And therefore, under His wings, we don't necessarily expect that everything will go smoothly for us, but we can know that our souls, our eternal souls, are safe. And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell. And that is the attitude that we need to have. What is the secret? How could these Christians have joy despite the fact that they went through such tortures? The secret, I feel, is Psalm 31 verse 19 and 20. It says, O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, we have read it, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy pavilion from the pride of man. Thou shalt keep them secretly in thy pavilion from the strife of tongues. Now what does it actually mean? I believe that no matter what torture and hardship and whether in our circumstances it's the anger and the opposition and the hard times that people can give us, there is a secret pavilion in your soul where you're actually in communion with God. There's that secret place where you're hiding no matter what people are doing to you and that secret place keeps your joy, keeps your trust, keeps your protection intact. It's not no strife, but God can help us from the strife hurting us. It's a shelter to flee to. So I hope that we can in this morning just get a little glimpse of this wonderful place that God holds out to each one of us and to ask ourselves, are we there with joy, sheltering under the shadow of His wings? Now in the Old Testament one of the thrilling stories that we read about is about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Isn't it so? I know as a child I just loved that history, part of the history in the Bible. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, what really struck me is that they knew that there was a possibility that they could die in the fire, but even that knowledge did not make them willing to move out of the protection of His wings. Let's go back to the court of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. We read there there was an image of Nebuchadnezzar. It was 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. Imagine how big that was. And that was in the plain of Dura in Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar sent for princes, governors, captains, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, all rulers of provinces to dedicate this image. Now Daniel wasn't there at that time. Historians believe that he was perhaps away on state business. We don't know. So Daniel's protecting wings were not there for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had to stand there alone. All stood before the image. And then a herald cries out aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornice, the flute, the harp, the sackboard, the psaltery, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. Whosoever falls not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of the burning, firing furnace. Now I remember as a child, my dad used to love to tell us this story, and I just remember as a child, it almost felt as if we were there as children in that place, standing with this multitude. We could, my dad said, you could look and there were just people everywhere. Just masses of people. And then the music would start. And then everybody would fall down. And then the fear, the awe, the admiration we had as children to think that three lone figures were standing up in the midst of that vast multitude. And my dad said, you know how obvious they looked? How easily you could see them because they were standing straight up. And the anger of the king, is it true O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do you not serve my gods nor worship the golden calf which I have set up? Who is that God who will deliver you out of my hands? And this is this wonderful answer, they brave. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace and will deliver us out of your hand, our king. But if not, there is always that possibility. Be it known, O king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. They refuse to move out from under the protection of his wings even though they knew they could die. And then of course they are given another chance and the fire is lit seven times warmer and children wondered how they could get it seven times warmer and I haven't quite found that answer yet. And then when they flung them into the fire it was so hot that people died who were standing and throwing them in. And then Nebuchadnezzar the king was a stony and rose up in haste and spoke unto his counsellors do not we cast three men in the midst of the fire? And they answered and said unto the king true O king and he said lo I see four men loose. Isn't that wonderful? The Lord Jesus was there with them in the midst of the fire. And then they come out of the fire and there's not even the smell of the fire upon them. Now my dad says that's very remarkable because often when we've gone through hard times we bring the smell of the fire with us. I was listening I was travelling and the radio happened to be on in the car that I was travelling in and it was an interview someone was interviewing a lady who had really suffered a lot and they interviewed her with a view that she would give advice to others who were suffering and help them to pass their tests in life but she was so conscious of all she had gone through that the conversation always turned to herself and what people did to her. So then the lady the interviewer said to her but listen let's forget about yourself for a moment let's try and think of the people we're trying to reach but again the conversation see she had come through the fire but she brought the smell of the fire with her. Now when we come out of the fire by his grace do we either smell the fire on us or are we like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego whose absolute perfect trust in God allows them to come out untouched by the fire under the shelter of his wings. How precious that even the thought that they could die did not turn them from that place of rest. The Christians in the dread arena faced death in many gruesome ways their bodies torn and cleft asunder the Christian path bestewed with blood those days yet in the fire they trusted in the covet of wings almighty circling them in love they did not doubt the loving God's compassion though tortured slain he ruled above. I too may face the lines of Satan's anger where tongues will slay and opposition fell but I too trust that he is there beside me his wings my cover and thus all is well. All is well under his wings. Now the thrilling thing is that under God's wings Satan's power is handicapped Satan's power is handicapped while we remain under his wings now sometimes it may seem that Satan's power is not handicapped I think if we spoke to Job with all that he suffered initially he would probably have he may have felt that Satan had full sway because if you really think of all Job went through it seemed that Satan had full sway but when we are given a glimpse to go into the portals of heaven we found that Satan could do nothing beyond what God allowed him to do so he did not have free reign greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world when the enemy shall come in like a flood the spirit of the law shall lift up a standard against him isn't it wonderful to trust under the covet of his wings even though we might go through great hardship that Satan's power is handicapped while we remain there when I was many many years ago when Noel and Roy were young in a town in Petersburg Noel was in a little preschool and it wasn't homeschooling days and Roy was at home and sometimes I had to leave Roy at the house for a short while to visit people or do things I didn't like doing it but I sometimes had to do it now it was the days in our country where there was a lot of anger there were sometimes isolated bombs that went off in centres there were sometimes landmines under the road on farm roads it was a time of danger in a sense and fear and resentment and Roy had this wonderful crop of blonde cow's licks I don't know if you know cow's licks it just stands up so he had these things all over his head and the black Zulu people just absolutely loved him I think it's because he had such a naughty face but anyway I said we had a very enormous Zulu lady very dignified lady that helped me in the house because I had problems with my back so she used to help me for half a day and when I left Roy I said to her first step I don't want you to open the door for anybody because there are lots of scabingers around and if they knock on the door you must not open the door because I'm scared to leave Roy alone but I have to so forget about your work just keep your eye on him and see that he's safe and I'll never forget she was big and she stood in the doorway and she made herself even bigger and she said madam she called madam you don't have to worry no one will get past me she filled that doorway you could see that no one could get past her so between Roy and the scabingers out there was Gusta's big form and so between us and the enemy is the protecting wings of the Lord Jesus Christ of God himself of the everlasting father and what a precious promise that is to us I will shelter under the shadow of his wings how can we be anywhere else when there's such a place open to us but there's a warning there's a warning that comes to us about the covet of his wings and that warning is that if we move out from under the covet of his wings we are in a very vulnerable position young people if you move out from under the covet of his wings you are in a very dangerous position we have to stay under the covet of his wings you know when the hen has got her little chickens around her and they are safe while they stay close to her but if they wander off they're not going to be safe at all a mother told me at the same convention that I went to of a son of hers the one son the wonderful son that was following the Lord he was taken but the other son when he was young said to her you know mum I know all about Christianity he said you know I know it all he said I think I want to try a little bit and see what's happening on the other side of the fence I think she shared this with Keith too she said I just want to try a little bit of the world and just enjoy it for two years but don't worry I'm not going to be there permanently and then after two years I'm going to come back so don't worry about me I won't do anything really dreadful but I just want to have a little bit of fun outside of what God tells me to do and he went off in a sense and she prayed and she cried he went off not for two years he went off for 19 years and he only came back when his brother died it's a very dangerous thing to move out from under the protecting wings of our everlasting father because the hawk is there Satan is there ready to pounce and when he pounces he holds you in his claws and he doesn't easily let you go beware from moving out from under that protection there's another way that we can move out from under his wings and that is with strong personalities you know there are people with very strong personalities we find even in our country sometimes people move out from the word of God and they follow a personality and they do what that person says and that person becomes the authority and instead of it being the word of God God himself and so they've actually literally moved out from under his wings to somebody else's wings and that is also we find time and again that they've ended up in error they've gone off the track they meant well but he is the only mediator between us and God the Lord Jesus Christ and his word should be our only basis so we need to ask ourselves are we still under the cupboard of his wings or have we willfully as an older person or as a young person moved out from that place of total submission and obedience to God staying under his wings Oh wind-tossed child bedraggled weak and weary who walks in stubbornness a self-willed path you cannot meet the tempest that is brewing or labour through its dreaded aftermath why did you leave the shelter of my presence why did you scuttle from my sheltering wind will you alone face enemy and danger or will my call you to my presence bring under my wings for dark the rending heavens under my wings though foes may pick and kill under my wings the only place of safety under my wings it is thy saviour's will are we still under his wings or have we just shifted out a little bit two years became 19 years the farm yard is a happy scene of noises the hen contented chuckles with her brood when swift overhead dark wings begin to hover as swift the hen alert does change her mood she cries aloud an urgent stringent warning she calls a pleading come right to my side her wings are stretched to shelter all her chickens come come she calls beneath these you can hide but one small chick does wonder on unheeding she does not see the shadows sweeping low why should i heed the call there is no danger and then her body crumples neath the blow. Dear Saviour, let me not be deaf to warnings, to wander off despite Thy urgent call. I would not be the chick in the hawk's talons. Under Thy wings my only shalt we war. Are we still under His wings, or have we shifted out, even if it's an inch, out from where we should be? And the third aspect to stay under His wings is, my sister said, Jenny, you should say, the gathering together of the saints. The scripture says we must not neglect the gathering together of the saints. And it's so precious to the Lord. Sometimes we can be on our own, do our own thing, follow the Lord, do the Bible and everything, but we alone are right. And that's a dangerous position, and I'll give you an illustration just in a minute about that. It's so precious to the Lord, the gathering together of the saints, those, they that follow His word. It says, then they that feared the Lord in Malachi spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that sought on His name. Alone without godly counsel and fellowship, based on the word of God, not man's opinion, it is easier to wander off sometimes. Because, you know, a fellow Christian can see danger, and just can say a little word of warning. Why don't you see if you're moving off from what God wants you to do? Let the word be your basis, but there is a safety, if it's possible, to gather together with the saints. Several years ago there was a lady in a town, and she did something that was wrong, publicly wrong, and then she said these words. She said it's wrong according to scripture. She said it's wrong for everybody else, but it's right for me. So, she had moved out from under the wings, obviously, because that is not true. Under His wings is my only sheltering wall, my only place of safety and trust. Now, lastly, under His wings is an empowering position. You see, God never wastes anything. And He puts us under His wings, but later on He wants us to fly. So, He's strengthening us, He keeps us, we're always going to be under His wings, because even when we fly, His wings are overhead. But it is an empowering position. And there's a time when the eagles have to fly. Now, in the Bible, I read up in the ATI Nature, somebody lent me their Nature, those wonderful big books, there's a set of three, somebody lent me one of those. And it said that the eagle that is spoken of in the Bible here is the bald eagle. And we read this verse, As the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him. And that's, of course, speaking about the nation, the nation of Israel. But you know, there is a time when the Lord scattereth, stirreth the nest, and where God wants us to fly. Because He says, Freely you have received, freely give. What we receive from God, He wants us to share with others. He says, comfort others with the comfort wherewith you yourselves were comforted of God. Now, the bald eagle, most of the chicks are all ready to fly. Apparently they fly 10 to 15 weeks. And it's a high nest, and they flap their wings initially, and then eventually they jump in the nest 15, 10 to 15 feet high. And then eventually they fly off. But there's some eaglets, there's another word for it, that are not so eager to fly. I can identify with those eagles. And so what happens is, food is withheld from them. They get so hungry that they get desperate and they fly. And they still don't want to listen. They put in a branch away from the nest and left there without food to try and induce them to fly. Now I, in my mind, can just picture, oh yeah, all the other eaglets have taken the plunge, they're going down, and there's one little eaglet that is just clinging to the side of the nest and saying, I'm comfortable here. You feed me here. It's all so nice over here. I do not want to go over the edge. I don't want to be used. Rather bless me, but let me keep my blessing intact. Samuel loves outdoor things and he did, I think it's called belay jumping at one stage. And he was taken to the top of a mountain. He hadn't done it before. And they attached a rope to them. And then they told him they had to jump. Now Samuel said, mommy, it was the most dizzy height. I was standing on top of the mountain and the man said, jump. And he said, I looked down and I said, I can't. You know, pretty visually, I don't know if they pushed him over or how they got him down, but he said, there I went. He said, and I just flew. And then the rope held me. And he said, the next time I had to jump over it was easier because I knew the rope could hold me. Overhead are His everlasting wings. If we have confidence to obey Him, we'll realize that as the rope was there for Samuel, so His wings are there for us. And underneath His wings will come and lift us. He will never tempt us above that we are able to bear. His grace is sufficient for us. And we've got to trust Him. When God says to us, come, you've been living on milk for a long time. I want you to have a little bit of meat now. I want you to fly. God sometimes nudges us. And I've got a picture. I've actually got a copy of it that I'm bringing for Noel in England from my childhood. It's a picture of a duckling. There's a whole lot of ducklings and there's a chicken. And the ducklings are all walking and they've jumped into the water and they are just so happy swimming. It's their natural environment. And on the edge of the lake is a chicken that has got a, you know those little belts that you have around you to stay afloat in the water? If you saw the picture. And the horror of the chicken to think that he is asked to swim in the water as well. And isn't that how we feel sometimes? No Lord, please, you can't. You know when I was young, I was very, very shy and quite fussy with eating. Of all those girls, I didn't like to be daring to eat things that I wasn't used to. And when I went to Bible college, of course, you have to eat what they put before you. And my mum never gave us spaghetti. I've learned to eat spaghetti since then, but she never gave us spaghetti as children. So we didn't know, I mean, this whole sort of, all these strings, you know, these long strings that aren't earthy and you get them on your fork. And how are you going to get them in your mouth? And so they said to me, well, you know, when you go to Glenroy, you have to eat everything. So I said, I'll eat everything but spaghetti. Well, the first night, guess what I had? It was spaghetti. So, you know, the Lord was nudging me. I didn't like standing in front of people. I used to, if anybody looked at me, I used to just turn away. And even in school, it was a terrible thing. So the Lord pushes, pushes, and now I'm standing in front of you. So the Lord nudges us and He pushes us over the edge of the nest. And He says to us, I want you to fly. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings. You know, they shall run and not be weary. That wonderful verse. God wants us to fly. He nudges us. He takes us to the edge of the nest. And He says, freely you have received. Now I want you to give. I want you to fly. But just remember, if you cry, I will swoop down, as the eagle that it says in the Bible, and underneath will be my everlasting wings. They're overhead all the time, but they'll swoop down. Are you saying to God, I don't want to leave my comfort zone. God is perhaps nudging you into some sphere of service that He wants you to do. Some person He wants you to reach. Something that He's asking of you. And you say, no, let me stay as I am. And as I am, I'll be fine. Use me, Father. But just here, not there. And God is saying, I want you to fly now, my child. I've looked after you. I've nurtured you. But now I want you to fly. Freely you have received from me. Freely give. My wings have sheltered you. Now I want your wings to be a shelter to others as well. Don't push me from the nest where all is safe and sound. For then I'll plummet down towards the hard stone ground. I'll dash against the rocks. I'll be a crumbled mess. And thus I cling and hold, refusing thy request. I feel a rush of wind as from the nest I fall, tremulously trusting that thou would hear me call. Beneath this floundering fledgling, thy everlasting wings, thus a fragile, fragile eaglet rejoices, soars. Are we willing for our nest to be stirred, for us to go forth? Now in conclusion, we need to ask ourselves a few questions. The first question we need to ask ourselves is, am I under His wings? Young people, you're in a Christian home, you've got Christian teaching, but are you really under His wings? The Lord Jesus said to Jerusalem, how often would I, but you would not. Have you been resisting the call of God and so you've never, you aren't in that position of safety, that refuge, that place of trust. Are you under His wings? Secondly, perhaps you've been under His wings, but you've been tempted like that young boy, just to go over the wall, just to move out from that position. And now you're in that vulnerable position where the hawk is hovering, where Satan is waiting to pounce, to destroy, to hold you. It's dangerous. Get back, scuttle back as the little chicken scuttled back to the mother's wings, get back to God. Thirdly, perhaps you've been afflicted, tossed, fearing. The arrows of men's anger have hurt you. It's not the Inquisition, it's not Nero's lines, but the other lines that have made life so difficult. Perhaps even in the home, and you've got discouraged and lost sight of the fact that men can destroy the body, but they can't destroy the soul if you stay in that place of shelter. Perhaps your nest is being stirred, and God is trying to push you into being usable in His hands, but you don't want to. Like I was too shy at one stage, I just didn't want to. But I had to say yes to God, because God wants you to say yes to Him. And He says, listen here, I've got you at the edge of the nest already. Have confidence in Me. Fly. Why did you not heed My call, precious wanderer, there where you walk neath the judgment of sin? Time and again, after My voice has been calling you to repentance, your soul would I win. And you who had left My protection foolhardy, you who were once neath My sheltering wing, see how the elements rage in their fury. I would, My fallen one, you to Me bring. And you who are quivering in fear and in torment, you who despite My all-shattering care, fear all the anger that men are inflicting, rest in the knowledge that I am always there, there to encircle and nourish and cherish, there to stir up when I want you to fly, there to encourage as feebly you flutter, there to bear heavenward, child, when you die.