In this sermon, the preacher discusses the wonders of God's providence. He emphasizes the desire to bring honor and glory to the Lord. The preacher shares a story about four Christian men traveling in the Middle East for Jewish evangelism. They experience a series of events that demonstrate God's providence, including a miraculous provision of an assistant and a bird dropping a fish in front of them when they were in need of food. The sermon highlights the power and control that God has over all things, even the smallest details of our lives.

Beginning in verse 15, we're talking about the providence of God, the wonders of the providence of God. You know, for two or three Sundays, we talked about the wonders of God's creation. And then last week, we started on the wonders of the providence of God, and we're still on that today. The wonders of the providence of God. Ezekiel chapter 1, verse 15, Now, as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their works was like the color of daryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their works was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went toward any one of four directions. They did not turn aside as they went. As for their rims, they were so high that they were awesome, and their rims were full of eyes, and all around the four of them. When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them, and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. This illustration of the wheels in the middle of the wheels has often been used to refer to the providence of God. I'm not sure that's the interpretation. But the providence of God is like that. It's wheels operating within wheels. It's God doing things and intertwining things, and always bringing them out to the way he wants them to be brought out. It's kind of complicated for us when we think about it, because only God could do that. You know, the only choice between believing in the providence of God and not believing in it is atheism. If you don't believe in the providence of God, you might as well be an atheist. But the fact of the matter is, God is in complete control, and he's working all things according to the counsel of his own will. And it's wonderful how he works it. And I'm going to give you some illustrations of his providence today. And some of you might be tempted to say, well, I wish I could see things like that happening in my life. Well, one of the problems of us in the United States today is that we're really not cast upon the Lord to the same extent. The more we're living in dependence upon the Lord, so that if the Lord failed us, we would have sunk. The more we'd see these marvelous things happening. We're very security conscious in this country. You know, we have social security, all of the kinds of security, fidelity, security, and all the rest. And we rob ourselves of seeing God working in our lives in a very wonderful way. I don't know if I told you this, but when I was working on the New Testament commentary, as I think I did tell you, but I'll tell you again in case there were some that didn't hear it. On January 6, 1989, I was doing final proof corrections on the New Testament commentary. I'll never forget it. Every time that the commentary went through a new process in the steps toward printing, the computers introduced new errors. Honestly, they did. You say, well, it wasn't the computer. It was the guy that was operating. No, it was the computers. They introduced new errors. And it was the most frustrating thing. I got to the point where I thought, if I have to read this again, I'll just lose my mind. And I think I told you that Dr. Harlow, who had spent many years as a missionary in Africa and was working with us on it, he said, Bill, in all my years in Africa, I never encountered such demonic opposition as we're encountering on this manuscript. He said that. And I said, well, I was really downcast. It was frustrating, absolutely frustrating. And we knew we were facing demonic interference. And I was really hitting a low spot in my life. The mail came. And there was a letter from Operation Mobilization. Not a personal letter, just a printed letter from Operation Mobilization. And with the letter, there was a calligraphy. Somebody had gone and lettered some scriptures, not from the King James, not from the New King James, but from one of the modern translations. And I read that, and I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. The timing of that. Why did it come on January 6th, when I was so low? Here's what it said. Don't be frightened by the size of the task. Be strong and courageous and get to work. For the Lord, my God, is with you. He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. Now, that is from 1 Chronicles 28 20 in the Living Bible. Why did they choose the Living Bible? It said exactly what I needed at that time. Let me read it to you again. Don't be frightened by the size of the task. Be strong and courageous and get to work. For the Lord, my God, is with you. He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. And on the basis of that, I plowed on and God was good. He saw us. He saw us through. What a wonderful promise. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. The providence of God. You know, with so many people in the world, how can God take a particular interest in one person and just bring the mail to that person just at the right time, the right day in his life? But he did it. He did it. And the marvelous thing is he's doing this all the time, all over the world, working out his own glorious purposes in a way to bring honor to himself. And really, that's my great desire in this series that we're giving this month and which we conclude today, to bring honor and glory to the Lord. I told the Lord that this morning on my knees. All I want is people think well of him, have great thoughts about him. Some years ago, four Christians were traveling in the Middle East. They were looking for places for Jewish evangelism. That's what they were doing. These four men were from very distinguished Christian men from Great Britain. And one of them's name was Dr. Black. And when they were in Egypt, he had a bad fall from a camel. And so it was decided that he should go back to Great Britain. He was injured. And there was another doctor there, Dr. Keith. And they thought, well, maybe Dr. Keith should go back with him. Dr. Black and Dr. Keith started the trip back to Great Britain. And they got to Austria. When they got to Austria, Dr. Keith was stricken with cholera. How can God bring good out of that? These men were out doing the service of the Lord, looking for places where they could do evangelism. And one of them falls from a camel, and the other gets cholera. Well, word about these two men got to the Archduchess, who was a Christian. And when she found out what had happened, she went to them. And she said, look, I promise you, the Archduke will give you every protection if you come here and try to start a work among the Jews in Austria. And as a result of that, a work began among the Jews in Vienna. But you know, one of the men that was saved at that time, his name was Edersheim, Alfred Edersheim, who later wrote that marvelous book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. And another man who was saved at that time, as a result of that, was Adolf Safir, S-A-P-H-I-R. And his books are still selling, you know, especially his books on the book of Hebrews, you know, being of Jewish background, he could and say by the grace of God, he brought out these marvelous truths in the Word of God. Imagine that. God harnessed a fall from a camel and a case of cholera for the salvation of Dr. Alfred Edersheim and Dr. Adolf Safir. And you know, I can imagine those men traveling back to Britain thinking, well, why did this happen to us? You know, all we're trying to do is serve the Lord. And yet he allowed this. This is the providence of God. This is how he moves the chessmen on the chessboard. Marvelous, isn't it? I think it's absolutely thrilling. I love the story. I've told it before of Mark Wheeler. And Mark Wheeler tells the story of a man named Frederick Nolan. He was a missionary in Africa at the time when there was terrible persecution of missionaries. And Frederick Nolan was fleeing from his enemies. They were really out to get him and to kill him. And he was really running. And he ran and they were coming after him. And he finally got to a cave. And he went into the cave and just decided to wait there till the end. So while he was in the cave, a spider came and wove a web across the mouth of the cave. You know, a spider's web is not much, is it? But the spider wove a web across the mouth of the cave. Frederick Nolan sat there and watched him doing it. His enemies came. They came to the cave. Well, he couldn't be here because of the spider's web. He couldn't get into the cave without breaking the spider's web. And so they went on. They passed by the cave. And he was spared. And he was able to make his way out to safety. And afterwards, he said, where God is, a spider's web is like a wall. Where God is not, a wall is like a spider's web. Can God control the activities of a spider? Well, he is. He does it all the time. Imagine God moving that spider right at the right time to the mouth of that cave to form a web across the mouth of the cave to protect one of his servants inside the cave. That's the providence of God. And you know, for all you know, it might be happening in your life all the time. When we get to heaven, those of us who were saved by the grace of God, we're going to find out that God was working for us all the time. Angelic beings were working on our behalf. And we were driving along 880. And we had no idea what we were spared from. But we'll find out someday. We'll find out someday. Jim Haysmeier. Some of you remember Jim Haysmeier. He went through our program a few years ago. He's serving the Lord down in Honduras now. And he's a very upbeat fellow. He's happy in the Lord. But one day down, one time down in Honduras, he hit a low spot. And these things happen in the service of the Lord. He should have been happier because the Lord was really blessing there, but he was depressed and discouraged. And he admitted that it was crazy. It wasn't natural. And this is the only time he had ever experienced depression. Well, he shared it with his wife, with Sharon. And he decided to, he has a godly brother, not brother in the flesh, but a Christian brother. He has a godly brother in Lubbock, Texas, where he was commended from. And he decided to write to this brother and just share with him, you know, and ask his prayer. Just tell him that he was hitting a low spot in his life and he really needed prayer. And when they got to the post office to mail the letter, they found a letter from this brother. It was the first letter they had received from him in 15 months. The first letter they had received from him in 15 months. Here's what he wrote. This is just to let you know that we think of you often. My writing is a miracle in itself. I haven't even written to my own parents. But this evening, I truly feel a burden to let you know that we appreciate you and care about you. I know by the Holy Spirit that you find yourself down. But take courage, for our Father will fulfill his purpose in you. Sometimes the hardest part of our walk is just resting in him. May our Father richly bless you and your family, answering your requests even before they are spoken. It had taken 16 days for that letter to travel from Lubbock to Honduras. In other words, that letter was written before Jim Haysmeier even experienced depression. He was down to the post office and the letter is waiting for him there. God's timing is perfect, isn't it? Before they call, I will answer, the scripture says. Before they call, I will answer. Well, isn't that marvelous? Here's a man serving the Lord down in one place in Central America. And God can lay a burden on a brother in Lubbock, Texas, 16 days before a problem ever arises in Honduras. And he hadn't even written to his own parents. And yet God can move him to take a pen in his hand and to write to Jim. And God can so control the mails that that letter just reaches him at exactly the right time. What a wonderful God we have, huh? And God can do this. God can do this. I don't know if I told you about, I remember going to a meeting once where Wallace Logan was speaking. He was telling about his service to the Lord in Zambia. And he was telling how he and a group had gone out on a safari and they were traveling along on this jungle trail and they were out of food. They had no food for himself but for the nationals that were walking with him. And they cried to the Lord and there was a bird flew over. The bird had a fish in its mouth and the bird dropped the fish, lost the fish. But the fish came and landed not in the trees, not in the bushes, landed on the pathway in front of them. I mean, that was a pretty good shot, wasn't it? That was pretty clever. You mean to say that God can control a bird like that carrying a fish in its mouth to drop the fish at the right time so that by the time it got to the ground, it was on the pathway in front of Wallace Logan and his fellows. And of course, they ate the fish, they cooked the fish and ate it and that provided them the food that they needed for the rest of the journey. What a wonderful God he is. I think it was in Radio Bible Class, Our Daily Bread, I read about this incident. It happened during a time when it was a very heavy winter, just as the folks up in the Sierras have just experienced, you know. And the snow fell so heavily in some places that the roofs collapsed from the houses. And there was a thief, a burglar, and he decided that would be a very good time. People were so distracted by the snow and everything, that would be a very good time for him to strike. He entered the home of some Christians and he gathered together some loot from the first floor. And then he went upstairs and he went into one of the bedrooms and there was a baby asleep there. And he was afraid that that baby might cry and sound an alarm. So he picked up the baby in his arms and he carried the baby out and laid the baby in the snow. Well, the baby, you know, it wasn't very long before the baby began to cry, naturally. And the mother heard it, as mothers have a way of doing. And then the father heard it. And the father said, that cry is coming from outside. So the mother and the father went outside, found the baby. And while they were picking up the baby, the roof of the house collapsed. They found the burglar inside clutching his loot. I mean, talk about timing, huh? Can God do that? No, God does it. He does it all the time. A providence that provides for sparrows can take care of God's people, too. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know he cares for me. It was just a couple of years ago that Dave Johnson and Matt Clark and I were traveling on the other side of the Sierras. And we had been to Grand Canyon, came back through Death Valley, and we were at Lone Pine. And we went into a restaurant, I think it was called Sportsman's Cafe. And we sat there eating our breakfast. And I looked out, and there was a car going north on the highway right next to us, a ski rack. And I laughed. Where do they think they're going to find snow? Because, you know, it was part of the drought time. There was no snow. We had planned, when we finished breakfast, we had planned to drive three hours north to the Tioga Pass, cross over to Yosemite, and then come home. And we had prayed that morning before we left that the Lord would guide us that day. Well, when I was at the cash register, we were paying at the cash register. I said to the girls, I guess, to the girl, I said, I guess you're hoping for snow to pick up your business here. And she said, it's a strange thing you should say that. She said, I just heard on the radio the Tioga Pass is closed for the rest of the season. And all the passes north of Tioga Pass are closed for the rest of the season. Well, we weren't quite satisfied. And we went to the rangers station there in Lone Pine. And the lady there said, yes, that's right. She said all the passes, Tioga Pass north, all the passes are closed for the rest of the season. Well, why did that girl say that to me? If she hadn't said that to me at the cash register, we would have driven three hours north, wasted our time, another three hours back, six hours, and then down south and come around by Bakersfield. Talk about perfect timing, huh? You pray before you leave the motel in the morning and you see God guiding in these wonderful ways. Seemingly chance remarked by the cashier, saved us six hours of wasted driving. And we thank the Lord for it. We saw the Lord's hand in it. Many of you know Mr. Nicholson, J.B. Nicholson. He's been speaking at Yosemite. You heard him at the conferences. Maybe some of you heard him tell this story. It was in one of the magazines. Years ago, he was in Zaire and it was time to come home. He was going to come home via Scotland and then Canada, where he lives. And the plane that he was on had to stop in Uganda. The first leg of the flight was from Zaire to Uganda. And that was the time when Idi Amin was in power, the killer. And all the Asians were trying to get out of the country as fast as they could and white people were forbidden to go into the country. And when the plane landed and Mr. Nicholson went into the airport and the immigration man was furious at him. You have to leave right away. You cannot come in here. But he couldn't leave because the plane was going back to Zaire and it was filled with missionary children. There was no way he could get back. And finally, they extended the deadline. They said 2 a.m. It stayed until 2 a.m. And otherwise, it was to be arrested held by Idi Amin. Well, while Mr. Nicholson was away, of course, he prayed. He prayed to the Lord. He says he prayed to the one to whom angels, authorities and powers are subject. And at one o'clock, a British plane came in just to refuel. Not to take on passengers or take off passengers, just to refuel. And Mr. Nicholson rushed up to the ticket agent and asked to be put on the flight and the seats were all full. But he did a strange thing. He allowed Mr. Nicholson to put his baggage on the plane. It was strange, wasn't it? When people are moving at the impulse of God's hand, they often do very strange things. Well, when the passengers were reboarding, the passengers had come off just to be in the visitor's lounge there. When they were reboarding, Nicholson got into the line. And strangely enough, he got on the plane without anybody asking for his ticket. I guess they assumed they were all, you know, they were the people that got off and here they're going on again and just let them get on. So he got on, then there was a question of a seat. And, you know, most of the seats and he was wandering around on the plane and a flight attendant came and said, could I help you, sir? And he said, well, I'm just looking for a seat. And the man said, well, where's your ticket? What is your, what? He said, I don't have one. I don't have a seat assignment. Well, he said, I'm sorry, you'll have to get off the plane. And just then Mr. Nicholson saw a seat that didn't have an occupied sign on it in the first class section. So the flight attendant made some inquiries. And he said, well, I don't understand it, sir. But he said that seat is, the seat is empty. And he said, since we know that otherwise, he said, you would be arrested here. You may sit on the seat on that particular seat. So he sat down and soon the plane was airborne. And Mr. Nicholson looked back and he looked at his watch. Two o'clock. That was when he had to get out of Uganda. One hour later, when the meal was being served, the attendant came and apologized. He said, sir, he said, I'm so sorry. He said, we've run out of the first class meals. He said, would you be willing to take an economy meal? And Mr. Nicholson didn't think that was too much of a sacrifice to make since he had no right to be on the plane anyway. So he said, no, that would be just fine. He could endure hardness. But across the aisle from him, there was an Indian, a Sikh, a turbaned Sikh, you know, and the Sikhs don't eat meat. He said, the attendant, sir, he said, I don't eat meat. He said, I'll have to have another meal. And so the attendant said to Mr. Nicholson, would you mind swapping? Would you mind exchanging your economy meal for one of the first class meals? He said, no, he would be willing to do that. So he did. He got the first class meal and the turbaned Sikh got the economy meal. Then he started to talk to the man sitting next to him. And the man sitting next to him was an executive of the airline in which they were traveling. And Mr. Nicholson told him the whole story. And when he learned of the predicament Mr. Nicholson was in, he promised him every possible assistance. And when they landed in London, he personally accompanied Mr. Nicholson through immigration customs, took him up to one of the ticket counters. And he said to the ticket agent, I want you to arrange hotel accommodations for this man, free. He said, I want you to arrange transportation. He said, I want you to arrange a breakfast for him. And then rebook him to Scotland and Canada. Not bad. The executive said that. At first, not knowing the full scope of it, the ticket agent protested. But when he learned who the executive was, he gladly agreed to do it. Free accommodations at an airport hotel, transport to the hotel, a free breakfast the next morning, and tickets rewritten for Scotland and Canada. That's pretty wonderful, isn't it? Well, when he rehearsed the marvelous problems of God, Mr. Nicholson wrote, does the Lord at times smile down upon us? I wonder. Well, that evening, after a luxurious shower and contemplating the comforts of a good night's sleep in a king-sized bed, I could not help but smile as I bowed to give thanks to the one who has gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. The providence of God. God caring for a man who was on his business with really a touch of humor to it, too. Really a touch of humor to it. Traveling back first class and getting the first class meal when he shouldn't have had any at all. And what's wonderful is that this is going on all the time. And even things that seem adverse to us at the time. How can God bring anything good out of it? He's working. His purposes. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. William Cooper said. Some of you know the name W.E. Vine. He was a man in the assemblies in England years ago, and he wrote the expository dictionary of New Testament words. And I think every serious Bible student in the country has that book. Expository dictionary of New Testament words. Well, W.E. Vine and his brother used to run a school there for young men in England. And it was in Exeter, England. They were in charge of the school. And then a call came for W.E. Vine to join the staff of Echoes of Service. Echoes of Service is a missionary service organization in England. Something like our Christian missions in many lands. And of course, they had to wait upon the Lord. Did the Lord want him to join the staff, to leave the school in Exeter and join the staff of Echoes of Service in Bath? So both he and his brother made it a matter of earnest prayer. And one day when W.E. Vine was having his daily, consecutive Bible reading, he came to Deuteronomy 31, verse 7. It said, Thou must go with this people. W.E. Vine got the verse, Thou must go with this people. His brother got the verse, I was left with goodwill doing service as unto the Lord. Ephesians 6, 7. So that's a strange combination of verses to have, and I have to admit it is. I would never put those two verses together in the text, would you? That's what it was. So later they compared notes and they were struck by the extraordinary text, but they decided to wait for further guidance. And what they said was if the Lord would provide an assistant to them on the staff, they felt that W.E. Vine should be free to go to Bath. England. And the morning that that decision was made, W.E. Vine on the street met a former student of the school. And he inquired casually, you know, what are you doing these days? The student replied that he was working in an accountant's office, but he didn't want to continue that occupation. And he thought of applying for a position as an assistant master at a school. And he said, W.E. Vine, you haven't got a vacancy like that, have you? For this was just the guidance that settled the matter. This is what I meant at the beginning when I said wheels within wheels. First of all, you get that text, I must go with this people. And then you get this text, I was left with goodwill doing a service to the Lord, you know. And then you get this young man. Why was he passing along the street just at the time W.E. Vine was passing along? Why did they meet on the street that morning? And how did God arrange that timing of circumstances? And how was it that that young man, very eligible in other ways, was looking for a post, looking for a position? He said, you wouldn't have a vacancy like that in your staff. Of course, that's just what they had, a vacancy like that on their staff. Marvelous, isn't it? What a wonderful God we have. I read this recently, I was really impressed by it. I don't think it's any secret that before Christians die, they often get a vision of the Lord or the glories of heaven, what Stephen did, didn't he? Stephen saw the Lord. I've often thought about that. I thought, boy, when I'm dying, if I can see the Lord, I don't care what stones that are hurled at me or anything else that happens to me. Just let me see the Lord, that'll take care of all the rest. Well, you know that some of our dear friends were martyred down in Ecuador years ago. Was it 1958? I think I forget. Five dear young fellows went to carry the gospel to the Alca-Indians and the Alcas didn't know what they were there for and the Alcas came with their spears on the beach of the Curaray River and speared them to death. Well, not too long ago, the widow of one of those fellows, Pete Fleming's widow, Olive, and her second husband, Walter, went down to Ecuador. And they met the fellows that really had killed the men. And these men had now professed to be saved. And one day, they were gathered with Rachel Saint, who can speak their language, and two of the Alcas began to tell them something that had never been told before. Let me just give it to you. This is 30 years after the martyrdom. Olive and Walter lie sheltered down there. And one day during their visit, Rachel Saint, the sister of Phil Saint, one of the martyrs of Ecuador, was talking to two of the Indians who had been present from when the men were killed. One of them was on the beach and the other was in the forest. And both of them told that while the men were being killed, they heard singing. And they looked up and they saw, in the sky, they looked up and they saw a crowd of people with flashlights. Well, now, flashlights is the only word that they had for bright lights. They had to use that word. It was the only word they had in their language for bright lights. Both Indians said they had heard singing as they looked up over the tops of the trees, they saw a multitude of people surrounded by a hundred bright lights. The lights were very bright and flashing. And then they disappeared. And it flashed through Walter Lysol's mind. Before those men had left that day to go to the Uri River, they had sung that hymn. We rest in thee, our shield and our defender. When passing through the gates of pearly splendor, victors, we rest with thee through endless days. And I have no doubt there was a heavenly host there to welcome those five martyrs. But isn't it amazing that 30 years later, this comes to light. That those Indians, I mean, they were pagans. They knew nothing about the gospel. And yet they saw this multitude of people up there and they heard them singing. I think that's thrilling. And when God is doing this over here or in Central America or South America, He can be working in China at the same time. You know, when the Japanese came into China, they set up internment camps and a lot of people were herded into these internment camps. There was a man named Willis, G.C. Willis, who was in one of the internment camps connected with a Christian bookstore there in Hong Kong. And it was a mixture, a lot of Christians. I mean, there were businessmen and all kinds of people. And it wasn't a very happy environment because people under pressure like that can really get on one another's nerves. And Christopher Willis was a Christian. I said G.C., it was Christopher Willis. He was a Christian. And you know, and interestingly, just before he was placed in internment, he had found a bargain on some drawing paper, some paint and some brushes. These things were being sold at closeout prices. I think that's wonderful. And he thought, well, wouldn't it be nice if I could make a text and put a text in the dining room? He knew it was useless to go to the committee, you know, but he said, well, I'll go to the chairman of the committee. So he did. And he got a go ahead from Mr. Grant, the chairman of the committee. And so he lettered, he lettered a poster to go up there in the dining room. And early on a Sunday morning, he hung it at one end of the room. It said, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Give us this day our daily bread. Well, when the people came to the dining room that morning, there was kind of a mixed reaction. Some of the people said, no, we must not have this text in the dining room. It will be offensive to the Catholics and to the Jews. The Catholics said, not so. He said there was just one thing wrong with the text that ought to be framed. And the Jews said, not offensive at all. We have that in our prayer book. And so the text was allowed to remain. Months later, a play was scheduled to be held in the dining room. And the text, the text didn't fit in too well with the stage props. And it was taken down and left in a corner. The next morning at breakfast, there was no bread. The supply of flour had failed. And somebody said, it's because of the text. Because the text was taken down. They said that text is our mascot. And so the text had to be put up again. We must get it up again, they said. And the ones who had taken it down had to put it up again. And the supply of bread resumed. Months later, another social was held in the dining room. And this time they hung heavy drapes over the text. And again, there was no bread. The yeast supply had failed. They weren't able to have any more yeast there. And the people murmured about the drapes. And so those who hung up the drapes there were forced to remove them. And the bread then appeared again on the tables. And this happened a third time. The text was taken down and thrown behind a piano. And the bread failed. And a man who had been a brewery manager, he said to Mr. Willis, he said, that text should be nailed up so they can't take it down. And Mr. Willis suggested that he nail it up. And Mr. Willis suggested, he offered some of the wood from his bed. You can imagine what kind of a bed it was. And they framed the text. And it was nailed there up on the wall of the dining room. And from then till the time they were released from concentration, there was no shortage of bread. God revealing himself to people in a concentration camp and honoring his word. We have a missionary down in Mexico named Don Harris. And I was down there a couple of years ago with him, a dear man of God. He went down there with Fairbanks Morse Scale Company. But he saw the need in Mexico and he resigned from the scale company and just spends his full time in the work of the Lord. And one night he was returning from an evening Bible study in a distant place. And he had five Mexican nationals with him. He always tried to be home at midnight because he didn't want his wife, Claire, to worry about him. So they're on this lonely country road and they're traveling in this Volkswagen bug. I don't know if it's bug or beetle. Anyway, you know what I mean. One of those. And the car gave out. They're at the side of the road. What do you do? Well, some of them said, look, if we could go to Zazutla, the next town, we could walk there. We could get some Christian there to drive us to Saulo's house, which is in another city. And maybe Saulo could come and help us. He was an auto mechanic. So four of the men took off and started walking to Zazutla. And then they were going to get a Christian to drive. And they did. They got a Christian to drive them. And they got Saulo to come back with them. But in the meantime, Don and one of the nationals was left there. And they were just feeling sorry for themselves. Don was thinking, I get home at midnight. Don't want Claire to be worrying. And here they're out in the boondocks. And of course, even if there had been auto parts places around, they wouldn't be open at that time of night. You know, there weren't any room. And finally, Don said to this national, you know, here we are sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves and we haven't even prayed. And the nationals said, hey, that's right. What should we pray? Well, he said, we should pray that we can get this car going. We should pray that I can get home by midnight so that my wife won't be worrying. So they prayed. Well, sure enough, the four nationals came back with Saulo. And Saulo started working in the car. And he said the coil is gone. Pretty serious. I mean, you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere without a coil in your car. Well, after a while, a car came driving along the road and kind of slowed down and then just went right on. He was afraid to stop. I would be afraid too. You know, with Don Harris and five Mexicans there, I'd be afraid to stop. But anyway, when he got down about 50 meters, he turned around. He came back and back. He passed the car and went on. Afraid. And then he turned around. He came back. He came back. When he got to them, he said, Can I help you? In Spanish. And Saulo said, The coil is shot. That Saulo reached to the back seat of his car and he picked up a package and he handed it to Don. It was a Bosch coil. That means made in the United States. Coils made in Mexico weren't that good. You know what I mean? They're inferior. This was a Bosch coil. Handed it to him. They installed the coil. The man wouldn't take anything for it. He did accept the tract and drove on. And they started the car and they got home. And Don got home at two o'clock in the morning and he went to the bedroom and Claire was sound asleep. She had fallen off to sleep before midnight. You know, it's unreal. It's unreal that a car should... Do you carry a Bosch coil on the back seat of your car when you drive around? No, you don't, but he did. What a wonderful God that he would control the circumstances of life. Don told me that story and I said, You've got to write that out for me. And he did. He wrote it out for me so that I wouldn't forget any of the details. This is what we mean by the providence of God. Really wonderful. I wish I had had time to tell you something about the wonders of God's redemption. Maybe some other time we'll be able to do that. But what a privilege to know such a God, huh? What a privilege to know such a God and to be in his control. And even when things happen in life that don't seem so good. He's working out his own will. God moves in a mysterious way as wonders to perform. Plants his footsteps in the sea and rise upon the storm. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds you so much dread are rich in blessing. So break in blessing on your head. Father, we do bow very low today in worship to you. We think of the wonderful way in which you can control men and creatures of all kinds and which you're working out your purposes for your people all the time. It just makes us stand back and adore you, love you, and worship you. We pour out our hearts this morning and worship in adoration that we know such a God. We pray as we go through this week that you'll give us great thoughts of yourself. Help us not to think of you as a human being like ourselves, but as a great sovereign of the universe. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.