Blessed Assurance Series

Storms had ravaged the ships; the Pinta had lost her rudder; the

food was getting wormy, and the crew was threatening mutiny.

Conditions could hardly have been worse, for there was darkness,

danger, hunger, panic, and exhaustion. All of these stared them in

the face, and yet the Admiral of the ship refused to turn back. Day

after day he wrote in his log, "This day we sailed on. When Joaquin

Miller read that log that Columbus had written on his first voyage

across the uncharted Atlantic, his imagination caught on fire, and he

felt he was right there with him.

He could feel the sting of the spray on his cheeks, and he could

hear the roar of the sea, and in spite of the fact that all he could see

was endless darkness he felt secure, for he knew he stood by a man

of steadfast purpose, who was assured of his goal, and knew he

would reach it. Miller was so possessed with the amazing

perseverance of Columbus that he spontaneously poured out his

feelings in poetry. I want to share just a part of that poem. The

mate is speaking.

"My men grow mutinous day by day; My men grow ghastly, wan

and weak."

The stout mate thought of home; a stray of salt wave washed his

swarthy cheek.

What shall I say, brave Adm'r'l, say, if we sight naught but seas at

dawn?

"Why, you shall say at break of day: Sail on! sail on! sail on! and

on!"

They sailed and sailed, as wind might blow, Until at last the

blanched mate said,

Why, now not even God would know Should I and all my men fall

dead.

These very winds forget their way, For God from these dread seas is

gone.

Now speak, brave Adm'r'l; speak and say-"He said: Sail on! sail on!

and on!"

They sailed and sailed. Then spake the mate: This mad sea shows its

teeth tonight.

He curls his lip, he lies in wait, With lifted teeth, as if to bite!

Brave Adm'r'l say but one good word: What shall we do when hope

is gone?"

The words leapt like a leaping sword: Sail on! sail on! sail on! and

on!

We all know that in spite of the number and magnitude of the

obstacles, Columbus did sail on and on until he reached land. The

question naturally arises, why did he have such assurance when all

others feared for their lives? Was he just stubborn, or did he have

no fear of death, or was there another reason for his assurance in

the midst of great trial? Columbus answers this question for us

himself in the first sentence of his will. He wrote this: "In the name

of the Most Holy Trinity, who inspired me with the idea, and

afterward made it perfectly clear to me, that I could navigate and go

the Indies from Spain, by traversing the ocean westwardly..."

By his own testimony in which he gives all the glory to God he

tells us his assurance was due to the fact that he knew he was

following the leading of God. If a man knows and is assured that he

is on a course charted by God, then nothing can cause him to

forsake it. Therefore, the most important factor in any person's life

is assurance, for it will enable a man to ride out any and all storms,

and finally to arrive at his goal.

All people are on a voyage across an uncharted sea of time

heading for the new world of eternity. Some will go down in the

storms; others will lose their way, and still others will chose to

change their course and give up the goal. But there will be many

also who will, like Columbus, sail on and on and on, and at last

arrive because they have God's assurance that they will. We want to

consider two facts about assurance that John makes clear, for these

two facts are precious gems from the vault of God's own treasure.

To know them and believe them, and then to obey them is to be

partaker of the very riches of Christ. First we observe that-

I. ASSURANCE IS POSSIBLE. v. 3.

"Hereby we do know that we do know Him." John is saying, not

only can we know God, but we can know that we know Him, and it

is this knowing that we know that is called assurance. It is not

enough just to know that Jesus died for the sins of the world, and

that He is the Advocate of all who believe and trust Him. We must

know that He died for my sins, and is my Savior, and my Advocate.

John says that such assurance is possible.