A cry heard by God

A Cry heard by God Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.org) William Chase said this, "The scene among the passengers was one of the most indescribable confusion and alarm." Chase continues, "The love of gold was forgotten." It was reported that some of the men unbuckled their gold-stuffed belts and flung their hard earned treasure upon the deck to lighten their weight. Chase said that he could have easily picked up thousands of dollars if he thought he had the chance of reaching safety with his treasure. This is the story of the SS Central America. Shortly before eight o'clock, the SS Central America with its decks now awash, was rapidly filling with water and sinking lower into the sea. Survivors recalled that the vessel lurched three times, with passengers jumping off at each lurch. Those who jumped off at the first and second lurches swam off, but most remained on deck until the vessel went down a minute or two later (http://www.sscentralamerica.com/wreck2.html). It was in the mid 1800's and gold was being mined and shipped from California to the Eastern seaboard. Much of the gold was stamped into coins in San Francisco and transported by private merchants who carried the gold along with seafaring passengers around Central and South America to Cuba and then on to the New York harbor. After the SS Central America left Cuba, it soon ran into a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina. As the ship was taking on water, another ship suddenly topped the horizon and pulled along side to do what it could to help rescue women and children passengers. One of the rescued, Addie Easton, watched helplessly from the deck of the rescue ship as the SS Central America went down, taking along with it her newly wedded husband Ansel. She later said that she never expected to see him again; however, a miracle occurred. When the ship went down, over 400 male passengers and crewmen went into the stormy Atlantic and struggled to remain afloat, struggling to remain alive. Then something happened. Shortly after midnight on the morning of September 13, the storm finally began to abate and the sea calmed. Another ship, the Norwegian bark Ellen, neared the area where the SS Central America had gone down. Unaware of the tragedy its captain, Anders Johnsen, had just changed course when a small bird flew across the ship once, twice and then darted into his face. He took no notice at first, but when the bird went through the same maneuver twice more, the captain decided it must be an omen. Captain Johnsen gave this account. 'Upon this I was induced to re-alter my course... and in a short time I heard voices, and on trying to discover where they proceeded from, discovered that I was in the midst of people who had been shipwrecked.' At about one o'clock in the morning, five hours after the SS Central America sank, captain Johnsen's crew began pulling men from the ocean. By nine o'clock they had saved 50. The crew of the Ellen continued to search for survivors until noon that day, then set sails for Norfolk, Virginia (http://www.sscentralamerica.com/wreck2.html). Ansel Easton, the newly wedded husband of Addie, was among the Ellen's rescued and later rejoined his wife in Norfolk, Virginia. The two lived out the rest of their lives together in California, naming both daughters after the two rescue ships that saved them. So, what's the miracle? Before a bird from nowhere flew into the face of Captain Johnsen on the Ellen and caused him to change the course of his ship into the path of the marooned, reports state that of the cries of the men who were clinging to debris to remain afloat were these. "God have mercy on us and save us." And the mercy of God came in the form of a tiny bird and rescue ship. The title of this message is, "A Cry heard by God." What kind of cry is heard by God? Any cry that is heart-felt. My I ask you a question? Do you doubt that God listens to your lone voice? The Bible says that any cry that is heart-felt is heard by God. This morning I'm going to share with you what the Bible has to say about the heart-felt cry unto God. I believe these truths will encourage you to keep communicating with God, even when it seems He's not listening. There are just three things I want to share with you about the heart-felt cry of God's people: (1) It is what God wants from us. (2) It is always heard by God. (3) God will always answer it. Let's begin... (1) The Bible says clearly that God wants us to cry aloud unto Him. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not know" (RSV). The Psalmist declared in Psalms 34:6, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (RSV). The New Testament is replete with scriptures that tell us to call upon the Lord. In John 15:7 Jesus said, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you" (RSV). In I John 5:14-15 it says, "And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. (15) And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him" (RSV). The Bible states unequivocally that it is the will of God for His people to cry aloud unto him. Naismith in his book entitled, A Treasure of Notes, Quotes & Anecdotes (Baker Book House 1975, p.183) writes this. "There are many organizers but few agonizers; many who pay but few who pray. Many are enterprising but few are interceding; many are entertaining but few intervening. Don't mistake action for unction, commotion for emotion, reprisals for revivals. The secret of praying is praying in secret. When payment has been made, the place is taken: when prayer has been made, the place is shaken. In the realm of effective praying, never have so many left so much to so few. Tithes may build a church but tears will give it life." (2). A heart-felt cry is always heard by God. The prophets of old told us that He who made our ears, himself has ears to hear. The Old Testament prophets of God were shocked that the people of Israel would bow down and petition a stone statue or a wooden pole. Why couldn't the people of Israel see that the stone and wood objects--the statues that they worshipped as gods--were deaf and mute? Stone and wood have no ears, but the invisible God in heaven does. And He listens to the cries of His people. But, it's not all that different today. God's people still bow to "things without ears." Whatever the people of God put above or ahead of God is deaf and mute to their cries. "Things" can never satisfy the people of God or hear them cry out. If you speak from your heart, God will hear you. And if He hears you, according to Scripture, He will answer you (I John 5:14-15). When King Henry II, in centuries gone by, was provoked to take up arms against his ungrateful and rebellious son, he besieged him in a small village in France. The son, being near death, desired to see his father and to confess his wrongdoing. But the king refused to look the rebel in the face. The young man, being sorely troubled in his conscience, said to those around him. "I am dying; take me from my bed and let me lie in sackcloth and ashes, in token of my sorrow and ingratitude to my father." Thus he died, and when the news was reported to the old man outside the walls that his son had died repentant for his rebellion, he threw himself on the ground, and like another David said, "Would God I had died for him!" The thought of the boy's broken heart touched the heart of the father. Our Father God will always hear the contrite and broken heart. (3). God will always answer us when we cry out to Him. Please keep in mind how God might answer us. He always answers us according to His perfect will for us. Sometimes He answers us with a reply of silence. He does this to test our hearts. Sometimes He answers us with a reply of "No, not at this time. I've got something better for you down the road." Sometimes He answers us with a reply of "Yes, I've been waiting for you to ask." But, God always answers the heart-felt cry. If God answers us when we call on Him, we would do well to listen and answer one another. And how is the best way to answer someone? By always listening to them, even if they rail against us. For example, there is a story told about C.H. Spurgeon when he was just a boy preacher. The story says that he had been warned that a certain lady intended to give him a tongue-lashing. "All right," Spurgeon replied, "but that's a game two can play." Not long after that the lady met him and scolded him in public. When she had finished, Spurgeon just turned his ear toward her like he was having trouble hearing. "Yes, thank you. I'm quite well. I hope you are the same." Then the lady let out another scolding remark to which he cupped his ear and said, "Yes, it does look like rain is coming. I think I had better be going along. Good day." As he turned away the lady murmured aloud, "My, my--bless his heart. He's as deaf as a log. What's the use of talking to him?" And with that the lady left and never made an occasion to rail at him again. If we make it an exercise to always listen for God's voice in everything we do--and not just when we are in deep trouble--He will hear and answer us. God is not looking for pomp and ceremony. He's not moved by long and eloquent speeches. He knows what your heart longs for, even before you ask. But, He wants you to talk to Him. He wants you to speak to Him, in your own words of contrition. Cry out to God, my friend, He's listening to you. Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon. I think I hear the sounds of a breaking, Eastern sky. What about you? Pastor T