Anchors In Life's Stormy Seas

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ANCHORS IN LIFE’S STORMY SEAS

Text: Acts 27:14-29

PPHC – September 9, 2007 (PM)

 

Intro: Ill. The Context. These brave sailors were in a storm that seemed to be overwhelming. In an effort to save the ship and their lives, they cast four anchors into the sea. Sadly, these anchors proved ineffective against the storm and the ship was ultimately lost.

However, on board that ship was a man named Paul. He was a special man for several reason: 1. He was a child of God; 2. He was a man on a mission; 3. He was a man of faith; and 4. He was in fellowship with God. Because of who he was, Paul was anchored in the midst of that storm, even though the ship wasn't!

Those sailors threw four anchors into the sea in an attempt to steady that ship. Those anchors failed. As I read this text, I become aware that Paul had four anchors as well. These anchors steadied him during the storm. Even though that ship was shaken and battered, Paul was able to stand steady and strong.

I would like to take a few moments this evening to share with you those anchors that kept Paul steady during the storm. You see, those same anchors are available to you and me this evening. Allow me to share with you these Four Strong Anchors In Life's Stormy Seas.

I. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD - v.23

·         “For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve.”

 

 A. Even in That Storm, Paul Found That He was Not Alone (The Lord came to him - Peace).

 B. We Have the Same Confidence That Paul had In His Relationship to the Lord

·         Matt. 28:20b “…lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 C. Encouraging News – We Will Never Face an Instant of Our Life Alone

  1. Every step, every valley, every mountain will be graced by His presence!

  2. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…” Psa. 23:6

 D. It would be a blessing if we enjoyed the manifest presence of the Lord as Paul did.

  1. But when you cannot see Him, He is still there: watching, leading, protecting, being God.

·         Illustration: Dr. Tony Compolo says that when he was a boy growing up in a congested and bustling city, his mother arranged for a teenage girl who lived nearby to walk home with him at the end of the day. For this, she was paid a nickel a day. But Tony rebelled in the second grade and told his mother, "I'll walk myself to school, and, if you give me a nickel a week, I will be extra careful. You can keep the other twenty cents and we'll all be better off."

After a period of pleading and begging, little Tony finally got his way. For the next two years he walked himself back and forth to school. It was an eight-block walk with many streets to cross, but he was careful and didn't talk to strangers or get distracted along the way.

Years later at a family party, he bragged about his independence and reminded his family of how he had taken care of himself as a boy. His mother laughed and added the rest of the story. "Did you really think you were alone?" she said. "Every morning when you left for school, I left with you. I walked behind you all the way. When you got out of school at 3:30 in the afternoon, I was there. I always kept myself hidden, but I was there and I followed you all the way home. I just wanted to be there for you in case you needed me.")

II. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PROMISES OF GOD - v.24-25  

·         “…saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”

 A. Weathering the Storms with God’s Promises

  1. He reminded Paul that he would stand before Caesar

  2. All those on the ship were to be spared as well.

·         For Paul, just having a word from God was enough to anchor him and give him blessed assurance. Why?

1) He knew that God was as good as His Word.  (Rom. 4:21)

·            “…being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

 B. His Promises are Steadfast and True

  1. Heb. 6:18 – God cannot lie.

   a. Notice what promises we have to assure of total security.

        1) Brighter Days - Psa. 30:5 (weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.)

        2) Deliverance - Psa. 34:19 (Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.)

        3) Everything is for our Good - Rom. 8:28  (…all things work together for good…)

        4) Divine Grace - 2 Cor. 12:9 (My grace is sufficient for thee…)

        5) Ultimate Glory - Rev. 21:4  (And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes…)

 C. His Promises are Based In and on His Word.

·         Dr. Everek R. Storms of Ontario spent a vast amount of time studying the promises of Scripture. Writing in Contact Magazine, he said: "The Holy Scriptures contain a grand total of 8,810 promises.

·         Claim the promises of God as an anchor for your soul as you sail the story seas of life!

III. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD - v. 24

·          “Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”

 A. The Storm is Part of the Plan for Paul’s Life

  1. At that moment in time, that storm was the safest place in the world for Paul to be! Why?

·         Because he was in the will of the Lord and God was working in a mighty way in the situation to bring about His will for Paul's life.

  2. God is doing the very same thing in your life as well.

   a. He is in absolute control of everything that happens in life!

·         “As long as I know He orders the storms, (Ill Disciples and storm - Mark 6:45-50), I can weather them.”

   b. The best thing we can do when the storms rage about us is run to Him for refuge and cling to Him until the storm passes  (Ps. 57:1)

  • “…in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

·         Illustration: Emperor Charles V was trying to assassinate John Brenz, friend of Martin Luther. Hearing of the plot, Brenz barely had time to grab a loaf of bread and duck into his neighbor's hayloft. There he hid fourteen days. The bread was quickly gone, but the Lord sent a hen who showed up and laid an egg each day for fourteen days. In this way, Brenz was kept alive. On the fifteenth day the chicken didn't come, and the reformer wondered what he would do. But from the street below came the cries, "The cavalrymen are gone at last."

·         In a similar way, a dog provided for the needs of another reformer, John Craig, who was arrested during the Inquisition. On the eve of his scheduled execution, Craig escaped, but while fleeing through the Italian backcountry, he ran out of food and money. Suddenly a dog approached him, a purse in its mouth. Craig tried to drive the animal away, but it dog persisted in bringing the purse to Craig. In it was enough money to take him to freedom.

·         Similarly, Robert Bruce of Scotland was running for his life, fleeing persecutors. He ducked into a small cave, and a spider immediately appeared and spun a web over the opening. Bruce's pursuers fanned across the landscape, knowing he was near. Two of them approached the cave, and one of the men started to go in. The other one stopped him, saying, "He could never have gotten in there without breaking that spider's web."

Bruce breathed this prayer, "O God, I thank Thee that in the tiny bowels of a spider you can place for me a shelter.")

 B. Illustration: Raymond Edman’s quote (book - Quietness and Confidence)

  1. First, He brought me here; it is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.

  2. Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me the grace to behave as His child.

  3. Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends for me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.

  4. Last, in His good time He can bring me out again--how and when He knows.

Let me say I am here,

(1)  By God's appointment

(2)  In His keeping

(3)  Under His training

(4)  For His time."

·         That is the kind of confidence that will let you shout in the devil's face, even while the storm still rages

 C. Even After Receiving the Promise, Men Still Tried to Work It Out on Their Own

  1. Dropped four anchors and even tried getting off the ship

    a. In the face of God’s promise, they still fought, feared and fretted in the storm.

    b. Just one guy on board enjoying the trip…Paul….he believed God and he believed God was at work. (Many are abandoning the boat today (the church)…the best place to be in the storms of life is in the ship!

IV. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PERFORMANCE OF GOD

·         v.44  “and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was pthat they all escaped safely to land.”

 A. God’s Word Came to Pass – He Kept His Word to Paul.

  1. Spared every life on board…

 B. God is able to work it all out! To Safely take You Through and Beyond Your Storm

  1. God is in control….

·         He didn't save you to lose His grip on you in a storm. No! He saved you to take you home to glory and that is just what He will do, John 6:37-40!

"Lord, I cannot fix my situation. I cannot calm the raging seas of my life and I cannot still the winds that blow against me. I need help today. By faith, I cast the anchors of your presence, you promises, your providence and your performance into my stormy sea. I am resolved to trust you to walk onto my storm and speak peace when it is your will to do so. Until then, I will not fear, I will not fret, and I will not fight. I will trust you to do what is best for me."


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p Acts 27:22, 31

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