Greg Laurie - Surviving the Shipwrecks of Life (02/06/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie digs into Acts 27, showing how Paul faced a brutal shipwreck yet stayed calm because God was with him, he belonged to God, was right in God's will, and truly believed God's promise of safety. It's a strong reminder that life's storms and shipwrecks don't have to wreck our faith—instead they can make it stronger when we cling to the Lord.
Introduction to Surviving Life's Shipwrecks
All right, well let's grab our Bibles and turn to Acts 27. Acts 27. And the title of my message is, "Surviving the Shipwrecks of Life". Let's pray.
Father, we ask You to bless this time in Your Word. We all face storms in life. We all have encountered hardships. Some listening to this message right now are going through great trial. And they really need perspective. They need help. Divine help. So we pray that as we look at this story before us in Acts 27 and find out how Paul and others dealt with this literal shipwreck, that we'll know how to deal with those symbolic shipwrecks of life when things don't go as planned, when tragedy interrupts our plans. So we commit this time of Bible study to You now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well this is our final message in our series that we have been calling Upside Down Living. We have been looking at the church that changed the world, the original template, the blueprint that Christ Himself gave us, right here in the original Greek. And I think this is really important because we live in a time where a lot of people are saying, you know, we need to rethink the church or re-envision the church.
Rediscovering the True Church Model
I was watching a talk show host interview a preacher the other night. And he said to this preacher, "You know the Bible is so outdated. Don't you think it is time that we drug it kicking and screaming into the 21st century?" In other words, let's sort of edit the Bible to fit the culture of today. No. It is the very opposite of that. We don't need to conform the Bible to culture. We need to conform the culture to what the Bible says. It is because we have strayed from this that we are facing many of the problems in our culture today. We need to get back to the way the early church did it. We don't need to re-envision the church. We don't need to rethink the church. We need to rediscover the church. It is the only organization Christ Himself ever set up. And I think He did a pretty good job.
Now I am not saying the church is perfect. The church is not perfect today and guess what? The church was not perfect 2,000 years ago either. In fact as we have gone through the book of Acts together we have seen that they had all the challenges that we face right now. They had hypocrisy and they had division and all the problems that we might see. But yet at the same time this is the church that turned their world upside down. Acts 17:6 summed it up beautifully when it said, Paul and Silas have turned the rest of the world upside down and now here they are disturbing our city. So they acknowledge that these men and women turned their world upside down. Hence the title for the series, Upside Down Living. But I like the fact that they said, and now they are here, disturbing our city. That is what we need. A holy disturbance. My prayer is that Harvest Orange County disturbs this city in a very positive way. G. Campbell Morgan said, "Organized Christianity which fails to make a disturbance is dead."
You know, it seems wherever Paul went there was either a conversion or a riot. Never a dull moment. Things were going on. Now remember that the book of Acts is basically a record of a 30 year period starting in AD 33 up to AD 63. And the reason I bring this up is as we read the book of Acts it sounds like non-stop action. You know miracles here and people being raised from the dead there and all this phenomena taking place. And indeed all the things we read about happened. But they didn't happen every single day. They happened over a 30 year period of time. So there were interventions of the Holy Spirit. But we also see people living out their faith in a practical way.
The Power Behind the Early Church's Impact
There are three principles we have seen at play in the book of Acts that contributed to the success of this church. And here they are. It was the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God. Again, it is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God. I mean think about this. On the day of Pentecost there were about 120 believers gathered together in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Their world was not all that much different than ours today. And in some ways it was even worse. They lived under the godless Roman Empire. Immorality was rampant. In cities like Corinth, prostitutes openly walked the streets. The religious establishment was corrupt. Idolatry, spiritism, and demon worship were openly practiced as well.
Everywhere the first century Christians went they were ridiculed, opposed, persecuted, and even physically assaulted for their beliefs. Yet within 30 years the original 120 and their converts changed their world. They didn't have many of the luxuries that the church has today. They didn't have nice buildings to meet in like we have here. The apostle John did not have a TV show. Paul didn't have a radio broadcast. James didn't have a Facebook page. And nobody ever tweeted back then. But yet without modern technology and all the tools we have at our disposal they changed their world. And really in a way the book of Acts is still being written today. Now I'm not suggesting that we tape new pages to the scripture. But I'm saying this is a record of all that the Holy Spirit began to do. So you could add new chapters of church history. We are writing our own right now as many churches are around the world. So in that sense it continues on.
Now we come to the crescendo. To the conclusion of the book of Acts. And we find the apostle Paul has been shipwrecked. Now I don't know if any of you have ever been shipwrecked. I haven't. I don't have a lot of experience on the high seas. Unfortunately some of it is on cruise ships. I was leading a Bible study cruise some years ago with Pastor Raul Reis. And we got out at sea. And we were having a good time until about 30 foot waves started rolling in. And this big old cruise ship started just going back and forth like a little cork in the ocean.
Paul's Real-Life Storms and Our Metaphorical Ones
And I remember we were having a Bible study. And we were in like a room like this. And just imagine this room pitching to the left and right. And poor Raul you know he was trying to speak. I think he changed his sermon 20 times you know. Because every time we would pitch his sermon would change again. And he didn't want to look down at your Bible. And everyone was nauseated. It was just horrible. So that is my little experience. But what Paul went through obviously was much, much worse. And we could take the idea of a shipwreck and use it as a metaphor for life. We are all going to have shipwrecks in life. And by that I mean we are going to have things that happen that don't make sense. I think all of us hope for clear sailing in the sea of life. But there are storms that come our way. And there are shipwrecks that we will encounter.
By the way Paul, this is not the only time he was shipwrecked. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 11, "I have worked much harder. I have been jailed more. I have been beaten up more times than I can count. I have been at death's door time after time. I have been flogged five times with a whip. I have been beaten by the Romans three times. Pummeled with rocks. And I have been shipwrecked three times." Shipwrecked three times? Man that could cure you of ocean travel. And this was no luxurious cruise ship that Paul was on. The boats of this time were really crude and primitive. And yet here he is going through all of this. And it is a metaphor that we can use to speak of life.
Sometimes people even have their faith shipwrecked. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:19-20, "Cling tightly to your faith in Christ. Always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their conscience. And as a result their faith has been shipwrecked." And then he gave two examples of it. Two men that he knew. And I have seen people have their faith shipwrecked. Listen. You are going to go through crisis. And sometimes people when they face tragedy they will say, "I lost my faith through this." And let me say in response to that maybe you didn't have real faith to start with. Because the faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted. And the Bible says the trying of your faith produces endurance. And if your faith can't stand a test then it is not real faith. And quite frankly I am glad you lost it. Now get rid of it. And replace it with real faith and a real God.
Faith That Grows Through Trials
Because I believe when a Christian goes through crisis our faith should not be destroyed. We should not lose it. Our faith should grow stronger because we are clinging to the Lord through all of it. And we certainly see that with Paul. Now I don't want to paint too dark of a picture because some of you might be thinking, man this is the most depressing message ever. Well look there are times in life where there are no storms at all. And there are no shipwrecks. And it is fantastic. In fact in one instance a log of the journey says in verse 13, the south wind blew softly. And so this wasn't all about a storm. There was a point when the weather was very nice. And there are those times in life when the south wind blows softly. You know when the sun is shining and you feel its warmth on your shoulders and you say sunshine on my shoulders. Maybe you don't do that. If you are John Denver you do that. But you are feeling pretty good. Things are going well. The birds are singing. Thank God for those days.
But I hate to break this to you. But when you have lived a while you know these things. A storm is coming. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not next week. Maybe not for a month. Maybe not for a year. But a storm will come. So be prepared for it. And Paul had a lot of storms come his way in life. He said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, we were pressed on every side by troubles, but we were not crushed and broken. We were perplexed but we didn't give up and quit. We were hunted down but God never abandoned us. We get knocked down but we get up again and we keep going.
So about five years before he made this journey to Rome he wrote to believers there in Romans 1:10, "I am making requests that by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you." So here is what Paul is saying to the believers in Rome. You guys I want to come see you. And I am praying for a prosperous journey. Now in a moment we are going to read about that prosperous journey. And we have to ask ourselves well how prosperous was it? You know this is a very popular word today. Preachers talk a lot about prosperity. Sometimes we refer to the prosperity gospel. And basically the idea of that is according to some of these preachers God wants everyone in perfect health all of the time. Sickness is always outside of the will of God. And if you are sick you just claim health and you will be better. He also wants you very wealthy. Lots of disposable cash. It is called name it and claim it. Grab it and claim it. But that is not what the Bible teaches.
Now the Bible is not saying that we should all live in abject poverty and not have anything. The Bible is saying God's definition of prosperity may be different than ours. Prosperity doesn't mean everything is going easy and well. Prosperity means that you are in the will of God. Paul prayed for a prosperous journey to visit the believers in Rome and he got just that. You say, how so? There was a shipwreck in the storm. Exactly. But he was in the will of God. So that is what we are going to look at together.
Setting the Scene for Paul's Journey to Rome
Now let us sort of set the scene before we read the text. The reason Paul was going to Rome is as you recall when we last touched him he was appearing before Festus a Roman governor. He realized he was never going to get any justice with Festus at all. And besides the Lord appeared to him and said you are going to testify for me in Jerusalem and you must bear witness in Rome. So Paul knew that he needed to go to Rome. Festus was never going to take care of things. So he exercised his right as a Roman citizen and said I appeal to Caesar. When a Roman appealed to Caesar they went. Paul did not buy his citizenship as some did. He was born as a citizen of Rome. Which was a very prestigious thing in that day. So now he is on his way destination Rome, Italy.
They landed at a spot called Fair Havens and those in charge didn't want to winter there. And so Paul says to them, you guys the Lord has spoken to me and I see disaster ahead. Verse 10 of chapter 27. He says, "I only see a disaster ahead for cargo and ship to say nothing of our lives that we put out to sea now." So Paul the man of God gives them a warning. You guys, we should just stay here and not go. Because there is going to be a bad storm. They thought, what do you know? What are you like? Some kind of a rabbi? We are seasoned sailors. We are not going to let a landlubber tell us what to do. And so they got on the boat and took Paul with them. And then they went out to sea. And sure enough the storm Paul warned of hit them.
Verse 20 says, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. So this is where our story begins. And we have Paul effectively saying, I told you so. Acts 27 verse 21. I am reading from the New Living Translation. "No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Fair Havens. You would have avoided all of this injury and loss. But take courage. None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the Lord, to whom I belong and to whom I serve, stood beside me. And he said, "Don't be afraid, Paul, for you must surely stand before Caesar. What is more, God in His goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage, for I believe God—it will be just as He said, but we will be shipwrecked on an island."'"
Here is the interesting thing. Paul knew a storm was coming, and they did not. Initially the captain and the centurion in charge felt Paul was no expert on the craft of sailing. But now that they have hit the storm, they are listening with new ears.
Four Key Principles to Survive Any Storm
But here is the thing that comes out of this. The believer has insights into what is happening in our world that the non-believer does not have. You see? The believer knows what is happening. We know a storm is coming. And we may warn people about it time and time again. And they won't listen until crisis hits. For instance, we know that man will never bring about a utopia on earth. If you believe that man is basically good, and when he does bad things it is merely a result of his environment, I am impressed by how much faith you have. You really believe in the goodness of man? I don't. When I discovered that man was basically sinful, the world started making a whole lot more sense to me. And the Bible teaches, of course, that man will not bring about a utopia on earth.
We know that no politician is ever going to solve the problems of this world. Barack Obama is not going to fix our country. But Newt Gingrich isn't going to either. Nor is Mitt Romney, or Michelle Bachman, or Ron Paul, or the Kardashians. They won't fix it. Or Justin Bieber, or Lady Gaga, or anyone else you want to look to. Steve Jobs couldn't have done it. He couldn't even save his own life. The point is, we know that man does not have the solutions. We know that we need God. And we also know, according to the Bible, that a coming world leader is going to emerge on the scene with economic solutions. We know he is going to strike a peace treaty with Israel. We know that there is going to be a mark that people have to put on themselves. We know that there is a tribulation period coming. We know that judgment is coming. We know that Christ is coming. So that changes your perspective in the way that you live.
And in the same way Paul knew what was coming. And he warned the people. But they did not listen. But now that they are paying attention, he reveals to them in verse 25, "An angel of the Lord said to him, 'Don't be afraid, Paul, for you will stand trial before Caesar. What's more, God in His goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you. So take courage, for I believe God. It will be just as he said.'" So that was good news, right? Their hearts probably started to leap. We are going to survive the storm. We are not going to die. They probably started singing, Happy days are here again. And now look at what Paul says in verse 26. "But we will be shipwrecked on an island." What? Yeah, you know, it's going to be hard, but we'll live through it. We are going to be shipwrecked on an island.
See, a lot of times we want to avoid that. We want to avoid the storm. But sometimes there's lessons we learn in the shipwrecks of life we would not learn otherwise. Remember the story in the Gospels when Jesus said to us, "Let's go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee." So they got in their little boat. Seasoned sailors started rowing away, making their way across. Of course, a great storm came, which was not unusual for Galilee. And as they are panicking, Jesus is below deck, sleeping. So they woke Him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?" Seems a bit accusational. But it's the way they were feeling. Hello, Lord. Are you paying attention to what's going on right now? It's almost as though you don't care.
Jesus Promises Safe Passage, Not Smooth Sailing
And then Jesus comes on board, and He rebukes the storm, and rebukes them as well, and says in Mark 4:40, "Why are you so fearful? How is it you have no faith?" Or a literal translation of that is, "Why are you so timid, fearful ones?" Guys, haven't you learned anything? Did you hear what I said? I said, "Let's go over to the other side." I didn't say, "Let's drown in the middle of the Sea of Galilee." If I had said that, you would have reason to panic. He did not promise smooth sailing, but He did promise a safe passage. And the same is true of us. God has not promised you smooth sailing. I'm sorry. There's no such thing as a trouble-free life out there. But He has promised you a safe passage.
But here's the way I look at it. Better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. Or in a fiery furnace with Jesus than anywhere else without Him. If you don't believe me, when you get to heaven, you can just ask Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego about that. I'd rather be in a lion's den with God than outside of it without Him. Or in a prison with Christ than outside of it without Him in my life. And this is what Paul is saying. Where did he get the confidence to give such encouraging words? Well let's discover now four principles that Paul gave that will help us weather the storms and survive the shipwrecks of life.
Principle number one. God was with him. Look at verse 23. It says, "Last night an angel of the Lord God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me." So here is what Paul was saying. I know that God is with me. God will always give us what we need when we need it. Don't worry about what is going to happen later. Maybe you see someone that is going through a time of hardship and you say, "Man, I could never handle that." Well right now you couldn't but you are not there. And if the Lord lets you get there He will give you the strength you need when you need it.
You say, "Oh, I could never resist that temptation." But with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Corrie ten Boom was a lady that survived the Nazi concentration camp because her and her family hid Jewish people in their home during World War II. And they were a Christian family and did this because of their belief in the scripture and their belief that the Jews were and are God's chosen people. They were warned by the Gestapo to stop doing it. And if they persisted they would be arrested. And they didn't stop. And so they were sent to these camps. Corrie ended up in the camp known as Ravensbrück.
Well, when she was a little girl she would read stories about the martyrs of the faith. And one day she said to her father who she called Papa, "Papa, I don't think that I have enough strength to be a martyr for Jesus." And he said, "Now Corrie, when we get on the train when does Papa give you the ticket?" And she said, "Well, right before I board the train." He says, "That's right. And if God would ever ask that of you He would give you what you need right when you need it." Well, as it turned out her father died in the concentration camp as did her sister Betsy. Corrie survived and went on to tell the story. But the point she was making was God will give you what you need when you need it.
Principle 1: God Is Always With You
Here is what Paul is saying. God is with me. Paul had his thorn in the flesh. We don't know what it was. It was some kind of a physical infirmity that came after he was caught up and saw the glories of heaven. He said, "Lest I be exalted above measure there was sent to me a messenger of Satan to buffet me, to torment me. Three times I asked the Lord to take this away. But he said, 'My grace is sufficient for you.'" It was a thorn in the flesh. Some believe it was something that happened as a result of one of his beatings or stonings or whippings. Others believe it may have been a physical disability. Whatever it was he asked the Lord to take it away and God effectively said, "No, but I am with you. My grace is sufficient for you."
And sometimes we are going through hardship and we say, "Take it away." And the Lord says, "Yes." And sometimes we say, "Take it away." The Lord says, "No. But I am here with you. And I am going to walk with you through it." And that is what Paul is saying. God is with me. Instead of a healing, He is with you in a special and sufficient way. Now when I say God is with you, I mean He will give you what you need when you need it. Because Paul went on to say after that, "Therefore will I boast of my infirmities for when I am weak then I am strong." In other words, he was saying, God has been with me and God has been sufficient to meet my needs.
A.B. Simpson, a commentator, no relation to Homer I don't think. He wrote these words and I quote, "Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord. Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word. Once His gifts I wanted, now the giver alone. Once I sought healing, now Himself alone." I like that, don't you? You know, He is saying, I have grown, I have matured. It is just having the Lord in my life. So God spoke to him. This is not the only time that the Lord reminded Paul that he was with him in times of adversity. Back in Acts 23, the Lord reminded Paul of his presence when he was there in jail. The Lord said, "Be courageous." Then in 2 Timothy 4:16, again Paul is in prison. And he writes, "All deserted me, but the Lord stood by me." Now here again in Acts 27, he is saying, I can get through this because God is with me. And God will be with you when bad news may come your way.
When your boss calls you in and says, "I am sorry, but we are going to have to let you go." When the doctor says, "The tests are back and I need you to come to my office immediately." When the telephone rings and a stranger says, "There has been an accident." You are not alone. The Lord is standing there with you. He cares. Jesus has promised, "Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age." So Paul could face this storm because he knew that God was with him.
Principle 2: You Belong to God
Now, a second reason he could bear up under all of this. Number two, Paul belonged to God. Verse 23, he says, "The God to whom I belong." Now, when you are a Christian, you belong to Jesus. His ID tag is on you. You know, we traveled recently and you wait for your suitcase to come down the belt and the problem is everybody has black suitcases, right? And I had one that was a different color and after traveling one time I realized why I have a black suitcase. Because no matter what color you start with, it will end up as a black suitcase with all of the grease and the dirt and everything else. And so I want something to distinguish my suitcase from the other. So I bought this really stupid looking, fluorescent, smiley face that I have attached to my suitcase. So when hundreds of the suitcases come down the belt, here comes the one with the dorky, orange face. And everyone looks at me in the suitcase and figure, we probably go together. See, that is my little ID tag. Unless there is some other fool out there with an orange smiley face. But I will often check. Make sure it is mine. Check for my name.
God has put His ID tag on you. You belong to Him. And over and over again in Scripture we are given this idea, this concept, this truth of belonging to God. For instance, when a husband and a wife are married, you belong to each other. As it says in the Song of Solomon, "I am my beloved's and He is mine." My wife, she belongs to me. You say, well, that sounds very chauvinistic. Well, guess what? I belong to her. See, we belong to each other. That is why I call her my wife instead of our wife. Or your wife. She is my wife. And I am her husband. And she has privileges and rights and so do I. That is the idea that is communicated in Scripture.
He is my father. I am His child. But then again, the Scripture compares me to a sheep belonging to a Shepherd. And Jesus told us in John 10 that the good Shepherd loves his sheep and watches over us. And that reminds me of my need for constant care from God. Why? Because sheep are basically defenseless. They are vulnerable and they are amazingly stupid. So don't take it as a compliment when the Bible refers to you as a sheep. Sheep have a tendency to follow the path. They have a tendency to go astray. They have a tendency to get themselves into trouble. They need constant care from the Shepherd. They have no way to defend themselves. When a predator comes what can a sheep do? They have no teeth. They have no claws. They can't run fast. They are like they are saying okay here is the mint jelly let's just go. You know. I am just going to surrender now. I guess it is not that bad. Here you go for it. Sad. But I am His sheep.
So I am like His bride and I am also like His sheep. But then the Bible says that I am like His child. Well really I am His child. Romans 8:15 says God has not given us the spirit of bondage leading to fear but one of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. I have been adopted into the family of God. That means that I have the attention of my Father. I have access to my Father that no one else has and you do too. Just like my children have access to me and my grandchildren have access to me. They don't have to make an appointment. I just interrupt my conversation grab hold of my leg and I don't care who you are I am probably going to talk to them instead of you because that is called relationship. And we have that same access to our Father who is in heaven.
And then we are told in Scripture we are His property. So we belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says you are not your own. Or in the Greek it could be translated you are not your own property. You were bought with a price. So you belong to God. A lot of times they will say well you know with my future and my career and my resources and my money and well you know you can say that all that you want but I hate to break this to you but you belong to God. So technically that is His life. That is His career that He has blessed you with. That is His resources. He has made you a steward over you belong to Him. The good news is you are under His protection.
I heard a story about an old guy who was known for his godly life. Someone asked him one day old man how do you keep from being tempted? He says whenever temptation comes my way I just look up to heaven and I say Lord your property is in danger. You are God's property. You are His bride. You are His child. You are His sheep. You are His property. And when the devil sees that ID tag he respects it. So Paul says I belong to God.
Principle 3: You Are in the Will of God
Thirdly Paul was doing the will of God. He knew he was doing the will of God despite the fact that there was a storm and a shipwreck. He was smack dab right in the middle of the perfect will of God. Look at what he says in verse 23. "The God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me." The Lord had already revealed to Paul that he would testify in Rome so Paul could go forth with the assurance that God was with him. And the same is true in our service to the Lord. We will have those storms but we will also have a safe arrival.
So let's review. Number one God was with him. Number two He belonged to God. Number three He was doing the will of God. And now number four and finally He believed God. He says in verse 25. "So take courage for I believe God." I love those words. It's not the words of a person in denial. They're out of touch with reality. Fact of the matter is Paul said this when they were still in the worst of the storm with no tangible hope. They had the hope that was given to Paul by God that they would be delivered but there was nothing that said that was really going to happen physically around them. This was faith. You see. This is when things are unraveling around you and you have faith and you say God is in control. And I know He is going to get me through this and I know that He is faithful. And non-believers just can't get that at all. The faith that a child of God can have under difficult circumstances.
He was confident. He knew that God was the master of His circumstances and the captain of this boat. The Lord Jesus was the master and commander. To borrow a title of a movie. He knew God was in control. There is a story in the gospel we read about where Jesus told the disciples to launch out into the deep for a catch of fish. This after they had fished for hours and caught nothing. Peter said, "Lord, we have toiled all night and we have caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word we will do it." And the phrase that he used for Lord there is a unique nautical term only used one time in the gospels which means captain of this boat. "Lord, we have toiled all night. We haven't found a single fish but yet captain of this boat at your word we will do it."
The Bible says in Luke 5:6 at that time their nets were so full they began to tear and Peter fell down before the Lord and said, "Depart from me I am a sinful man." In other words, Peter was saying, Lord, you just blew my mind. You entered my world. You showed me your power and I am only going to let you down. I am going to disappoint you. Jesus, go find someone else. I am never going to be the man you want me to be. Jesus said, "Peter, if you follow me I will make you a fisher of men."
So here is the question. Will you let him be the captain of your boat? You say, Well, is he the captain of my boat when I lose my job? Yes, he is. Is he the captain of my boat when my house burns down? When my car burns up? Or my investments fail? Yes, he is Lord there too. Is he Lord when I get cancer? Yes, he is Lord when you get cancer. Is he Lord when a loved one has died? Yes, he is Lord when a loved one has died. For it is then that we need our captain to get us to the other side.
Principle 4: Believe God No Matter What
I mean I love the way that Paul in the midst of adversity is helping other people. One of the best things you can do when you are suffering is help someone else. You say, well that makes no sense to me at all. Well let me tell you, it makes all of the sense in the world. It is very easy to have a pity party and feel sorry for yourself and sort of just draw back into your little cocoon and isolate yourself from everyone else. But if you will go out and help other people you will find comfort as you are distributing it. You will be the beneficiary of what you are giving to others. As Paul said, you comfort with the comfort you have been comforted with. And this is what Paul is doing. He is on the same boat that is pitching back and forth. The storm is threatening. It looks like they are going to die. And Paul is out there encouraging others.
Compare that to Jonah. Jonah who was called to go to Nineveh and preach the Word of God. And he went in the opposite direction. Jonah, the original chicken of the sea. And when the storm came to Jonah, was he on deck helping people? No. He was asleep. He didn't care about others. But Paul in contrast takes the lead in this stormy situation. He says in verse 25, take courage. I believe God. It will be just as he said, but we will be shipwrecked on an island.
You know, the man of God, or the woman of God, wherever you find them, seems to be master of the situation. Say, I don't understand what you mean. Okay. What happened when Paul and Silas were thrown into a Roman prison for preaching the gospel? They sing praises at midnight. The walls shook. The Lord freed them. The jailer was about to kill himself. And Paul says, "Do yourself no harm. We are still here." And next thing you know he is over at that guy's house having dinner. And the guy is washing the stripes on his back. And Paul leads his household to the Lord. Paul enters the place as a prisoner and he leaves the place in charge.
How about Joseph? Sold into slavery by his brothers. No hope of any kind for him. Through a turn of events, he becomes the second most powerful man in the entire kingdom of Egypt. Effectively, he is running the country. And later we see Paul standing before King Agrippa speaking boldly. He always seemed to rise above the circumstances and be the one who led. And the believer can do the same thing.
Now, the ship did finally reach shore. And they come to the bay and they beached the ship. And as it turns out, the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners. But because of Paul's witness, they were all spared and told to swim. In verse 44 it says, as they are coming to shore, some came on boards and others on other parts of the ship. So here is my question. They are on the water. They are on boards. They are approaching the shore. There are waves. Is it possible that the Apostle Paul is the father of surfing? Long before the Duke in Waikiki Beach. Paul thought, you know, it is a lot of work to just lay here. But I just got on my knees and started paddling. Hey, what is going on? And you know. Just saying. You never know.
So they come to shore and they survive this horrible shipwreck. Paul made it to Rome eventually. He was cast into the Mamertine prison. A cold dark cave cell with no window. Only a hole to the floor through which food would be lowered. Tradition tells us that Paul finally had his audience with the Emperor. History tells us the Emperor at this time was the infamous Caesar Nero. Prior to this time when Paul appeared before Nero. We don't read that he was persecuting the church as he did later. So one wonders if Paul did indeed appear before Nero. And knowing Paul, looking at how he spoke before Festus and Agrippa and Felix, I am sure when given the opportunity, Paul gave Nero both barrels of the gospel of God. And it may be that Nero became more hostile toward the Christians after Paul appeared before him.
I bring this up because remember, Paul used to be Saul. He used to be the Christian killer, the persecutor of believers. And the Lord got him on the Damascus road and said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" So while Saul was under the conviction of the Spirit, he took it out on the Christians. Could it be that Nero was under the conviction of the Spirit as well? We know from church history that Nero was a relentless, cruel persecutor of followers of Christ. We know that Nero played a hand in the burning down of Rome because he wanted to build more edifices. And he blamed it on the Christians. We know that Nero would feed the Christians to wild animals in the Roman Colosseum for sport. We know that Nero would have Christians literally covered in pitch and set on fire to light his garden as he would ride his chariot around. We know he was a vicious, wicked man. And we know that Paul appeared before him. And if that is the case, and it is, then we know that Nero certainly heard the gospel.
So now Paul has come to the end of his life. And in the Mamertine prison he wrote his final words in 2 Timothy. And they are not words of defeat, but of victory. That same buoyant optimism that he had on board this ship as they were in the middle of a storm was there in his final writing. When he says in 2 Timothy 4, "I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me in that day, and not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing." He was ending in victory. And that is how we all should end.
Wrapping Up: Trusting God in Every Season
What were the secrets of the Apostle Paul? Number one, God was with him. Number two, he belonged to God. Number three, he was doing the will of God. And fourth and lastly, he believed God. Listen, the things I have shared with you tonight have come from real life experience. I have tried all of these things I have said, and I have found them to be true. You should not believe what I am saying is true because I have experienced it. You should believe it is true because the Bible says it. But I am just telling you, I have personally applied these truths as we have gone through the worst crisis of our life, and we have found that the Lord has been faithful to us, and I know that He will be faithful to you.
Now maybe right now it is smooth sailing, and things are good, and I am glad for that. But there might be a storm in your future, and it might be a strong one, so you might as well get ready for it. But take heart in knowing this. God won't give you more than you can handle. You will not be alone. You belong to the Lord, and He will see you through it. Paul believed God. And I hope that you believe God. And when I say believe God, I hope that you have this faith in Christ. Because as I said earlier, the faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted. A lot of people have a flimsy faith that doesn't hold up during times of crisis. A convenient faith. We need a real faith. A faith that will stand up through the roughest of storms, and actually get stronger, not weaker, as a result. A faith in God Himself.
And here is my question for you in closing. Do you have this kind of faith in God? And do you know Jesus Christ in a real way? I mean it is one thing to trust the Lord when things are going well, but it is another thing when things are not going so well, outwardly at least. But you know God loves you. And you know that there is hope beyond this life. And you know there is indeed a heaven waiting for you because you put your faith in Christ. Do you have that hope? See, Paul dedicated his life to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what is the gospel? It is a message that Jesus Christ, who was born in that manger, and we will be talking about that in the next few weeks, and lived a perfect life, went to a cross, and died there in our place, and rose again from the dead three days later, and is alive and ready to come and take residence in our hearts if we will believe in Him. But we must turn from our sin. Have you done that yet?
Do you have the absolute assurance that if you were to die tonight you would go to heaven? I said that we believe the Lord is coming back again. Do you have the confidence that if Christ were to come back again tonight, and He could, that you would be ready? Do you know that you know that you have a relationship with God? If not, would you like to have one? I am going to give you that opportunity right now as we bow our heads for a closing word of prayer.
So let us all pray together. Father, I pray for any here now that are with us, or are listening, that do not know You. Lord, would You help them to see their need for Jesus? Would You help them to believe in You and receive the forgiveness that only You can give? We know You love them with an everlasting love. Now Lord, help them to come and find the forgiveness that only You can give.
Well, our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, and we are praying together. How many of you would say tonight, Greg, pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. Pray for me. If that is your desire, if you want Jesus to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to be ready for the Lord's return, would you just lift your hand up right now wherever you are sitting, and I would like to pray for you. God bless you. You want Christ to come into your life tonight. Let me pray for you. Lift your hand up wherever you are please. God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up. God bless you. You want His forgiveness tonight. Let me pray for you.
You are not too young to do this. If you have understood what I have said, here is your opportunity to respond. But you are not too old to do it either. The Lord can change you. But you must come to Him and believe. Anybody else? If you want Christ to come into your life tonight, lift your hand up. I'll pray for you. Just lift your hand up where I can see it. God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else? This final moment. If you haven't lifted your hand yet, lift it now. Lift it now. God bless you, and God bless you. All right. God bless you over there in the corner. Praise the Lord. Anybody else? Lift your hand now. Let me pray for you. All right. God bless you too.
I'm going to ask all of you that have just lifted your hand, if you would, just stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer where you will be committing your life to Jesus. Again, all of you that just lifted your hand, if you would, please stand to your feet. Just stand up. Don't be embarrassed. I am just going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up. All right. Stand up. Come on. There you go. Stand up. Yeah. Just stand up. You that lifted your hand. Even if you didn't lift your hand but you want to make this commitment to Christ, Stand up. God bless you guys. That is right. Stand up. Listen. You are among friends and family here. Okay. Just stand up and I am going to lead you in this prayer. Anybody else? Even if you did not lift your hand but you want to make this commitment to Christ, stand up now. Pray with you. Anybody else? All right.
You that are standing, pray this prayer out loud after me if you would please. Again as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But I thank you for dying on the cross for me. And paying the price for my sin. And rising again from the dead. Now come into my life. And be my Savior. And be my Lord. And be my God. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.