You Don't Forget the Storms

Part of living in Florida is this thing called “hurricanes.” And you always pray this prayer— a prayer that says, “Not here, Lord,” but don’t send it on the head of someone else— just make it go away.

One thing that I’ve always found interesting is that people remember the storms that they’ve gone through. By name. By particular features.

SHARED EXPERIENCE

Charlie- East Sligh Ave Baptist Church- 2 weeks before Phebe was born; painting the living room; watching the weather; Charlie took a quick turn to the East and overtook Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. A month later I had the privilege to visit my dear friend, Mark Manning— it looked like a war zone in that city…I wonder what we’ll find this week.

Francis/Jean- lumbering storms that made a mess of the church yard.

Matthew-

sheltered in the church

throwing frisbee with Ethan in the sanctuary

PONCE INLET- I remember Norm Ericson saying, “That would go over my house!”

Going to sleep in Ms. Singleton’s classroom

Irma- Cat 5 monster that took aim at our coast…then jogged south…wrecking South Florida

Ian- apocalyptic trip back from Pensacola...

PAUL IN A STORM, NOT OF HIS OWN MAKING; JONAH

The Identity of Your Storm

Acts 27:14: “But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.”

Euroclydon is a cyclonic tempestuous northeast wind that blows in the Mediterranean, mostly in autumn and winter. Its name derives from the Greek word eurokludōn, which, in turn, derives from the words "Euros" (or "Eurus") (the name of the Greek god of the east wind) and "kludōn" (meaning "storm").

The original Greek word translated "tempestuous" is τυφωνικος (tuphonikos), from which the English word "typhoon" (called "hurricane" or "cyclone" in other parts of the world) is derived.

WE’RE TALKING THIS MORNING ABOUT HURRICANES AND NATURAL DISASTERS, BUT SOME OF YOU HAVE DEALT WITH HORRIFIC ISSUES IN YOUR OWN LIVES. DEEP WOUNDS--

Daniel 3:24-27: “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”

What is the name of your storm?

Cancer

Separation

Debt

Depression/Anxiety

It’s really good that you name it. Now, you don’t have to be defined by your storms. You don’t have to be confined by your storms. You can walk in victory and gratitude, speaking of those things you have endured.

ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN MY LIFE WAS A STORM— IT CHANGED ME.

The Eye of the Storm

Acts 27:21-24: “But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”

22- no loss of life; just the stuff

23- the angel of God appeared to him

Acts 23:11: “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

NOT A CHRISTOPHANY; AN ANGEL

Fear not- A LACK OF FEAR IS CONNECTED TO A PURPOSE FROM GOD. The reason Paul was not to fear is because Paul had an assignment from God and, presumably, he was indestructible within that plan

Esther appearing before the King

Moses appearing before the Pharaoh

Daniel in the lion’s den

the 3 hebrew children in the fiery furnace

Paul discovered that in the eye of the storm, Jesus Christ is there.

The Comfort in the Storm

Acts 27:25: “Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

belief is the verb; faith is the noun

When you see Jesus in the eye of the storm, it produces this great faith in our hearts.

It kind of works like this: I believe God…therefore…I am going to see His work in this situation....therefore, I am going to trust Him in the smallest details of my storm...

DAVID GUZIK: He didn’t say, “I believe in God.” Every demon in hell agrees with the existence of God. Paul declared his total confidence in God’s knowledge of his situation and His promise in his situation.

ii. Paul believed God when there was nothing else to believe. He couldn’t believe the sailors, the ship, the sails, the wind, the centurion, human ingenuity or anything else — only God. This was not a fair-weather faith; he believed God in the midst of the storm, when circumstances were at their worst. Paul would say along with Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15). The storm and the danger were real, but God was more real to Paul than the dreadful circumstances.

TRUST HIS TIMING

TRUST HIS GRACE

TRUST HIS WISDOM

TRUST HIS PLAN