You And Your Storm

"You and Your Storm"

10/1914

Acts 27:21-25 "But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 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."

TELL STORY

I want to focus today on the Angel's words to Paul...

"Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you" (vs.24).

These powerful, encouraging words from God's angel to Paul in the middle of a life-threatening storm tell us three important things about the child of God and the storms that come our way...

The storm cannot HARM the child of God

The storm cannot HIDE the face of God

The storm cannot HINDER the will of God

The storm cannot HARM the child of God

Paul's storm while on a ship at sea was very different from Jonah's storm on a ship at sea.

Jonah's storm came because he was out of God's will.

Paul's storm came while in the center of God's will.

Jonah's storm came because he was running from God.

Paul's storm came while he was running after God!

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We're told there were 276 people on this ill-fated voyage at sea...

There was the owner of the ship, Dr. Luke of Luke's gospel was there with Paul, a Roman centurion, professional sailors, and several prison guards who were watching over many prisoners.

And when you stop and think about it, on that ship also was...

EPHESIANS--"By grace are you saved by faith..."

PHILIPPIANS--"Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will..."

COLOSSIANS--"You are complete in Him..."

2 TIMOTHY--"For God has not given us a spirit of fear..."

All of which Paul would write from Rome!

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Now, the prisoners aboard were being taken to Rome to be used in the gladiatorial battles in the coliseum for the entertainment of the Roman citizens.

In other words, these prisoners were doomed to die---this voyage to Rome would be their last.

But God's man, Paul, being on board changed the whole equation.

God had already told Paul that he "must go to Rome" and testify to Caesar of the grace of God.

Without Paul it would have been a voyage of the doomed and damned.

But God's man in God's will, going to God's destination was invincible!

Paul would eventually tell the whole ship-full of people, "...not a hair will fall from the head of any of you" (vs. 34).

He could say this because the life of the child of God is firmly held in the nail scarred hands of Christ Jesus.

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Until our purpose is done on earth, the child of God is invincible!

David wrote, "My future is in your hands" (Ps. 31:15).

All that I am or ever shall be is at the disposal of God.

At the time of Jesus' arrest, Pilate had looked threateningly at Him and said,

"Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:10-11).

The storm cannot HARM the child of God.

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Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the 3 Hebrew children who were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace for not bowing to the idolatrous statue of Nebuchadnezzar.

The Bible says that a fourth man appeared in the furnace with them, and he looked like "the Son of God."

Then it says "the three Hebrew children were not burned by the fire. Not a hair of their heads was singed, or their clothes burned, there wasn't even the smell of smoke upon them."

In Paul's shipwreck we see that, yes, they hungered, they were cold, they were distressed, and they were rattled, but it ends saying,

"And so it was that they all escaped safely to land."

You may have very tough days and very long nights, but ultimately...the storms of life cannot HARM the child of God.

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But then we also see that...

II. The storm cannot HIDE the face of God.

It's difficult to describe just how perilous this voyage became.

Paul had warned them at the outset, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”

And it happened just as he had predicted.

The Bible describes it vividly. It began with "...a tempestuous head wind that arose, called Euroclydon." (vs.14)

A "Euroclydon" is a powerful storm that happens when strong southerly winds suddenly turn northerly, producing violent, hurricane-force winds.

Suddenly, this ship was broadsided by a violent, unrelenting storm carrying typhoon like winds.

This larger ship carrying 276 passengers was like a toothpick tossed to and fro on a vast, violent sea.

Luke describes it: "...we were exceedingly tempest-tossed...we had to lighten the ship by throwing the tackle overboard with our own hands...we didn't see sun or stars for many days...the tempest unrelentingly beat on us..."

He also reports that they hadn't eaten in fourteen days..."

And then they lost the one commodity you can't live without....."All HOPE that we would be saved was finally given up."

They lost their HOPE!

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Now watch this!

It was right in the middle of this horrific, bone-crushing storm that the Angel of God appeared to Paul!

"...There stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve" (vs. 23).

Church, not only can the storm not HARM the child of God, the storm can't HIDE the face of God!

God often shows up at the midnight hour, when hope is slipping, faith is shaking, and circumstances seem stacked against you.

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It was when Moses stood at the seashore with a million of God's people that they saw Pharaoh's chariots fast-approaching. There was nowhere to go and they were vastly outgunned. But in the center of the storm God said, "Stand still..."

It was as Peter sat in a prison cell awaiting his execution that an Angel of The Lord appeared and delivered him.

It was when Daniel was thrown into a hungry lion's den for the longest night of his life when he later reported, "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths and they have not harmed me..." (Dan. 6:22)

The face of God will find it's way into your storm through a timely Word, the presence of a friend, His peace that passes all understanding, a dream, a vision....somehow, someway it will appear with the message...

"It's okay. I'm here. This storm will not HARM you and it will not keep Me from you!

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The storm can't HARM the child of God. The storm can't HIDE the face of God. And thirdly,

III. The storm can't HINDER the will of God.

The will of God for Paul was clear as crystal...

The Lord had appeared to him earlier on in Jerusalem and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

When the Angel appeared to him on the storm-tossed ship, this same call was reiterated,

"Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar."

Look at the ferocity of this storm, and then consider that even this hurricane,

This colossal tossing and turning,

This gigantic upheaval that threatened the entire ship and everything in it COULD NOT STOP Paul from God's destination for him!

It's powerful to note that the very island on which they landed called Malta, was a "needle in a haystack" miracle.

One commentator writes, "If they had missed Malta, there would have been nothing else for 200 miles...and no one would have expected the ship to survive that long.”

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Even though your storm seems big, out of control, threatening and consuming, God's hand is above it all, guiding you toward a haven of rest and safety.

Paul and the entire crew stayed at Malta for three months until spring arrived.

They caught another ship and PAUL MADE IT TO ROME!

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Until your purpose on earth is finished, The storm cannot HARM you, the storm cannot HIDE God's face from you, and the storm cannot HINDER God's will for you.

But I must add an addendum to all this....These things are true for His own children, not for the person outside of Christ.

What a tragedy it would be to die never having walked in God's plan, having no Savior, and no hope for eternal life!

This is why we're having "Tag A Friend" Sunday, November 9!

LET'S PRAY