When All Feels Lost
Listening to God's Voice • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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There is a legend that Satan decided to get rid of a number of his tools, so he arranged an auction. There were envy, deceit, malice, sensuality, enmity, thoughtlessness, and many other tools which Satan had used successfully (priced very low). One piece, marked very high, was labeled Discouragement. “Why do you want so much for this tool?” asked one bidder. “This tool,” replied the old tempter, “has always been my most useful one. You can see it has had more wear than the rest. It is used as a wedge to get into a man’s mind when all other means fail. Practically every human being has had this tool used on him, although very few know that I’m the one welding it.” As it worked out, none could afford the price Satan demanded for discouragement...and so he is still using it.
Have you ever just felt lost? It brings you into a pit. A pit of discouragement. The definition of discouragement is
a loss of confidence or enthusiasm; dispiritedness.
Why is it that as christians we feel such loss and discouragement? The bible states that we when we have a joyful heart
A joyful heart makes a face cheerful,
but a sad heart produces a broken spirit.
Or that we should have a cheerful heart
A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
that we are even supposed to be joyful in troubling time
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
that we are even suppose to give cheerfully
Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.
So why do we struggle so much when we feel loss and discouraged? Why do we struggle to hear God’s voice in troubling times?
The main reason is because Satan makes us look inward instead of looking upward. He makes us listen to all those other voices and blocks out the One voice we should be listening too.
So if you have your bibles today, turn to Acts chapter 27. I read a pastor call Acts 27 as a suspenseful thriller movie.
I don’t know about you, but My favorite part of any movie is when the hero comes in and saves the day.
It makes me wish Acts had a soundtrack. We have certain music in our heads associated with this kind of scene, don’t we?
In the old west movies it was the trumpet of the cavalry, coming to save the day.
In more modern times it’s the Star Wars theme, or the Indiana Jones music.
If Acts had a soundtrack, at the beginning of chapter 27, the music would start off slowly and ominously.
Maybe that music from Jaws. You know (Da Dum, Da Dum...)
And then in the background you’d hear the wind blowing and the waves rising.
And then maybe that music from the Wizard of Oz.
You know, when the wicked witch is on her way to get Dorothy.
And then the hurricane hits in full force.
And the waves crash against the hull.
The crew is screaming, the captain is shouting orders.
The tension mounts, all hope is gone, and then...
The climax music. Here comes the hero.
Storms and shipwrecks and lives hanging in the balance.
But you know the main reason I like this chapter?
God’s voice is clearly heard even when all felt lost.
Every felt that way? Sucked in, washed up and blown over? Sure you have!
Like these men we’ll read about, you’ve been on stormy seas, and if you haven’t - you will!
Like these men, your boat has been thrown around.
You’ve been plunged into the eye of the storm, and if that hasn’t happened yet, just wait - it’s coming.
Maybe it’s a family disaster. Death or disease or divorce.
Maybe it’s a financial storm. You’ve lost your job or gotten heavily in debt.
Maybe your tempest has come in the form of depression, whose gale force winds can rip down your sails and leave you dead in the water, feeling overwhelmed and under powered.
I don’t know what it is, or what it will be in your life, but I know this...storms will come!
And the lesson of Chapter 27 is not primarily that God delivered 276 men on the Adriatic sea.
The lesson for you and for me is that God will speak to us and deliver us from the storms of life. If we listen to Him!
Let’s get this movie started!
When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. When we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.
So our first point today is
Having Friends Who Listen To God
With Paul he started with a man named Julius.
Now, I don’t know who Julius was, but I know who put him there.
Julius was a man who showed kindness to Paul when kindness was exactly what Paul needed!
Not only does he save Paul’s life later in the chapter, but verse 3 tells us that he allowed him to go to his friends in Sidon.
And then I think, “what friends in Sidon?”
We have no record of a church in Sidon, before or after this, but there they were!
They just happened to stop in Sidon and Paul just happened to have Christian friends there...that is if you believe in coincidence.
But I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago.
There didn’t just happen to be a group of believers in Sidon, God put them there!
And at least one of the reason, we see here, was to minister to Paul at a time when he desperately needed his friends.
There was also Aristarchus he was a Macedonian and he was a traveling companion for Paul. He also became Paul’s slave so he could be a help to Paul during his imprisonment.
We can also assume that Luke was there also.
Has God put people in your life who love you like that?
He has in mine.
He’s put people in my life who, I believe, would not only lay down their freedom, but their very lives!
That’s how God works.
So take heart when the seas get stormy, and look around for the people God places in your life. People who listen to His voice.
He’s put them there because he loves you and because He knows you can’t make it on your own!
Like it or not, we need each other!
And God will not abandon us or leave us alone.
It has happened too many times in my life that God has put the right people there at the right time.
Because the storms of life aren’t meant to be weathered alone.
And we’re foolish if we try.
God will put people in our lives at the right time and at the right place who will be with us through the storm.
Well, next we see another way God deals with storms.
Sailing slowly for many days, with difficulty we arrived off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone. With still more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.
By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”
So we see here our next point, not only will He provide Godly friends but
His Word Will Give Warning
I will not be popular saying this but it needs to be said.
The trouble we get ourselves into is not always the devil, it is because we are not connected with God’s Word.
Sometimes we’re headed for a storm and we don’t see it! Why? Because we get disconnected from God’s voice.
In this case God put Paul in their lives to warn them that trouble was coming if they didn’t turn back.
Most of the time, however, when we’re set on a course of action, the last thing we want to do is listen.
A fool’s way is right in his own eyes,
but whoever listens to counsel is wise.
Dr Joe R. Brown of Rochester, Minnesota, tells of the frustration he encountered while trying to take a physical history on a patient. The man’s wife kept answering every question. Finally, Dr Brown requested that she leave the room. But after she left he discovered that her husband couldn’t speak. Calling the wife back, Dr Brown apologized for not realizing the man had aphasia (loss of speech) and couldn’t speak a word. The wife was even more astonished because she didn’t know either!
Interesting that the same letters that make the word ‘silent’ also make the word ‘listen’.
Let’s go back to Acts
But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.
When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
Two mistakes the centurion made here.
The First. He followed the advice of the experts rather than God’s spokesman. Sometimes the people in your life are not listening to God’s voice and will give you advise that goes against His will. Seek out men and women who listen and speak God’s Word into your life.
He followed majority rule.
There is a line in the movie Men in Black...People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.
We see this clearly with the media and social media today. A simple message can be distorted to a point of riots and panic.
As Christian who listen to God’s voice are to be different
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Our voice should mimic the Word of God
They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
Look back over the history of the Israelites and take a look at all the disasters that took place because the majority ruled.
Over and over, we find the prophets, ostracized and alone, hated by the very people they were sent to speak to.
Why? Because the majority wasn’t willing to listen to God’s message!
What does that tell us about the leadership of God’s people today?
Thank God we’ve gotten away from the dictatorial style that used to be so prevalent.
But let’s not forget that leaders were meant to lead!
The shepherd doesn’t take a survey of the sheep to find out what pasture they want to go to.
He just starts leading.
Now, this doesn’t mean that leaders can afford to be insensitive to the followers.
It doesn’t mean ignoring their legitimate need and desires and opinions.
But it does mean, for both leaders and followers, that God never intended His people to be led by majority rule.
He never has and He never will.
So we have seen how he uses friends in our lives and how He warns us through His Word.
Let me give you an update on where we are in Acts with the OCT.
They was thinking that they was good. But a big ole wind came. So much so that them experienced sailor got so scared they started to throw everything overboard. They were to a point that taught they was dead.
This is when we see Paul talk to them.
Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.
Our stupidity may have gotten us off course
God’s Voice Will Guide You Through It
God uses storms.
Did you know that storms are some of God’s best tools!
And though I don’t believe he causes every storm, I know that he uses every storm.
And one of the ways He uses them is to help us clear the decks!
When the storm hits and your life is thrown upside down, that’s when we start thinking about what’s really important, isnt’ it?
Sometimes we need to clear the decks, don’t you think?
I don’t know about you, but sometimes my deck gets cluttered.
It gets cluttered with unimportant things.
It gets cluttered with useless things.
It gets cluttered with things that don’t belong there in the first place.
And God has used storms in my life to help me clear the decks.
I thank God for the storms in my life.
There are times I get so discouraged. I get where I feel all is lost.
So I have to clean house.
I cleared the decks.
I give God my family.
I give God my ministry.
I take everything I own and everything that is important to me...and I let go of them.
I give them to God.
Sometimes I feel like
For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.
It’s sad whenever people give up hope!
Did you know that God won’t save you from the storms in your life until you give up on doing it yourself? Until you start to listen for His voice.
And it wasn’t until my deepest, darkest night.
It wasn’t until all my hope was gone.
It wasn’t until I gave up all hope of being saved...on my own...that God finally said, "It’s going to be alright."
Do you feel that way today? Do you feel like all is lost? Are you so discouraged that you feel you are in a pit and the dirt is being tossed on top of you?
You are not alone. You have friends here that listen to God’s voice and will seek out His voice to help provide your needs. Seek His Word to guide you and to hear His voice. And know this He will guide you through the storms.