Don't Abandon Ship During the Storm

There are three types of storms that come into our lives. Storms that we bring on ourselves. Storms that are caused by others. Storms that are allowed by God.

Storms or trouble is something that belongs to the human race. I’ve yet to meet anyone who can boast of being totally free from it. It is one of those common denominators that links everyone who has lived, who is now living, or who will live on this earth. Job, who had his share of troubles, tells us in , "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." and again in , "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble."

Trouble is something that belongs to the human race. I’ve yet to meet anyone who can boast of being totally free from it. It is one of those common denominators that links everyone who has lived, who is now living, or who will live on this earth. Job, who had his share of troubles, tells us "man is born unto trouble" () and again "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." . Troubles plague the human race. Troubles produce "tough days." We’ve all experienced them and we know that some seem to be worse than others are. I’ve had days "pop up" in my life and no doubt you have too, when you wonder why you ever crawled out of bed that morning, and then you wonder if you’re going to make it back to bed that night. In the comic strip Peanuts, Charlie Brown is saying to Lucy, "I’ve got so many troubles that if anything happens to me today it will be two weeks before I can worry about it." Can you identify with Charlie? Here’s a fact about life that you can count on happening no matter who you are. Trouble, in one or more of its various forms, is going to come knocking unexpectedly at your door one day. Don’t spend your time looking for it - for it will find you. Trouble knows your address. Prepare yourself in advance to deal with whatever your "it" may be.Trouble and the Apostle Paul Very few people today have experienced as many difficulties in their life as Paul did. He was on a first name basis with trouble. In , Paul shares some of his experiences with trouble. He is not complaining about them, but he’s just letting us know that he understands what trouble is all about. "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews forth stripes save one. Three times I have been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been adrift at sea. On my journeys I have often been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people the Jews, the Gentiles, false brethern and the sea. I have been in constant toil and hardship with many sleepless nights. Often in hunger and thirst without food. Often in cold and exposure without warm clothes to protect me from the elements, and always upon me there is the pressure of the care of the church." (Amplified Bible) But troubles couldn’t put Paul down. He refused to be defeated by them. They failed in detouring him from serving God. , has Paul saying, "We are pressed

Storms plague the human race. storms produce "tough days." We’ve all experienced them and we know that some seem to be worse than others are. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had days "pop up" in my life when I wondered why did I crawl out of bed that morning, and then I wondered if I was going to make it back to bed that night. In the comic strip Peanuts, Charlie Brown tells Lucy, "I’ve got so many troubles that if anything happens to me today it will be two weeks before I can worry about it." Can you identify with Charlie? Here’s a fact about life that you can count on happening no matter who you are. Storms, in one or more of its various forms, is going to come knocking unexpectedly at your door one day. Don’t spend your time looking for it - for it will find you. Storms know your address.

Trouble and the Apostle Paul Very few people today have experienced as many difficulties in their life as Paul did. He was on a first name basis with trouble. In , Paul shares some of his experiences with trouble. He is not complaining about them, but he’s just letting us know that he understands what trouble is all about. "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews forth stripes save one. Three times I have been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been adrift at sea. On my journeys I have often been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people the Jews, the Gentiles, false brethern and the sea. I have been in constant toil and hardship with many sleepless nights. Often in hunger and thirst without food. Often in cold and exposure without warm clothes to protect me from the elements, and always upon me there is the pressure of the care of the church." (Amplified Bible) But troubles couldn’t put Paul down. He refused to be defeated by them. They failed in detouring him from serving God. , has Paul saying, "We are pressed

Well beloved as we look at our text, storms and the Apostle Paul seem to be connected. Very few people today have experienced as many difficulties in their life as Paul did. He was on a first name basis with storms. In , Paul shares some of his experiences with storms. Please note, he is not complaining about them, but he’s just letting us know that he understands what storms are all about. Listen to what Paul says, "Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews forth stripes save one. Three times I have been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been adrift at sea. On my journeys I have often been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people the Jews, the Gentiles, false brethern and the sea. I have been in constant toil and hardship with many sleepless nights. Often in hunger and thirst without food. Often in cold and exposure without warm clothes to protect me from the elements, and always upon me there is the pressure of the care of the church." (Amplified Bible) But storms couldn’t put Paul down. The storms of life didn’t deter him. He refused to be defeated by them. They failed in trying to lure him to abandon ship and keep him from serving God.

I. The Strong Anchor of God’s presence:

Brothers and sisters I know that there are times that we can be hit or caught up in the storms of life that are so strong they shake you at the very core of your faith foundation. Financial crisis.

Family crisis.

employment crisis.

relationship crisis.

marriage crisis.

Church crisis.

And many times they come one after the other and you feel like abandoning the ship. You feel like leaving the Church.

You feel like calling it quits, but beloved I want to encourage you today, don’t abandon the ship during the storm.

My friends as we look at our text, I want to share with you three reasons why you ought not abandon the ship during the storm. According to the text on the ship, you have:

I. The Strong Anchor of God’s presence:

Brothers and sisters this storm that Paul and those who were with him were in, is a direct result of folks not listening to wise council. In verses 9-12 of this chapter, Paul warned a centurion named Julius that they needed to wait before sailing off. But instead the Centurion listened to the Captain of the ship and the owner of the ship rather than listening to Paul. The reason Paul warned them about taking off is because during the time of our text it was around October and during the month’s of October and November Storms have a tendency to breakout in the waters. We call it Hurricane season. So Paul warned them, but they did not listen. Let’s tell the truth and shame the devil, how many of you have turned away from wise council and ended up in a storm?

How many of you ignored Daddy, Momma, big momma or madear, and ended up in a storm.

How many of you turned a deaf ear to the preaching of the word of God and ended up in a storm.

Well beloved that’s what happened here. Paul who was a prisoner on this journey tried to warn them but they would not listen.

So, while they were sailing the storm hit and our text says in verse 20, “For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.” Beloved it appears the writer Luke was on the ship along with Paul for the text says, “all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.” So, Luke who is the writer of Acts was able to provide a clear image of what was taking place on the ship.

While the storm was raging, Paul took a moment in verse 21 to remind the men that he had warned them about taking off. Now I don’t know if Paul had to get that out of his system like some of us or what, but he reminded them. And then in verse 22, he encouraged them to take courage because there would be no loss of life. The reason Paul could encourage them and say what he said was because the presence of God was with them while they were in the storm.

Here it is in verse 23, there Paul says, “For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me,”

The Angel who was a representative of God, was sent by God to the man of God to share a message from God to those on the ship who didn’t know God. Paul had the strong anchor of God’s presence in the midst of the storm, and because he had God’s presence he was able to encourage those on the ship to take courage.

My friends when storms come into our lives, we have the assurance of the presence of God. God will not leave us nor will He forsake us when things get rough in our lives. Even when we are the cause of the storm, the Lord is right there with us in the storm. It may look like and feel like God has abandoned us, but I assure you He’s right there. If He wasn’t you wold lose your mind and be swept up by the storm, but because He’s there with you sustaining you through it you are able to continue on. So beloved it doesn’t matter what you are going through, don’t abandon the ship during the storm.

Don’t go overboard during the storm.

Don’t put out the life boat and try to make it to shore on your own during the storm.

Don’t leave the Church during the storm.

Don’t abandon your faith during the storm.

But stay on the ship, because the ship is where the presence of God is and while the storm is raging, you need to anchor yourself in the fact that God is with you while you are in the storm. The second reason you ought not abandon the ship during the storm is because on the ship is:

II. The strong anchor of God’s promise:

The story was told about the great Indian chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in southern Alberta Canada name Crowfoot. It was said that Crowfoot gave the Canadian Pacific Railroad permission to cross the Blackfoot land from Medicine Hat to Calgary, he was given in return a lifetime railroad pass. Crowfoot put it in a leather pouch and carried it around his neck for the rest of his life. There is no record, however, that he ever used the pass to travel anywhere on the Canadian Pacific train. Well, the promises of God are often treated in this way by Christians. Many of us hang them on the wall in beautiful plaques.

We collect God’s little promise books.

We stand proudly singing “standing on the promises of God.”

But they do not claim the promises for themselves during their time of need, even when God makes His promise clear to them.

But that was not the case with Paul, during the storm Paul had the strong anchor of God’s promise.

And so in verses 24-25 Paul tells those who were on the ship with him the promise the Angel from the Lord told him. He said the Angel said, “‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.“

Brothers and sisters I don’t know if you know this or not, but Paul had a divine appointment in Rome to stand before Caesar. In it says, “After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

Again in it says, “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.” 

Beloved it didn’t matter if it was a hurricane, tsunami, tornado or monsoon, because Paul had a promise from the One who divinely appointed him to stand before Caesar in Rome, he was going to be alright in the storm. God who is a promise keeper had already preordained for Paul to make it to Rome, and while he was on the way, he just happen to be in a storm, but if you don’t mind I need to add a little more to what’s going on here on the ship. I’m getting ready to help somebody right now. Sometimes you go through a storm to help somebody else. Here it is, in verse 24 the Angel told Paul, “Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.”

Because of one man—Paul, all the men on the ship would be saved.

My friends despite the storm that is in your life or about to come into your life, you need to understand the promises of God still stand. Whatever promise the Lord has made to you, your storm does not make it void.

Whatever you are dealing with, know that the Lord has promised to be in it with you, and that He will eventually bring you out.

Let me fill you in on something, as a child of God you may be going through hell down here, but you have a promise of Heaven when its over. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have a divine appointment with the master, and no storm can get in the way of that. And then note, The reason you may be in a storm is to help somebody else who’s dealing with the same storm you are in or have been in. And beloved because you are where they are, or you’ve been through what they are going through, you can stand and proclaim like Paul, don’t be afraid.

So Paul tells those on the ship,”Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.”

Because Paul was anchored in the promise of God he was able to tell the men,”Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.” Because of Paul’s faith in God he was able to encourage.

You see if you don’t have faith in the Lord, then when the storm hits you can’t encourage yourself or nobody else. But beloved when times get rough. When the storms of life start raging and it looks like they will never end.

There needs to be somebody who knows the Lord and believes in the promises of God who can stand up and shout, “take courage because I believe God.”]

So my friends don’t abandon the ship during the storm, know that you have the presence of God.

Know that you have the promise of God.

Finally beloved, you ought not abandon the ship during the storm, because on the ship there is:

III. The strong anchor of God’s power:

After the storm subsided and the ship was drifting, the sailors thought they were approaching Land so they took what is known as a sounding. In other word’s they were measuring the depth of the sea to avoid running aground.

When they got to 90 feet deep the sailors dropped four anchors so that the ship wouldn’t run into land. And the text says, they prayed for daylight. Now, the King James version says they “wished for daylight.” While some were wishing or praying for daylight, others were trying to get off the ship. But then Paul says something that catches their attention. In verse 31 Paul says, ““Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Don’t abandon the ship.

Then men listened to Paul , then Paul encouraged them to eat and re encouraged them that not one life would be lost. After Paul had shared this with them, Paul took some bread, and the text says he gave thanks to God in the presence of them all. Paul was not ashamed.

Brothers and sisters

After Paul told them

Finally the ship ran aground and the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners that were on board, this would have included Paul, But the Centurion, who was Julius, the one that wouldn’t listen when Paul told them they shouldn't set sail.

This Centurion stopped the soldiers from killing the prisoners and his reason for stopping them was because he wanted to save Paul.

Throughout this text, we see the power of God in the midst of the storm, but where we really see His power is in verse 44 of our text. In verse 44 it says, “The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.”

Brothers and sisters, while they were in the storm they didn’t know if they were going to make it, but Paul encouraged them by letting them know that God was with them.

The storm continued to raged, but Paul encouraged them by letting them know that God made a promise.

And now that they were all safely on dry land, they experienced God’s power.

Through the storm and the raging winds, God’s power kept them, guided them and delivered them.

My friends when you’re in a storm and you stay on the ship by continuing to trust in the Lord, you will eventually see God’s power. You will see His power as the storm begins to subside.

You will see God’s power as He brings you safely ashore.

You will see God’s power as He quiets the storm.

After the storm is over and you reflect on what took place during the storm, then you will see that God’s power was all in the storm.

So beloved don’t abandon the ship during the storm.

Don’t turn from the Lord during the storm.

Stay connected to the Lord during the storm.

Because if you stay on the ship you have the anchor of God’s presence.

The anchor of God’s promise.

And the anchor of God’s power.

If you don’t abandon the ship during the storm, the Lord will make sure that you make it through the storm.

You might ask how do I know, well beloved I’ve checked His record and I said to my self,

If God has the power to cause an ax head to float If God can cause a donkey to talk If He has power to split the Red Sea and the Jordan River If God can raise the dead If God can tell the thunder and lighting to cease

If God can place Himself in the womb of a virgin.

If God can be born in human flesh and they call Him Jesus.

If God can die on the cross for the sin of humanity.

If God can raise Himself from the dead

If God can do all that, then I believe when I’m in a storm that He can bring me through. And because of that, I won’t abandon the ship, I’m going to sail on trusting in the Lord. AMEN!!