Strong Anchors for Life's Stormy Seas
STRONG ANCHORS FOR LIFE'S STORMY SEAS
Acts 27:14-29 (29)
INTRODUCTION: These brave sailors were in a storm that seemed to be overwhelming. In an effort to save the ship and their lives, they cast four anchors into the sea. Sadly, these anchors proved ineffective against the storm and the ship was ultimately lost.
However, on board that ship was a man named Paul. He was a special man for several reason: 1. He was a child of God; 2. He was a man on a mission; 3. He was a man of faith; and 4. He was in fellowship with God. Because of who he was, Paul was anchored in the midst of that storm, even though the ship wasn't!
Those sailors threw four anchors into the sea in an attempt to steady that ship. Those anchors failed. As I read this text, I become aware that Paul had four anchors as well. These anchors steadied him during the storm. Even though that ship was shaken and battered, Paul was able to stand steady and strong.
I would like to take a few moments this evening to share with you those anchors that kept Paul steady during the storm. You see, those same anchors are available to you and me this evening. Allow me to share with you these Four Strong Anchors For Life's Stormy Seas.
I. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD v.23
A. Even in the midst of that raging storm, Paul found that he was not alone.
1. The Lord came to him to minister peace to his heart.
B. Regardless of the storm that tosses your life and mine, if we have the same confidence that Paul has in his relationship to the Lord, v. 23, then we can have faith in His promise to be with us always -
Matthew 28:20 I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Hebrews 13:5 for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
C. What an encouragement it is to know that we will never face an instant of life on our own!
1. Every step, every valley, every mountain will be graced by His presence!
Psalms 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
2. The blessed footmen of God, goodness and mercy, follow us every where we go!
D. It would be a blessing if we enjoyed the manifest presence of the Lord as Paul did. But, even when you cannot see Him, He is still there: watching, leading, protecting, being God.
Dr. Tony Compolo says that when he was a boy growing up in a congested and bustling city, his mother arranged for a teenage girl who lived nearby to walk home with him at the end of the day. For this, she was paid a nickel a day. But Tony rebelled in the second grade and told his mother, "I'll walk myself to school, and, if you give me a nickel a week, I will be extra careful. You can keep the other twenty cents and we'll all be better off."
After a period of pleading and begging, little Tony finally got his way. For the next two years he walked himself back and forth to school. It was an eight-block walk with many streets to cross, but he was careful and didn't talk to strangers or get distracted along the way.
Years later at a family party, he bragged about his independence and reminded his family of how he had taken care of himself as a boy. His mother laughed and added the rest of the story. "Did you really think you were alone?" she said. "Every morning when you left for school, I left with you. I walked behind you all the way. When you got out of school at 3:30 in the afternoon, I was there. I always kept myself hidden, but I was there and I followed you all the way home. I just wanted to be there for you in case you needed me.")
II. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PROMISES OF GOD v.24-25
A. As Paul weathered that long, terrible storm, the Lord came to him with a precious promise.
1. He reminded Paul that he would stand before Caesar, and that all those on the ship were to be spared as well.
2. For Paul, just having a word from God was enough to anchor him and give him blessed assurance. He knew that God was as good as His Word,
Romans 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
B. His promises are steadfast and true!
Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true,
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Notice what promises we have to assure of total security.
1. Brighter Days
Psalms 30:5 weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
2. Deliverance
Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
3. Everything is for our Good –
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
4. Grace –
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
5. Ultimate Glory –
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
C. His promises are based in and on His Word. It is pure, inspired and will stand when the world is in flames,
Psalms 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Dr. Everek R. Storms of Ontario spent a vast amount of time studying the promises of Scripture. Writing in Contact Magazine, he said: "The Holy Scriptures contain a grand total of 8,810 promises. How do I know? I counted them.
"All my life I have seen various figures quoted as to the number of promises in the Bible. The one most generally given is 30,000. Since this is a round number with four zeroes in it, I have always been a little suspicious about it. Furthermore, since there are only 31,101 verses in the Bible, it would mean that there would be practically one promise in every verse. I do not guarantee my count to be perfect, but it is the most accurate I know of."
Dr. Storms goes on to classify the promises found in Scripture into eight kinds:
§ There are 7,487 promises from God to man (about 85 percent of all the Bible's promises).
§ There are 991 instances of one person making a promise to another person.
§ There are 290 promises from man to God.
§ There are 29 promises made by the angels, most of them found in Luke.
§ There are 9 promises made by "that old liar, the devil." (For example, his promise to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would fall down and worship him.)
§ 2 promises are made by an evil spirit.
§ 2 are made by God the Father to God the Son.
Dr. Storms additionally found that one book of the Bible contains no promise at all--Titus. Ephesians has only six promises. On the other hand, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel have over 1,000 promises each.
What section of Scripture most impressed Dr. Storms? He wrote, "The most outstanding chapter as far as promises are concerned in Psalm 37. Practically every verse is a most wonderful promise."
In one memorable scene from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Christian, finding the pathway difficult, climbed over a stile to walk in a meadowy bypath. Eventually the ground grew soggy and covered with poisonous vines. The sky became black, and Christian spent the night huddled at the foot of an oak tree, caught in a downpour. Next morning, Giant Despair came upon him, captured him, beat him, and imprisoned him in the dungeon of Doubting Castle with its grim battlements and thick, black walls. Christian tried to sing, but couldn't. His mood was dungeon-dark. Giant Despair beat him mercilessly, and he grew weaker each day. At length he found in his cell a rope, a knife, and a bottle of poison, the tools of suicide, and for a moment he was tempted to end his misery.
But one evening about midnight he began to pray, and …… a little before day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech: What a fool am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am sure, open any lock in Doubting Castle."
It did. Using the key of God's promises, Christian escaped, never again to fall into the clutches of Giant Despair or Doubting Castle.
D. Claim the promises of God as an anchor for your soul as you sail the story seas of life! They will unlock the prisons of despair in which the devil seeks to chain you!
III. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD v. 24
A. Paul is told by the Lord that this storm is a part of God working out His plan in Paul's life.
1. At that moment in time, that storm was the safest place in the world for Paul to be!
2. Because he was in the will of the Lord and God was working in a mighty way in the situation to bring about His will for Paul's life.
B. Did you know that God is doing the very same thing in your life as well?
1. It may be simple faith, but I still believe that God is Sovereign!
2. This just means that He is in absolute control of everything that happens in life! He is a Sovereign Lord –
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
3. Listen to the testimony of James concerning this sovereign Lord –
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
4. If I didn't know God was on His throne, I would not want to live in this world another second, but as long as I know He orders the storms,
5. Disciples and storm - Mark 6:45-50
6. I can weather them. He knows what is best and that is all He sends into your life and mine,
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
7. The best thing we can do when the storms rage about us is run to Him for refuge and cling to Him until the storm passes,
Psalms 57:1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Emperor Charles V was trying to assassinate John Brenz, friend of Martin Luther. Hearing of the plot, Brenz barely had time to grab a loaf of bread and duck into his neighbor's hayloft. There he hid fourteen days. The bread was quickly gone, but the Lord sent a hen who showed up and laid an egg each day for fourteen days. In this way, Brenz was kept alive. On the fifteenth day the chicken didn't come, and the reformer wondered what he would do. But from the street below came the cries, "The cavalrymen are gone at last."
In a similar way, a dog provided for the needs of another reformer, John Craig, who was arrested during the Inquisition. On the eve of his scheduled execution, Craig escaped, but while fleeing through the Italian backcountry, he ran out of food and money. Suddenly a dog approached him, a purse in its mouth. Craig tried to drive the animal away, but the dog persisted in bringing the purse to Craig. In it was enough money to take him to freedom.
Similarly, Robert Bruce of Scotland was running for his life, fleeing persecutors. He ducked into a small cave, and a spider immediately appeared and spun a web over the opening. Bruce's pursuers fanned across the landscape, knowing he was near. Two of them approached the cave, and one of the men started to go in. The other one stopped him, saying, "He could never have gotten in there without breaking that spider's web."
Bruce breathed this prayer, "O God, I thank Thee that in the tiny bowels of a spider you can place for me a shelter.")
C. Raymond Edman said this in a book called Quietness and Confidence,
1. "First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.
2. Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me the grace to behave as His child.
3. Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends for me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
4. Last, in His good time He can bring me out again--how and when He knows.
5. Let me say I am here,
a) By God's appointment
b) In His keeping
c) Under His training
d) For His time."
D. That is the kind of confidence that will let you shout in the devil's face, even while the storm still rages,
Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
E. Even after Paul received the great promise of the Lord for himself and all on board the ship, the men still tried to take care of matters on their own,
1. v. 28-39, and some even tried to get off the ship, v. 30-31. Even in the face of God's promise, v. 21-26, the men in the ship fought, feared and fretted in the midst of the storm.
2. There was just one guy on board who was enjoying the trip: Paul!
3. Because he believed God! He knew God was working and he used that truth as an anchor!
F. We live in a day when men are abandoning ship at an alarming rate!
1. The storms of life attack them and they run from the church, the old ship of Zion.
2. Can I remind you that the best place you can be in the storms of life is in the ship, where the Lord wants you to be.
3. If you leave the ship, you might face the fury of the storm on your own.
4. If you stay where the Lord has planted you, you can be assured that His providential work in your life will be carried out to completion!
IV. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PERFORMANCE OF GOD v.44
A. What the Lord told Paul, and what Paul believed would happen came to pass: everyone made it safely to the shore.
1. God kept His Word!
2. He spared every life and proved Himself to be as good as His Word!
B. God is able to work it all out!
1. He will get you through your storm and land you safely beyond it! It may look this evening like the boat is going to sink.
2. It may look like the storms of life are going to prevail.
3. When the waves have all settled down, when the winds have ceased their blowing, when the rains have abated, when the storm clouds have moved off to the horizon: you will see that God was in control all along!
4. I can promise you this, no storm in this life will be able to blow you off the course God has determined for your life!
5. He will secure you during the storm and He will successfully deliver you to the safe harbor of His glory!
Corrie Ten Boom said it this way, "When Jesus takes your hand, He keeps you tight. When Jesus keeps you tight, He leads you through your whole life. When Jesus leads you through your life, He brings you safely home."
C. I would just remind you this morning that our God is a strong and powerful God,
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
1. He cab do anything that needs to be done,
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
2. The fact of the matter is, He didn't save you to lose His grip on you in a storm.
3. He saved you to take you home to glory and that is just what He will do,
John 6:37-40 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Conclusion Have you set your anchors deep in the Lord this morning? If you have, then you can weather life's storms. If you haven't, be prepared to be blown about by the winds of adversity. I would encourage you to come before the Lord and say something like this, "Lord, I cannot fix my situation. I cannot calm the raging seas of my life and I cannot still the winds that blow against me. I need help today. By faith, I cast the anchors of your presence, you promises, your providence and your performance into my stormy sea. I am resolved to trust you to walk onto my storm and speak peace when it is your will to do so. Until then, I will not fear, I will not fret, and I will not fight. I will trust you to do what is best for me." When you throw in the towel and come to a place of total trust before the Lord in your storm, it gets His attention and you can be sure that He will do something about your situation!