How to Fight Fear in a Storm (Acts 27)

UPDATES ON THE CHURCH: It’s no secret that this has been a challenging year at Catalyst Church. We have lost two pastors and our worship team, something that would be challenging for any church. It has been quite a learning curve for me as your pastor, and for our church.

This is not the first challenging time for Catalyst, as I’m sure it’s not the first time for Paradise Hills SBC either. For Catalyst, we have lost key leaders before, but God always provided. And the church has had to relaunch before, which is something that I believe we are in the middle of now.

Because of COVID, this community is just now starting to get to know our church. And I want you to know, if you call this your home church, this is your church. It’s not my church. It’s Jesus’ church, first and foremost, but it is also our job together to have ownership over how we move forward as a church, under the Lord’s leadership.

Your bulletins look a little different today, and I want you to take a look at something on the inside. On the left side, under Catalyst Church San Diego, it says: “Reaching People for God’s Family.”

Under that, we have a new mission and vision statement: “We seek to glorify God by reaching people for his family and leading them to grow as a disciple of Jesus. We want to see our community, city, and world changed by the gospel. Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:16”

There is a purpose behind this statement. We still believe that church is a family that you belong to. We still believe that church is a family, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

But every church will always be inward-focused. Why? Because we want to know those around us and we get comfortable in our surroundings. But if we only focus on the people in here, we will lose our focus on the people out there who need Jesus. A church that only focuses inwardly will die. We need to focus outward.

We are happy that we are in God’s family. And we want other people to know Jesus, to be adopted into God’s family, to be sons and daughters of God. That’s why as a church, we are reaching people for God’s family.

How do we do that? We need to be a part of the larger community. Just like Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us, we need to know and be with the people here. We are making our first attempt at a block party to start connecting with the community. It won’t be perfect, and there will be things to learn, but we are learning.

We are teaming up with Outreach.com. Every person who moves within a 1-mile radius of our building will receive a couple of postcards inviting them to our church. I’m getting to know some of the businesses around here, and was able to meet the principal of Paradise Hills Elementary recently.

There will be more updates at our upcoming business meeting, but I wanted you to know that I’m excited about where we are headed as a church, reaching people for God’s family. By God’s grace, we are making progress to be a light to this community and reach people for Jesus.

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CPT: Paul combated the fear of drowning by trusting in God’s protection.

Purpose: To encourage the church to trust in God’s guidance during a period of transition.

CPS: Christians can combat fear in a storm by trusting in God’s guidance.

Introduction

Fear comes out when we are in the middle of a hard time. Fear comes out when we sense there is danger around us. Fear can be paralyzing and can grip you into making decisions that you wouldn’t normally make. Fear can drive us to make rash decisions that ultimately we regret later on. They can be life-altering decisions.

In preaching class one day, someone raised their hand and complained to the teacher, saying, “It’s not fair, he has all of these police stories!” I said, “I don’t know, join the police department?” Here is another police story.

We received a 911 call of a woman crying hysterically in the middle of the street. We answered the radio call and found the woman. She was a tall, young woman (although everyone to me is tall) and she was crying hysterically, like from a pain deep within her.

I asked her, “What’s wrong? How can we help you?” She said that she was crying because her boyfriend was supposed to bring the money, but he never showed up. “I thought, she’s crying like this for money?” She then said, “He was supposed to pay for the abortion, but never came.” Her words were saying one thing, but her crying, her emotions, they weren’t like someone who lost some money. Her tears came from someone in mourning.

I praise God that unborn lives in the womb will be saved from the recent Roe vs Wade decision. I celebrate that. But the end goal of Christianity is not to win at politics. Christ did not come to save the Supreme Court. He came to save the world.

Our churches should not look like people who have got it all figured out. We only have one chance to reach the hurt, the broken, the lost. There won’t be lost people in heaven. It’s here that we get to reach the broken and the lost. It’s here that we get to see those dead in their sins come to life in Jesus. Our churches should look more like a hospital, a place for healing and restoration.

See, like other hurtful decisions made in the middle of a hard time, abortion is a fear-based decision. It is a fear that I won’t be able to support this child. It is a fear that this child will remind me every day of the person who hurt me. It is a fear that things will be too tough, that you won’t make it out.

When you are in the middle of a storm in life, anyone can make a fear-based decision.

The Bible says that we don’t have to fear. When we are in the middle of a difficult time, how do we fight fear? We will be in Acts 27.

In this chapter, it’s decided that Paul is to go to Rome for trial. So he is sent on a boat along with other prisoners and a centurion. They start heading towards Rome, and soon enough they start to hit some rough waters. A wind is blowing against the boat, making it difficult to steer. Let’s pick up in verse 9.

Acts 27:9–38 CSB

9 By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 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.” 11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. 12 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. 13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 But before long, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught and unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the skiff. 17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. 18 Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved. 21 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. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me 24 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.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. 26 But we have to run aground on some island.” 27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away. 33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

They go through some more difficulty, but eventually all of them arrive safely on the shore.

Pray

What does this story tell us about fighting fear in a storm? I believe there are three things that we pick up in this story about how to fight fear in a storm.

First,

We can fight fear in a storm by prayer and being sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance.

State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point

Text: Acts 27:9-10; Heb. 4:14-16

Paul spent time fasting and was able to see the danger ahead. We must focus our minds and hearts on God and listen to the Spirit’s guidance. When the world goes the opposite way, we need to tune out the noise around us and listen to God’s Spirit in our lives.

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By the time we get to verse 9 in Acts 27, Paul is already in a dangerous situation. Verse 8 says that the trip was getting more and more dangerous.

Within all of the danger of this trip, Paul has just gone through a period of prayer, repentance, and fasting. You say, “How do you know that?” It notes in verse 9 that the Day of Atonement was over. Why is that important? The Day of Atonement was a time in Israel where the nation would cleanse the temple of impurity, deal with their sin through a bloody animal sacrifice, and send a goat into the wilderness, what we know as a scapegoat. This was a time for repentance from sin and getting your mind and your heart right with God through the cleansing sacrifice of a lamb. That’s why Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

In the middle of all of the danger around him, Paul is repenting of any impurities in his heart and focusing his mind and heart on the perfection and holiness of Jesus. Take a look at Acts 27:9-10:

Acts 27:9–10 CSB

9 By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 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.”

Notice first the order of how Paul was sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance. He didn’t rush to share with people what was in his heart. Sometimes we get in trouble when we’re in a rush. But instead, he spent time to fast and pray, and then, since the time of fasting was over, he felt confident to share what God had placed in his heart.

You know, sometimes you’ve been sensitive to listen to God, you share what he has placed in your heart, and people don’t listen. The centurion paid no attention to Paul. Instead, the centurion listened to the voices of the owners of the ship rather than Paul. Many times the experts of our day will contradict what God has said in his word, and we need to decide where we stand.

I love how the author of Hebrews encourages us to pray when we are in need:

Hebrews 4:14–16 CSB

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

As a Christian, we can approach God with boldness. He is a God that sympathizes with our weakness. We can come to him boldly when we are in a storm, and we can rely on the one who created the universe to guide us when we are facing trouble.

Getting through a storm through prayer and the Spirit: I heard this story of Elisabeth Elliot. She was a missionary who went back to the rain forest to witness to the tribe that killed her husband. She spent a couple of years there. She wrote about adventurers who came to her while she was out near the Andes.

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers (278: Guidance)

In A Slow and Certain Light, Elisabeth Elliot tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians.

She writes: “Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me—confident and, we think, well-informed and well-equipped. But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?”

She suggests that we often ask God for too little. “We know what we need—a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way.

“What we really ought to have is the Guide himself. Maps, road signs, a few useful phrases are good things, but infinitely better is Someone who has been there before and knows the way.”

We can fight fear in a storm by prayer and being sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance. Second,

We can fight fear in a storm by taking courage in God’s promises.

State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point

Text: Acts 27:21-25; Isaiah 43:1-2

In the middle of the storm, God encouraged Paul and reminded him of his promises. The current circumstances would not stop God from carrying out his will in Paul’s life. A storm cannot stop God’s promises for his people.

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At some point in this storm, they were out there and the ship was getting beaten up. It says for many days that the sun and stars didn’t show because of the intensity of the story. At the hardest part, it says that all hope was fading that they would be saved.

At some point, it may be that Paul also lost hope at a certain point, because God steps in to encourage Paul and remind him of his promises. Paul had to be reminded that he should not fear because the God he served was bigger than the storm. Take a look at Acts 27:21-25:

Acts 27:21–25 CSB

21 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. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me 24 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.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.

Paul started off with an “I told you so.” He says, “Remember that I told you this was going to happen?” But he urges them to take courage, because God encouraged him last night. The words from God were words to remind Paul of his protection, and it was words that he shared with those around him. God was saying, “Don’t be afraid in this storm, Paul, because this storm can’t stop my work in your life. This storm can’t stop the mission I have for you. Don’t you believe that I am bigger than this storm? I will bring you through this, you and those with you, because I have a mission for you.”

Isn’t that good? Sometimes we get to a point in our storms that we believe all hope is gone. We catastrophize everything, believing that this is it, God is not going to get me through this. And what does he do? God gets us through it.

Paul resolves to have faith. He says, “You know what? I’m going to believe. I’m going to believe that God is going to do exactly what he says he will do.” At some point, we have got to take God at his word. Take a look at Isaiah 43:1-2:

Isaiah 43:1–2 CSB

1 Now this is what the Lord says— the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the rivers will not overwhelm you, When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched and the flame will not burn you.

What is a reason not to fear God when you are in a storm? Because it is not the storm that has control. It is God who has control, and he has redeemed you. He has saved you. He has brought you close to him. He calls you his child. He has called you by name, you are his.

So when you are going through a storm, when you are walking through the waters or the fire, you serve a God who has saved you, loves you, and calls you his child.

I read the story of this one woman who was going through a storm.

Taking courage in God’s promises: Verna Bowman

750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers and Writers (537: Promises of God)

In 1979 Verna Bowman of Telford, Pennsylvania, gave birth to her fourth child, Geoff, and quickly learned from doctors the frightening news: the baby had defective kidneys. Writing in Guideposts, she tells that doctors ordered the child rushed to a children’s hospital in Philadelphia, where he would receive kidney dialysis.

Still hospitalized herself, Verna prayed and prayed for her son, and as she did she soon felt God’s nearness. Unbidden, the words of a Scripture text began to repeat in her heart: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God” (John 11:4). She wrote the words down.

Later her husband called to report on the baby’s condition: “It’s too soon to tell if he’s going to make it,” he said.

“He’s going to make it,” Verna replied, and she read him the verse that God had breathed into her heart. “I believe those words,” she said.

“So do I, Verna,” replied her husband. “So do I.”

After three months of dialysis, Geoff’s kidneys, though still defective, began to function on their own. Throughout his childhood Geoff took medication and tired easily. During that time Verna collected in her journal other Scriptures which encouraged her faith that her son would be all right.

When Geoff was thirteen, the doctors reported he would need a kidney transplant. Though unsettling at first, this news turned out to be the answer to her prayers. Verna herself provided the kidney, and the operation was a complete success. Geoff would be able to live a normal life.

Later Verna’s daughter suggested they do something special with the Scriptures that had meant much to them during Geoff’s long sickness. Verna often made quilts and her daughter was skilled at cross-stitch, so they decided to make a quilt that displayed twelve of the cherished promises from the Bible. Each Scripture was stitched onto white linen and bordered in a pattern of hunter green and burgundy. Three months later the quilt was completed and hung on the wall of their guest room. When others admired the quilt, it eventually was hung in their church as well as other churches in the area.

God’s promises had made a great difference for Verna Bowman. When she chose to have these promises stitched onto a quilt, she made a fitting choice. As comforting as a quilt on a cold wintry night, so God’s promises ward off soul-chilling fear. They warm the soul.

Taking courage in God’s promises got her through the storms of her life.

We can fight fear in a storm by prayer and being sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance. We can fight fear in a storm by taking courage in God’s promises. Third,

We can fight fear in a storm by being thankful that God will get you through it.

State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point

Text: Acts 27:33-38; 1 Thess. 5:16-18

While Paul was in the boat, he gave thanks to God. He chose to give thanks before he made it to dry land. His thanksgiving was an encouragement to those around him. While we are in the storm, we can be thankful. There is always a reason to rejoice because we are in Christ. We should give thanks in everything, knowing that God is faithful.

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There is an interesting point in this story where they are all still in the boat. There are sailors still trying to escape from the boat. There is a skiff on this boat, which was a life boat to escape from the boat in an emergency, and the sailors were trying to secretly trying to get in the life boat. But Paul reminds them that they need to stay with the ship to be saved.

It’s while they are still in danger that Paul leans into thankfulness. Take a look at Acts 27:33-38:

Acts 27:33–38 CSB

33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

He encourages them to take food, because he is confident that God will save them. What I love about this passage is that Paul chooses thankfulness while he and the others are still in the boat, because he trusts that God will save them. His faith and his thankfulness was an encouragement for those with them in the boat.

Thankfulness is an important element of our spiritual life. It is something that we need to choose to walk in. We need to choose to walk in thankfulness. Take a look at 1 Thess. 5:16-18:

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 CSB

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray constantly, 18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

These are imperatives, meaning they are commands to remember and live by. It’s easy to slip into a negative mindset, because its something that’s natural to our nature. But that is not the life that God wants for you.

So here is the reminder: Rejoice always. Christian, you have a reason to rejoice in Christ! Pray constantly, knowing that as a child of God, the Lord hears you. The Creator knows you name and hears you. Give thanks in everything. That’s not only the easy parts. It’s like Paul in the middle of danger choosing thanksgiving.

We aren’t only to be thankful when things are going our way. We aren’t to wait until things work out, and then we are thankful. No, because of Jesus, we can be thankful in everything. “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Event the world realizes the importance of thankfulness.

Being thankful no matter what: Thankfulness is good for us.

300 Illustrations for Preachers (Thankfulness Is Good for You)

Perhaps one reason it is God’s will for us to be thankful is that it is good for us.

A 2009 study again showed that being thankful can improve your life. At the University of California, Davis, professor Robert Emmons said, “Those who offer gratitude are less envious and resentful. They sleep longer, exercise more and report a drop in blood pressure.” Emmons is the author of the book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, and an earlier book that describes gratitude as a “new science.” Brenda Shoshanna is a New York psychologist who agrees. “You can’t be depressed and grateful at the same time,” said Shoshanna, the author of 365 Ways to Give Thanks: One for Every Day of the Year. “It makes a person physically, mentally, in every way healthier.”

Yet, Christians aren’t trying to be thankful as some cheap, psychological trick. Thankfulness needs to be grounded in a real reason to rejoice.

Sometimes we can be sour people, when we have every reason to rejoice. Christians always have a reason for thanksgiving. We are people that have been saved by the blood of Christ. Because of Christ’s sacrifice for sins on the cross, we have a reason everyday, in whatever we face, to celebrate, because no matter what we face, we are one day closer to be with the Lord forever.

That is why Paul says, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Christians have a reason to rejoice in all things. When you are in a storm, you can thank God before the storm is over, knowing that he is faithful, and that he will bring you through it, no matter what.

Conclusion

We can fight fear in a storm by prayer and being sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance.

We can fight fear in a storm by taking courage in God’s promises.

We can fight fear in a storm by being thankful that God will get you through it.

Conclude

Have you heard the message today and realized that you need Jesus? Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus? We want to pray with you, and celebrate your new life. Please see one of our pastors after the service.

Blanks: prayer; being sensitive; guidance; taking courage; promises; being thankful; get you through it

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!