Let's Put Away Our Loss And Take Courage In Christ Series

Let’s Put Away Our Loss And take Courage in Christ

The Prussian king Frederick the Great was widely known as an agnostic. By contrast, General Von Zealand, one of his most trusted officers, was a devout Christian. Thus it was that during a festive gathering the king began making crude jokes about Christ until everyone was rocking with laughter--all but Von Zealand, that is. Finally, he arose and addressed the king: "Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity." The place went silent, and with a trembling voice the king replied, "General Von Zealand--I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!" And with that the party quietly ended. Today In The Word, August, 1989, p. 7.

Acts 27:13-26

And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. [14] But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. [15] And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. [16] And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: [17] Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. [18] And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; [19] And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. [20] And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. [21] But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. [22] And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. [23] For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, [24] Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. [25] Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. [26] Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

What storm of loss is Satan shaking you with today?

The storm of:

a lost loved one,

loss of a wife,

husband,

friend,

relative,

friendship,

job…

God alone is our refuge and strength.

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Deut. 33:27

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9

Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Psalm 14:6

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Within our scripture today is a picture of deceptive calm and great courage.

The ship’s officers hoped to reach Phoenix which was the major port on the west side of Crete some 60 miles from Fair Haven but…

What safe port are you looking for today in the world???

The deceptive calm. Suddenly, nature seemed to favor the decision of the worldly men. A soft, calm breeze began to blow out of the south. The crew quickly loosed anchor and set sail, sailing as close to the shoreline as possible—just in case.

The course changes. Just when nature seemed to be blessing them, the old enemy, the violent Euroclydon, the violent northeasterly storm, blew in. It came unexpectedly, so suddenly that the ship could not be turned to face the wind. It was a typhoon-like storm with engulfing, swallowing power; and it drove the ship out into the sea, making control utterly impossible. Note the words, “We let her drive,” that is, let the storm drive the ship at will. They could do nothing else.

Likewise what in life do we truly control apart from our hope in Christ?

We strive to save our ship. The storm drove them under (south of) a small island, Clauda, and the island broke the wind so that they were able to take some measures in an attempt to save the boat and their lives. Working at a feverish pitch before the temptest drove them beyond the shelter of the island...