You know, the Bible is packed full of some really great stories. Stories that tell us history like the creation story. Stories of love like the one we find in the book of Ruth. Stories of war are scattered all over the Old Testament. Stories with drama like the lives of Joseph and David. Stories with suspense like Esther’s story. Stories of people overcoming obstacles like the story about Job. Stories of good conquering evil like the story of Jesus. The neat thing about the stories we can find in God’s Word is that these are true stories. They are good stories. And like every good story they teach us lessons that are essential for us to learn.
The book of Acts is a great story book. In it we find the birth and history of the Christian church. We read about the ministry of Peter. We read about the martyrdom of Steven. Acts is jammed full of stories. And of course we read the story about the conversion and ministry of the Apostle Paul.
In Acts 27 we find a story that most of you will probably recognize. It’s the story of a storm that Paul and his shipmates faced while on their voyage to Rome. I’d like us to read that story together. You can find it in Acts 27:13-44…
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: 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. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. 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. 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. 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. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
Has anyone here ever gone through a storm in your life? We all have to go through some storms, don’t we? In every life there come times of hurt, times when we don’t think we’ll make it another step, times when we don’t understand. The size of the storms are different for each of us, but nevertheless, we all face storms.
A man drives to work at 6:30 a.m. one morning, as he has for the past 8 years. He punches in his time-card and is soon confronted by his supervisor. He is berated and humiliated as he has been repeatedly through the years over minor things. This time he is fired…
A strong tornado sweeps through the area and destroys a farmer’s crops and barns. He is already deep in debt…
A widow comes home to face an empty house and bed for the first time in 40 years…
Two parents sit on the couch. It is 3:00 a.m. Their sixteen year old son has still not come home or even called. They fear he has been drinking…
Storms… they are part of life. And here in our text, Paul faces some storms. And through this time in Paul’s life we can find the anchors which held him firm during those storms. Let’s look at them together this evening.
I. The Anchor of Courage (vs. 22)
We can find our first anchor in verse 22. The storm is raging. It has been for many days. But in the midst of it, Paul says this… I urge you to take heart. The first anchor that held Paul together was the anchor of courage.
When you think of courage, what comes to your mind? Is it not having any fear, not being afraid of anything? There was a five year old boy who was helping his mother cook supper one night. She asked him to go into the pantry and get a can of tomato soup for her, but he saw how dark it was and didn’t want to go in there alone. When he shared this with his mom, she said, “Don’t worry, Jesus will go with you.” This helped a little bit until he opened the door to the pantry and again saw how dark it was. He started to pull the door shut when he got an idea. He stuck his head back in the pantry and said, “Jesus, if you’re in there can you hand me that can of tomato soup?”
Is courage not having fear? No. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to go on in spite of it. You can be afraid and yet courageous at the same time. In fact, Eddie Rickenbacker said that “there can be no courage unless you’re scared.”
Think of our veterans of World War 2 or Vietnam, or any war for that matter. We probably picture them as fearless men. And while maybe some of them were, I have a feeling that the vast majority of them were scared out of their wits. But in spite of their fear, they were willing to face death for love of their country. They weren’t fearless, but they were courageous.
Think about the NYC firemen who became national heroes because of their courage. Do you think they were afraid? I have no doubt in my mind that they were afraid. Many of those men and women had families who wanted them to come home that night. Many of those men and women had promising lives ahead of them. I know they were afraid. But courage sent them into the flames of the World Trade Center in order to help save the lives of as many as they possibly could. I love the billboard that I saw shortly after 9/11 that showed the soot covered face of a fireman, and said, “He ran in when everyone else ran out.” That’s an awesome picture of courage.
Look at some biblical examples. Do you think David was fearless when he stood before that giant with only a sling? I’m sure that was probably scary for him. But he had courage because he knew that the Lord was on his side.
What about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo? Do you think they stood without fear, while every one else bowed down to the giant image? I’m sure there was a little fear. After all, the king had promised death by fire to those who didn’t bow. But they stood courageously while all others bowed.
Probably one of the best examples in the Bible is Moses, because we know for a fact that he was scared. The Bible just comes out and tells us that. He had several excuses for why he couldn’t be God’s messenger to Pharoah. But finally, he allowed God to give him the courage to do the task.
No doubt, my favorite picture of courage in the Bible is in the Garden of Gethsemene. Jesus doesn’t want to die. In fact, He asks His Father to allow this cup to pass if it’s possible. Was Jesus afraid? I believe He was. Not of dying. But no human wants to go through the pain that Jesus knew He would face. I believe Jesus wasn’t free of fear. But He continues to speak to His Father and He says, “Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.” Courage is not the absence of fear, but it’s the strength and the ability to continue on in spite of that fear.
In order for us to make it through life’s storms triumphant we must have courage to continue on through those storms. If we lack courage, the slightest bump in the road will turn us from our course. If we lack courage, we don’t have much hope at all of reaching our goal. We must have courage. And Paul let’s these men know in our text, that courage is an anchor that will keep them during the storm.
II. The Anchor of Protection (vs. 23-24)
The second anchor that we see in our text tonight is the anchor of God’s protection. You can find this in verses 23-24. Paul tells the men on this ship that an angel of the Lord has stood by him and promised that God would protect every individual on that ship.
Isn’t it encouraging to know that God will protect you? The Bible is full of promises of God’s protection. Ps. 121 is just one example. Let me read that to you.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Even that short chapter is packed full of promises that God will protect His people. How many here like missionary stories? There’s a story of a lady named Lorrie Anderson, who was a missionary to head-shrinking Indian tribe in Peru. One day she was looking for a quiet place for her daily time of Bible reading and prayer, so she went down by the edge of the river. After reading the Bible, she took up her prayer list. Her eyes were closed so she didn’t see the deadly anaconda weaving through the water until it struck, burying its fangs into her flesh. It struck her arm again and again as it held her, screaming, in its coils. Then suddenly the giant snake, never known to release its prey, relaxed its grip and slithered off through the water. While Lorrie was being treated, a witch doctor from a nearby village burst into the hut and stared at her. She couldn’t believe Lorrie had survived. She said her son-in-law, also a witch doctor, had chanted to the spirit of the anaconda that morning and sent it to kill the young missionary.
Had it not been for the protection of an Almighty God, Lorrie would have died that day. But we serve a God whose power exceeds that of the chants of witch doctors. We serve a God whose power is more abundant than that of any evil that would want to overtake us. We serve a God who is mightier than Satan and all of his hordes of demons. And our Almighty God has promised to protect us. And we can believe that promise.
I’m sure many of you have heard the name Ira Sankey. He was the song evangelist for Dwight Moody’s crusades. It was Christmas Eve in 1875 and Ira Sankey was traveling on a Delaware River steamboat when he was recognized by some of the passengers, and they asked him to sing one of his own hymns, but Sankey began to sing William Bradbury’s hymn, "Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us." As he sang, one of the stanzas began, "We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way."
When he finished, a man stepped from the shadows and asked, "Did you ever serve in the Union Army?" "Yes," Mr. Sankey answered, "in the spring of 1860." "Can you remember if you were doing picket duty on a bright, moonlit night in 1862?" "Yes," Mr. Sankey answered, very much surprised.
"So did I, but I was serving in the Confederate army. When I saw you standing at your post, I thought to myself, ’That fellow will never get away alive.’ I raised my musket and took aim. I was standing in the shadow, completely concealed, while the full light of the moon was falling upon you. At that instant, just as a moment ago, you raised your eyes to heaven and began to sing...’Let him sing his song to the end,’ I said to myself, ’I can shoot him afterwards. He’s my victim at all events, and my bullet cannot miss him.’ But the song you sang then was the song you sang just now. I heard the words perfectly: ’We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way.’ Those words stirred up many memories. I began to think of my childhood and my God-fearing mother. She had many times sung that song to me. When you had finished your song, it was impossible for me to take aim again. I thought, ’The Lord who is able to save that man from certain death must surely be great and mighty.’ And my arm of its own accord dropped limp at my side."
God will protect His children. Ira Sankey had experienced it. Lorrie had experienced it. Paul experienced it. And you and I can experience it as well.
My mom, before she was married to my father, experienced God’s hand of protection. She owned a little VW Beetle like everyone did in those days, I think. One day, while she was driving, the road conditions weren’t the greatest, and somehow her little bug and a big tractor trailer had a meeting. It was not a pleasant meeting, and needless to say, the truck won. The wreck banged my mom up so bad that she had to learn how to walk again. But as you can imagine and you can see in this picture (show pic of mom’s car), it could have been a lot worse. It was a miracle that my mom made it through that day alive, and by the way I’m glad she did, cause if it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here today.
We’ve all got stories of God’s protection. The promise that God made to David in Psalms, and that He made to Paul that night on that ship, is still in effect today for His people. The anchor of protection.
III. The Anchor of Purpose (vs. 24)
The last anchor that we find in this text is the anchor of purpose. In verse 24 we can see Paul’s purpose. God had promised him that he would stand before Caesar and he was determined to do so. He had a purpose.
In order to succeed in anything, a person must have a purpose about him. He must have a determination. He must have a goal and be willing to do what it takes to reach that goal. There must be a focus.
It’s so easy to lose our focus, isn’t it? Satan has so many things that he tries to throw in our way to get us to lose focus on why we’re here. He puts so many distractions in our way. And when he does, it’s hard to keep our focus. Someone once said, “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s difficult to keep your mind on the fact that your primary objective is to drain the swamp.” Satan doesn’t want us to know our primary objective in life. And he’ll use anything he can, any tactic he can to get us to lose focus, to lose our purpose.
And it doesn’t always have to be bad things. We get caught up in good things and lose our main purpose. I believe in many churches it becomes easy to focus on small issues that seem to only divide. And while I’m not saying that some of the smaller issues are not important I am saying we should not let those things combat our main purpose, our main objective. We must keep our purpose.
If we lose our purpose, the church will die. The Bible tells us that without a vision the people will perish. We cannot survive without staying focused on our main objective. We’ll end up like the store that had a sign on its door that said, “Gone out of business. Didn’t know what our business was.”
There is a story about Yogi Berra, a well-known catcher for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at that time was the chief power hitter for the Milwaukee Braves. The teams were playing in the World Series, and as usual Yogi was keeping up his ceaseless chatter behind the plate, intended to pep up his teammates on the one hand, and distract the opposing batters on the other. As Hank Aaron came to the plate, Yogi tried to distract him by saying, "Hank, you’re holding the bat wrong. You’re supposed to hold it so you can read the trademark." Aaron didn’t say anything, but when the next pitch came he hit it into the left-field bleachers. After rounding the bases and tagging home plate, Hank Aaron looked at Yogi Berra and said, "I didn’t come up here to read."
When Satan throws all the distractions our way that he can think of, we must look him in the eye and tell him, “I’m not losing my focus.” What should be our focus? What is our purpose? I believe the best answer to that question can be found in our church’s motto… Knowing God and winning others. We’re here to know Christ and to show Him those around us. But Satan doesn’t want us to know that. And we must work hard to keep our purpose and remain focused. When we do, we’ll have an anchor that will keep us settled in the storm.
Paul could have easily looked at the storm and lost his focus on what God was calling him to do. But listen to what he says in Philippians 3…
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul was focused. He kept his eye on the goal. He kept his purpose. And he succeeded in reaching that goal. Not only did he finally get the chance to stand before Caesar, but he won the prize that he had fought for. We can win the same prize, we can reach the final goal, if we keep our focus, if we keep our purpose, if we keep our vision alive.
This evening, let us anchor ourselves down with courage in spite of our fear; the promise of God’s protection; and the purpose of knowing Christ and making Him known. If we do, we can survive and triumph over any storm that comes our way.
