Gospel
Acts 27:20-26
We all go through life with different kinds of experiences. Today God wants to ask you some questions:
• Can you trust God when your life gets stormy?
• Can you trust Him even when things go unexpectedly wrong?
• Can you trust Him when your situation is so discouraging that you can’t see any way of escape?
• Will you trust Him even when things seem hopeless?
The scripture we read talks about the situation of Paul and the others on the boat to Italy. The storm was raging. The wind was very heavy with the rain virtually pouring down. And in spite of the best efforts of the crew, the boat was being battered and beaten by the storm. The experience brought the morale of all the people in the boat to an all time low. The Bible says in verse 20 that
"When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved."
I know there are periods when you feel just as battered and beaten and discouraged as the people on that boat. You get overwhelmed by the storms in your life. Storms come upon everyone irrespective of your stand in the Lord. Being born again does not seclude you from storms.
The dictionary has a couple of definitions for storm but for the purpose of this message, I take the definition of storm as:
- a disturbance of the normal condition…,
- a violent disturbance of affairs, as a civil, political, social, or domestic commotion,
- to deliver a violent attack,
- to attack or assault (persons, places, or things).
Some people may be going through some very powerful storms right now. Perhaps there’s a storm brewing over your marriage. Is your marriage shipwrecked that there’s no hope at all. Have you given up hope like the people inside the boat? (Acts 27:20).
Is it about your finances? Debts are accumulating far above the resources coming in. May be your health situation is so bad that the doctors have given a very bad prognosis.
Could it be that you feel battered and storm tossed. And you have no idea why you feel that way. You can’t put a finger on it. All you know is that you feel despair and discouragement and hopelessness. And things seem so bleak that there’s no way out.
No matter what the storm is God has brought you to His presence today to answer your questions. There is good news for you friend! The good news is that in the middle of our own personal storm, God gives us a word of hope! A message of encouragement! In verse 22, Paul said to the people,
"Keep up your courage, because last night, I got a message from God!
Paul heard a voice in the storm! He had a divine visitation.
Times of storm are very difficult times in life. No matter how strong we are, when storms come, people around you and sometimes you yourself will begin to think you have done something wrong, that God must surely be punishing you. They don’t understand that God has a divine purpose for every storm. God does not send storms but sometimes He allows us to go through them. Inside every storm, God’s voice always speaks to utter instructions and direction. The voice of God is the Word of God and Jesus Christ is the Word of God according to John 1: 14. No storm can withstand the word of God.
In Mark 4:35 – 39, the disciples were inside a boat being tossed by a great storm. Within the storm came the voice of Jesus that calmed the storm.
Israel experienced storm in form of famine in 1 Kings 17. Elijah was affected by the famine. In the midst of the famine the voice of God came to him to give him divine direction. 1 Kings 17: 7-9:
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
If Elijah was not sensitive to the voice of God, he would have missed his breakthrough and the lives of the widow and her son would not have been spared. Storms always help to bring out the best in peoples lives. In fact it is during the times of crisis that the stuff you are really made of comes out.
Storms also come your way to get God’s attention to you. Many times you may be so ‘busy’ that God won’t get the needed attention in your life and He will permit a storm.
In Acts 27:10 when Paul tried to warn the people about the weather, no one paid attention to him. They weren’t interested in what he had to say. He was just another prisoner. But in verse 21, while the storm was raging, and the people were losing heart, when Paul spoke up, everyone was all ears.
What storm are you facing today? God may want to say something to you. There is hope in that storm. You are here today to receive hope from the Lord concerning that storm and the Lord says to tell you – ‘You will not loss your life in that storm. The voice of the Lord is speaking to you today and He says:
Isaiah 43:1-2
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
My prayer is that you would become more sensitive to the storms that are stirring in your life. Beloved, even when there’s nothing you can do about the storm, there’s always something that God can do. God cares about your stormy circumstances.
And not only does God give you a message of hope for the storm and several times a ministry for the storm. He also gives you a purpose for the storm. When the storm first started, Paul might have been thinking, "Why is this happening, Lord? I thought you wanted me to testify before the emperor in Rome? I thought you wanted me to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in the highest court in the land?" But in chapters 27 and 28, we get the rest of the story. The boat ended up on the island of Malta way on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. And Paul was able to minister the Lord’s healing power to a people who had never experienced it before. And for the next three months, Paul was able to share the message of this new life.
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