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Hello and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church Podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh, and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now, come along.

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Let's look into the Bible and
see what God has for us here today.

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All right, well, we're going
to go ahead and move forward with

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our sermon series here in the
Book of Acts.

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And so if you have your
Bibles, turn there with me to Acts

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chapter 27.

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This is going to be our main
text here for the evening.

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We're going to jump around and
look at a few other texts, but this

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is where we're going to start.

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Acts, chapter 27.

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Where are we at?

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Paul has appealed to be sent
to Caesar.

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So he's appealed to Caesar.

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And at this point in time,
Paul is being sent to Rome.

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And this is a culmination of
the prophecy that God gave him all

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the way back in Acts chapter 9.

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Acts, chapter 9.

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God told him that he would
preach the Gospel to the Jews, to

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the Gentiles there, all over
the world, but specifically in Rome

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and to kings and leaders.

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And then we see later on that
Paul has a desire to go to Rome.

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We know that Paul had.

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He was, as I said in the.

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In the Bible here, it says
that he was bound in the spirit to

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go to Jerusalem.

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So he was facing persecution,
but he was facing persecution and

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obedience.

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Some people tried to stop him
from moving forward and going to

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Jerusalem, but nonetheless, he
goes and he preaches the Gospel.

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He's persecuted, put in prison
for preaching the Gospel, ultimately

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held there for two years.

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He actually got moved up to a
place called Caesarea.

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He was held in Caesarea for
two years.

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Ultimately, they didn't know
what to do with him.

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They really couldn't find him
guilty of anything.

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But the Jewish leaders did not
want him out, so they just held him

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there.

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No one really wanted to do the
right thing.

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But ultimately, Paul says, I
want to appeal to Caesar.

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I want to appeal to the
highest authority of the land.

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And so he does so right at the
end of chapter 26, there was this

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guy named King Agrippa who
basically says that if Paul did not

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appeal to Caesar, he would be
set free.

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But we know that Paul is
making decisions in the will of God

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to do the things that God has
him to do.

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And that means that Paul is
going to face difficulties.

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We know through other passages
of scripture that Paul faced more

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than just bondage in prison.

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We know that he faced
persecution physically, spiritually,

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and we know that he was shipwrecked.

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And this is one of those
passages of Scripture that speaks

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to one of the shipwrecks of Paul.

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So keep your finger there in
Acts, chapter 27.

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And I want you to see where he
references this shipwreck in second

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Corinthians.

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And so, Second Corinthians, he
references this shipwreck.

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And this was when we were
studying the book of second Corinthians.

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This was when Paul was
recount, recounting all the difficulties

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that he had gone through.

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And remember, there were
people there in the church of Corinth

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that said they were the true
ministers of the Gospel and that

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Paul was a false teacher.

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And Paul was basically saying,
have they gone through all these

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things for the cause of the Gospel?

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And he was going through the
things that he has gone through.

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Verse 23 of Second
Corinthians, chapter 11, he says,

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are they ministers of Christians?

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I speak as a fool.

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I am more in labors, more
abundant, in stripes above measure.

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He's saying he's been beaten
so many times he can't even count.

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In prisons more frequent.

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He references many of his
imprisonments there in deaths off

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of the Jews.

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Five times received I 40
stripes, save one.

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Thrice I was beaten with rods,
once I was stoned.

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Thrice I suffered shipwreck.

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A night and a day I have been
in the deep and journeyings often

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in perils of waters.

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We're going to talk about
perils of waters here in Acts, chapter

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27.

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He goes on to say, in perils
of robbers and perils of mine own

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countrymen.

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That's already what we've seen
here in the book of Acts.

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His own countrymen, the people
that he loves, his own Jewish people,

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turn their backs against him
and ultimately persecute him.

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So he says, perils of mine own
countrymen, and perils by the heathen,

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and perils in the city, and
perils in the wilderness, and perils

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in the sea.

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In perils among false
brethrens, in weariness and painfulness,

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in watchings, often staying up
late at night, not sleeping, in hunger

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and thirst and fastings, often
in cold and nakedness.

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But besides those things that
are without, that which cometh upon

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me daily, the care of all the churches.

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And so he goes on to say that,
hey, I've gone through all of these

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difficulties, but ultimately
it's for the cause of the gospel.

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Earlier on, in the book of
second Corinthians, he goes and talks

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about how he is pressed.

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He's he's been troubled on
every side.

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That's chapter eight.

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Excuse me, Chapter four, verse eight.

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We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed.

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We are perplexed, but not in despair.

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Persecuted, but not forsaken,
Cast down, but not destroyed.

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And so Paul says, my hope in
Jesus Christ is not found in my circumstances.

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Because if anybody could blame
his circumstances for being upset

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with God, it could be.

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It would be Paul, right?

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Sure.

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Shipwreck, beaten, forgotten
about, betrayed, thrown in prison,

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falsely accused.

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But through all of this, we
see Paul saying, hey, my purpose

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in the gospel is so much
bigger than what people do to me.

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The purpose of the gospel and
the call of the gospel in his life

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was so much bigger than
difficulties that he would face.

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And so he's following God in
obedience and he's thrown in prison

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there in Jerusalem.

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He's following God in
obedience, and he's held in Caesarea

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for.

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For really doing nothing wrong.

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He's following God in obedience.

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And now he's going to be sent
to Rome.

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He's going to be sent to the
capital of the world.

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He's going to be sent to the
belly of the beast.

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He's going to be sent to evil
there with King Nero.

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But yet at the same time,
there's going to be a lot more that

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happens in that journey.

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And so that's where we're
going to be here in Acts, chapter

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27.

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But we know that even in the
shipwreck physically, or what we

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would call the shipwrecks of
life, the storms of life, we can

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have an anchor in Jesus Christ.

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And I want to take you to a
passage of scripture that references

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that as well.

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The book of Hebrews, Hebrews
chapter six.

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Down at the end of the
chapter, we can see that no matter

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what the case might be in our
life, and for us, it's not necessarily

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going to be a physical
shipwreck that's going to cause us

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issues.

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Most of us are going to not be
on a boat in the middle of the sea

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with storms around us and
calling out to God in that way.

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But many of us are going
through other shipwrecks in our life,

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other storms of our life that
might not necessarily be physical

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storms.

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It might be, but it might be
spiritual storms.

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It might be spiritual difficulties.

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And here in Hebrews chapter
six, we see that we can find an anchor

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in the midst of the storm.

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My dad and I like to fish, and
we like to go out fishing.

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When, when I'm there in
Florida, we go out on this boat and

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he doesn't Have a really big boat.

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But we have been in some
decent storms, nothing crazy, or

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our little boat would be
tipped over and gone.

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But one of the things that we
do is we try to get to a spot where

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we can catch some fish.

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And that happens from time to time.

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And we know that there's going
to be fish there.

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And so what do we do?

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We don't just drift by.

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We throw our anchor out and we
try to get that anchor to stick so

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that we can hold in one spot,
so that we can accomplish what we're

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trying to do by catching fish.

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But sometimes what will happen
is, is that we'll throw that anchor

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out, but the storm or the wind
is blowing so strongly that that

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anchor will pull up or.

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Or the anchor line will break
or we won't get a good set into the

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ground.

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And so when that happens,
we're not steady.

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We're not.

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And we're like.

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All of a sudden, my dad's
like, are we moving?

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I think.

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I think we're moving.

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Okay.

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That anchor didn't hold fast.

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And so what we can see here is
that there's a lot of things in our

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life that we can throw out
into the water to hold us there in

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the midst of the storm.

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But anything outside of what
we're going to see is the true anchor

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in Jesus Christ is eventually
going to fail.

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As the storms of life begin to
blow, as.

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As the winds blow, as the.

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As the seas are tossed to and
fro, that many things that we think

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are anchor in life will come up.

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If we're trusting in anything
outside of Jesus Christ, it will,

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at some point, under immense
pressure, fail us.

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But what we're going to see in
Hebrews, chapter six, verse 19, is

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that our hope is found alone
in Jesus Christ says in verse 19,

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which hope we have as an
anchor of the soul.

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So it's not a physical anchor,
but it's an anchor of the soul.

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It's what holds us steady in
the midst of the storm.

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And so we're about to go
through a whole study with Paul going

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and being shipwrecked.

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And then some of you know the
rest of the story.

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He goes on to land, and he
finds himself in a lot of other struggles

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as he's on land.

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And so how could Paul trust in
the Lord?

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How could he push forward in obedience?

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Sometimes, at least for me, I
look at Paul and I say, man, this

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guy is a superhero.

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How could this guy be real
Difficulty after difficulty, he pushes

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forward for the cause of the gospel.

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How could he do this Most of
us, if we're honest with ourselves,

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would have quit a long, long
time ago.

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But the truth is, is that Paul
had an anchor.

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And Hebrews chapter six tells
us what that anchor was.

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It says, which hope we have as
an anchor of the soul, both sure

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and steadfast.

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So there's only one anchor of
the soul that's sure and steadfast

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and which entereth into that
within the veil whither the forerunner

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is for us entered.

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Even Jesus made a high priest
forever after the Order of Melchizedek.

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Now, we're not going to get
down the Order of Melchizedek here

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this evening.

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That is a whole other study
for another day.

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But essentially what it's
saying here is that we have a high

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priest in Jesus Christ who,
who offered us the sacrifice, who

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connects God to man.

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We know that Jesus says, I am
the way, the truth and the life.

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No man cometh unto the Father
but by me.

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So the role of the priest in
the Old Testament was to connect

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God and man.

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We know that is done through
Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and

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our faith in him.

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So when we're studying Paul, I
think it's very easy for us just

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to look at Paul and say, you
know what?

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That's Paul.

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But that can't be me.

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When I go through
difficulties, I'm just going to give

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in.

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Because, you know, the truth
is I'm not strong like Paul.

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But I'm going to tell you here
tonight, even though Paul was gifted

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by God, even though God had a
call for Paul's life, a specific

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call for Paul's life, Paul was
just a man like everyone else here.

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He was just a human being led
by the Holy Spirit, called by God

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and trusting in God.

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And so what we can see is that
he set his anchor in Jesus Christ.

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So when he finds himself in
this storm, when he finds himself

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shipwrecked, he doesn't
question God because that's sometimes

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what our humanity wants us to do.

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And what we do is we say,
well, if God loved me, he wouldn't

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let me go through the storm.

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If God loved me and cared for
me and wanted me to go preach in

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Rome, why would he shipwreck me?

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And the truth is that many of
the struggles that we are going to

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face in our life are through
our own bad decisions.

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But there's going to be some
shipwrecks that we go through.

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What we're going to see here
with Paul, it wasn't his choice.

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Actually.

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Paul wanted to tell them, hey,
don't go.

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We shouldn't go.

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But some shipwrecks and some
storms in our life are beyond our

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control.

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And so God allows those to
happen in her life.

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And the test of faith is not,
hey, am I strong?

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It's, hey, where is my
foundation set?

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I want to take you to one last
passage of scripture, and then I

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want us to go through the
story with this context in our mind,

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and that is found in Luke,
chapter six.

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Luke, chapter six.

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We're gonna see here a story
that many of you familiar with.

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I, I know that you know this
as a parable, and that is the parable

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of the people that build their
house upon the rock.

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And, and so I. I know that
many of us have heard this story,

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and sometimes we just gloss over.

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There's a song, the wise men
build his house upon the rock.

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But we're going to talk about
what that means for us and how we

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can ultimately understand how
we can build our house upon the rock

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of Jesus Christ.

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So Luke chapter 6, verse 46.

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Jesus is.

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Is teaching here something
very interesting, and I think that

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it's something that we need to
hear in our culture today.

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Says in verse 46 of Luke 6,
and why call ye me Lord, Lord, and

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do not the things which I say?

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So he says, there.

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There are these people that
are calling God Lord, or calling

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Him.

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The word Lord means master.

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Calling him master with what
they say, but it says, and do not

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the things which I say.

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So you can't say God is
controlling your life.

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00:12:40,780 --> 00:12:42,620
You can't say you're trusting
in the Lord.

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You can't say that he's your master.

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00:12:44,780 --> 00:12:48,540
If you don't obey him, you
don't do the things which he says.

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Verse 47.

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00:12:49,810 --> 00:12:55,010
Whoso cometh to me and heareth
my sayings and doeth them, I will

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show you to whom he is like.

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00:12:58,490 --> 00:13:01,330
So it's not just about being a
hearer, because it's one thing to

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hear the word of God.

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00:13:02,450 --> 00:13:04,810
It's one thing to know what
God wants for us in our life.

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But what Jesus says here, it's
another thing to act upon that.

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It's another thing to obey.

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It's another thing to apply
the principles that God is laying

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00:13:13,330 --> 00:13:13,770
out for us.

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00:13:13,770 --> 00:13:15,370
So hearing it is not enough.

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00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,840
I. I can tell you I have sat
through many, many sermons throughout

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00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:21,280
my life.

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00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,160
Sermons that I have given and
sermons that I have heard.

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00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:25,600
And, and they're.

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00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,320
I can tell you in shame,
there's a lot of sermons that I've

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00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,080
sat through that they've gone
in one ear and out the other.

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00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,640
I'VE heard it, I understood it.

309
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,280
But really, as I walked out
the door, that's where it stopped.

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00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:39,440
It just stopped right there.

311
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:40,800
And what he says is this.

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00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,760
The danger sometimes is
thinking that hearing is enough.

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00:13:44,250 --> 00:13:46,210
You know, I'll trust in God
when the storms of life come.

314
00:13:46,210 --> 00:13:47,290
But I'm okay right now.

315
00:13:47,450 --> 00:13:50,010
No, it's the preparation of
the storms to come.

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00:13:50,490 --> 00:13:51,610
And he gives a parable.

317
00:13:51,610 --> 00:13:52,650
He gives a story.

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00:13:52,890 --> 00:13:56,130
He gives a earthly story with
a heavenly meaning here, starting

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00:13:56,130 --> 00:14:00,650
in verse 48, he says, he is
like a man which built an house and

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00:14:00,730 --> 00:14:01,690
dig deep.

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00:14:02,250 --> 00:14:07,130
So the wise man, the one who
is obeying the word of God, is like

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00:14:07,130 --> 00:14:08,490
someone who builds a house.

323
00:14:08,490 --> 00:14:10,210
And he says, and dig deep.

324
00:14:10,210 --> 00:14:13,550
And I like the Luke passage
here because it speaks of how he

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00:14:13,790 --> 00:14:15,870
was digging deep into the foundation.

326
00:14:15,870 --> 00:14:18,670
Really, what I used to think
of the story was there was this big

327
00:14:18,670 --> 00:14:21,190
rock and then there was this
beach over here.

328
00:14:21,190 --> 00:14:23,470
The one guy built his house
upon this huge mountain.

329
00:14:23,470 --> 00:14:26,110
The other guy built his house
upon the beach.

330
00:14:26,110 --> 00:14:28,750
But what we can see here is
that he was actually digging down

331
00:14:28,829 --> 00:14:32,750
past the sand, past the dirt,
down to the foundation stone.

332
00:14:32,910 --> 00:14:37,710
Says he digged deep and laid
the foundation on a rock.

333
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:44,680
And when the flood arose, the
stream beat vehemently upon the house

334
00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,920
and could not shake it, for it
was founded upon a rock.

335
00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,200
He says, the one who is
trusting in the Word of God has a

336
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:54,359
sure foundation.

337
00:14:54,359 --> 00:14:58,480
And so when the storms of life
come, when the shipwreck comes, when

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00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:02,760
the confusion comes, we're
able to say, you know what I am.

339
00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,670
I have my foundation set in
something stronger than this storm.

340
00:15:07,630 --> 00:15:11,150
So everything's okay for the
one who builds his house upon the

341
00:15:11,150 --> 00:15:13,630
sure foundation, the rock, the
Word of God.

342
00:15:14,110 --> 00:15:14,910
Verse 49.

343
00:15:14,910 --> 00:15:20,070
But he that heareth and doeth
not is like a man that without a

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00:15:20,070 --> 00:15:22,990
foundation, built a house upon
the earth.

345
00:15:24,030 --> 00:15:24,430
So he.

346
00:15:24,430 --> 00:15:25,550
He doesn't go deeper.

347
00:15:26,350 --> 00:15:28,270
He doesn't apply wisdom.

348
00:15:28,910 --> 00:15:30,190
He goes the easy route.

349
00:15:30,190 --> 00:15:31,070
He says, you know what?

350
00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,200
I'll deal with that stuff later.

351
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,120
I'll trust in God when the
storms come.

352
00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:43,280
But the Bible says in Psalm 1,
if we want to be like a tree planted

353
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,680
by the rivers of water, we
have to be people who are desiring

354
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,680
the things of God and putting
our faith in the Word of God.

355
00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,320
So he that heareth and doeth
not is like a man without a foundation

356
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,920
built and house upon the earth
against which the stream did beat

357
00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,160
vehemently and immediately it fell.

358
00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,040
And the ruin of that house was great.

359
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,120
So the test was not
necessarily, did the house look good?

360
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,800
We don't see Any difference in
the appearance of these houses from

361
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:13,399
the outside?

362
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:14,280
Right.

363
00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,880
The only difference was the
foundation that they were built on.

364
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,640
And we really don't see a
problem with the house that was built

365
00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,540
upon the sands until the
storms of life came.

366
00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:30,540
So the storms of life, the
difficulties of life, the shipwreck

367
00:16:30,780 --> 00:16:36,220
that Paul is going to face,
that is the test on basically seeing

368
00:16:37,260 --> 00:16:41,500
what the believer is putting
his or her faith in.

369
00:16:41,740 --> 00:16:43,580
Are we putting our faith in
our circumstance?

370
00:16:43,580 --> 00:16:46,620
Are we putting our faith in
the word of God and obeying the word

371
00:16:46,620 --> 00:16:48,380
of God and applying the word
of God?

372
00:16:48,380 --> 00:16:51,140
And so, folks, we can't wait
till the storm comes and then say,

373
00:16:51,140 --> 00:16:51,580
you know what?

374
00:16:51,850 --> 00:16:53,450
Now I need to learn how to
trust God.

375
00:16:53,450 --> 00:16:56,570
The Bible says is be prepared,
build our house upon the rock.

376
00:16:56,730 --> 00:17:00,730
Understand that the storms of
life will come, the struggles will

377
00:17:00,730 --> 00:17:02,810
come when God calls us to do something.

378
00:17:03,610 --> 00:17:06,610
And so we're going to go and
we're going to look here at Acts

379
00:17:06,610 --> 00:17:08,490
chapter 27.

380
00:17:08,810 --> 00:17:13,370
A lot of this is essentially
just explaining what happens in the

381
00:17:13,370 --> 00:17:14,170
life of Paul.

382
00:17:14,250 --> 00:17:18,100
But I wanted to give you that
long Runway so that you understand

383
00:17:18,340 --> 00:17:21,940
how Paul could go through all
of these things and yet keep his

384
00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:26,700
eyes fixed on the goal of the
Gospel and on the goodness of God

385
00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:28,260
in the midst of these trials.

386
00:17:28,660 --> 00:17:30,420
So let's look at Acts, chapter 27.

387
00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:35,100
Remember, Paul is heading to
Rome, and it's not like he could

388
00:17:35,100 --> 00:17:37,700
just jump on a plane and be
there in a few hours.

389
00:17:37,940 --> 00:17:39,460
This is going to be a long journey.

390
00:17:39,780 --> 00:17:40,380
Verse 1.

391
00:17:40,380 --> 00:17:43,770
And when it was determined
that we should sail into Italy, they

392
00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:48,450
delivered Paul and certain
other prisoners unto one named Julius,

393
00:17:48,610 --> 00:17:50,930
a centurion of Augustus's band.

394
00:17:52,050 --> 00:17:55,330
And so lest we think that Paul
is riding on a cruise line, by the

395
00:17:55,330 --> 00:17:59,970
way, you know, I. I think that
sometimes in my mind I think of things

396
00:17:59,970 --> 00:18:02,450
in modern fashions.

397
00:18:02,930 --> 00:18:06,290
But Paul is riding basically
on a prisoner's ship.

398
00:18:06,450 --> 00:18:09,250
It wasn't going to be the
greatest accommodations necessarily.

399
00:18:09,700 --> 00:18:13,740
And he's still being treated
as a prisoner, though we see Paul's

400
00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:17,460
testimony allows him to have
some beneficial treatment from the

401
00:18:17,460 --> 00:18:18,180
leaders there.

402
00:18:18,420 --> 00:18:20,020
And so let's look here at
verse number two.

403
00:18:20,020 --> 00:18:24,100
And it says in entering into
the ship Adramytium, we launched.

404
00:18:24,420 --> 00:18:27,980
And it says we there because
obviously Luke, the writer of Acts,

405
00:18:27,980 --> 00:18:28,660
is there with him.

406
00:18:28,660 --> 00:18:32,780
We launched meaning to sail by
the coast of Asia, One Aristarchus,

407
00:18:32,780 --> 00:18:35,540
a Macedonian of Thessalonica,
being with us.

408
00:18:35,540 --> 00:18:39,170
And so he's going through
basically some of the main characters

409
00:18:39,170 --> 00:18:42,090
that are there with them on
this ship ride, Verse three.

410
00:18:42,090 --> 00:18:44,250
And the next day we touch down
a sidon.

411
00:18:44,250 --> 00:18:49,690
And Julius's courteously
entreated Paul and gave him liberty

412
00:18:49,690 --> 00:18:53,050
to go unto his friends to
refresh himself.

413
00:18:53,050 --> 00:18:56,170
So this is kind of unique
because of Paul's testimony.

414
00:18:56,890 --> 00:19:00,850
This guy named Julius allows
Paul, because of his kindness to

415
00:19:00,850 --> 00:19:04,180
go visit some friends there
and so that he can be renewed and

416
00:19:04,260 --> 00:19:04,940
refreshed.

417
00:19:04,940 --> 00:19:09,620
And so I, I think that we can
sometimes in Scripture over spiritualize

418
00:19:09,620 --> 00:19:11,380
things and over allegorize things.

419
00:19:11,620 --> 00:19:14,660
But what I will say that I
think we can learn from this is that

420
00:19:14,980 --> 00:19:18,260
while we are trusting in the
Lord and while we're going through

421
00:19:18,260 --> 00:19:22,300
difficulties, God does allow
for times of refreshment and renewal

422
00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:24,660
if we're open to follow him.

423
00:19:24,740 --> 00:19:27,060
I think a lot of times we
think that it's all dark and it's

424
00:19:27,060 --> 00:19:29,220
all gloomy when we're going
through the trials of life.

425
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:31,880
But what we see here
throughout Paul's life, there's great

426
00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,280
times of joy and refreshment
in the Lord.

427
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,000
So it says there in, in that
passage that he was refreshed in

428
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,760
verse three, verse four.

429
00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,520
And when we had launched from
fence, we sailed under Cyprus because

430
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:44,680
the winds were contrary.

431
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,320
So obviously the path was
changed a little bit because of the

432
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,320
winds being contrary to what
they had planned there.

433
00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:52,360
Verse 5.

434
00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:55,910
And when we had sailed over
the sea of Sicilicia and, and Pamphylia,

435
00:19:55,910 --> 00:19:59,790
we came to Myra, a city of
lyia, and there the centurion found

436
00:19:59,790 --> 00:20:01,910
a ship of Alexandria sailing
into Italy.

437
00:20:01,910 --> 00:20:04,550
So they're going to change
ships and he put us therein.

438
00:20:05,030 --> 00:20:09,310
And when we had sailed slowly
many days and Scarus were come over

439
00:20:09,310 --> 00:20:13,190
against Snidus, the wind not
suffering us or not allowing us,

440
00:20:13,190 --> 00:20:17,350
we sailed under creep over
against Salome, and hardly passing

441
00:20:17,350 --> 00:20:20,310
it came unto a place which is
called the Fair Havens.

442
00:20:20,390 --> 00:20:23,790
Nigh unto was the city of
Lassie Laia.

443
00:20:24,190 --> 00:20:27,230
And so we're, we're getting a
lot of geography and for the sake

444
00:20:27,230 --> 00:20:29,430
of time I'm not going to be
able to go through all of this.

445
00:20:29,430 --> 00:20:32,550
But obviously you can
reference a, a map and you can point

446
00:20:32,550 --> 00:20:35,310
out these different places,
but they're, they're sailing and

447
00:20:35,310 --> 00:20:38,350
obviously they're making
passage through these different areas.

448
00:20:38,830 --> 00:20:39,510
Verse 9.

449
00:20:39,510 --> 00:20:44,110
Now, when much time was spent
and when sailing was now dangerous

450
00:20:44,350 --> 00:20:48,030
because the fast was now
already passed, Paul admonished them

451
00:20:48,250 --> 00:20:51,530
and said unto them, sirs, I
perceive that this voyage will be

452
00:20:51,530 --> 00:20:57,730
with hurt and much damage, not
only of the lading and ship, but

453
00:20:57,730 --> 00:20:58,810
also our lives.

454
00:20:59,050 --> 00:21:03,970
And so Paul gives advice to
the captain and the crew and he says,

455
00:21:03,970 --> 00:21:06,050
hey look, this is going to Be dangerous.

456
00:21:06,050 --> 00:21:07,450
This is a dangerous season.

457
00:21:07,610 --> 00:21:11,010
So Paul shows that he has some
experience with sailing.

458
00:21:11,010 --> 00:21:13,890
He has some experience
navigating on the waters.

459
00:21:13,890 --> 00:21:17,310
And so Paul, he speaks here
and he says, hey, look, I've got

460
00:21:17,310 --> 00:21:17,830
some wisdom.

461
00:21:17,830 --> 00:21:20,870
I don't necessarily know if
this is a prophecy of God that he

462
00:21:20,870 --> 00:21:22,190
says, hey, we are going to wreck.

463
00:21:22,350 --> 00:21:25,710
It might just be that Paul has
some wisdom on the seas and knows

464
00:21:25,710 --> 00:21:28,670
that this is going to be a
difficult time to sail.

465
00:21:28,910 --> 00:21:31,390
And so he knows the seasons,
he knows the conditions.

466
00:21:32,030 --> 00:21:33,830
Maybe it was God speaking to him.

467
00:21:33,830 --> 00:21:36,670
But Paul advises them, hey, don't.

468
00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:37,430
Let's not go.

469
00:21:37,430 --> 00:21:38,270
This is not good.

470
00:21:38,350 --> 00:21:40,750
And so we can see that even here.

471
00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:45,210
There are going to be times in
our life that we are showing discernment,

472
00:21:45,210 --> 00:21:46,210
we are showing wisdom.

473
00:21:46,210 --> 00:21:49,530
We are doing by all intents
and purposes the right thing, but

474
00:21:49,530 --> 00:21:52,570
the surroundings around us are
out of our control.

475
00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:55,770
And so what he says is, hey,
we shouldn't go any further.

476
00:21:56,650 --> 00:22:00,330
But he says, it's not just
going to hurt our ship, it could

477
00:22:00,490 --> 00:22:01,290
take our lives.

478
00:22:02,330 --> 00:22:03,210
So verse 11.

479
00:22:03,210 --> 00:22:06,250
Nevertheless, the Centurion
believed the master and the owner

480
00:22:06,250 --> 00:22:09,590
of the ship, they don't trust
Paul, they don't trust his wisdom.

481
00:22:09,590 --> 00:22:13,310
They trust the captain more
than those things which were spoken

482
00:22:13,310 --> 00:22:13,910
by Paul.

483
00:22:13,910 --> 00:22:17,990
And because the haven was not
commodious to winter in the more

484
00:22:17,990 --> 00:22:21,910
part advised to depart thence
also, if by any means they might

485
00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:25,950
obtain Zophinus, and there to
winter, which is a haven of Crete,

486
00:22:25,950 --> 00:22:28,470
and lieth toward the southwest
and northwest.

487
00:22:28,470 --> 00:22:31,750
And so the decision is made to
sail on.

488
00:22:32,310 --> 00:22:37,160
And so we know that they are
moving forward, and we know the end

489
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:37,600
of the story.

490
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,680
They don't know the end of the
story, but they were advised not

491
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:41,280
to move forward.

492
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:42,040
And they.

493
00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:43,240
They failed to listen.

494
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:43,520
They.

495
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,400
They failed to take in the
wise words of Paul.

496
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,759
And ultimately we know that
they should have listened to Paul

497
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:51,200
later on in the passage.

498
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,240
We're going to see that they
understand that.

499
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:56,560
So let's look at verse number 13.

500
00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,840
And when the south wind blew
softly, supposing that they had obtained

501
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,030
their purpose, when losing
thence, they sailed close by Crete.

502
00:23:03,110 --> 00:23:08,230
But not long after there arose
again a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon.

503
00:23:08,550 --> 00:23:11,750
And when the ship was caught
and could not bear up into the wind,

504
00:23:11,750 --> 00:23:15,230
we let her drive at running
under a certain island which is called

505
00:23:15,230 --> 00:23:15,750
Cla.

506
00:23:16,070 --> 00:23:20,190
We had much work to come by
the boat, which when they had taken

507
00:23:20,190 --> 00:23:22,830
up, they used helps
undergirding the ship, and fearing

508
00:23:22,830 --> 00:23:26,350
lest they should fall into the
quicksands, straight sail and.

509
00:23:26,420 --> 00:23:29,380
And we're so driven and we
being exceedingly tossed with the

510
00:23:29,380 --> 00:23:29,740
tempest.

511
00:23:29,740 --> 00:23:31,420
The next day they lighten the ship.

512
00:23:31,420 --> 00:23:33,900
So we essentially see that
they're taking all the precautions,

513
00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:38,580
trying to take all the
measures to get through this storm.

514
00:23:38,980 --> 00:23:42,420
And so the winds, they looked
favorable, so they moved out.

515
00:23:42,740 --> 00:23:45,620
This other wind came in,
started this storm.

516
00:23:45,700 --> 00:23:48,980
And sometimes that's what
happens sometimes in life.

517
00:23:49,380 --> 00:23:52,180
I would say that everything's
looking okay.

518
00:23:52,610 --> 00:23:53,850
We think that everything's smooth.

519
00:23:53,850 --> 00:23:56,690
And out of what we would say,
out of nowhere, the storms of life

520
00:23:56,690 --> 00:23:57,250
can come.

521
00:23:58,450 --> 00:24:01,410
And so they're trying to take
measures to save the ship.

522
00:24:01,410 --> 00:24:03,090
Verses 17 through 19.

523
00:24:03,490 --> 00:24:06,090
And they said that they're
being exceedingly tossed.

524
00:24:06,090 --> 00:24:06,610
Verse 18.

525
00:24:06,610 --> 00:24:08,090
The next day they lighten the ship.

526
00:24:08,090 --> 00:24:11,850
And the third day we cast out
with our own hands the tackling of

527
00:24:11,850 --> 00:24:12,530
the ship.

528
00:24:13,170 --> 00:24:15,730
And so all the way through, we
see that they're doing everything

529
00:24:15,730 --> 00:24:19,220
they possibly can in their own
wisdom and their own strength to

530
00:24:19,220 --> 00:24:19,900
save themselves.

531
00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:25,740
But we know that in our own
life that we are limited and we cannot

532
00:24:25,740 --> 00:24:26,420
save ourselves.

533
00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:29,540
In this case, they bring
themselves to hopelessness.

534
00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:33,020
So I. I think this is a great
picture of people trying to save

535
00:24:33,020 --> 00:24:33,540
themselves.

536
00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:37,220
And what does trying to save
ourselves amount to?

537
00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:38,260
Verse 20.

538
00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:42,780
And when neither sun nor stars
and many days appeared and no small

539
00:24:42,780 --> 00:24:46,760
tempest lay on us, all hope
that we should be saved was taken

540
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:47,440
then away.

541
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,480
And so we see in verse number
20 that hopelessness sets in.

542
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:53,440
And so on.

543
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,040
On the open sea, they couldn't
navigate because they couldn't see

544
00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:57,280
the sun or.

545
00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:58,240
Or the stars.

546
00:24:58,720 --> 00:24:59,040
And.

547
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,440
And so they were at a place of hopelessness.

548
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,480
In verse number 37, we see
that there was 276 people on the

549
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,440
boat between the passengers
and the crew.

550
00:25:12,090 --> 00:25:14,690
And it seems like at this
point is when they finally give up,

551
00:25:14,690 --> 00:25:17,170
they lose hope, and that's a
bad place to be.

552
00:25:17,170 --> 00:25:21,450
We mentioned it this morning,
and I think a lot of people struggle

553
00:25:21,450 --> 00:25:23,290
in their lives when they lose hope.

554
00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:25,850
And people lose hope for a lot
of different reasons.

555
00:25:26,010 --> 00:25:31,010
It could be circumstances, it
could be there's no lights in the

556
00:25:31,010 --> 00:25:33,050
end of the tunnel for them, so
to speak.

557
00:25:33,850 --> 00:25:35,770
Maybe plans have gone awry.

558
00:25:36,250 --> 00:25:40,050
But what we can see in verse
number 21 is that though Paul could

559
00:25:40,050 --> 00:25:42,570
have been like them in
hopelessness, we know that his anchor

560
00:25:42,570 --> 00:25:43,490
is in something else.

561
00:25:44,050 --> 00:25:47,770
We know that his anchor of the
soul is found in Jesus Christ.

562
00:25:47,770 --> 00:25:49,970
And so Paul could have jumped
right in with them.

563
00:25:49,970 --> 00:25:55,730
And sometimes we know that if
there's 276 people complaining, misery

564
00:25:55,730 --> 00:25:56,330
loves company.

565
00:25:56,330 --> 00:25:58,130
And sometimes that can rub off
on people.

566
00:25:58,450 --> 00:26:03,050
If everybody is upset, if
everybody is hopeless, we tend to

567
00:26:03,050 --> 00:26:05,820
lean towards being that way as well.

568
00:26:05,820 --> 00:26:08,900
But Paul does not allow
himself to fall into that trap of

569
00:26:08,900 --> 00:26:09,660
hopelessness.

570
00:26:09,820 --> 00:26:10,780
What does Paul do?

571
00:26:10,780 --> 00:26:12,700
He tries to encourage them.

572
00:26:13,260 --> 00:26:14,060
Verse 21.

573
00:26:14,060 --> 00:26:17,340
But after long abstinence,
Paul stood forth in the midst of

574
00:26:17,340 --> 00:26:22,620
them and said, sirs, ye should
have hearkened unto me.

575
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:26,700
Now, whether or not that's the
wisest thing to say in the mid.

576
00:26:26,700 --> 00:26:29,420
But basically what he's saying
is this, Guys, I told you so.

577
00:26:29,420 --> 00:26:30,620
You should have listened to me.

578
00:26:30,940 --> 00:26:33,800
Sometimes we're tempted to say
that, um, and he's right, they should

579
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:34,520
have listened to him.

580
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,920
Sir, you should have hearkened
unto me and not have loose from Crete

581
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:39,880
and to have gained this harm
and loss.

582
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,040
I'm sure that didn't
necessarily go over well, that he

583
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,320
told them that they had made
the wrong decision.

584
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:50,760
Verse 22 and now I exhort you
to be of good cheer.

585
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,560
This is what it looks like for
someone to have hope in the midst

586
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,060
of people with hopelessness, right?

587
00:26:58,290 --> 00:27:00,090
So if you're around a bunch of
people and they have hopelessness

588
00:27:00,090 --> 00:27:02,850
and you walk in there and you
go, hey, guys, be of good cheer.

589
00:27:02,930 --> 00:27:03,850
They're going to say, what?

590
00:27:03,850 --> 00:27:04,930
Why do you have hope?

591
00:27:05,250 --> 00:27:08,370
Well, because Paul's hope is
not found in good seas.

592
00:27:08,450 --> 00:27:10,450
Paul's hope is not found in
his life.

593
00:27:10,450 --> 00:27:12,130
Paul's hope is found in Jesus Christ.

594
00:27:12,850 --> 00:27:16,250
And so I think this is an
awesome picture of how we can exhort

595
00:27:16,250 --> 00:27:21,810
others to comfort and joy and
hope in the midst of difficulties.

596
00:27:22,050 --> 00:27:23,250
So what does he do here?

597
00:27:24,780 --> 00:27:30,140
Paul says, hey, I exhort you
to be of good cheer, for there shall

598
00:27:30,140 --> 00:27:33,900
be no loss of any man's life
among you, but of the ship.

599
00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:38,580
So Paul says, guys, we can be
happy here because none of you are

600
00:27:38,580 --> 00:27:39,100
going to die.

601
00:27:39,980 --> 00:27:41,420
And that's interesting.

602
00:27:41,420 --> 00:27:43,580
That's an interesting concept
for him to tell them.

603
00:27:45,020 --> 00:27:46,140
And so this was.

604
00:27:46,140 --> 00:27:49,180
Even though it's good news, it
is a mixed message.

605
00:27:50,050 --> 00:27:52,130
The promise that no one would
die was.

606
00:27:52,850 --> 00:27:57,370
Was a hard to believe for them
probably, but it was actually bad

607
00:27:57,370 --> 00:27:59,370
news that the ship would be
lost because that essentially means

608
00:27:59,370 --> 00:28:01,250
they're going to be
shipwrecked and then they didn't

609
00:28:01,250 --> 00:28:02,770
have the coast Guard to come
pick them up.

610
00:28:03,170 --> 00:28:06,010
And so there's hopelessness
with that, there's financial loss

611
00:28:06,010 --> 00:28:08,450
with that, there's cargo that
would be lost with that.

612
00:28:08,930 --> 00:28:12,170
And so Paul basically says,
hey, be happy when this bad thing

613
00:28:12,170 --> 00:28:12,490
happens.

614
00:28:12,490 --> 00:28:14,570
Even though he says your
life's going to be saved, there's

615
00:28:14,570 --> 00:28:15,530
another negative with that.

616
00:28:15,530 --> 00:28:17,770
And that would be that the
ship is going to wreck and that they're

617
00:28:17,770 --> 00:28:19,030
going to go through that difficulty.

618
00:28:20,460 --> 00:28:20,660
So.

619
00:28:20,660 --> 00:28:22,100
So again, how could Paul say this?

620
00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:25,700
Paul says this because again,
he knows that God has a promise in

621
00:28:25,700 --> 00:28:28,260
his life that God is going to
preserve him, that God is going to

622
00:28:28,260 --> 00:28:28,940
sustain him.

623
00:28:29,420 --> 00:28:30,700
Verse number 23.

624
00:28:31,820 --> 00:28:32,460
And then he.

625
00:28:32,460 --> 00:28:34,940
He gives where the hope is found.

626
00:28:35,099 --> 00:28:36,620
And the hope is found in the
word of God.

627
00:28:36,620 --> 00:28:38,180
The hope is found in the
comfort of God.

628
00:28:38,180 --> 00:28:42,140
He says in verse 23, for there
stood by me this night the angel

629
00:28:42,140 --> 00:28:44,220
of God whose I am.

630
00:28:44,220 --> 00:28:46,120
He says, I. I am of God.

631
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:47,800
God is with me.

632
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:49,400
And God spoke to me.

633
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,560
And essentially what he says
here is that, hey, this is what God

634
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,920
told me of whom I serve.

635
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,440
And so what is Paul doing here?

636
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,920
Paul, again, it's so hard to
understand how Paul can do this.

637
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:04,280
But in the midst of the storm,
in the midst of being a prisoner,

638
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:08,080
he's preaching the gospel,
he's preaching hope, he's preaching

639
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:08,600
the truth.

640
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:15,100
Verse 24, saying, Fear not,
Paul, thou must be brought before

641
00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:15,620
Caesar.

642
00:29:15,620 --> 00:29:18,660
And lo, God hath given thee
all them that sail with thee.

643
00:29:19,220 --> 00:29:22,500
So the reason why Paul can
have this type of confidence is because

644
00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:25,980
of the promises of God,
because of the specific promise of

645
00:29:25,980 --> 00:29:26,340
God.

646
00:29:26,340 --> 00:29:28,420
Give it to him this very night.

647
00:29:29,460 --> 00:29:32,820
And he says, hey, guys, God
has promised me that we're going

648
00:29:32,820 --> 00:29:35,060
to get to the other side,
though it's not going to be easy.

649
00:29:35,540 --> 00:29:37,710
The storm going to take the ship.

650
00:29:37,870 --> 00:29:39,230
We're going to be shipwrecked.

651
00:29:39,550 --> 00:29:42,070
He doesn't give all the
details of what's going to happen,

652
00:29:42,070 --> 00:29:43,790
but he says, hey, we're going
to be okay.

653
00:29:44,270 --> 00:29:46,430
This is similar to the story
that Jesus.

654
00:29:46,830 --> 00:29:48,790
When Jesus tells the
disciples, hey, we're going to get

655
00:29:48,790 --> 00:29:49,470
to the other side.

656
00:29:49,470 --> 00:29:51,150
The storm comes and they start
to question.

657
00:29:51,710 --> 00:29:56,470
And the presence of God in the
midst of the ship with them was not

658
00:29:56,470 --> 00:29:59,350
enough because they thought
Jesus should be saving them from

659
00:29:59,350 --> 00:30:00,310
all the storm.

660
00:30:00,310 --> 00:30:02,430
But at the time, we know that
Jesus was resting.

661
00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:04,700
Jesus comes on the scene and
says, you know what?

662
00:30:04,780 --> 00:30:05,660
Peace be still.

663
00:30:05,740 --> 00:30:07,340
And everything was still.

664
00:30:07,580 --> 00:30:09,180
And so he says, we're going to
get to the other side.

665
00:30:09,180 --> 00:30:10,020
Everything's going to be okay.

666
00:30:10,020 --> 00:30:10,940
He says, don't fear.

667
00:30:11,580 --> 00:30:16,060
Why God hath given thee all
them that sail with thee.

668
00:30:16,460 --> 00:30:17,220
Verse 25.

669
00:30:17,220 --> 00:30:20,700
Wherefore, sirs, be of good
cheer, for I believe God.

670
00:30:21,740 --> 00:30:24,220
I mean, you could summarize
Paul's testimony that way.

671
00:30:24,220 --> 00:30:24,940
Be of good cheer.

672
00:30:24,940 --> 00:30:26,060
I believe what God says.

673
00:30:26,940 --> 00:30:27,580
What if we.

674
00:30:27,580 --> 00:30:30,420
What if we as Christians could
live that way around people that

675
00:30:30,420 --> 00:30:30,940
are hopeless?

676
00:30:31,570 --> 00:30:33,130
I mean, we live in a world of hopelessness.

677
00:30:33,130 --> 00:30:34,930
Even though there might be
temporary Hope for people.

678
00:30:36,610 --> 00:30:40,090
There are people that their
hope is driven by what the news is

679
00:30:40,090 --> 00:30:40,370
saying.

680
00:30:41,090 --> 00:30:43,370
Literally, if the news tells
them everything's okay, they're like,

681
00:30:43,370 --> 00:30:44,770
okay, I can have hope today.

682
00:30:45,090 --> 00:30:49,610
What if the news says, guys,
everything's hopeless, everything's

683
00:30:49,610 --> 00:30:49,890
bad.

684
00:30:50,610 --> 00:30:51,730
They're hopeless and bad.

685
00:30:51,970 --> 00:30:54,410
But what we can say is this,
as Christians, we should be able

686
00:30:54,410 --> 00:30:55,730
to say the same testimony.

687
00:30:56,370 --> 00:30:59,050
Be of good cheer, for I
believe God.

688
00:30:59,050 --> 00:31:00,130
I believe what God says.

689
00:31:00,130 --> 00:31:01,530
I believe that God loves us.

690
00:31:01,530 --> 00:31:04,580
I believe that God is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.

691
00:31:04,580 --> 00:31:07,100
I believe that he's not going
to leave me nor forsake me.

692
00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:09,700
I believe he's promised me
something better than this world.

693
00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:13,460
And so even in the midst of a
storm, even in the midst of a shipwreck,

694
00:31:13,540 --> 00:31:17,660
we can say, be of good cheer,
because I believe God that it shall

695
00:31:17,660 --> 00:31:20,940
be even as it was told me how
be it.

696
00:31:20,940 --> 00:31:22,580
We must be cast upon a certain island.

697
00:31:22,580 --> 00:31:23,940
So he says, it's not going to
be easy.

698
00:31:24,020 --> 00:31:25,620
We're going to be cast upon an island.

699
00:31:25,940 --> 00:31:28,580
We're going to go through
difficulties, but God is going to

700
00:31:28,580 --> 00:31:29,220
sustain us.

701
00:31:30,010 --> 00:31:33,930
And so Paul tells the crew of
the Word of God.

702
00:31:34,890 --> 00:31:36,410
Where do we get our Word of God?

703
00:31:36,490 --> 00:31:38,330
I don't get the word of God
from a vision.

704
00:31:38,490 --> 00:31:41,610
I get the word of God from
what we call the Bible, the Word

705
00:31:41,610 --> 00:31:42,090
of God.

706
00:31:42,410 --> 00:31:45,090
And so what do we trust in
when things go awry in our life?

707
00:31:45,090 --> 00:31:46,810
We trust in what he says in
His Word.

708
00:31:47,370 --> 00:31:50,010
We don't trust in what we're
seeing necessarily in our.

709
00:31:50,010 --> 00:31:50,810
In our world today.

710
00:31:50,810 --> 00:31:52,570
We don't trust in the circumstances.

711
00:31:53,850 --> 00:31:58,130
And so Paul says the same
thing that, that we see throughout

712
00:31:58,930 --> 00:32:00,690
the Old Testament and the New.

713
00:32:00,770 --> 00:32:03,410
I. I thought of Job, chapter
13, verse 15.

714
00:32:03,890 --> 00:32:08,770
Job says, though he slay me,
yet will I trust him.

715
00:32:09,410 --> 00:32:12,610
But I will maintain mine own
ways before him.

716
00:32:13,010 --> 00:32:15,010
Though he slay me, I will
trust him.

717
00:32:15,330 --> 00:32:19,730
That's contrary to what our
human minds really want to hear.

718
00:32:19,730 --> 00:32:21,450
We want to hear, lord, I'll
trust you.

719
00:32:21,450 --> 00:32:23,680
When everything's going my
way, I'll trust you.

720
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,120
When the storms of life are
gone, I'll trust you.

721
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:27,120
But no, go back.

722
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:28,960
The anchor of my soul is Jesus Christ.

723
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:30,720
So I have to trust him.

724
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,320
I have to believe that he is good.

725
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:38,080
And so verse number 27 tells
us that there is the shipwreck.

726
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:39,199
The shipwreck comes to pass.

727
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,480
And so there is a difficulty here.

728
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,640
I mean, the story could be
that all the storm was calm and there

729
00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:48,520
wasn't a shipwreck.

730
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,040
But sometimes in life there is
that shipwreck.

731
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:52,680
Sometimes that boat is going
to break.

732
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:54,040
Sometimes the water is going
to come in.

733
00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,160
Sometimes we're going to have
to be displaced.

734
00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,880
Sometimes there's a detour,
sometimes there's a roadblock.

735
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,080
Sometimes the plans that we
had are changed.

736
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:04,040
But what do we do?

737
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:04,880
We continue to trust.

738
00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:05,520
Verse 27.

739
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,960
But when the fourteenth night
was come, as we were driven up and

740
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:13,360
down in Adria about midnight,
the shipment deemed that they drew

741
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,840
near to some country and
sounded and found it 20 fathoms.

742
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:18,670
And when they had gone a
little further, they.

743
00:33:18,740 --> 00:33:20,660
They sounded again and found
it 15 fathoms.

744
00:33:20,660 --> 00:33:23,260
Then, fearing lest we should
have fallen upon the rocks, they

745
00:33:23,260 --> 00:33:28,340
cast four anchors out of the
stern and wish for the day.

746
00:33:29,140 --> 00:33:31,140
Now those anchors might fail.

747
00:33:31,460 --> 00:33:36,460
We know the anchor of Jesus
Christ will never fail going further

748
00:33:36,460 --> 00:33:38,980
here, verse number 30.

749
00:33:39,620 --> 00:33:44,060
And as the shipmen were about
to flee out of the ship, and when

750
00:33:44,060 --> 00:33:48,930
they let down the bow into the
sea under color, as though they would

751
00:33:48,930 --> 00:33:52,850
have cast anchors out of the
four ship, Paul said to the centurion

752
00:33:52,850 --> 00:33:55,610
and to the soldiers, except
these abide in the ship, you cannot

753
00:33:55,610 --> 00:33:56,130
be saved.

754
00:33:57,250 --> 00:34:01,130
Again, there's a lot of
analogy that we could talk about

755
00:34:01,130 --> 00:34:01,410
here.

756
00:34:01,410 --> 00:34:02,570
You know, obviously this.

757
00:34:02,570 --> 00:34:06,570
The sailors had to seek to
escape the ship to be saved.

758
00:34:06,570 --> 00:34:07,570
That they stayed on the ship.

759
00:34:07,570 --> 00:34:07,930
They're.

760
00:34:07,930 --> 00:34:08,450
They're gonna.

761
00:34:08,450 --> 00:34:09,810
They're gonna die.

762
00:34:09,970 --> 00:34:12,650
And that some people have
allegorized the fact that we have

763
00:34:12,650 --> 00:34:13,130
to have faith.

764
00:34:13,130 --> 00:34:13,630
We have to take.

765
00:34:13,700 --> 00:34:14,660
Take that step of faith.

766
00:34:15,060 --> 00:34:17,500
But nonetheless, obviously
Paul says they've.

767
00:34:17,500 --> 00:34:18,340
They've got to come.

768
00:34:19,220 --> 00:34:19,980
Verse 32.

769
00:34:19,980 --> 00:34:22,500
Then the soldiers cut off the
ropes of the boat and let her fall

770
00:34:22,500 --> 00:34:22,820
off.

771
00:34:22,820 --> 00:34:25,900
And while the day was coming
on, Paul besought them all to take

772
00:34:25,900 --> 00:34:29,140
meat, saying, this day is the
14th day, and ye have tarried and

773
00:34:29,140 --> 00:34:30,900
continue fasting, having taken nothing.

774
00:34:30,980 --> 00:34:35,380
Wherefore I pray you to take
some meat, for this is your health,

775
00:34:35,380 --> 00:34:38,500
for there shall not an hair
fall from the head of you.

776
00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:41,559
So he has this confidence that
God is going to keep his word.

777
00:34:41,879 --> 00:34:45,439
And so this is how we can have
that peace in the midst of chaos.

778
00:34:45,439 --> 00:34:46,359
Verse 35.

779
00:34:46,359 --> 00:34:49,079
And when he has thus spoken,
he took bread and gave thanks to

780
00:34:49,079 --> 00:34:50,439
God in presence of all of them.

781
00:34:50,439 --> 00:34:52,359
When he had broken and he
began to eat.

782
00:34:52,359 --> 00:34:54,639
So we see Paul is ministering
to these people.

783
00:34:54,639 --> 00:34:56,039
And remember, he's the prisoner.

784
00:34:56,199 --> 00:34:58,279
Remember he's the one that he
could say, man, all these people,

785
00:34:58,279 --> 00:34:59,159
I hope they die.

786
00:34:59,159 --> 00:35:01,519
Okay, these people are not
being kind to me.

787
00:35:01,519 --> 00:35:03,159
But yet he's ministering to them.

788
00:35:03,959 --> 00:35:05,239
What an amazing thing that is.

789
00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:06,119
Verse 36.

790
00:35:06,199 --> 00:35:09,010
Then were all they, all of
Good shear.

791
00:35:09,010 --> 00:35:10,290
And they also took some meat.

792
00:35:10,290 --> 00:35:11,810
So he's impacting those around them.

793
00:35:11,970 --> 00:35:16,290
And we were in all the ship
203 score and 16 souls.

794
00:35:16,610 --> 00:35:18,650
And when they had eaten
enough, they lightened the ship and

795
00:35:18,650 --> 00:35:20,810
cast out the wheat into the sea.

796
00:35:20,810 --> 00:35:24,450
And when it was day, they knew
not the land, but they discovered

797
00:35:24,450 --> 00:35:28,170
a certain creek with a shore
into, into the which they were minded,

798
00:35:28,170 --> 00:35:30,130
if they were possible to
thrust in the ship.

799
00:35:30,130 --> 00:35:32,770
And when they had taken up the
anchors, they committed themselves

800
00:35:32,770 --> 00:35:35,690
unto the sea and loosed the
rudder bands and hoisted up the mainsail

801
00:35:35,690 --> 00:35:37,550
to the wind and, and made
toward shore.

802
00:35:37,550 --> 00:35:41,150
And falling into a place where
two seas met, they ran the ship aground.

803
00:35:41,230 --> 00:35:43,830
And the four part stuck fast
and remained unmovable.

804
00:35:43,830 --> 00:35:46,990
But the hinder parts was
broken with violence of the waves.

805
00:35:46,990 --> 00:35:49,470
And the soldiers counsel was
to kill the prisoners.

806
00:35:50,270 --> 00:35:52,790
Wait, after all that they're
going to kill the prisoners, lest

807
00:35:52,790 --> 00:35:54,310
any of them should swim out
and escape.

808
00:35:54,310 --> 00:35:55,350
Now we know why they did that.

809
00:35:55,350 --> 00:35:57,230
Because if the prisoners
escaped, they died.

810
00:35:57,870 --> 00:36:01,990
But the centurion willing to
save Paul kept them from their purpose

811
00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:05,400
and commanded them that they
should, that they could swim, should

812
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,880
cast themselves and first into
the sea and get to land.

813
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:11,400
And the rest, some on boards
and some of the broken pieces of

814
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:11,800
the ship.

815
00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:15,000
And so it came to pass that
they escaped all save the land.

816
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,440
Verse 44 is the culmination of
God's protection.

817
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,720
There God kept his word as he
always does, and they would be saved.

818
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:27,560
And so God gave Paul favor and
grace in the eyes of the Roman centurion.

819
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,040
He could have just killed all
the prisoners, but he didn't.

820
00:36:30,610 --> 00:36:33,330
And obviously we know that
this was done because of the fact

821
00:36:33,330 --> 00:36:36,210
that God has a plan and a
purpose for Paul.

822
00:36:36,850 --> 00:36:40,610
And so God's word, as we could
say, never fails.

823
00:36:41,010 --> 00:36:43,930
And that's, that's really the
shipwreck that, that we see now.

824
00:36:43,930 --> 00:36:46,490
I, I wish I could tell you
that, you know, after that everything

825
00:36:46,490 --> 00:36:51,210
went okay, but Paul is going
to face more struggles when he finds

826
00:36:51,210 --> 00:36:52,130
himself on land.

827
00:36:52,610 --> 00:36:56,090
And, and even when he gets to
Rome, he, he doesn't have smooth

828
00:36:56,090 --> 00:36:57,730
sailing pretty much for the
rest of Paul's life.

829
00:36:58,110 --> 00:37:01,270
Circumstances are not going to
be what we would call ideal when

830
00:37:01,270 --> 00:37:02,590
it comes to our way of thinking.

831
00:37:02,990 --> 00:37:06,710
But Paul would have told you,
I think by way of his testimony that

832
00:37:06,710 --> 00:37:09,150
things were ideal because he
was getting to minister the gospel.

833
00:37:09,150 --> 00:37:10,750
Okay, if that meant shipwreck, great.

834
00:37:10,830 --> 00:37:12,430
If that meant being in prison, great.

835
00:37:12,590 --> 00:37:14,230
If that meant persecution, fine.

836
00:37:14,230 --> 00:37:16,110
I will do it for the cause of
the gospel.

837
00:37:16,670 --> 00:37:18,150
And so that's, that's the Difficulty.

838
00:37:18,150 --> 00:37:21,310
I think that sometimes in our
life our focus is so much on ourself

839
00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:25,490
that we forget that it's
really God's plan for us to further

840
00:37:25,490 --> 00:37:27,130
his purpose, to further his.

841
00:37:27,690 --> 00:37:30,490
His plans, his word, his cause.

842
00:37:30,490 --> 00:37:32,170
And so Paul says, you know what?

843
00:37:32,170 --> 00:37:32,890
I'm okay.

844
00:37:32,890 --> 00:37:33,890
I can be of good cheer.

845
00:37:33,890 --> 00:37:34,090
Why?

846
00:37:34,090 --> 00:37:36,410
Because God's got me going to
Rome now.

847
00:37:36,490 --> 00:37:38,250
Remember what's waiting for
him in Rome?

848
00:37:39,290 --> 00:37:41,290
He knows there's, there's a
guy named Nero.

849
00:37:41,690 --> 00:37:44,170
There's, there's people that
are opposed to him.

850
00:37:44,170 --> 00:37:45,970
But why, why does he want to
go to Rome?

851
00:37:45,970 --> 00:37:46,890
He wants to go to Rome.

852
00:37:47,130 --> 00:37:49,610
One, because he wants to
minister to the people there in Rome.

853
00:37:49,850 --> 00:37:52,530
But, but number two, he, he
wants to ultimately proclaim the

854
00:37:52,530 --> 00:37:54,010
gospel to everyone that he can.

855
00:37:55,140 --> 00:37:56,500
And so the word of God was true.

856
00:37:57,940 --> 00:37:59,820
Paul kept the faith.

857
00:37:59,820 --> 00:38:04,060
Paul kept his confidence, his
anchor of his soul in Jesus Christ.

858
00:38:04,060 --> 00:38:09,220
And so next week we will come
back and we will look at Acts, chapter

859
00:38:09,300 --> 00:38:10,100
28.

860
00:38:10,660 --> 00:38:12,940
And I don't know if we'll go
through the whole chapter next week.

861
00:38:12,940 --> 00:38:14,260
We'll see how that goes.

862
00:38:15,220 --> 00:38:19,780
But nonetheless, we will get
close here to the end of the Book

863
00:38:19,780 --> 00:38:20,420
of Acts.

864
00:38:20,420 --> 00:38:23,750
And really the whole study of
the Book of Acts, it started with

865
00:38:23,830 --> 00:38:25,830
this idea of what is the church?

866
00:38:26,630 --> 00:38:28,390
What is the church supposed to do?

867
00:38:29,110 --> 00:38:30,710
How are we supposed to function?

868
00:38:30,870 --> 00:38:33,830
The acronym we used, Acts.

869
00:38:34,630 --> 00:38:36,870
Authentic Church through Scripture.

870
00:38:37,750 --> 00:38:39,030
What's the church all about?

871
00:38:40,630 --> 00:38:44,630
Well, it's not about entertainment.

872
00:38:44,630 --> 00:38:47,550
We never saw that in the Book
of Acts though.

873
00:38:47,550 --> 00:38:50,720
The church in Acts didn't have
it all put together.

874
00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:53,560
By the way, it's not the
perfect church because there were

875
00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:56,920
still flaws, there was still
sin, there was still brokenness,

876
00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:58,320
there was still division.

877
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:02,600
But if you go back, I want to
show you guys one thing we have to

878
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:03,280
the end of the hour.

879
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:08,080
As I was reading through the
Book of Acts again multiple times,

880
00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:12,600
there was something that I
found so unique in chapter two.

881
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,320
Go, go back to chapter two
with me.

882
00:39:14,750 --> 00:39:17,550
What, what, what launched all
of these things happening?

883
00:39:17,550 --> 00:39:22,830
Because by the way, in the
midst of the church is the Spirit

884
00:39:22,830 --> 00:39:23,950
of God, the Holy Spirit.

885
00:39:23,950 --> 00:39:24,270
Right?

886
00:39:24,430 --> 00:39:27,310
We, we can't have the church
without the Holy Spirit.

887
00:39:27,950 --> 00:39:28,270
Why?

888
00:39:28,270 --> 00:39:31,630
Because the Holy Spirit is the
seal of the believer.

889
00:39:31,950 --> 00:39:33,550
You can't have a church
without believers.

890
00:39:33,550 --> 00:39:36,670
A church is not a fellowship
of just random people.

891
00:39:36,830 --> 00:39:39,910
A church is made up of born
again believers indwelled by the

892
00:39:39,910 --> 00:39:40,270
Spirit.

893
00:39:40,650 --> 00:39:43,930
There are people that call
themselves church, but if they don't

894
00:39:43,930 --> 00:39:46,490
have the spirit of God living
within them, they're not the church.

895
00:39:47,290 --> 00:39:48,970
This building is not the church.

896
00:39:49,450 --> 00:39:54,050
The church is Made up of
people that are indwelled by the

897
00:39:54,050 --> 00:39:54,490
Spirit.

898
00:39:54,570 --> 00:39:57,970
And a healthy church is what
we're going to see all the way back

899
00:39:57,970 --> 00:39:58,570
in verse one.

900
00:39:58,570 --> 00:40:01,530
I was reading this this week,
I was like, wow, look at this.

901
00:40:01,770 --> 00:40:05,170
The Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost pours out upon them and,

902
00:40:05,170 --> 00:40:07,050
and we see all these wonderful
things happen.

903
00:40:07,050 --> 00:40:07,300
But.

904
00:40:07,370 --> 00:40:11,650
But over and over again we see
a theme, verse number one.

905
00:40:11,650 --> 00:40:14,570
And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with

906
00:40:14,650 --> 00:40:16,250
one accord in one place.

907
00:40:16,250 --> 00:40:18,490
I want you to think about that
phrase, one accord.

908
00:40:19,370 --> 00:40:24,970
It's unity there throughout
the book of Acts, when we see the

909
00:40:24,970 --> 00:40:26,170
Spirit of God moving.

910
00:40:26,170 --> 00:40:30,410
It's when believers are in one
accord, when there's unity.

911
00:40:30,410 --> 00:40:32,010
And over and over again we see that.

912
00:40:32,010 --> 00:40:38,920
Then at the end of the chapter
two, we see again verse 42.

913
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:43,880
And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles doctrine and fellowship

914
00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:49,200
and in breaking of bread and
in prayers and, and we see all of

915
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:53,240
this happening in such a way
that shows that they had all things

916
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:55,400
in common, verse 44.

917
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:59,160
And all that believe were
together and had all things in common.

918
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:06,000
And so they're walking in one
accord in the fellowship of the Spirit.

919
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:09,120
So we would say, what makes a
healthy church?

920
00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,680
Well, a lot of people, a lot
of money, a lot of buildings.

921
00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:17,280
No, biblically speaking, what
makes a healthy church is a church

922
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:22,720
that is made up of individuals
indwelled by the Spirit, fellowshipping

923
00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:23,600
one with another.

924
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:28,400
That is a healthy church who
as the church is following the commands

925
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:32,080
of God, which is the great
commission, which is loving one another.

926
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,960
And so through all of the book
of Acts, we could sit there and we

927
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,400
could say, well that's a
different time for a different place.

928
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:42,000
And yes, there were things
happening in a distinct way at that

929
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,080
age because that was a
transitionary period.

930
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:45,360
We know that.

931
00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:48,400
We know that the book of Acts
was a transitionary period when the

932
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:50,560
complete word of God was not
revealed yet.

933
00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:54,660
So there were miraculous
things happening, things that aren't

934
00:41:54,660 --> 00:41:56,180
what we would call typical.

935
00:41:56,660 --> 00:41:59,620
But at the same time we know
that there are.

936
00:41:59,700 --> 00:42:02,340
There, there are some
commonalities in the book of Acts

937
00:42:02,340 --> 00:42:03,860
that we must continue on today.

938
00:42:04,020 --> 00:42:07,819
And I believe that what we can
say is that it's of one accord, walking

939
00:42:07,819 --> 00:42:09,620
in the Spirit together as a family.

940
00:42:09,940 --> 00:42:11,860
And we can go deeper into this.

941
00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:15,300
But in Acts chapter two, the
very end, it says, and the Lord added

942
00:42:15,300 --> 00:42:18,890
to the church daily, such as
to be saved, meaning the church was

943
00:42:18,890 --> 00:42:24,050
not a one time a week
convenient thing that people were

944
00:42:24,050 --> 00:42:24,370
doing.

945
00:42:24,850 --> 00:42:28,050
It was a daily thing they were
do as the Phrase.

946
00:42:28,450 --> 00:42:29,770
One author put it this way.

947
00:42:29,770 --> 00:42:32,770
As I was reading about the
early church says they were doing

948
00:42:32,850 --> 00:42:33,650
life together.

949
00:42:34,450 --> 00:42:37,010
They were doing life together,
meaning they were living their lives

950
00:42:37,090 --> 00:42:39,330
as one body of believers.

951
00:42:39,970 --> 00:42:42,090
And so throughout all the Book
of Acts, we.

952
00:42:42,090 --> 00:42:42,730
We see that.

953
00:42:42,730 --> 00:42:45,680
And then, of course, toward
the tail end, we see Paul's missionary

954
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:47,680
journey, and we see that Paul
was launched out.

955
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,240
So there was a fellowship of
believers that launched Paul and

956
00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:52,080
his team out.

957
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:54,800
And so it's not a stationary thing.

958
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:56,920
I think that's the beautiful
thing about the Book of Acts.

959
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:58,880
It didn't just stay in
Jerusalem, right?

960
00:42:58,880 --> 00:42:59,599
It spread.

961
00:42:59,599 --> 00:43:02,680
And Paul went out and gave the
word and was a missionary, and there

962
00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:04,400
was evangelism and there was growth.

963
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:05,920
And that's what we want to see.

964
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,560
We want to see Middletown
Baptist Church here.

965
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:10,160
First and foremost, we're unified.

966
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:11,120
We're of one accord.

967
00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:11,560
We.

968
00:43:11,710 --> 00:43:12,390
We have a purpose.

969
00:43:12,390 --> 00:43:15,390
But then at the same time, we
want to go, we want to send.

970
00:43:15,630 --> 00:43:15,950
We.

971
00:43:15,950 --> 00:43:18,190
We want to reach people for
the cause of the Gospel.

972
00:43:18,910 --> 00:43:21,790
And so that's, I think, the
summary of the Book of Acts.

973
00:43:21,790 --> 00:43:23,510
We'll get to more of the
summary later on.

974
00:43:23,510 --> 00:43:27,589
But In Acts, chapter 28, we
see essentially Paul eventually gets

975
00:43:27,589 --> 00:43:28,110
to Rome.

976
00:43:28,910 --> 00:43:31,030
And it doesn't end there.

977
00:43:31,030 --> 00:43:33,950
I mean, the book ends there,
but we know the story continues on.

978
00:43:34,430 --> 00:43:37,430
And some people are asking
where we're going after the Book

979
00:43:37,430 --> 00:43:37,950
of Acts.

980
00:43:38,950 --> 00:43:40,790
We'll let you know as soon as
we can.

981
00:43:41,270 --> 00:43:44,150
But I'm sure that it'll be profitable.

982
00:43:44,310 --> 00:43:44,670
Why?

983
00:43:44,670 --> 00:43:46,910
Because the Bible says all
scripture is given by inspiration

984
00:43:46,910 --> 00:43:49,790
of God as profitable for
doctrine, for approved, for correction,

985
00:43:49,790 --> 00:43:51,030
for instruction and righteousness.

986
00:43:51,510 --> 00:43:53,670
So appreciate your time in
this study.

987
00:43:53,670 --> 00:43:55,430
I know that some of these
studies can be long.

988
00:43:55,430 --> 00:43:57,990
The Book of Acts has been a
long, long, long study.

989
00:43:58,390 --> 00:44:01,190
Just like some of you that sat
through all the book of Genesis,

990
00:44:01,190 --> 00:44:03,870
some of you remember that we
went through the whole book of Genesis.

991
00:44:03,870 --> 00:44:07,200
Those are long studies, but
important because the reason why

992
00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,280
we want to preach a book is
because that's how it was originally

993
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:10,760
written.

994
00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:13,560
It was written to be
understood as a whole idea.

995
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:18,120
So if we just take one verse
and use one verse, that can be applied.

996
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:20,440
Definitely the Word of God
does not return void.

997
00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:23,200
But at the same time, I think
we can have a greater understanding

998
00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:26,880
when we see the bigger
passages put together so that we

999
00:44:26,880 --> 00:44:30,700
can understand these things
from, I think, a clearer understanding,

1000
00:44:30,850 --> 00:44:32,890
understanding, so that we can
apply the truths of the Word of God,

1001
00:44:32,890 --> 00:44:36,130
so that we're not just hearers
of the Word, but doers, so that we're

1002
00:44:36,130 --> 00:44:39,050
like the man who builds his
house upon the sure foundation and

1003
00:44:39,050 --> 00:44:40,850
not upon the sand.

1004
00:44:41,010 --> 00:44:44,250
And so some people, I was, I
was teaching this a little while

1005
00:44:44,250 --> 00:44:47,170
back and someone says, what
are some of the examples of the sand?

1006
00:44:47,170 --> 00:44:51,010
I would say anything outside
of the sure foundation of Jesus Christ,

1007
00:44:51,570 --> 00:44:51,930
right?

1008
00:44:51,930 --> 00:44:53,130
So you could say anything, any.

1009
00:44:53,130 --> 00:44:56,690
The sand and the foundation
that's going to be washed away can

1010
00:44:56,690 --> 00:44:57,130
be anything.

1011
00:44:57,130 --> 00:44:57,890
It could be good things.

1012
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,320
It could be, it could be
something that we would deem to be

1013
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:03,160
not devastating to our life.

1014
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:06,360
But if it's anything outside
of the truth of Jesus Christ, then

1015
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:08,520
we're not building our house
upon the rock.

1016
00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:11,040
We're building it upon
something that is going to be torn

1017
00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:11,320
away.

1018
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:14,040
So think about it from the
perspective of this and then we'll

1019
00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:14,360
be done.

1020
00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:16,520
The storms are going to come.

1021
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:18,600
You're in the ship of light.

1022
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:19,920
Storms are going to come.

1023
00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:22,520
And there might be times,
believe it or not, that you will

1024
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,890
be shipwrecked, but at the end
of the day, God will keep his word.

1025
00:45:26,130 --> 00:45:28,050
God has a plan and a purpose
for you.

1026
00:45:28,530 --> 00:45:31,690
Not saying that it's going to
go the way you expected to go.

1027
00:45:31,690 --> 00:45:35,810
I'm not going to say that it's
going to even go in a way that keeps

1028
00:45:35,810 --> 00:45:36,450
you safe.

1029
00:45:36,690 --> 00:45:37,090
Right?

1030
00:45:37,570 --> 00:45:38,690
But I would.

1031
00:45:39,010 --> 00:45:41,410
You know what, it would be
amazing if there was.

1032
00:45:41,410 --> 00:45:42,410
I, I've always said this.

1033
00:45:42,410 --> 00:45:42,690
I.

1034
00:45:42,690 --> 00:45:44,290
A time machine would be really cool.

1035
00:45:44,290 --> 00:45:50,180
I mean, what if we could bring
Paul right here and Paul's here and

1036
00:45:50,180 --> 00:45:52,980
I say, paul, tell everybody
that trusting in Jesus makes you

1037
00:45:52,980 --> 00:45:55,100
live a safe life and
everything will be fine.

1038
00:45:55,340 --> 00:45:57,980
And if you could speak English
and understand it, he would laugh.

1039
00:45:57,980 --> 00:45:59,300
He would say, oh really?

1040
00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:01,340
You want to know what it's
like to live for Christ?

1041
00:46:01,340 --> 00:46:03,100
And he would explain to us.

1042
00:46:03,500 --> 00:46:07,380
And I'm not saying that's what
we all have to go through, but what

1043
00:46:07,380 --> 00:46:12,060
I am saying is that the
promise of God is not smooth sailing.

1044
00:46:12,380 --> 00:46:15,070
Promise of God is that he's
with us in the midst of the shipwreck.

1045
00:46:15,300 --> 00:46:18,540
He's in, he's in it with us
and he's experienced it all.

1046
00:46:18,540 --> 00:46:21,820
We have a high priest who, who
understands us, who knows us, and

1047
00:46:21,820 --> 00:46:25,300
who is there preserving us
through, through all of the storms

1048
00:46:25,300 --> 00:46:25,740
of life.

1049
00:46:25,740 --> 00:46:30,420
So hope that that is is
applicable for your life here today.

1050
00:46:31,380 --> 00:46:33,980
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1051
00:46:33,980 --> 00:46:34,580
podcast.

1052
00:46:34,820 --> 00:46:37,220
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1053
00:46:37,940 --> 00:46:40,140
You would like to find out
more information about our church

1054
00:46:40,140 --> 00:46:43,610
or this sermon, you can find
us at middletownbaptistchurch.org

1055
00:46:43,930 --> 00:46:46,490
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1056
00:46:47,210 --> 00:46:52,090
You can also email me directly
at Josh Massaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com

1057
00:46:52,570 --> 00:46:56,090
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1058
00:46:56,090 --> 00:46:58,890
along for future podcast and updates.

1059
00:46:59,610 --> 00:47:00,490
Thank you so much.

1060
00:47:00,730 --> 00:47:01,450
God Bless.

1061
00:47:01,690 --> 00:47:03,050
Have a wonderful day.