This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you to day four, week six of our study through the Book of
Acts, our next to last day through the study of the Book of Acts as we've gone
chapter by chapter. And this is one of the most exciting chapters in all the
Book of Acts. If you were doing a movie of Acts, you'd have to include this
chapter because this is when the shipwreck happens.

But it's not just about a shipwreck. It's about Paul, the Apostle Paul, in the
midst of that shipwreck. And as you look at the Apostle Paul as he goes through
this shipwreck that happens in this chapter, that he's a part of in this
chapter, you and I learn some lessons, some deep life lessons about how to be
confident in a crisis.

Through this chapter, we see a storm that's faced on a ship that Paul is on, the
shipwreck that happens, but also God's rescue of those who are on this ship.
We're reminded in this chapter that storms do not play favorites. Paul's an
apostle.

He's headed to Rome to serve God there and he faces a shipwreck. The belief that
somehow that because you're a believer or you're doing God's will as a believer,
you'll never have any problems. It does not match up with the Book of Acts.

It does not match up with the truth of scripture. Paul is heading toward Rome.
Part of that journey is by ship.

And at one point, as they start to head out and Paul knows it's the winter
waters, they're going to face some problems, he warns them not to continue on
their journey. He's traveled a lot. He knows.

So in verse 10, he says, "Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be
disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo and to our very lives also. "
Paul gives him this warning, but he's just a prisoner on this ship on his way to
Rome. So they go anyway.

Before we look at where Paul's confidence came from in this crisis, there's an
interesting look in verses 11 to 13 at why you and I sail into danger even when
somebody else warns us. Why does this happen? Verses 11 to 13, "But the
centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the
pilot and the owner of the ship.

Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we
should sail hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete
facing both southwest and northwest. When a gentle south wind began to blow,
they thought that they had obtained what they wanted, so they weighed anchor and
they sailed along the shore of Crete.

" Why do we go the wrong direction? Why do we sail into danger even though it's
obvious to everybody else? Three reasons in these verses.

One, we rely on the wrong experts. They followed the advice of the pilot and the
owner of the ship. They should have followed the advice of Paul.

Just because somebody is in a position of authority does not mean they're truly
an expert. Just because somebody says they're an expert doesn't mean they're an
expert. One of the reasons we sail into dangerous waters is we follow the wrong
experts.

I found one of the reasons we do that is we look for the expert who will tell us
what we want to hear. We want to go that direction, so we ask this expert and
this expert, and we find the tenth one who finally says, "Oh yeah, that would be
great to go that direction. " We follow them.

We rely on the wrong experts. A second reason we sail into danger is we rely on
majority rule. Instead of God's will, God's direction, we rely on majority rule.

They voted. The majority voted this is a good idea. It was a terrible idea.

Just because it's popular with everyone, just because "everyone's doing it" does
not mean it's a good thing to do. This happens a lot to kids, to teenagers. The
majority rule of what everybody's doing causes them to sail into very dangerous
waters, whether it's being at the wrong party or smoking the wrong thing or
drinking the wrong thing or heading the wrong direction, but it doesn't just
happen to teenagers.

It happens just as much as, if not more, once you get past those years. Pleasing
other people in your business or in your family and the majority rules or where
you think the majority is going to think of you rules, that's why we head into
dangerous waters. And then there's a third reason.

We rely on circumstances. They saw this gentle south wind and so they thought
everything's going to be okay. So instead of relying on the direction of God,
they rely on human experts.

They rely on majority rule. They rely on circumstances. And so of course, of
course, verses 14 to 15 happen.

Before very long, a wind of hurricane force called the Northeaster swept down
from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the
wind. And so we gave way to it and we were driven along.

And this storm that they gave way to, it becomes much and much worse. They're
being driven along out of control and then they begin to have to throw
everything overboard just to keep the ship afloat. They get to the point of
total despair.

In verse 20, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm
continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. Now first notice
that Luke just said we. So Luke was on this ship.

He experienced this with the apostle Paul and he's writing about it now. And he
says, we gave up all hope of being saved. And that's when Paul shows up.

Actually, that's when God shows up in Paul. Paul shows up because of God's
strength, confident in a crisis, a confidence that comes from his relationship
with Christ. And as you listen to what he says, you find that he's got a
character that no one else on that ship has.

Character is always revealed in a crisis. Character is not made in a crisis. It
is made in the day by day decisions, the little mundane trivial things of life,
the routine.

That's where you make character. Character is made in your habits. Character is
saying no to something when no one else is knowing you're going to say no to it.

That's where character is made. But it's revealed when you get in a shipwreck.
What do you do when things look like they're falling apart?

What do you do when it looks like the ship is lost? Paul is confident in the
crisis. Why?

Because he is encouraged by three tremendous truths, the same things you and I
can hold on to. These are the anchors, since we're talking about a shipwreck
here, these are the anchors that you can have in a crisis. The first anchor in a
crisis is the presence of God.

In verse 23, Paul begins to speak to the people, to all these men on this ship,
and in verse 23 he says, "Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I
serve stood beside me. " He relied on the presence of God, an angel of the God,
and then did you hear what he said? "Whose I am and whom I serve.

" Paul recognized that he was owned by God and that he was a servant by God, and
in that presence of God he found confidence in the crisis. Storms can never hide
the face of God, the presence of God. You may not see him in the crisis, but he
is there, he is with you, he sees you.

You may think he's a million miles away in the crisis, he is there, he sees you,
he is with you. The presence of God is the first anchor that you and I need in
the midst of a crisis. The storms of life cannot hide God's presence, so you
look for it, you realize it's there.

The first anchor is the presence of God. The second anchor in a crisis is the
purpose of God. In verse 24, Paul goes on to say, "And the angel said, 'Do not
be afraid, Paul.

You must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives
of all who sail with you. '" God came to Paul and said, as he'd said before, in
Corinth you might remember, "Paul, this is my plan for your life. My plan is
that you go to Rome, and you know that you're on this ship because God has a
purpose for you, and you're heading toward Rome, and this storm is not going to
prevent my purpose in your life.

You are going to Rome. You're going to preach in Caesar's court. I have a
purpose for your life that is greater than the temporary storm that you're in.

" I don't know what storm you're facing right now, but I do know this. Every
storm, every storm, especially one of this size, feels like it's going to wipe
out God's purpose for your life. It is not.

God's purpose is greater than any storm. And even though you feel like all is
lost in the midst of the storm, there is another side to that storm. And on the
other side of that storm, God's purpose is going to continue.

Paul, by God's grace, was assured of God's purpose even while he's in the storm.
That's what you look for. You say, "God, I'm in the storm.

Would you assure me by faith of your purpose? Even though I can't see it now,
help me to hear you. Help me to see you.

Your presence. Help me to hear you. Your purpose.

" Now, there's a third anchor in the storm. The first is the presence of God.
The second is the purpose of God.

The third anchor is the promise of God. In verse 25, Paul says, "So keep up your
courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. "
Paul says, "I have faith and I am counting on God's promise.

" Even in the midst of the storm. I am counting on the fact that God will do
what he said he will do. I'm not talking about your promise, or the promise some
other person made up, or the promise you wish God would make.

I'm talking about the clear promises of God, that he will be with you no matter
what, that his plan continues for you no matter the storm, that he is working in
your life towards eternity no matter what happens in this life, no matter what
problems or difficulties or struggles you face, that he's using your life as a
witness to others no matter what struggles or difficulties you face. You hold on
to those promises in the midst of the storm and as you come out of the storm.
Storms cannot hide the presence of God because God is with us.

Storms cannot change the purpose of God because God's purpose is eternal. Storms
cannot destroy the child of God because his promise for your life is given to
you as a son, as a daughter, and it is irrevocable, his promise. So what do you
do in the meantime?

You're in the storm. You have the presence, you have the purpose, you have the
promise of God. What do you do while you're in the storm until you get out of
it?

You do what Paul did in verse 29. In verse 29, fearing that they would be dashed
against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and they prayed for
daylight. That's what you do.

You pray for daylight. You pray for that day when the light's going to shine
again. You pray for light from God even in the darkness.

You pray for light from God even when you're without hope. You pray for
daylight. Even when you don't see the sun, you keep praying for daylight.

That's faith. That's trusting in God, stretching your trust and faith in God
even in the midst of the storm. And so what happened?

Verses 41 to 44, "The ship struck a sandbar and ran aground, and then the
centurion ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way,
everyone reached land in safety.

The promise of God was kept. They were all saved because Paul had been given
confidence through God's presence and God's purpose and God's promise. " Let's
pray together.

Lord, let those be my confidence today, not my circumstances, not what other
people think about me. God, not what some thought I might have might be about
the realities of life, my philosophy. Let my confidence be in your presence.

You'll never fail me. In your purpose, you have a plan for me. In your promise,
it's guaranteed for me in Jesus Christ.

I put my confidence right now, as I never have before, in your presence and
purpose and promise. In Jesus' name, amen. Join us tomorrow.

We're going to end our study together at the Book of Acts.