Lord is so good and kind to us to continue to give us life and breath and opportunity to worship him. Once again, this Lord's day, it is good to be together in his presence. And now, especially before his word, expecting for the Lord spirit to teach us for Jesus to shine the light of his truth into our hearts and minds that we may grow up in him together. Let us pray. Almighty, gracious Father, since our whole salvation depends on our true understanding of your holy word, grant us all that our hearts, freed from worldly affairs, may hear and understand your holy word with all diligence and faith so that we may rightly discern your gracious will, cherish it, and live by it with all earnestness to your praise and honor through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's stand together, brothers and sisters, for the reading of God's word as we continue ahead in the book of Acts, turning to a new phase of this wondrous book and the journey, the voyage of Paul to Rome. And so much to see and to learn here. I'll read from chapter 26, starting at verse 30, through to chapter 27, ending at verse 20. Please listen very carefully because this is God's holy and infallible word to us. When he had said these things, the king stood up as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them. And when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves saying, this man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains. Then Agrippa said to Festus, this man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, They delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan regiment. So entering a ship of Adramidium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. There, the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. When we had sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty off Canidas, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed onto the shelter of Crete off Salmon. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lazia. Now when much time had been spent and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them saying, men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives. Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by things spoken by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they can reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, a tempestuous headwind arose called Eurycleidon. So when the ship was caught and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty, When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship. And fearing lest they should run aground on the surdous sands, they struck sail, and so were driven. And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day, we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. And thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen, amen. Please be seated. Open seas sailing, certainly not for the lighthearted, especially without GPS or great weather knowledge, right? It's kind of like us in our lives. Wouldn't it be great if we had a satellite GPS for what was coming in the future in our lives? We don't. Open seas sailing, especially upon great waters like the Mediterranean Sea, especially back then, it really does unpack for us the reality of what life is like, even better than the best of fairy tales, I think. Yet, these events, the sailing events, do this by way of continuously experienced moments of what I think is aptly called living metaphor. The best life sailors see wondrous providence, seeing it at all times. And I don't just mean sailors on seas, but I mean sailors like us on the seas of life as well. We see wondrous providence singing at all times, enjoying life's wildest of winds and even the calm seas that come from time to time. The clouds and the blue skies and the fresh air of the journey. There was fresh air even in the midst of that likely hurricane they experienced. The fresh air of the sea being only in the hand of God. That's really us every day anyways. Whether stormy or clear, that's the life we live moment by moment. Because when we have eyes of faith to see, which I hope we will grow in today, each day, no matter how bad or how good, is filled with the wondrous reception of God's tokens of grace for those of us who have eyes to see. Sprinkled here and there in every moment. We should be so eager to see God's tokens of grace to us every single day. And they're before us in today's text. People who live this way stand out. They're different kind of people. They're not constantly looking for the next time they stub their toe, but they're constantly looking for the next time that someone's gonna be there to wash their toe and give thanks to God that he helped them in their difficulties. They're not constantly expecting the next bad event with woe and murmuring and discontent. They're constantly in the storm, expecting God's bright token of grace that will come. token moments of unmerited goodness and gladness from God, granted by his active hand to those who will see as signs along life's path point us from the seen to the unseen, from the moment to eternity, from earth to heaven. Like the rainbow directing our thoughts to God and his promises to the eternal reality of his rainbow encircled throne of grace. So one way to ask it, hopefully in somewhat of a poetic form, would be, do you have eyes to see rainbows in every moment, every event, every relationship, every loss, every difficulty, even in every dark grief and cloudy path and stormy tragedy? Because the way God has made it, you can't have rainbow without rain. Life is a life of constant rain because we live in a sin-cursed world, brothers and sisters. You will not have your best life now. That is coming after you die. Right now, you will have tribulation. That's what Jesus said. Expect it. Expect trouble. But in the trouble, you will find greater blessing, greater gladness, greater joy than you ever expected if you learn to look for the rainbows. And that's what we're gonna do in today's text. We'll look at the initial voyage plans and we'll see Luke and Aristarchus and kind Julius and God's church and multiple protecting islands as tokens of grace that he gives to Paul along the way. We'll see some ongoing voids plans that just continue to show us God's great providence behind it all. And as usual along the way and at the end, We would be looking to God and say, Lord, am I like this? Do I see with these eyes or do I need a shift? Do I need today a total and permanent reset in the way I approach life? Am I searching for storm clouds or am I searching for rainbows? It makes all the difference, brothers and sisters. So verses one and two, we're told, when it was decided that we should all sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan regiment. So entering a ship of Adramidium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. So here's their initial voyage plans, right? We see these words, it was decided. They delivered Paul, meaning to sail along the coasts. There were decisions that had been made. Festus decided at that time and place when and how Paul would go and with whom Paul would go with some other prisoners. And this whole idea is that they're not like Paul. Paul shouldn't have been there, but these people, they were probably there for good reasons. And Paul gets to sail with them, hundreds of them, it looks like. Julius decided the ship and likely the ship captain decided the route, which was to be along the coasts of Asia. But you know, God decided from his throne before time began, right? God decided this before time and God unfolded, not only did he determine it ahead of time, but we could talk for days about how he unfolded the rising and falling of nations to bring Rome to power at that moment. He showed it to Daniel. We see it in history and Rome is on the scene and they're headed to Italy because of God's plan. Paul said this in Acts 17. Well, I'll get to that later. That's the wrong quote there. What I was getting at is we're in Acts 17, 3, and I'm going to tell it to you from memory because I didn't get the right quote in my notes. He told them that God determines ahead of time the boundaries of nations. Paul has already referenced this in his prior preaching. Now about this Augustan regiment, the Augustan cohort, seems to refer to a specific cohort stationed in Syria during the first century. And these kinds of details continue to serve as evidence of Luke as an eminent historian and also the usefulness of this document in court, to show in court for Christians who would be undergoing intense persecution even more than when this was written in the future. the reliability of this document. Julius would have carried the official documentation related to Paul's case, which explained the circumstances of the case and the reasons for granting Paul's appeal to be tried by the emperor. He was not in charge of the ship, but only of the prisoners being taken to Rome. So we're learning about Julius and his connection to his particular unit. Now, Adromitium, another fact for us, You know, the scriptures are not just nice myths written for us to learn important life lessons. This is accurate, the most accurate history that you will find from that day and age. Adramidium, a seaport of Mesia, opposite the Isle of Lesbos, about 110 miles north of Ephesus in a day's journey east of Troas. So this ship apparently would sail along the coast of Asia there, going around and going north even some up to Troas back and forth apparently the sailing journey of this particular vessel. Also, we see this idea of meaning to sail, and that was the plan, but it did not come to pass. And in this word, you see Luke giving us a hint of what's coming. They had an intention to do a certain thing, but it didn't exactly go the way they planned. So here's our first token of grace, and the Lord gives it to us in a heavy dose. I'm gonna read verses one through eight again, and I want you to hear all the we and the us. Luke is celebrating that he's finally back with Paul. And he's so excited to be with him. And he just can't say we and us enough because he and Paul are back together. And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan regiment. So entering a ship of Adramidium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia, Aristarchus A Macedonian of Thessalonica was with us. And the next day we landed at Sidon and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And note, this is in every verse in this section. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy and he put us on board. When we had sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty off Canidas, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmon, passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fairhavens near the city of Laetia. Brothers and sisters, Luke is even saying that he's a token of grace, probably certainly doesn't give the weight to really what Luke was in this man's life. He was more than a token of grace. He was a dear friend to Paul. And he, in God's kindness, is with Paul through this whole set of events. He's trusted to write the account we're reading, Luke. And you have to think that Paul had some role in that overall decision making. He was trusted to keep the written account He had to have the word of God with him and trusted to always be near, even when not immediately attached to Paul's team. He was always there. He was always watching. He was always aware of what his friend Paul was doing. Luke, as far as we know, he never let Paul down. Staying by his side, even into the dark days of the great tribulation when everyone was fleeing away or being sent away from Paul, And it's likely based on the language studies that Paul had Luke write the last books that were written by Paul. So Paul would have been telling him what to write in bullet format, probably, and then Luke had the freedom to write it out. That's 1 and 2 Timothy. And here's what he says in 2 Timothy. Be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. and has departed for Thessalonica. Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia, only Luke is with me. So difficult times are ahead and God gives Luke. Next is Aristarchus. We're simply told Aristarchus of Macedonia and Thessalonica was with us. He's mentioned elsewhere in the scriptures. We learn some things about him and what an encouragement it would have been to have him with him, Colossians 4.10, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called justice. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision. They have proved to be a comfort to me. Now it's likely, it seems most likely that these words were actually written there in Caesarea before they left together on this journey. Many think it could have been written from Rome, In either case, we know that he is a fellow prisoner with him and that he is a comfort to him and that he's a fellow worker for the kingdom of God and a Jew. Acts 19.29 describes him as a traveling companion of Paul. So here's a man, the Lord has him with him along with Luke to help him and encourage him. And Philemon, he's called a fellow laborer. So God does this in his life and in ours, giving us true friends, true friends, people who stay by our sides through all the difficulties of life and who do not depart from us, even when it is to their disadvantage to be near to us. In a worldly sense, a disadvantage. Now, these are, in some regards, expected sources of comfort, but God gives us, listen, you need to look for the unexpected in terms of sources of comfort in your life, because Julius, we learn of him, the next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. That's a surprise. If that doesn't surprise you, it should surprise you what it should say. And Julius kept him in bonds so he wouldn't run away. Julius, fearing he might be killed if Paul was lost, kept him in bonds. Because what it's really saying here is Julius trusted his life into Paul's hands. What happens to soldiers whose prisoners escape in those times? They could be put to death. So this powerful pagan centurion who had much to lose is an unexpected source of kindness. And we shouldn't look for the same in our lives. This powerful pagan centurion If you think about it, he may have witnessed Paul's testimony in Caesarea there before everyone with Festus and Agrippa and Bernice and others of the city, other higher ranking people of the city. He would have been one of those. And you have to speculate a bit here, but you may have, if he did see this, he would have said, now there's a stout hearted man. He may have said, there's another stout hearted man. Look at him and how he's behaving. So it's certainly, and if you didn't see it, you may have heard about it. So it appears as though God used Paul's behavior probably in some regard to grant Julius trust towards him. So brothers and sisters, God may grant tokens of his favor to you, to me from the most unexpected places. You know, we already said you want to be looking for God's providential raindrops of kindness, little glimpses. Sometimes the rainbows, you can barely see a sliver of it and you would have missed it if you didn't look. And sometimes there's unexpected rainbows you don't even realize there's rain and there's a rainbow. See, I'm not saying look for God's tokens of grace where you expect to find them. I'm saying look for them everywhere. Everywhere, because he will find them. Even in unexpected places. This man was extraordinarily civil. To Paul, it's probable he knew his case and was one of the chief captains or principal men that heard him plead his own cause before Agrippa and was convinced of his innocence and the injury that was done to him. And therefore, though Paul was committed to him as a prisoner, he treated him as a friend, as a scholar, as a gentleman, and as a man that had an interest in heaven. He gave him liberty. while the business of the ship detained it at Sidon to go among his friends there to refresh himself. And it would be a great refreshment to him. Julius herein gives an example to those in power to be respectful to those whom they find worthy of their respect and in using their power to make a difference. A Joseph, a Paul are not to be used as common prisoners. God herein encourages those that suffer for him to trust in him. For He can put it into the hearts of those to befriend them from whom they least expect it, can cause them to be pitied, nay, can cause them even to be prized and valued, even in the eyes of those that carry them off captive. In Psalm 106, verse 46 says, He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive. And we see this in many places. I have examples in mind of unbelievers who've been kind and helpful in the political realm and political places as we've sought to end the murder of babies in South Carolina and throughout the nation. And these were unexpected occurrences that took place. Oh, brothers and sisters, God's church, again, to call it a token of grace, certainly is not given the due value. But God's church here, this brief taste of solace and comfort from God's church. The next day we landed at Sidon and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. This is the first time Paul, think about it now, for years has been granted public liberty. To walk in public, to go where he may, to stay with whomever, to do what he pleased. A great refreshment this would have been to him, bound not by guards at doors, but by honor on his heart. Honor towards Julius, honor towards God. He is at liberty and he could have fled and left Julius to deal with Roman repercussions. Where does Paul go? Where would he go in this situation for refreshment, for care? Where would you, I need some time to myself. I'm gonna get a room, I'm gonna look at the water. I know there's people here, but I don't wanna deal with them. Oh, somebody else can preach to them. I just need refreshment. What was on Paul's heart? He needed care. But you know what was on his heart? It's been said over and over again. To preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all everywhere. To minister to the saints of God. To build up the church. Did he need to be built up? Yes, he received care, but he went to serve. He went to build up. Is that you? Is that you? Is your default setting to seek to be built up? Or if you're weary and you're beat down and you've been serving for long enough, do you finally say, that's enough? It's me time. We all need a rest. I understand that. God understands that. Okay, Paul knew he needed rest, but even at that time he did not, he could not have, he would not have ever laid aside his calling to be like Christ, to preach the gospel, to be one to imitate for the gospel. This is quite a lesson. Finally at liberty, and what is he at liberty to do? Follow Jesus. So he has friends in this place and all along his journey, why? Because God has established and protected his church. It's a great encouragement to us. This is an expected place to look for encouragement. How sad it is that there are Christians in today's world who will stand there and look you in the eyes and say, oh, I am just fine worshiping God alone at my house. How sad is that? That they are missing what God gives to us in His church. Oh, how sad that is. Indeed, God blesses them as they go to His Word and as they worship Him there in their home. Indeed, He's there with them, blessing them. But they are missing this, brothers and sisters. We are before the throne of God in a unique way right now. And Paul knew this. And when we enjoy the bread and the wine together in a biblically regulated church, the way God has put it together, something is happening here, brothers and sisters. Mark it, write it down, carve it in your mind, carve it in your heart. Little ones never forget it. That cannot happen anywhere else if you are not here. And every time a Christian misses it, they are missing out, no matter how great their worship was at home that day. I really appreciate how members of this church, when they travel, they make it a top priority to be with God's people on the Lord's day, wherever they go. These are people who understand the blessings, who know where to go to get care, to get solace, to get the strengthening and the comfort they need, and to worship God as they're called to do. I want us to see also here that all in Christ are truly friends. All in Christ are truly friends and constant tokens to one another of God's grace. We don't always act like it, do we? But someday we'll see that we were friends, even if we didn't act that way in this place. You know, brothers and sisters, we sit here, I'm standing, of course, in this sweet place. And I hope it's true. You know, our hearts are lifted up to heaven right now by faith, even little ones. Surrounded here by one another as living, smiling, look around, look around, look at each other. Living, smiling, speaking rainbows. Me too. You too, Quentin, especially you. Speaking rainbows. You are a communicating rainbow. Directing others to God's endless rainbow encircled throne of grace. Seen by Ezekiel and John. See, this is what we're being pointed to by all these tokens of grace. The rainbow being the greatest example of tokens ever given to constantly remind us. But every little thing God does along the way is like this. And it takes us to his throne. This is what you should be thinking about all these times when you're thinking of God's favor and these little beams of sunshine of life coming through the dark and stormy clouds. Ezekiel 1. Above the firmament, over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, an appearance like a sapphire stone. On the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of his waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it. And from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw, as it were, The appearance of fire with brightness all around, like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. So was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. God is saying, remember my glory. Remember my throne of grace in the midst of your tribulations. Revelation 4. John saw it too. And he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. You think God just thought up rainbows suddenly there in Genesis? No, no, no. The rainbow has been there best I can make out forever and ever around his throne. So it speaks of the eternal aspect as well of his grace to us. You know, they're protecting islands as they go. We'll see them multiple times in this particular text. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. Am I stretching it to take this and make it a fixed metaphor in life? I don't think so. I think we can see God gives us fixed places to expect with certainty that we will be finding ourselves in a place of shelter. And you're sitting in the one that is the most sure. And for those of you who are married, look each other in the eyes right now. The relationship you have together right now is also another place meant to be a sure, fixed shelter in the storm. And your family, think this morning around your breakfast table, a sure, fixed shelter, a constant token of God's grace, if you will see it. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. See, God gives islands in this life because he told us the winds will be contrary. When you are in this life, expect the winds to be contrary, that great reset of reference that might be, if it happens and you need it, one of the most important days of your life right now today, if you need that reset. And if it sticks, and it really changes your perspective and you go from being a glass half empty to a glass overflowing forever full kind of person. Some tokens of God's grace are temporary and they're present only in our memories, right? They're just there for us to remember and we can go into our minds and we can pick them up and handle them in the corners and the light of our mind's memory. But others like fixed islands are always present as buffers against contrary winds. Praise be to God for this place that he's given to us, this building that he's given to us with this cross on top of the steeple here in this town and in so many towns where we see their fixed tokens of God's grace to us constantly. They strengthen us to continue forward against all resistance. You've seen that wonderful photograph, I'm sure, that many people have on the wall. I'd like to get it. We could put it somewhere in the back of the church, in the entryway, or maybe here in our place of fellowship, that lighthouse, right? And the man is standing there on the lighthouse, and it's fixed. And the giant wave coming behind the lighthouse, right? And what's happening? The man is safe. The lighthouse is fixed. We have this. We have this in our lives. The tribulation, the storms. How do we overcome this world? The faith that he has given to us. And he's given us these fixed places to stand, brothers and sisters, that cannot fall. Sailors must do as they can when they cannot do as they would and make the best of their world, whatever point it is in, So the point of this point here is persevere. Persevere, okay? There's gonna be tokens of grace you can't expect. There's gonna be fixed shelters of grace that you should expect. And God gives us these things to help us persevere. They kept sailing. Even though it may have been unwise, it's still a picture to us of what was going on. I'm not saying it was, but there's some questions about their sailing choices. So must we all in our passage over the ocean of this world? So we must persevere in our passage over the ocean of this world. When the winds are contrary, yet we must be getting forward as well as we can. And those of you who've done any sailing know that you can tack and jibe all day long in the wrong kind of wind, and all you get for your work is maybe a half mile of progress and a lot of nausea, right? And you've gotten better at sailing, right? And that's worth considering. They make some more plans in verses five and six. When we had sailed over the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy and he put us on board. So they're going along the southern shore of Asia Minor and they make their way to Lycia and they get onto a new ship, an Alexandrian ship, a vessel We know from the remainder of chapter 27 this vessel is doomed for destruction. Now it's a huge vessel. It's an impressive vessel and looking at some sermons and commentaries, basically they were like in the top of the line transport type of ship for that day. Huge, reliable, solid, ripped apart ultimately. Alexandria was now the chief city of Egypt and great trading there was between that city and Italy. It also shows us a good thing that was given to them, if you'll listen here. From Alexandria, they carried corn to Rome and the East India goods in Persian, which they imported at the Red Sea. They exported again to all parts of the Mediterranean and especially to Italy. And it was a particular favor shown to the Alexandrian ships in the ports of Italy. that they were not obliged to strike sail as other ships were when they came into port. So this was a prestigious merchant type of sailing vessel that operated throughout the Mediterranean. Now, another providence we see here is that the owner of this ship would contribute to the horrifying journey by his advice against Paul's warning. Now we know, and we'll look at it more, Paul's warning was his wisdom, it was not divinely inspired advice. because the divine word comes later saying, none will die, okay? But Paul warns them, look, we're gonna die. And they certainly would have, if God had not intervened. Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only in the cargo and ship, but also our lives. So this is coming later in the text, Paul has warned them, and the owner of this ship they get on is involved in the bad decision. Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. So the crew of this ship, by God's providence, is a big part of the reason why they end up where they are. Of course, Christianity and its growth in Malta, in many ways, goes back to this bad decision. And also tradition tells us that where they stopped there in Asia, the gospel was planted. We don't know that from scripture, but this voyage is when the gospel was really brought there. Somehow Paul was preaching the gospel to a few people there, it looks like, from history. Then they come upon some more protecting islands. When we had sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty off Canidas, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmon. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Laetia." So I think if any of us here are honest, we will agree that these phrases could fit our lives. You feel like you've been tacking in hard seas and unfavorable winds for a long time. Slowly, many days is what they're told. Slowly, many days. They thought they were just going to sail right across the Mediterranean to Italy. I didn't tell you, probably they wanted to wait They were thinking about waiting there, speculation, in Caesarea for one of these powerful, awesome Italian ships that could really take them across. But instead, they had to kind of choose a coastal. They had all these plans, and they were just stymied all the way. Adoniram Judson should come to mind. I mean, aren't the people of Burma, now Myanmar, really happy that God didn't let him go? Like he planned, like he fought to, like he tried to, over and over, like he risked his life to try to do, to India. And he had to flee India, and the only boat available was a boat to Burma. That's how the gospel got to Burma. That might be your life. You know, you got all these dreams, all these visions, all these things you think God's called you to do, you might just be completely mistaken, and that's okay. Because what matters? Adoniram Judson wanted to preach the gospel wherever he went, right? He didn't complain when he got to Burma and say, well, no, sorry, you don't get the gospel. You need somebody else. Somebody was called here. Slowly, many days, arrived with difficulty. Wind not permitting. Passing it with difficulty. Difficulty, difficulty, difficulty, difficulty. So, You know, in the real life journey there, it was likely an extremely unpleasant journey. And, you know, there's sailing books on this that I looked at a little bit of that, and the waves were estimated to be 10, 20, maybe even higher feet. And there was this tossing, and they couldn't run as close to the wind with their vessels then as the good ones now. Anyways, it was horrible for them. It was not just like, oh, the winds aren't nice. It was rough, up and down, crashing waves, life-threatening sailing. It was rough, okay? Tacking back and forth endlessly with so much work and movement. I mean, they are going worse than hamsters on a hamster wheel. Yet very, very little progress. For their efforts, they had more nausea and vomiting than they did miles traveled. Do you feel that way? Sometimes, right? Do you think Paul, how do you think Paul dealt with this at this time? Do you think Paul was discouraged and thinking, oh, I guess, you know, things aren't going the way they're supposed to go? Hey y'all, can we turn back? I take back the appeal to Caesar. You know, that was a mistake. Aristarchus, Luke, you guys go on. Clearly, I have misled you. He did not. But do you think that way sometimes in your life, in the path that God has you on? Like, oh, I guess I just need to give up. Just keep sailing, okay? Deal with the nausea, deal with the hard seas, and just keep sailing in the direction that you believe God has called you to go. And you may end up at a different port. Keep sailing. God gave them more shelter, and they eventually came to Fair Havens. And it just cannot be an accident that it's called Fair Havens as an end to this section of the journey, right? It didn't say Devil's Shoals, right? They came to Fair Havens. There's a lot to be said about how God just weaves, I mean, who named it, right? And it turns out when you look at the place, it wasn't like Iceland or Greenland and the whole switch swap that took place there. No, no, it really is a Fair Havens kind of place. It's really a beautiful place that everyone talked about. He's very objective as he describes it. And if you were writing this, how would you have written it, right? I mean, I don't know, I've done a lot today along these lines, but I bet if I wrote this, there would be a lot more about the nausea and the vomiting and the stench on the boat, you know? Instead of just giving the story and dealing with the facts before our holy and good God. Right? Could you describe your life's voyage thus far, like Luke, with the same God-focused objectivity as Luke, if you could write it down? Seeing his good and mighty hand of love toward you at all times and in all places. So brothers and sisters, when we look at this text, big picture, We see a metaphor for life in many, many ways. And all the commentaries agree on that. And the scriptures themselves often would use those types of metaphors for us to learn from. And sailing is a wonderful example so often of what we deal with in life. So, what are your intentions? What are your plans for where the boat is going? And what are God's plans? Right? And even if you've got the boat pointed in the right direction, the journey may not go anywhere like you expect. But if we can get a reset by God's grace, we can learn to have a better set of expectations, a better set of biblical expectations. We keep sailing by God's grace. He's so good to give us a boat. And along the way, we know that we're gonna have hard times. We're gonna have disappointments. And some of them will be tragedies. I don't in any way mean to minimize this. Some of these things will involve death. Irretrievable loss in this life. Okay? That may come in your life. It may come in my life. We don't know, right? But we know that God is the one who in his love and his power is bringing the winds, bringing the waves, bringing his tokens of grace to us along the way. And therefore, as we will do now, we can rejoice and we can praise him every moment of every day. We can be content in everything that he does. and we can glorify His name with thanks, no matter what is happening, and even give Him thanks for, like we're told in Ephesians 5, we can learn, brothers and sisters, to give God thanks for everything that takes place in our lives. And by doing this, we become overcomers. We become more than conquerors. May it be so of us more and more every day. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for the steadfastness of Paul and his team that you gave to them. We thank you, Lord, for the tokens of grace that we see given to their team along the way, the presence of Luke and Aristarchus and the kindness of Julius and the sweetness of your church and the refreshment that comes from your people who are all friends in Christ. And Lord, for the fixed shelters that you give to us in life that bring to us constant refreshing from your throne, bless us, Father, that we would rejoice as you lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. And even though we may pass through and we will pass through the valley of the shadow of death, that we will fear no evil because you are with us. Your rod and your staff, they comfort us. And you prepare for us a table in the presence, in the very presence of our enemies, those who would destroy us. And rather than fretting, we sit down with you in peace and we say over and over again, our cup is overflowing. And surely as we look to the future, you hold the future. And we know that your goodness and your mercy, oh God, will follow us all the days of our lives. Father, give us faith to see, deliver us from the sin of unbelief and the subsequent expectations based upon fear, and instead that we would rise up and walk in faith and joy and gladness in the midst of any storm. In Jesus' name, amen.