on and off. Thank you very much for the invitation to come and share with us here this morning. I want to trust the Lord to bless us as we seek to spend a little time in the word of the Lord. We're in Acts chapter 27, Acts of the Apostles chapter 27. I've been looking at this for a few weeks and it's just interesting just the way it's worked out because we This is Paul sent to Rome when he had a storm, of course, and I think we've had a perfect storm across the world and this nation as well, but it's interesting just the way things have worked out. The Book of Acts, the Apostles in chapter 27 and verse 1. And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, They delivered Paul and certain of the prisoners on to one named Julius, the centurion of the Augustus band. And entering into the ship of Ramatan, we put to sea, meaning to sail by the coast, of Asia and Macedonia, Thessalonica being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon and Julius courteously treated Paul and gave him liberty to go on to his friends to refresh himself. And when he had put to sea, from there we sailed on to the Lee of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea of Silesia and Palenque, we came to Myra, a city of La Silla. And there the Centurion found a ship of Alexander sailing into Italy, and he put us on board. And when he had sailed slowly many days, and scarcely were come off Silirius, the wind not permitting us, we sailed on to the lee of Crete, of Salome. On passing it, with difficulty, came on to a place which is called Fair Havens, near to which was the city of Lycia. Moving on to verse Moving on down to verse 14, but not long after there arose against a tempestuous wind called Ecoleon, and when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under the lee of a certain island, which is called Claudia, we had much work to secure the boat, which which when they had hoisted it, they used helps undergirding the ship and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksand struck sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with the Templars into the next day, they lightened the ship, and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackle of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away. But after being long without food, Paul stood forth in the midst of the ship and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete. and have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but only of the ship. And there stood by me this night an angel of the Lord, whose I am and whom I serve. saying, Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me, however we must be cast upon a certain island. But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down about midnight the sailors deemed that they drew near to some country and sounded and found that twenty phallums and when they had gone a little further they They sounded again and found it fifteen phalanx. They fearing lest they should fall upon the rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. And as the sailors were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea under the pretense as though they would have cast anchors, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. And the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. And while the day was coming, Paul besought them all to take food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I beseech you to take some food, for this is for your health, and there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had Thus spoken, they took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all. And when he had broken it, they began to eat. Then were they all in good cheer, and they also took some food. And we were in all the ship, 276 souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they recognized not the land, but they discovered a certain creek with a shore into which they were minded if it were possible to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors and committed themselves onto the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted up the mansail to the wind, and made towards shore, and falling into the place where the seas met, they ran the ship aground, and the bow struck fast, remaining unmovable, but the stern was broken with the violence of the waves, and the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape, and the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to the land, and the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they all escaped safely, safely to the land." And we'll just allow to bless the reading, the reading of his word. This is a... A story of a great storm. A story of a great storm. Paul was a prisoner of the Roman army. He was a prisoner of the Roman army and he was sent with a number of other prisoners. He was on his way to Rome. when this great storm struck. When this great storm struck, they had more than 14 days in this storm. It must have been an awful situation and it was almost complete darkness a large amount of the time because it was that cloudy and the sky was black and they could never see some of the stars as the scripture reminds us. There are many lessons, many parallels in this story, in this narrative of scripture for us to learn and to be reminded of, and that's just what I want to relate to you this morning. I've actually preached the gospels from this passage of scripture. I've really lent myself to the gospels well. I'm sure many of the men in here have done the same, but I want to do it in a different sense today, in a ministry sense, and using it in the ministry of the word. But first of all, in verse 10, we notice that Paul admonishes the captain and the centurion. in verse 10 it says and said unto them sirs i perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage not only of the cargo of the ship but also of our lives paul is warning here he's warning the captain and the centurion don't be seen don't be heading out the lord has spoken to me and we shouldn't go but you know Paul was pooh-poohing their plans. The sailors had great plans to get out of this place and to move on. They wanted to get back to Rome. And the soldiers, they thought they knew better. It's never easy to be the one having to be the one being the wet blanket, so to speak. The one being the wet blanket says, no, you need to stay here. It's never easy being one and being a wet blanket to other people's plans. But you know what they say about the bearer of bad news. The bearer of bad news tends to get shot first. He's the one perceived to be causing the bother. Much of what the servant of the Lord has to say today, of course. It's not popular, unfortunately. It's not popular. Whether it's in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or whether it's in the ministry of the word, some of it doesn't go down very well. It doesn't go down very well in some circles. Many of us don't, there's many believers even, don't want to hear, don't want to hear certain things and indeed they would kick against it. Paul on this occasion was watching for the souls of these sailors. He was watching for the souls of these sailors and the prisoners as well. But they weren't impressed. They weren't impressed on what he had to say. Sadly, that was the case. Hebrews 13 and 17, it's speaking of elders, of course, it says, Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls, as they must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is profitable for you. This is speaking, as I've said, of elders of the church in this verse. These men have the responsibility of watching, of watching for your souls. And they will have to give an account on how they've done that someday. But friends, there will be times that they'll have to tell us things that maybe we don't really want to hear. But friends, they'll have to tell us the popular stuff as well as the unpopular. But friends, they're watching for our souls and have a responsibility to do that. And we've got to respect that. We've got to respect their duty. Paul admonished these men, don't be doing this. This is very dangerous. That was a warning. That was a warning he sent on this occasion. The next one, verse 11, it says, nevertheless the centurion believed the master and owner of the ship more than those things that were spoken by Paul. There's an old saying, a new saying young people have the habit of coming out with, and it's just whatever. And that just reminds me of what these men said, they said, nevertheless the centurion believed the master and owner of the ship more than those things that were spoken by Paul, whatever. They're not gonna listen to this, they're gonna go on. Paul was, Paul was only a prisoner of course. He was only a prisoner and they seemed just to ignore his warning and they were going to listen to the master and owner of the ship. They were going to listen to the boys with the power and with the money. They were going to listen to them. The only problem with them men were they had big personal interests. They had big commercial interests in keeping this ship moving. And that's always dangerous, friends. It's never a good idea to make a decision on commercial grounds alone. And this decision was made effectively on commercial grounds alone. It was made as Christians, there are more important things than just money and commerce. And we all need a certain amount of that, of course, or else our tongue will be hanging out. But in a time when the economy is struggling, maybe in this country or some other country, people are tempted, Christians are even tempted to travel elsewhere or to go somewhere where there's a lot more money, where there's a lot more better lifestyles, so to speak, a perceived better lifestyle. But friends, as believers, we need to take due time and consider how this would affect our Christian lives, how this would affect our family lives, how this would affect our personal worship of the Lord. Is there anywhere to worship even where you're going? Decent. Friends, there's things that need to be thought about more than just commerce. There's things that need to be thought about more than just commerce. In Colossians 3, in verses one and three, it says, one, two, three, if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on the things above, not on the things of the earth, for ye are dead and your life is hidden with Christ, with Christ and God. Friends, always remember, But the things above, the things that are divine, the things that are eternal, are always more important. They're always more important and will do you more long-term good to keep them things in their place than any sort of commercial interest. Verse number 12, we see, and because the haven was not commodious to enter in, the greater part advised to depart from there also. I want to see democracy effectively here. What we see here is democracy. The greater part advised to depart from there also. The democratic will And the popular way is not always the Lord's way, friends. I can tell you that. It's not always the Lord's way. The pressure was on to get away from this haven, for it wasn't a safe place to stay over the winter. It wasn't a safe place for the ship to stay over the winter, because the storms could come in the shore and destroy the ship, even in the shore. But the pressure was on to get out, but it wasn't the right time to go. So the greater part advised them to depart. I advised them to depart. They panicked and said, let's get out of here. So Paul was heavily outnumbered. Mathematics won the day. Mathematics won the day and democracy, democracy decided it. Democracy, of course, has its place in the church and certain things, mainly practical things, of course, mainly practical things, but sometimes in the spiritual, It's good to know the people's will on certain things. It's good to know the people's will on certain things, that we all can be pulled together and go in the same direction. But the will of the people should never contradict the word of God. It should never contradict the word of God. That certainly can and does happen. That certainly can and does happen and indeed must be blocked. In Exodus 32 in verse 1 it says, we're way back in the children of Israel and Moses' day, and it says, And when the people saw Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for Moses the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him. Moses' return was delayed, and the people gathered themselves together in large numbers, we could assume. to make a golden calf, and what a sad situation that was. So people gathered together in large numbers to do that. A sorry example of the will of the people on gated. People on gated iron unfortunately wasn't able to gate them at this time, and the Lord's servant was missing, and he just totally went astray. So beware of populism, populism in these days. So the people all must be gated, and they're well considered, of course. But beware of populism. The internal workings of the Lord's Assembly is not a beauty contest. It's not a beauty contest, it's not a race to the bottom either. It's not a race to the bottom for the most popular thing, whatever that may be. That's just a race to the bottom. but it ends up being the least spiritual. And as I mentioned, beauty contests, I think there's not too many of us much hope in that respect. But that's the danger, they just all become the beauty contest, just the best looking guy, will he get on the best or whatever. Whatever is the case. So care must be taken. Democracy has its pitfalls. 1 Timothy 5 and 17, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor. especially them that live in the word and doctrine. Deception then, verse 13, and when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, losing from there they sailed close to Crete. What I want you to notice here is a deception. They were deceived by the elements. Deceived by the elements. It was a lovely calm day and everything was lovely. There was a lovely south wind, blue. And this is the time to go. This is the time to go. But Paul had already warned them, don't be going. It's not time to go. They were deceived by the elements. Ignore the Lord's servants' words. Ignore the Lord's servants' word. They heed. They heeded it and were deceived by worldly elements. Friends, we are surrounded by deception. We are surrounded by deception. From day to day we listen to it on our TV, on our news programs. It's maybe a wee bit harsh to call it lies, but it is deception. It is deception what we listen to. They'll tell you what you want to hear. They'll tell you what they want you to hear. And they'll not tell you what you should be told of what is really happening. And we're just surrounded by deception from day to day. They're trying to convince us of their evil doctrines. And the world has evil doctrines out there that they're trying to ram down our throats effectively. and from all roads and directions. It's sad to say many Christians, many believers are faithful and hook, line and sinker. They're ready to accept the evil doctrines of the world. They're ready to accept so many of them and just let them roll on and not say a word about it. Many are happy to embrace them. It's a sad state of affairs. And the world calls these new ideas, these are all new ideas, Friends, there's nothing new about them. Genesis 3 verse 1, it says, Now the serpent was more subtle than the beast of the field, which the Lord God made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. These doctrines of the world have evil origins. They deny God's word. They deny God's word, and that is the main That is the main thing they're doing. And the deception is completed with a lie. And that's what happened way back in Genesis 3 and 1. It was completed with a lie. Saying, God didn't say that. God's not saying that. That's the way they work. It's the easy way, of course. It was a soft south wind. They were told that the deception was a soft south wind. Everything's looking lovely, we'll go this way. We'll go this way. This is the easy way. Going with the flow, following the crowd. Just seeking a quiet life, no matter the cost. That's the way of the world. Seek a quiet life, no matter the cost. As believers, we're normally having to paddle upstream, friends. As we normally have to paddle upstream, we're going against the natural flow of the world. We're going against the natural flow of the world. If it's all too easy, and seemingly favorable circumstances, we should be on the lookout. We should be on the lookout if it's all too easy. And if circumstances seem to be favorable, and we make that the deciding factor, In our guidance on ignoring the stern counsels of God, friends, we're in grave danger. So if it's all too easy, check, check you're not being deceived. Check you're not being deceived and consider the scripture has not been set aside somewhere along the line, because that is always, that is always a danger. So we see the deception here. It was a soft south wind. It was they followed the worldly elements rather than listen to the servant of God. Fears realized then in verse 14, but not long after there arose against at the tempestuous wind called Echodaron. It's not long before trouble starts. It's not long out of the harbor when the trouble starts. Paul was no stranger to trouble, of course. And it seemed to follow him about. You'd almost think trouble followed Paul about. If you think of the scripture in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 24 and 26, it says of Paul, it says, of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep. In journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils by the Gentiles, in perils in the city. in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils amongst false brethren. Paul certainly had a difficult time of it. We expect an easy life. We sometimes expect an easy life as Christians at times, and we get annoyed when things are difficult, even when we're doing our best to be faithful, doing our best to be faithful to the Lord. But I doubt that's the point. I doubt that's the point. A faithful believer will attract more interest from the enemy. They will attract more interest from the enemy, and so more evil interference may come into his life. If you're journeying for the Lord somewhere the enemy doesn't want you to be, you can be sure, you can be sure it'll be noticed. You can be sure it'll be noticed and there may be a storm blow your way. It will not be long before the storm blows up. So fear is realized. They head out from the shore and the storm starts. But it's also Paul who's in the middle of the storm. He was a prisoner in a ship and he was brought with him. So he's there as well. Verse 18 it says, and when being exceedingly tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. When being exceedingly tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship. Unnecessary cargo dumped. Unnecessary cargo dumped is what we really see and hear. As believers, friends, we tend to carry a lot of baggage. And it's only when trouble comes that we realize it's even there. Sometimes it's only then when we realize it's even there. In Hebrews 12, 1 and 2, it says, a greater cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight on the sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. If when trouble comes, It's when trouble comes that we realise that we can do without these things. These things aren't necessary, aren't really necessary, they're only really weighing us down. In my job, I walk about most days in the wintertime and in the spring and autumn, not a lot of difference sometimes in the wintertime, but when I walk about from day to day with five layers on me, that's what I normally wear, with a shirt and jumper and coat and a boiler suit and there was five layers on the upper body. Two pairs of trousers, one of them being a boiler suit, second one being a boiler suit, and a hat, gloves, heavy boots. So, as the boy says, you couldn't stab him or grape. But the heat is not really a problem. Heat is not really a problem. I'm cozy enough walking around no matter what the weather's doing. But speed and mobility is difficult now. If I have an animal that starts to do a wee run, I have no bother catching him and getting him stabbed. But if I tried running with all that gear on, if I tried running with all that gear on, I wouldn't get far till I would be well slowed down. But if I took all that off and put a t-shirt and a pair of shorts on and a pair of trainers, amazing the difference. I'm used to walking around with all that nonsense only from day to day. But it makes an awful difference and you feel so much lighter and so much freer. In Galatians chapter five and verse seven it says, You did run well, who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? You did run well, who did hinder you? Sometimes we have things in our lives that we need to throw overboard, that we need to get rid of because it's sometimes just a hindrance, sometimes a cargo The load we're carrying around from day to day is just too much. And indeed, it could be hindering our walk with the Lord. It could be things that we need to throw over the side of the ship. Sometimes, that's the way it is. We carry much unnecessary cargo. And that's what they had on this ship, that unnecessary cargo, especially when the storm came. This cargo wouldn't have been needed, especially when the storm came. Then you want to notice that the lightened ship is stable, is my heading. The lightened ship is stable. The ship was lightened because the cargo was making the ship unstable. In the rough seas, friends, baggage in our lives can make us unstable at any time, but even worse when trouble comes our way. James 1 in 8 says, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Our minds are so important, what we fill them with and what we fail to fill them with. A single-minded person will always be more valuable to the Lord with the baggage cast aside, fully focused on the task at hand. Philippians 2 and 5, it says, let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. Friends, to have the mind of Christ and have all the baggage set aside would be a wonderful thing. Indeed, we wouldn't be unstable in that situation. We wouldn't be unstable in our ways. Indeed, we would be strong and dependable. and very usable even. In Philippians 4, in verse 13, it says, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Of course, it's always through Christ that we're able to do anything. Our strength will come, indeed, from our hand being in his, and that will enhance our strength. And it finds a value in making the ship. And throwing the baggage overboard was what made the whole thing more stable. What we notice today amongst our own lives and the lives of many other Christians, there's an awful lot who are very unstable in their faith. And friends, maybe it's because of baggage. Maybe it's because of baggage that's not really necessary to be there. Not really necessary to be there. Verse 20, we have another low point, or it steps down lower again, effectively, maybe. Verse 20, it says, and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away. These travelers had got to their wit's end. They'd got to their wit's end in their human judgment, and in their human judgment, it was only a matter of time till they were all thrown overboard and drowned. That was the way it was going to be, they all thought. Life has its ups and downs, of course, and some downs can be very low in the Christian life, and that's no different than anybody else's life. But friends, it's important that we realise that even in the darkest times, we need not fear, for we have one who can draw alongside. We've only control alongside and carry us through the storm, and carries us through. Luke 24, 32 it says, and they said, one to the other, did not our hearts burn within us while we talked, while he talked with us along the way and while he opened to us the scriptures. And many of us will know who that's speaking of, that's speaking of the two disciples on the mass road. In Luke's gospel, They had been disappointed and troubled, yet while talking to our Lord Jesus Christ, they said that not our hearts burn within us. The hearts were strangely warmed within them as the risen Lord walked with them and talked with them through his word. Our God, thankfully, is capable of warming the hearts. Warming the hearts even in the most difficult of times. He's very capable of doing that. Very capable of doing that. So, we are never that low that we cannot be lifted. Never that low will we cannot be lifted. This book, God has left us, is the greatest source of encouragement that we'll ever find in this world. It's the greatest source of encouragement you'll ever find in this world. So as we see in our low point, we're just reminded that our God is able to lift us, even no matter what low point we find ourselves. Verse 21, Paul has the opportunity to say, I told you so, which is always, we always enjoy that, I told you so, but we shouldn't enjoy it, but sometimes we do. Verse 21, and being long without food, Paul stood in the midst of them and said, sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me. and not have loosed from Crete to have gained this harm and loss. This was a told-you-so moment for Paul. I don't think that was his aim, of course. That wasn't his aim, of course, but he was just reminding them of the facts that they might be more ready to listen to him the next time. They might be more ready to listen to him when he speaks to him again. You should have hearkened unto me, Paul said to him. We would do well to underline that statement in our Bibles. We would do well to underline that statement in our Bibles. Much of this world's ills are because people will not listen to Paul, will not listen to the Word of God. Many of our personal problems and predicaments arise because we'll not listen to Paul, we'll not listen to the Word of God. Much of the disarray and division and deception in the church that it raises is because we'll not listen to Paul, we'll not listen to the Holy Spirit-gated scriptures that we've been left. Friends, the simple facts are, when we depart from this book, we're liable to run our ship aground. we are very liable to ownership of ground, but God in his mercy will give us opportunities to avoid that, to avoid the sandbank. But it's vital that we listen. It's vital that we listen to the Word of God and we listen to Paul as he told these sailors. They should have listened to him. And we should listen to the Word of God when it is spoken to us. And sadly, for me to say that sounds silly. But friends, that's a big problem out there today in the Christian world, in the evangelical world. People won't listen. People won't listen to the word of God. That's the problem. That's the problem. It shouldn't have to be said, but it is a problem today. So that was Paul's told you so moment. You should have listened. Verse 23 and 25, I believe we see belief is the key. Belief is key. 23, it says, for there stood by me this night an angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar. I believe God. That was the challenge. We can compare that with the centurion. with a centurion who believed the master and owner of the ship. He didn't believe God, he believed the master and owner of the ship and that's why they're out in this storm, which was at the start of this terrible voyage. The Christian life often comes down to this. Whom are we going to believe? Whom are we going to believe? Or what are we going to believe? At the moment we live in a world on a land full of fear and dread, concerned about this coronavirus that has struck the world as a whole, but it's coming our way as well, unfortunately. You can see the fear in people's eyes and their voices as you listen to them, even on our news programs or whatever, you will hear it. But friends, even as believers, we have concerns about what's ahead of us, but the great difference is we have the Lord. The great difference is we have the Lord. As Paul said, whose I am and whom I serve. That's the difference in the troubles of life and the storms of life, because we have whom I am and whom I serve. So our concern can be left with him in prayer, We can leave our concerns with our Lord Jesus Christ, we can leave them there because I am his and he is mine as the scripture reminds us. I am his, or as the hymn reader reminds us, I am his and he is mine. Prayer is very conspicuous by its absence, friends, in this land of ours. Very conspicuous by its absence in this land of ours and in the wider world. at this time of crisis in the land. The greatest crisis, I believe, this is really since the Second World War. In fact, the VNI wasn't here, the Second World War. But this is the greatest crisis since then. This is the greatest crisis the world has ever seen since then. Surely part of the reason we are here is the disrespect for God, the disrespect for the word of God, the disrespect for the laws of God. It's part of the reason why we're here, of course. But friends, we can be like Paul. Standing on the heaving deck of the ship, we can say, I believe God. I believe God. Let others believe the voice of the world's experts, if they will. But I believe God, and we can trust God in it all. We can trust the Lord. We can trust the Lord in it all. Matthew 10 and 29, 31, it says, are not too sparse souls for a farting? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father, but the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are more valuable than many sparrows." Friends, we are more valuable than many as far as our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned and as far as our great God is concerned. So we friends, we believe God. For as Paul said here, whose I am and whom I serve, we're his and he is concerned about us, maybe more than we are about ourselves even. And indeed we are thankful that the Lord, we're thankful for the Lord's loving interest toward us in all our concerns. So friends, we can leave it all with him. Belief is the key. Belief is the key. It was in Paul's day in the storm and will be in our day in the storm. Verse 29, and fearing lest they should have fallen upon the rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. There is surely a lesson here. These four anchors For when trouble comes our way, it's great to have an anchor that keeps us whole and even our hearts and minds. Reliable anchors for your storm-tossed soul. For storms come in many shapes and sizes. and do come our way, but if the sky is largely clear in your life, be thankful, friends, be thankful, friends, and take the good of it, for it's likely the storm clouds may roll in someday, and it's then, it's then you'll need that close relationship with your God and with our Lord Jesus Christ. As I think of them four anchors mentioned there in verse 29, I just want to finish off with largely four anchors here, four anchors for our lives. The first anchor is anchor of sustainability. The first anchor is anchor of sustainability. Verse 25, wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe, God, that it shall even be as it was told me. Navigation systems have failed these sailors. Navigation systems had failed them. And you might look up to me and say, what was a navigation system? Well, their navigation system was in verse 20, then. Now their sun and their stars were visible. They navigated by the sun and the stars. And everything was black. They couldn't see the sun and the stars. So the navigation system had failed them. Their guidance system was out of order, could not be seen. It's easy to lose bearings in a storm like that there when you can see nothing and you're just drifting along at the mercy of a storm. You cannot see a clear way out of your circumstances. And the danger is discouragement set in, and I'm sure discouragement set in with these sailors. They were in a very hopeless place. People facing intense adversity find it difficult to focus on anything other having the trouble they're in at that time. And all they can see is the tiring waves and the stinging wind, so to speak, and friends. But as Paul said in verse 24 and 26, be of good cheer, for I believe God. Paul was trusting the Lord. God has promised that I promised these men that all would make it to the shore, and of course, our sustainability is found in the Lord's word. In the Lord's word, and it's our light and guidance. We find stability in storms through what God has said. In those difficult moments, our tendency is to look to another source, look to other sources for strength rather than to the word of the Lord. No, we can hold firm in intense scales by God's written word. In Isaiah 43 verses 1 and 2, a verse of scripture we can lay hold of, and truth remains of the promises of God's word. It says, But now, thus saith the Lord who created thee, O Jacob, he who formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame candle upon thee. It's wonderful. We have a God that knows our very name. A God that knows each of our names and is interested in each one of us personally. The sailors' natural navigation has failed. But the one that sent the storm and the one that controls the storm has his hand on this ship. And what a wonderful place to be. And his hand on this ship and on the souls on board. Always great to remind ourselves that our God ultimately is in control of all things. He's ultimately in control of all things. And we are his subjects and we are subject to him. But friends, he is ultimately in control of all things. The anchor of sustainability. The anchor of unity then, we notice in verse 31, the anchor of unity. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved. Paul knew that staying together would be the secret to their survival. At this stage, the word was still to stay with the ship all together and in unity work together to save to save one another on board. Friends, we are designed effectively to work together. God didn't design us to go it alone. God designed us to work together and to fellowship together. And we get much more done when working together. We know that in our married lives, those of us who are married, we know that we share the load, we can do so much together, we can do so much more together. I know that in my own workplace, I would spend a lot of time working on my own, but I do know in them days that if someone were there to help me, I can get maybe three times more done with one extra man than I can on my own. So working together definitely has a lot of bonuses. And so unity in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a more productive way of doing things. And so, on the other hand, when things get difficult, when we're tempted to cut and run, it sounds like the easy option, but friends, walk away and invariably isn't the easy option. It's a more difficult way to go. Going alone would prove very difficult and indeed the enemy would want to see us go alone. The enemy would want to see us cut and run and go it alone because we're more vulnerable to his attacks when we're there. We want to take the leap and try to make it on our own using the excuse that the crowd are maybe weighing us down, friends. That's not the case. The crowd are a help to each one of us. Especially believers know the help and love of our family and God's people is vital to our well-being. And there we must find encouragement and their support and prayer surrounding us will be so important when things get difficult, friends. The anchor of unity is important. The anchor of unity is important. The anchor of renewal. Verse 35, and when they had thus spoken, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Your appetite can be the first thing to lose when the storm arrives. I never was a great sailor, and the first thing that left me when I got on the ship was the appetite. I couldn't look at food, watch anybody else eat it, and I was normally out there watching the gulls go past and hopefully not feeding them, but the, what do you call it, I can understand the situation. These men hadn't eaten for 14 days. I wouldn't be surprised. But this was through here. They hadn't eaten for two weeks and maybe there was no time. They were that busy trying to save the ship from breaking apart and the lack of appetite But the fact remains they needed renewal. The fact remains they needed renewal. Verse 33, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, this day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Friends, personal nourishment is important at any time, but more especially in a storm like this. In panic, we miss a few meals, we fail to get sufficient sleep, and won't be long before we set aside our prayer life altogether, and Bible study is gone as well, friends. These things are all very necessary, one after the other. You can't do much about one without the other. You will end up physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. Friends, we must look after the body and soul both. We need bread and be thankful for it, but we cannot live life on bread alone, which the scripture reminds us. We cannot live life on bread alone. We need the word of the Lord as well and the ministry of the word. We need that renewal of our hearts and minds through his word. So the anchor of renewal is we need the word of the Lord and we need the ordinary bread of life as well, of course. The fourth anchor is the anchor of reality or clarity. In verse 41 it says, I'm falling into a place where two seas met. They ran the ship aground and the fore part struck fast and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. The reality is the ship was breaking apart. No one was coming to rescue them. There was no one heading out to rescue him. And it was clear they couldn't stay on the ship any longer. The Lord's will is like that sometimes. The Lord's will is like that sometimes. He can make it very clear what we need to do at times. Where we need to make the move, He can make it very clear what we need to do. When we let the Lord guide us, guide our steps, He will light the way before us and maybe put the lights out behind us as well. Maybe he put the light set behind us and that wasn't going to happen on that ship. There was going to be no ship to go back to. He didn't want to go back. It's a point of no return for these men on this ship, and that's what we see here. There was no option. Everybody must get off the ship and try and get to the land by hook or by crook. If you can swim, that's an advantage. There is no time to wait, and this is the time to go, and it's one of those times to take action. A time to put faith into action has come, and comes for us all at times. They were all promised by the Lord that they would all make it. With the Lord there tends to be always a time when we have to step out in faith and put faith into action. We make those small steps, and the Lord helps, and continue engaging in action with the Lord, and the Lord gives us the strength to carry on and to step out with Him. And friends, there's a time to step out of the ship in faith and trust the Lord. There can be that time, and I'm not telling you when it is for you, but there can be that time for each of us to step out in faith and move forward, and move forward with the Lord. And that's what this reminds us of, the anchor of reality or clarity is that their time to go had come. They had to get off the ship, they had to move. And sometimes that comes for each one of us. The Lord provides then finally, in verse 44, the Lord provides, and the rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they all escaped safely to the land. And so it came to pass they all escaped safely to the land. The number of them we read there a while back, the exact number made it to the land which the Lord had promised Paul. The ill-fated voyage, the ill-fated vessel runs aground. They all have to jump into the sea. And for those who could swim, That was a big advantage, but the breaking up ship provided floats that helped the rest of them get to the shore. The Lord had promised Paul that all would make it to the shore, and that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what happened, as always happens in the word of the Lord. Friends, praise the Lord for his promises for his people. He provides for every need. He provides for every need. These sailors on the ship, soldiers, prisoners alike, their needs were provided for because the Lord had promised Paul they would all make it to the shore. No matter what this world throws at us, friends, no matter what this world throws at us, we have a God. We have a God who has it all under control. He was at all under control. He knew what we have need of. And that's what we notice here. The men that couldn't swim, he provided flutes for them that they could get to the shore. Is that not a lovely thought? He provided flutes for them that they could get to the shore. In Philippians 4 and 19, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We have a God as well able to supply all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. And these riches are unfathomable. That's the wonderful thought when things get tough. And whatever circumstances it may be, it's great to know that we have one who provides, who provides for every need. And I'll just leave it there and trust the Lord to bless the study of his word and trust the Lord to bless it to each and every heart. I have a hymn here, I hope we know it, but where were we at? By 47, the redemption song, sorry, 47.