Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): Are you facing a storm of someone else's making? Listen to Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: I've seen it happen many times. The man who turns to alcohol. That's a form of escapism that's built on selfishness. You say, "Well, I'll drown my problems." No, they can swim, dear friend. You're the one going to drown. The man who gets a divorce, the woman who gets a divorce, that's escapism built on selfishness. You made the storm, and now you're trying to get a life raft to get out of it.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the profound yet practical biblical lessons of Pastor Adrian Rogers. In Acts chapter 27, the Apostle Paul writes about his experience sailing through a treacherous storm. In part one of today's message, we learn that we will all find ourselves in ferocious waters at some point, whether they are engineered by our own sins or the sins of others.

But this gripping narrative offers us insight on riding out the storms of life. If you have your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 27, as Adrian Rogers shares the conclusion of riding out the storm.

Adrian Rogers: Take God's word and turn with me, please, to Acts. The book of Acts, chapter 27. If you know anything about the book of Acts, you know that the book of Acts is a narrative. It tells how the early church began to spread, and it tells of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.

And in Acts chapter 27, it tells of the Apostle Paul aboard a ship. And that ship rides into the teeth of a ferocious storm, and it tells how Paul went through that storm. If you will, how Paul rode out the storm. That's what I want to talk to you about today is riding out the storm.

I love this 27th chapter of the book of Acts and preach from it from time to time because when you open the Bible there, you can smell the salt air. There's just a there's something about this story. It's one of the most gripping stories. If you listen, you can hear the booming thunder. You can see the lightning as its fingers flash across the bosom of the sky.

You can hear the old ship creak and groan. You can hear the moaning and the whistling of the wind. It is an incredible story, the story of a ship in the midst of a storm. But that brings up a question, even before we begin to read. Why would God take almost an entire chapter in the word of God and tell us about a storm and a ship in that storm?

Because it is more than history. The Holy Spirit has taken this story and made an incredible illustration with a great spiritual application for all of us because you see, life is like a voyage. Sometimes the sea is calm. Sometimes the wind blows softly. Sometimes the sun is shining, and thank God for those times, and maybe that's where you are right now, just sailing along.

And if you are, enjoy it. It's a gift of God. But sometimes the wind rises. Sometimes the sky darkens. Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of a terrible storm. And that's the way life is. This chapter is an illustration of every human being sailing between two eternities.

Sometimes things are good, and sometimes things are bad. Now, in this particular story, before we break in, I want to remind you that the Apostle Paul is a prisoner. He's been taken prisoner for preaching the gospel of Christ. They are taking him to Rome to be adjudicated. He started out, by the way, on this ship as a prisoner. But we're going to find out before it was over, he was the captain.

You know, Paul was different than most of us. Many of us see difficulties in every opportunity. The Apostle Paul saw opportunity in every difficulty. You put him in prison, soon he becomes the jailer. He's singing songs in the night. You put him before King Agrippa, and he's the defendant. Before long, he's the prosecuting attorney.

He takes every opportunity and applies to it the word of God which says, "Thanks be unto God, who causes us always to triumph in Christ Jesus." And if you're in a storm right now, we're going to look and see what Paul did and then see what we can do, learn how to ride out the storm.

Now some of you can really identify with this. Many times we're in storms and they're not of our own making. Sometimes children get into difficulty because of the parents. I mean, little children are born with ungodly parents or unwise parents, and these little children are just dragged along into a storm because of the parents.

Sometimes we get into difficulty because of authorities that are over us. Sometimes, folks, America goes into storms because of bad leadership, because of bad leadership. And sometimes Congress or the President or the judges make laws and rules and we're aboard the ship of state, and we see ourselves sailing into judgment.

We say, "I wish I could get my hand on the tiller. I wish somehow that I could do this." But we're just aboard the ship of state. We're prisoners as it were, and that's very much like the Apostle Paul was. These are the reasons for the storms of life. Let's talk a little bit about the reaction to the storms of life. How do people react?

Well, let's begin now in verse 14 and read through verse 21. "But not long after there rose against it, a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught up and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive." What does that mean? They couldn't control it.

I mean, the wind just picks up the ship, and they said, "We can't turn this way. We can't turn that way," and it's just blown along by the storm. What's the first thing happens to an ungodly man when he gets himself in a storm? Well, they just let her drive. What I mean by that is there are broken dreams.

The old ship's captain and owner and the Centurion, not as strong as they thought they were. The Bible says they couldn't bear up. I've seen it happen many times. These people, these moguls, these tycoons, these know-it-alls, "Let the storm come!" And they find themselves now driven by winds that they cannot control. They're at the mercy of forces that they cannot understand, dimly comprehend.

They're aboard a floundering vessel. Dreams dissolved. Number two. They began to labor with a desperate effort. Look if you will in verse 16. "And running under a certain island, which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat." That is, they got on the lee side of that island, and things lightened up a little bit, and they said, "Hey, we've got to get this thing straightened out."

And so now, with beads of perspiration on their brow and their backs aching, they're trying to get the tackle of the ship back together. They're trying to get it all back together, and they are working with much labor. You know what the devil will tell you? The devil will tell you it is hard to be a Christian. That is a lie.

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The Bible says, "The way of the transgressor is hard." I don't mean there's no discipline in being a Christian. I don't mean that at all. I don't mean there's no hardness in being a Christian. Yes, we're to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

But as far as the labor, the grueling, gruesome toil, that comes with sin. There's so many people who are making this desperate effort to try to put things back together. The old devil has lied to you. But not only do dreams dissolve, and not only does work increase, but resources are wasted. Look if you will in verses 18 and following.

"And being exceedingly tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship." What does that mean? They started throwing stuff overboard. "And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship." Why are they just dumping things into the ocean? And then look in verse 20. "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 long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, 'Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me.'" Well, he said, "I told you, I told you, and not have loosed from Crete." Now, look at this last sentence now. "And not to have gained this harm and loss." One of the most costly things around is sin. Sin.

These people, they work and they waste. They're throwing it overboard. Everything that they thought was so precious is not precious now. The worldly man spends the first half of his life gaining his wealth. He spends the last half of his life spending his wealth to get his health back, and he's unhappy in both halves of his life.

What a colossal waste it is. There are people who would give everything they possess right now to have their son sober again, to have their family back again, to have the emotional stability of a loved one restored again. But these people are aboard the ship, they're driven by the wind, they wander, they labor, they work, they throw it overboard, they waste.

People talk about a war on poverty. You know what we need in America? A war on sin. A war on sin. When people get right with God, the Bible says God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. And so, their resources are wasted. And then they they lose hope. Verse 29 of this same chapter.

"And fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast out four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day." Oh, if I just had some light. If I just knew what to do. They rejected God's light, and now they find themselves in darkness. The sailors of that day, they didn't have the modern instrumentation that we have today.

They sailed by the stars, the sun, the moon, the land, the shore. But the Bible tells us in verse 20, all these things disappeared. They're gone. All of the things that they said were so important, their business charts, their surveys, their polls, all of these things, they're gone.

What do you do, dear friend, when the stars go out of your night and the sun disappears out of your day? These people in this stygian darkness wishing for the day. Hopes vanish. And then you know what they do? They get very foolish. They began to make foolish plans because they don't have stars to steer by.

And so, there's sort of an inner gyro that takes over. Look if you will in verses 30 and following. "And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the flagship, Paul said to the Centurion and to the soldiers, 'Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be saved.'"

Now, there were some sailors aboard. They said, "Let's pretend we're going to let an anchor out of the bow of the ship. There's a little life boat there. We'll get in that life boat. We'll get off this big ship. We'll escape." Paul said, "You tell those guys if they don't stay on the ship, there's no hope at all." What was this? It was a form of escapism that was built upon selfishness.

I've seen it happen many times. The man who turns to alcohol, that's a form of escapism that's built on selfishness. You say, "Well, I'll drown my problems." No, they can swim, dear friend. You're the one going to drown. The man who gets a divorce, the woman who gets a divorce, the kid who runs away from home. That's escapism built on selfishness.

You made the storm, and now you're trying to get a life boat to get out of it. The ultimate act of selfishness and cowardice is suicide. If you're thinking about suicide, let me tell you something, friend, suicide is no way out of a storm. You listen to me. It never, never, never solves a problem.

It is the ultimate in selfishness and cowardice. But these people, here they are. The wind is driving them along. They're working. They're throwing everything overboard. They can't see which way to go. Do you know people like that? Folks, the world is full of them. And it was a storm that they'd been warned about to begin with not to get into it.

Now, that's how the godless sometimes go through storms, but what about the godly? Let's see the old Apostle Paul here. This is a blessing to you. Look if you will in verse 22. Here's the Apostle Paul. He calls everybody, "All hands on deck!" And the Apostle Paul says, "I've got an announcement to make. And now I exhort you, be of good cheer."

Can you imagine a man saying that in the midst of these problems? Now today, there's some of us, they think we're just Pollyanna. They think we don't know what we're talking about when we give a good message in the midst of the days that we're in. There are three classes in America: those who are afraid, those who don't know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles.

Here's the Apostle Paul, he says, "Be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship." That is, the ship is going to be lost. For he says, "For there stood by me this night, the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve." So the angel of God here was the Lord Jesus, because he belonged to Jesus.

The Lord Jesus got on board that ship with the Apostle Paul. And he says, "Don't be afraid, Paul." And then again in verse 25, he gives that message that he often gives when we're in the midst of a storm. "Be of good cheer." Who puts that smile on your face in the midst of the storm? Paul says, "The same one that gave me songs in the night when I was in a dungeon in Philippi. His name is Jesus."

I see the Apostle Paul walking on the deck of that ship, quoting the word of God, Psalm 107, verses 23 and following. "They that go down to the sea in ships, they that do business in great waters, these see the wonders of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the winds thereof. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again into the depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad, because they be quiet. For He bringeth them unto their desired haven."

Difference in the reaction of those who know the Lord and those who don't know the Lord when they get in a storm. Maybe if you're in a storm right now, you might want to read this Psalm. It'd be a great blessing to you, Psalm 107. Now let's go to the last thing very quickly. We've talked about the reasons and the reactions to the storm.

What was the result of the storm? Well, look again, if you will, in verse 23. "For there stood by me this night, the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, 'Fear not, Paul.'" Now, folks, underscore this right now. "For thou must be brought before Caesar." Now, who was Caesar? He's a Roman Emperor.

Where did he live? In Rome. Where was the ship headed? Toward Rome, toward Italy. And God says, "Paul, that's where you are going." Now, listen to me, folks. God had a plan, and God's plan was to get Paul to Rome. In Acts chapter 23, verse 11, God had said to Paul, "Thou must bear witness also at Rome."

No ifs, ands, and buts about it. God had predetermined that. In Acts 28, verse 14, after this 27th chapter, it says, "And so we went toward Rome." I don't know a better illustration in the word of God than this that shows divine sovereignty and human responsibility at the same time. Was it God's plan that that ship set sail?

No. God had told Paul with spiritual radar, "Don't sail." That was not the plan of a loving God. But did that stop God's ultimate plan? Absolutely not. What was on that ship? Well, Paul was on that ship. I'll tell you what else was on that ship. Ephesians and Philippians and Colossians was on that ship.

I'll tell you what else was on that ship. The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts was on that ship. I'll tell you what else was on that ship. The sovereign will of Almighty God. And every bad decision they made could not overrule the will of God. Isn't that amazing? Where God does not rule, God overrules.

You ever get on one of these great big airplanes going overseas, say a 747? You can sleep, get a drink of water, eat or not eat, have a Coke or a coffee, whatever you want. But friend, while you're making all those little decisions, that airplane is just headed to a certain airport. I mean, there's a pilot that is carrying that ship.

There's a predetermined plan that is taking that ship to that airport. And on board, you say, "Well, I'm making this decision and that decision." But at the same time, there's another power that's just bringing it on. We serve Almighty God. Christians may fail, they may flounder, they may sin, but if they belong to Jesus Christ, there's a sovereign power that says, "One day my child will be just like my son, the Lord Jesus."

And all hell can't stop it. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son. The old church, the wonderful church, the church founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes the church makes so many bad decisions. So many times we fail. So many times we do things we ought not to do as a church. And I'm talking about the church in general.

But you know what Jesus said? Jesus said, "Upon this rock, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." God is building for Himself a bride, and all hell can't stop it. God says in Psalm 2, "Yet have I set my Son upon my holy hill of Zion, and Jesus will reign where the sun doth his successive journeys run. His kingdom spread from shore to shore, till moon shall wax and wane no more."

Folks, you listen to me. We are on the winning side. He cannot fail. He must prevail. There was a storm, but Paul said, "So we went to Rome." Paul said, "Be of good cheer. I believe God." Verse 11 says, "The Centurion believed the owner of the ship." Do you know what all life comes down to? Just who do you believe? Just who do you believe?

Paul said, "I believe God." Don't make the mistake of believing the wrong person, because if you do, you may be engineering a storm that you'll not like at all.

Guest (Male): What powerful truth from God's word today for any storm you may be facing. You know, at Love Worth Finding, one of our great honors is to come alongside you and pray with you and for you in those storms of life. Maybe there's something pressing down on you right now, and you have a prayer request. Go to our homepage if you can at LWF.org/radio and scroll down to our prayer wall.

You'll find the option there to either submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry and the community praying continually for one another's needs. Let us hear from you today. Again, the website is LWF.org/radio.

Guest (Male): Hi, this is Kerry Vaughan, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters, just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD. That's 1-877-LOVE-GOD.

Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee, 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to LWF.org/radio. There, we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Adrian Rogers. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry, and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word.

Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth, simply stated, right here on Love Worth Finding.

Guest (Male): We were so blessed to read this comment from a listener who said, "I receive Pastor Rogers's devotions daily and thank God every day for their timely delivery. The Lord knows just what I need at the right time. I thank Jesus Christ for saving me as a 17-year-old, and I sure do know God loves me. Thank you for continuing the ministry."

Well, at Love Worth Finding, we love to inspire and equip you with messages and resources for your daily Christian walk. And when you donate to the ministry this month, we want to send you a copy of Calling God's Name. Adrian Rogers said, "The important thing is not that you know. The important thing is that God knows and that you follow Him."

Start following Him more deeply with Calling God's Name, a month-long devotional from Love Worth Finding. Request the devotional when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVE-GOD. And thanks for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.