The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts Chapter 27, verses 1 through 12.

Tony Clark: When you see that the winds are starting to become contrary, that is a sign that a storm is coming. Someone has put it this way, and I believe they were right: all true Christians are either about to go into a storm, in the midst of a storm, or just came out of a storm. All true Christians. So with this in mind, when the winds are starting to become contrary, step up your prayer life. Step up your time in God's word. Why? Because when the storm comes, it's going to be His word that will help you navigate through it.

We know from Matthew 7 and verses 24 to 27, as well as Matthew 14 and verse 30, that winds are a symbol of tough, turbulent times. So pay close attention to when the winds in your life are starting to become contrary. And as they continued to sail, according to verse 5, they sailed past the cities of Cilicia and Pamphylia. They were able to dock at the city of Myra, which was the port city of Lycia located on the southern course of Asia Minor or modern-day Turkey. At this time, the Centurion Julius found an Egyptian ship from the city of Alexandria. That's why it's called an Alexandrian ship that was going to Italy that he put Paul and his companions on in verse 6.

Look what it says in verses 7 and 8: "When we had sailed slowly for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea." Now they can tell that the weather was starting to become difficult. This is why verse 7 said they sailed slowly for many days. It was getting so bad that Luke the author tells us that they arrived at the city of Cnidus with difficulty. They were forced to stop because the wind did not permit them to proceed.

This would have been a good place to stay through the winter and wait until the springtime when the weather was better. The captain of the ship wanted to go to a better port to get to the island of Crete, which was the largest island in the Aegean Sea. Even this didn't provide much protection because verse 8 said that they passed it with difficulty. They ended up coming to the place called Fair Havens, which was a smaller harbor. Here is another sign that a storm is coming your way: things will start to become difficult. You're having difficulties at home, on the job, in your marriage, and with your children. There was once a calm when things seemed to be alright, then the wind started blowing. It started to become contrary, and now things are difficult. The storm is on the horizon.

Please put this in your hip pocket because if you're not in the midst of a storm, you're about to go into one or you just came out of one. Let me help you navigate through that. When you begin to see that things are starting to become contrary and now things are becoming difficult—it was once smooth, things were going well, and now things are becoming difficult—that is a sign that a storm is on the horizon. Look what it says in verses 9 and 10: "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 the ship but of our lives.'"

They lost a lot of time being delayed in Fair Havens, according to verse 9. Now because of this delay, to continue sailing is now dangerous because winter is fast approaching. Luke gives us the timeframe of this voyage. He said that this took place when the fast was over. This puts it around October 5th on the Day of Atonement, AD 59. The dangerous season for sailing was between September 14th and November 11th. After this time, all navigation on the open sea stopped until after the winter. So there is a risk to staying at Fair Havens, and there was a risk in going out sailing looking for a safer port to winter in as well.

Which way was best? I ask because many problems in life are like this. There are not easy answers or decisions, just two decisions to make. Both may have their consequences like here, whether they were to stay at this port and try to winter in, which was not good, or to go further to try to find a safer port, which was not good as well. Many times we're going to face these types of decisions in our lives where we just have two decisions, and both have their consequences. So the question is, how do we know what to do? I'm here to help you.

The Bible says seek first God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you, Matthew 6 verse 33 says. When we put God first and we seek Him first, He is going to definitely give us the wisdom to navigate to which decision we need to make. This is why James 1:5 says if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives all liberally and without reproach, meaning that God won't get mad at you for asking for wisdom. Here you go again asking for some wisdom. I just gave you wisdom last week. No, God is not like that. He says, oh you need my wisdom, and He gives it to us when we ask Him.

Paul speaks up at the end of verse 9 and advised them. The Greek word for advice is paraineō and it's an amazing Greek word. It means to admonish, to advise of a different course of action, or to exhort to a different direction. Paul exhorted them in verse 10 by saying, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end in disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also our lives." Here's the key: what gave Paul this insight? The Greek word for perceive is theoreō and it means to discern from experience. Paul had a theory based upon his past experiences.

In 2 Corinthians 11 verse 25, Paul says that he was shipwrecked three times, and at one of those times he spent the whole night and day in the deep or in the open ocean hanging on to some piece of wood. So here's the thing: no, Paul was not the captain of the ship, but he could definitely speak from experience. He felt the winds become contrary, then difficult, then they arrived in Cnidus with difficulty. Paul was thinking, "I have seen this before." So he advised them, "Men, don't go. I have seen this from experience." So from Paul's experience, the difficult decision of whether to stay or to sail to a more easier port was easy for him to make.

Don't sail is his thing, but stay at the harbor. Making difficult decisions can be made based upon our past experiences with God. Paul said, "Look here, I've been shipwrecked three times. I've been here. I've seen the winds, now things are getting a little difficult, and we came here. It was much difficult to get here. Do not go." So how are you going to make a decision when you've got two decisions to make? How are you going to make the right one? It's going to be based upon your time with God, your experiences with Him, and how He's navigated you through things previously.

So Paul said from my experience, we should stay right here. We shouldn't go. Did they take his advice? I'll come back to that. But here's the thing: I want to talk to those who are new Christians who are new to the faith. Listen to the wisdom, advice, and experience of those who've been shipwrecked before. They can see the winds blowing contrary in your life. They can see that you have been having a difficult time. Please heed their wisdom. They have been there. They have spent a night and day in the deep or the open water. They have the experience.

This is why don't try to navigate these things by yourself. You don't have enough time with God to have those experiences, so therefore you need to get some wise people who've been walking with God a while, who've been shipwrecked, who've spent a night and a day in the deep so to speak, and they can give you some wisdom. You need that in your life because you don't have the history with God yet to determine which way to go, whether to stay at the harbor or whether to go and try to find a safer harbor. You don't have enough time with God. But there are people around you who do have the time. Heed their wisdom.

God is speaking to somebody about this because you don't have enough history with God yet, so you don't know what decision to make. Yes, pray and ask God for wisdom, but also so often God will speak through very experienced Christians that He's placed around you. You can't do it on your own. Somebody needs to hear that today. You can't do it on your own. You can't figure out which way to turn. You don't have enough history with God. I notice I didn't say you have enough history with church. I didn't say that. I said enough history with God to understand which way to go.

So the question is, did they listen to Paul? Look at verses 11 and 12: "Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the 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 could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest and winter there." Not Phoenix, Arizona. You all know that, don't you? Okay, I just had to make sure someone said they went to Phoenix. There's no water around Phoenix. Not that Phoenix.

Seeing that the Roman centurion was the ranking officer on board and could make the final decision, according to verse 11, he was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than over Paul whom he came to respect later on. Also the harbor of Fair Havens was not suitable to winter in, and here is the key. Don't miss this. The majority advised to set sail from there, showing that this discussion between the captain of the ship and the centurion Julius was held out where everyone could hear it. And as they're talking back and forth trying to figure out what to do, the majority advised to go on and try to reach Phoenix, which was around 40 miles away.

It had a harbor that faced southwest and northwest like the end of verse 12 says, which provided a better shelter from the winter winds. Now I want to draw your attention to the phrase "the majority advised." The majority isn't always right. Our whole country is based upon a democracy, the people rule, or the majority rules. Let me tell you something: the majority isn't always right. Most of the time they are wrong. Let me give you a walk through the Bible to show you this. It was the majority in Numbers 14 and verse 4 who wanted to go back to Egypt.

It was the majority in 1 Samuel 30 and verse 6 that wanted to stone David because they thought that he was responsible for their families being taken by the enemy. It was the majority, the crowd, who said in John 18 and verse 40, "We don't want Jesus, give us Barabbas." The majority, the crowd, also said in Luke 23 and verse 21 about Jesus, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," when just a week earlier they shouted in John 12 and verse 13, "Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." The crowd is fickle. The majority is fickle. One minute they would say Hosanna, blessed are you who comes in the name of the Lord, and we've never had a boss like you.

And the next week they say, "Crucify Him." The crowd is fickle. You can't trust the majority because so often the majority is usually wrong. I just gave you a small sample of the scriptures that shows how the majority has been wrong. My point is this: the majority, the crowd, can lead you astray because they're fickle. One minute they say do this, next week they say do that. They're fickle. They will lead you astray. If you're always seeking to get the majority before you make a decision, then so often you will be making the wrong decisions in life.

Seek God first in prayer and Bible reading and the advice of some faithful brothers and sisters who've been shipwrecked, and they can point you in the right direction. Why? Because they have history with God. They have the knowledge and time and service, time in grade as we used to say in the Marine Corps. They have that with the Lord. You seek God for yourself first, then seek the advice of brothers and sisters that God has placed around you that have been shipwrecked or spent a night and a day in the deep.

So the question is what happened when they ignored Paul's advice? Well, you've got to wait until next time so we can find out what happened when you ignore the wisdom and advice of the more experienced believers God has placed you around. Because there are people God has placed you around that have some more history with God. What happened when they gave you some wisdom from experience and you ignore it? You've got to wait. I can't wait to get into that message. Let me conclude with this.

In this message, "The Calm Before the Storm," we saw how God will give us some signs that a storm is coming. The winds in our lives will start to blow contrary. No longer are things sailing smoothly. They're starting to become contrary. Then things will start to become difficult in our lives. I believe I'm describing the lives of many of you in here. During this time, we will be tempted to listen to the majority or the crowd around us. It's so important for us to seek the advice of a Paul, a person who has experienced a few shipwrecks in their lives. Seek their wisdom.

They've been around a little while and they know what's happening in your life. And finally, are you a faithful friend like Luke and Aristarchus or are you a fair-weather one? Even though you are friends with a Paul, did you know that they still go through tough times? We see it here. Paul is about to go into a storm. We're talking about Paul. So even though you may have a Paul in your life, just realize that they go through things as well. Like I said, so often pastoring a church is one of the most lonely places to be.

You've got to know how to be alone. You just do. And all the friends that I have that are pastors, 95% of them are one-sided. I only talk to them when I initiate the contact. And the thing about that is I had to always guard my heart not to get in my feelings about that. Because when they go through a storm, guess whose phone is blowing up? Because they know what I've gone through here. Oh, you've got a minute? I want to talk to you. Oh, it's so good to hear from you. Oh yeah, I know I haven't been keeping in touch, but you know we all busy. That's pastor talk.

Oh, you know we all busy. I say, yeah, I guess we are. What's going on, bro? And I'm able to minister to them and help them navigate through the storm that they're going through. And so often there'll be people in your life that are the same way. The friendship may be one-sided. Don't get in your feelings and as my youngest son said, don't get stuck on spite and then just say, "Oh, you won't answer my call, but when you call me, I ain't going to answer you either." That's being stuck on spite. Don't be stuck on spite. Everybody's going through stuff.

There are friends, true friends. There are fair-weather ones. And even the fair-weather ones, don't let your heart get hardened towards them. It's easy to do and say, "Look who calling me. They want to call now, they must be going through something." No, don't get in your feelings about that. God has them calling because they need to hear the wisdom and the experience that you have by going through storms. And so often there are many of the friends that I have that can't relate to the things that I've gone through here. They can't relate to that, so they just kind of stay away and don't say anything.

But then all of a sudden when they go through it, then I'm the one with the experience and so they will call. And so too it may be that you're the one with the experience that they don't know how to relate to what you're going through, no matter what it is you're going through—maybe with your marriage or your children—and they can't relate to that. But don't shut them out and just say, "You know what? You didn't answer my call, I ain't going to answer yours." No, we've got to be the bigger person, not the bitter person. And we've got to minister to them, even though this thing may be one-sided.

You've got to minister to them. I don't know who needed to hear that. Because it's easy to be stuck on spite. And many times I wanted to be stuck on spite, and God said I ain't going to let you be stuck on spite. I can't let you do that. I said, but God, I want to. He said, I can't let you do that. And He keeps me, and I keep reaching out. I ain't calling them no more. I ain't reaching out no more. I'm tired of being one-sided. Forget them. You don't want to talk to me, I ain't talking to you either. And God said, reach out. And I say okay. God won't let me be on spite.

Even though my flesh wants to be on spite so often, it does. But God said no, I won't let you because there are people who need the experience that you have with me. There's other people who need that. And somebody needs to hear that today. The things you've been through with God, there's some other people that need to hear what you've been through that's going to get them through. So don't be stuck on spite. Don't get mad at folks. Pray for those who despitefully use you, Matthew 5:44 tells us.

That's the way of Jesus. Prayer keeps that bitterness and that spite from getting in our hearts. And I constantly have to pray that, constantly. And I don't know who needed to hear that. Maybe online, somebody needed to hear that. But God wants to use you. And He can't use us if we're stuck on spite, if we're like, "You know what? I'm good on you. Get out of here. You're going to treat me like that, I'm going to treat you like that." No. The Bible said don't return evil for evil to anyone. And God wants to use you. He wants to use me.

And may we be vessels by which He can use. Somebody needs to hear that and put that in your hip pocket, take it to the house with you, and keep that in mind. Let's close in prayer. Father, we do thank You for Your lovingkindness and tender mercies. We thank You for Your grace that abounds towards us. Lord, forgive us when we have spite and revenge in our hearts. Forgive us when we have unforgiveness in our hearts and anger. Lord, forgive us when we have these things in our hearts because of the hurt that comes from people. Forgive us, Lord.

And Lord, there's some who are here, Lord, that need to come home to You. They've strayed. The pandemic has caused them to stray in their walk with You. There's some listening to me online that this has happened to. And God, I just pray that Your Spirit would move upon them and bring them home to You. And if there is anyone here who has not repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, just pray this simple prayer after me. Just say: Lord Jesus, forgive me. I believe You died on the cross and was buried and rose again. Come into my heart. I make You my Lord and Savior. Help me to live for You from this moment forward by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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