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 Bibles to Acts chapter 27, verses 13 through 22.

Tony Clark: One of the things we have to realize is that as we are in the midst of our storm of correction, we cannot row ourselves out of it in our own strength. No matter what we try to do with our own hands, it won't be fruitful, like we see here in this story. As we see that the storm was raging so badly that it blocked out the sun in the daytime and the stars at night, showing us that we will not be able to see our way out.

When you're in the midst of a storm of correction, you get desperate to do anything to get out of that storm. No, you're going to be in that storm, and God will make it where you won't be able to see your way out. This storm will block the sun and block the stars, those things used to navigate through life. God will make sure that you won't be able to see your way out until you learn the lesson.

God is not trying to make us hopeless, but hopeful. Remember how it said that the storm beat on them to the point that all hope that they should be saved was finally given up. God is not trying to make you hopeless, but hopeful. As I said earlier, He is using the storm to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we can come to the beginning of Him. This is why you feel hopeless, because you've used up all of your human resources and human ability. You've used them all up. The key is to run back to Jesus, back to the safe arms of the Lord. He is waiting on the shore for you like He was waiting on the shore for His disciples to return from their backsliding adventure, according to John 21 and verse four.

Look what it says in verses 21 and 22. It says, "But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship.'" We can see in verse 21 that they have gone a long abstinence from food. Why is that? Maybe because they were rationing out the food because they threw a bunch of unnecessary things overboard. They also went a long time not eating out of depression, being seasick, and out of fear. All of these things, especially depression, can have a way of suppressing our appetites.

If you watch your spouse or your children living under your roof and all of a sudden they're no longer eating, pay close attention. Something is going on. They're depressed in some kind of way. I mean, you've got folk that'll try to not eat because they want to lose weight, but we're not talking about that. I'm talking about husbands paying attention to your wife, and all of a sudden she's not eating and you haven't seen her smile in a long time. Wives, pay attention to your husband.

If he's not eating, call the National Guard, because you know we like to eat. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and if he's not eating, something is definitely not right. Depression can easily cause some issues and has a way of suppressing the appetite. Just be mindful of that. Your children are stuck up in the room and not coming down, not wanting to eat. Some of that is just being a goofy, silly teenager, and we've all been teenagers before. Still pay attention to that. Depression will have a way of stripping us, suppressing our appetite.

So just pay close attention to each other. Be close. So often we have tunnel vision. All we see is our situation, our problems, our issues, and there are people all around us that are going through stuff. An outward indication that something's not right inwardly is a lack of appetite. So just pay close attention to each other and watch. If there's a suppression of appetite, just begin to start inquiring. Ask some open-ended questions. Another sign is avoidance of conversation. Be watchful of that kind of stuff, because it can happen to any of us.

Back to the statement that I love that Paul made. He said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss." Paul wasn't trying to make them feel worse, like we would say, "You should have listened to me." Paul wasn't doing that, but he was pointing out that he prophesied that this would happen. He told them back at the docks of Fair Havens, "Do not sail and incur disaster and loss. I think that it's going to be a disastrous trip, not only for the boat but also for our own lives."

The very people that ignored Paul's wisdom when they were safely at the docks of the city of Fair Havens in verse 10 are now ready to listen to the man of God. The same is true for us. When the south wind was blowing softly in our lives, we didn't want to listen to the man or woman of God sent to warn us of the storm that is coming our way. And now after being exceedingly tempest-tossed for days, you're now in a place to listen.

God is so gracious that He will send the man or woman of God not to rub it in, but to encourage us, just like we see Paul is doing here. He said in verse 22, "And now I urge you to take heart." I bet that they were listening very closely, especially when he said, "For there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship." Now, we are in a place at this time where we can listen to the man or woman of God. Depending upon how powerful the storm of correction is in our life, you may lose some material things.

You may lose a car. You may lose a house and other material things, but you will be fine as an individual. Just like Paul said here, there will be a loss of some things, but not of your lives. When you're in the storm of correction, depending upon how far you go into that storm, you're going to be okay, but you may lose some material things along the way. Somebody needs to hear that because maybe you're in the midst of that right now.

The more we ignore the man or woman of God sent our way, the more material things the storm of correction is going to take from us. We've got to be mindful of that. Just know you will get through this storm. The longer you sail in it, the worse the material things you're going to lose. This is why I want to encourage you to run back to the safe harbor of Jesus Christ. Run back to the arms of Him because the longer you keep sailing and you think you can figure this out, the worse it's going to be. You can't row out of it. God will see to it that you will not row out of it because He has intended for that storm of correction to correct something in your life.

How do I know you're going to get through the storm? You've got to wait until next time and you'll find out that you're going to make it. In this message called "Storm Warning," we saw how Paul was acting as a spiritual meteorologist. He tried to warn them of a coming storm, but they ignored him and went into a powerful typhoon. My advice to you is don't ignore the spiritual meteorologist God sends your way. However, God is so loving, He is so gracious, He is so kind that He will send someone your way as you're in the midst of your storm to give you hope.

I'm here to give you some hope today. Don't be upset if they say, "You should have listened to me and incurred this disaster and loss," because it's true. You should have listened to them. That's the true part about it. Don't get in your feelings. Just repent and sail back to God, to the safety of the harbor and into the arms of Jesus Christ. Remember, He is waiting on the shore for you.

I bring this up because 2020 has been a hard year. It's been a tough year. We all have our stories. But the beautiful thing is that God wants to give us hope today that we can come back to Him. Many of you and many online, in 2020 you've drifted from God. You've drifted past the safety of the harbor of God. The Lord wants to bring you back. For the rest of us, 2020 was tough and many people have strayed spiritually. You're not where you were. Look at yourself in December 2019 and look at yourself in December 2020, and there's a vast difference spiritually. That closeness and that intimacy that you once experienced with God is not there.

I'm here to give you hope that God is the God of all hope and you can always come back to Him. He's always waiting with open arms for us. That's why He's called the God of hope, because He gives us hope. God wants to give us hope that you can come home. Spiritually, you can come back. Don't roll into the next year still in the same spiritual condition you were in in 2020. He's giving you hope. Yes, He sent the storm of correction to correct a whole lot of folks, especially the United States.

We're in the midst of a storm of correction, no matter how we want to look at it or how we want to classify it. I believe we're in the midst of a storm of correction. Billy Graham said it, and I quote it all the time. He says, "If God doesn't judge America harshly, He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology." I believe that's so true. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and so too with the myriad of sins we have committed as Americans. God is sending us through.

In the book of First Peter, it says that judgment must begin at the house of God. Why? Because we are supposed to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Instead, we're fooling around just like the world is. And therefore, because of that, judgment is beginning at the house of God. That's why many churches are struggling. God has allowed the struggle. I didn't say He caused it, but He allowed it.

Remember, Satan can't do anything without God's permission. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. So he has to get permission from God to do that. And when God said, "Yeah, you can go ahead and do a little bit of dirty work and I'll tell you when to stop," I think God has allowed it. He's allowed for us, the church, to try to find our way. I think also this storm has exposed where we were spiritually. We thought we were further along in our walk with God, and we're not as far as we thought, are we? But He gives us room to come back to Him. He gives us room to repent.

He loves us so much that He says, "You know what? I'm still going to love you and still going to constantly be whispering in your ear to come back to me." I'm just the audible voice of what God has been speaking internally in your heart. It's time to come home. Aren't you tired of that old humdrum spiritual walk that you have, or the lack thereof? It's time to come home. It's time to get serious about the things of God, serious about the Lord. We can see things are winding up.

The Bible talks about in the last days, especially during this period of time called the tribulation period. In the middle of the seven years, at the three-and-a-half-year mark, the Antichrist or the world leader that's coming on the scene is going to require what is called a mark to be placed on the right hand or the forehead of people. You won't be able to buy, sell, or do anything without this mark. But to get the mark, you are pledging allegiance to Satan and you will be condemned for all eternity.

The vaccine is not the mark, but it's a precursor to the mark. I never thought my eyes would see us getting this close to things taking place. Because once the mark occurs, which will be during the tribulation period that I believe the church, God's true people, will not be here for, it's funny to see the stage being set. It's going to get to a point where you won't be able to do anything unless you have that vaccine. Watch. You won't be able to go to crowded places.

And then the question is, how would they know if you have it? So there must be a way to detect it. The technology is already here. Before you came in here or anywhere else, they're putting the gun up to your forehead to take your temperature. The technology is here. So somehow they're going to connect the dots, vaccine and pop. They're going to connect the dots pretty soon. And so, like I said, it is not the mark of the beast; it's a precursor. It's let us know that the stage is being set. This is incredible.

So if the mark occurs during the tribulation period, and here's the thing, the church is raptured up out of here before the tribulation period, and we already see signs of things that would happen in the tribulation period. This is why the Bible says to lift up your head and look high, for your redemption draws near. The rapture of the church is soon to take place at any time. We see all the technology. When I first got saved over 35 years ago, we read about the mark of the beast and we were like, "Oh, okay, whatever. How they going to do all that?" But all the technology is here. It's all here right now.

Once again, let me say this again. This vaccine is not the mark of the beast. Don't go out and say, "Pastor Tony said that's the mark." No, I didn't say that. I know how you all hear things. I say one thing, one plus one is two. "Pastor Tony, you said one plus one equals three." No, I didn't say that. So I know how you hear. Let me say it a third time. This vaccine is not the mark of the beast. But it's interesting; it's a precursor. And the question is, are you right with God?

If you're right with God, we're going to be raptured out of here. We'll be taken out. Those who are not right with God will remain here. And just know, when that mark rolls out, the real mark, you won't be able to buy, sell, do anything, go anywhere without that mark. You need to get right with God. He loves you. He is already showing us that time is winding up. Everything's here. Technology is here.

Think about it. When he goes into the temple at the three-and-a-half-year mark of the tribulation period, the Bible says he's going to set up an image that the whole world will see. He will require everyone in the world to bow down to this image. Over 35 years ago, we were like, "What is that talking about?" Today, we already know CNN is going to cover that event. We know an image set up in the temple so everybody can see, all you've got to do is get a hologram. The technology is here. Read your Bibles. It's in Revelation chapters 12 and 13.

The question is, are you right with God? He's giving you hope and He wants you to come back to Him. Get your life right with God today. The Bible says if you hear His voice, don't harden your heart. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word. We're so grateful for your loving kindness and tender mercies. We're so grateful that you love us enough and you keep calling us back to you over and over and over again. Thank you, Lord, that you're the God of hope, and we have hope in you. Lord, I just pray you forgive us for straying, forgive us for sailing past the safety of the harbor, which is you. Forgive us, Lord, for backsliding. Forgive us for being fearful and afraid. Forgive us, Lord, for not fearing you who can kill both body and soul and send it to hell. Lord, forgive us. Have mercy upon us for us allowing things back into our lives that you once took out. Forgive us, God.

And if there is anyone here who has not repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, just pray this short prayer after me. Just say, "Lord Jesus, forgive me. I believe you died on the cross and were buried and rose again, just for me. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Help me to live for you by the power of your Holy Spirit from this moment forward. In Jesus' name, Amen."

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