Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: What does tribulation bring? Ultimately, it brings about hope. Romans chapter 5, verses 3-6. It says patience, experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. So, when you go through trials and tribulations, some of them can be set by the Lord.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Mether reflects on the purpose of what God allows.

Brett Meador: This is something that is an important part of Christian faith. The Lord will in fact allow you to go through trials and difficulties. And you have to realize it's all for the good.

Guest (Male): Acts chapter 27 is a powerful reminder that following God doesn't promise the journey will always be smooth. As Paul is on his way to Rome, the ship he's on is directed into the middle of a violent storm. Pastor Brett Mether reminds us in today's word that God's promises don't always mean an easy journey, but they do mean he is faithful through our trials and tribulations.

Brett Meador: Story is told a long time ago. There was a sailing vessel and it was a storm, kind of like what we, you know, have seen here in the book of Acts. And it was a terrible storm and all souls were lost except for one guy. He was able to find a broken plank from the broken up ship. And so he grabbed the plank and floated on it. And eventually the storm kind of pushed it and he ended up on a little tiny deserted island. And it was just a small one, kind of like the old Castaway movie, you know.

He just had himself and a few little trinkets that he was able to get off the shore from the ship. And he eventually after a year, he built a nice little hut. And he kept all of his treasures that he'd found and and tools that he had made and just kind of barely surviving on this island. When he went out to get some food and when he was off on the other side, he saw a smoke coming from the other side of the island. I thought, oh no, what's going on? And he thought maybe somebody's there.

But he ran around the island back to his hut only to find out it was his hut that was on fire and it burned to the ground and all the possessions inside. The man was in such despair. It was the last straw. He He was in total depression and he thought, oh, what am I going to do? And even tried to sleep that night, but to no avail. He had nowhere really to sleep. It was raining. But it was the next morning. Suddenly he wakes up and he sees a ship and its anchor just off the island.

And there's a guy rowing a boat. And he runs down to the beach and he said, man, how did you guys find me? And he said, well, you did that excellent smoke signal yesterday that we saw. It's interesting how, you know, oftentimes the things we think are tribulations and trials can be sometimes the Lord working things out. And that really is interesting because God talks in his word about trials and tribulations and the word temptations. Those three words kind of tend to often intermingle. And sometimes it's a bit confusing. Because if you read your Bible carefully, does the Bible say God will tempt you to do things wrong?

No, he doesn't do that. But at the same time, you word like temptation, why do we pray lead me not into temptation? If the Lord just doesn't do that, he tells us he doesn't do why do we have to even pray for that? And it has to do with the Greek words used for trial, tribulation, and temptation, which is kind of important to know as a Christian. In fact, the Bible deals a lot with trials and tribulations and temptation. James chapter 1 verses 2 and through 4 says, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations.

Uh-oh, why would we be joyful about temptations? Well, it has to do with the word there in the Greek. Knowing this, he goes on that the trying of your faith or testing of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. I like the ESV instead of temptations there, like here in the King James. The ESV says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So, is it trials, temptations, or tribulations? What's the difference? Tribulations, you know, the English word is kind of clear, but sometimes they're intermixed a little bit. But the idea of trials and temptations, can they be from God? Well, it depends on what Greek word you're using. So, some people say, see a contradiction in the Bible when they say that God doesn't allow you to be tempted or doesn't send temptation your way. Trials in fact, however, can come from the Lord. That's why it even says in in this, you know, for you know that testing of your faith, trials produces something really good, steadfastness.

And then later on maturity, perfection, and completeness. The Greek word used in James chapter 1 verse 2 there is is the Greek word for that. And that word has two main definitions. Number one, this is the interesting part of this word. It can be one of two definitions. One, examination, submit another to a test to learn the true nature or character of that person or that situation. That's an examination. The second definition is temptation, trial given for the purpose of making one stumble. So, God does not do number two in that definition, but he does do number one.

Are you guys with me on this? That's kind of important to know and don't let people say the Bible's full of contradictions because it's all Greek to me. But and so it is to you. But it really isn't in that. By the way, for example, in Romans chapter 5 verses 3-6 there's different words used here, different Greek word, not the last one but this one, Romans 5:3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope. Verse 5, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. I love that. Now, notice the word tribulation there is a interesting word, but it's the same context where we go through different times. Thlipsis is the Greek word and it means trouble, distress, oppression, and tribulation. But then we go back to that verse, what does tribulation bring? Ultimately, it brings about hope as it says there. It says, and patience, experience, and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed. So, what hope has to do with all this is when you go through trials and tribulations and troubles, some of them can be set by the Lord.

And you have to realize it's all for the good. All things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are the called according to his purpose. So, this is something that is an important part of Christian faith. If you're a Christian, you will face this stuff. You'll go through tribulations, troubles, and trials. The Lord will not lead you into temptation to lure you to sin. But the Lord will in fact allow you to go through trials and difficulties. I was with a high school kid when I was a high school pastor and we were at Bob's Big Boy Burger, if you remember those places.

I know it's a shock, me and a burger joint. But we were sitting there talking and he was going through some really hard things as a kid, like a high school kid shouldn't have to go through stuff like he was going through. And I I was just there and I was sharing scriptures like this with them and saying, man, these tribulations you're going through right now, these trials, there the Lord's going to, you know, work those. I didn't quote this saying the Lord's going to build patience and experience and hope and it will make you not ashamed when you when you go through life, you'll realize, man, I I endured to the end even through trials.

Well, after I said that, this lady and her husband had been listening in the booth next to us. And she got up and she was shaking and her face was red and she said, I can't believe you're telling this kid the lies. God does not allow tribulations to come in our life. And she just got all fired up about this idea that God doesn't send trouble and difficulties in a person's life. Now, where did she get that hair brained idea? It's because she didn't really know what the Bible says about trials, tribulations, and temptations. Those are all different things and you have to be careful how you read those things.

So, fortunately my high school buddy just said the kind of thing, wow, she's weird. I believe you, Pastor Brett, is what he told me. I'm like, okay, don't believe me, believe the word, you know. But all that to say, this is really important because Mr. Trials and Troubles and Tribulations, Paul the Apostle, all of this is working together to do what God wants in his life. Man, next time you go through a bunch of trials and troubles and difficulties, remember Paul that he was yes going through radically bad things. You know, it's quite a deal that we've been following here in Acts chapter 27 where Paul, you know, he's now we we left him kind of in limbo where the ship was tossed for 14 days.

The tiny ship was tossed as it says, you know, in in the song. And after those 14 days, what happened? Well, that 's where we're going to pick it up. All that to say here with the Acts chapter 27, we've been kind of following sort of the map. Acts 26 6-7 Paul even said these words. He said, and now I stand and I'm judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto the promise of our 12 tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

So, this is really what Paul is all about, hope hope hope as he says here. What is he hoping for? Really the hope of the promise of Jesus, the Messiah, and the spreading of Jesus to the whole world. That's kind of the deal there. So, where have we been thus far here in Acts chapter 27? Well, let's do a quick review. We started in Caesarea on this final journey of Paul. And there he was held for two years. Agrippa met him there and Felix and Festus, that whole story. And then he went up to Sidon and then crossed over to Myra and then Cnidus.

And then we kind of saw him land there in Fair Haven. And that's where remember Paul said, we should just stay here for the winter. It's some bad sailing. And they said, yeah, whatever. And so they took off. And on their way from Fair Haven, they ended up meeting a large storm named Euroclydon, which is one of those names of a storm. And it was brutal. The ship was breaking up. They were throwing stuff overboard, really bad things. They even were going to offload the lifeboat and they ended up cutting it away and letting it float away, the dinghy.

In fact, if you look backward, look at verse 20 of 27, 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 then taken away. This is finally when Paul after holding his tongue said, I told you so. Remember that? But he said, but I told you so, so be of good cheer. And that was his mantra. Look at Acts 27:22 where it says, and now I exhort you to be of good cheer. He's not Mr. Doom and Gloom. He's He's saying, hey, be of good cheer.

In fact, look at verse 25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer for I believe God. And we talked about that. Why should they be happy? Paul's faith would bolster their faith or even ignite their faith so that they would also start believing what Paul was saying. Don't forget to be a faithful Christian even among your secular friends and just say, be of good cheer. I believe in God. Well, they'll say, well, what does that have to do with me? Uh, you'll see. God will work and you'll see the Lord's work in my life. And that's what happened.

So, this is kind of where we left off in verse 36. It says, and when they were all of good cheer, they took some meat in the ship, 203 score and 16 souls. So, they all started being of good cheer. Even though the storm wasn't over, even though things were looking hopeless, how are they all good cheer? Because Paul said over and over, hey, cheer up. It's going to be okay. The Lord told me that we're going to make it. All 276 souls in this ship are going to make it is what he's saying. So, they're happy even in the midst of the storm.

How? Peace from God, from Paul's faith. Wouldn't that be great if you were an instrument of peace? You know, that's something that Saint Francis prayed. Oh Lord, make me an instrument of thine own peace. I wonder if you could be an instrument instead of being a person of panic or discouragement. What if you became like Paul? Be of good cheer. Yeah, but things are horrible. Ah, the Lord is good. He 's going to take care of us and all things are working together for good. You could be that person if you just choose to be that person.

Don't you love people? I know sometimes positive people can be a little annoying. I I know that. But I think there's a difference between just a person who's just falsely positive about everything versus a person who has faith in God and trust in the Lord. Like there's a legitimate heftiness behind a person who has legitimate faithfulness, faith in God. That's Paul. So, what happens? They have the peace of God. I'm reminded of Philippians 4:7 where it says, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding. That's the storm. The ship's breaking up. Everything's horrible. They've lost all hope.

But now they've got this peace of God that passes understanding. That is logic. And what's going to happen? That peace will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. This is the Christian way right here. If you are a Christian, this is the way we should roll right here. The peace of God ruling our hearts, keeping our hearts and minds through Christ. So, what you can say here in in summary is the whole ship now is blessed because of one man's faith. That's kind of amazing. And we talked about the four guys that brought their buddy who was crippled into Jesus.

And when Jesus saw their faith, not the guy on the mat's faith, when he saw their faith, he ended up forgiving the guy's sins and healing him. There's something about being the person that gets to be an instrument of faith that leads to being an instrument of peace. Well, that's where we pick it up in our story, Acts 27 verse 38. It says, and when they had eaten enough, they lighted the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea. Now, now that's you know you're in trouble when you've thrown all the food out. They threw everything else out.

Now they're throwing the food out. That That's kind of last ditch right there if you ask me. But it says verse 39, and when it was day, they knew not the land. But they discovered a certain creek with a shore into the which they were minded if it were possible to thrust in the ship. Interesting, they did not recognize the land, it says here is in so many words. They did not know where it was. We know they knew later, but it's it's an island called Malta. And we actually know the place where this happened and has to do with where the creek runs and all this stuff.

And uh it's kind of a fun place. It's actually called Saint Paul's Bay is what it's called, Saint Paul's Bay. Place you can go visit. It's actually quite a tourist area there's but all that to say a lot of ship jargon is going to be used here being spoken of. Explains how shipping was done. In fact, those that study history and want to know more more about shipping, they read this because this is how they did stuff and it talks a lot about that, which is kind of fun. In fact, um in verse 40 it goes on.

It says, and when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea and loosed the rudder bands and hoisted up the main sail. Remember they only have one sail to the wind and made toward the shore. And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground and the four parts stuck fast and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners lest any of them should uh swim out and escape. Oh boy. So, Roman vessels, you know, remember I they had one large main sail.

But they weren't modern day ships. These are first century Roman ships. And this is what they were sailing in. And you know, they looked like nice formidable ships, but you know, the Aegean Sea can get rough. And they've been tossed in this sea for 14 days. That's a long time of seasickness and misery in these ships, but you know, they sailed now from Fair Havens and they they went on their long journey. And this is where they shouldn't have gone because this is the stretch. And then they hit the storm. And then they ended up on Saint Paul's Bay or Malta, this island, which is kind of the way it goes.

So, he's still on the way to Rome, but there's a lot of side trips that are going on here. But just as Paul told them, they were all safe. Which you got to love that. They all made it safe to the shore. That's one of the things that are in verse Acts 27:24. If we go backward, thou must, this is God speaking to Paul. If you're not Paul, for thou must be brought before Caesar and lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. They're all going to make it alive. Which is so unlikely when the ship is going to be broken up.

And remember that was foretold as well. To the soldiers, it made sense to kill the prisoners by the way because of their trying to escape. Let's keep reading here. It says like we ended in verse 42. The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape. But the centurion, remember he's kind of our friend and Paul's friend by this time, willing to save Paul kept them from their purpose and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea and to get to land. And the rest, some on board, some on broken pieces of the ship.

And so it came to pass that they escaped all safe to the land. Man, I love that. Paul's word, more importantly God's word to Paul, God's word always always comes to pass. Don't forget that. Whenever you have the word of God, it always comes to pass. And that's true here. So, who saved Paul's life? Was it the centurion? It says in verse 43, but the centurion willing to save Paul. I don't believe it was the centurion as much as it was the Lord. The Lord said, Paul, you're going to make it to Rome and I'm not going to let anything happen to you until you make it to Rome.

Paul was untouchable as far as death. Verse 22, be of good cheer for there shall be no loss of any man. Verse 24, fear not Paul, for you must be brought before Caesar. So, God is just simply making sure Paul makes it to Rome, just like the Lord's going to make sure you make it to where you need to go. Can I remind you that Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 says, it is appointed once for a man to die. The idea is the Lord says, I have an appointment for every person. And until that appointment, you can't die.

If you're a Christian, that's just such a great comfort. I I think I'm really comforted by that. It should free you up from worrying. What if I die? You have an appointment. God knows the time. There's nothing you can do about that. Now, some of you are like, well, Brett, then I'm going to take up base jumping in squirrel suits. And I'm going to do stuff like that. Well, your appointment might just come a little earlier than ours, so I don't know. Uh you don't want to try to tempt God in that way, but you know, just being reckless because of that, that's not what I'm talking about.

But spiritually with a recklessness, yes. A reckless abandon just to to go and serve the Lord and do what he's called you to do and say, I'm not worried about my life because I know what God's called me to do. You know, that's that all things work together, Romans 8:28, for good to them that are called. So, all that to say, it's not about being fearful. If I go and do what God's putting on my heart to do, I should do that with all boldness. I'm I'm not afraid for my life. By the way, this is perhaps no greater displayed than any other context than missionary work.

Those that have been on the mission field, I'm always so impressed who have done that hard work in dangerous places. Have you guys ever read about Jim Elliot? Jim Elliot's one of those guys, an amazing guy, born in Portland, Oregon, but goes down as really a missionary that is par excellence. A classmate recounts how Elliot quoted the Bible to the president of the student body as an explanation for his refusal to attend a school party. He was even as a high school kid, he was kind of this this guy that just loved the Bible and but in the 1950s in Ecuador, he was there as a missionary to evangelize Ecuador's Quechua up people.

He was killed by 10 Huaorani warriors. His wife Elizabeth Elliot survived and went back to the same place her husband died and led them all to Jesus. Like it's an amazing story, the Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. If you don't know that, you got to read read about them. But why would a guy do that? Why would he go live on the edge, you know, and what have you? Well, the Lord is with you. The scriptures tell us that God will protect us when we're on the mission. I'll show you that a little bit later. But in Acts 28 verse 1 it says, and when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.

And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire and received everyone because of the present rain and because of the cold. Now, you might say, Brett, I don't get it. They're barbarians. And yet they made a nice fire and fed them food and stuff. That doesn't sound very barbaric. Well, the word barbarous, what do your newest translations say there? Natives. Okay, that's probably better. Native. The word barbarous, it's the Greek word. Barbarous means rough speech in the Greek, speaking a foreign language, which is not understood by another. It was like babbling.

That's why they said it was like they just don't understand their words. So, not uncivilized, they were just not understanding Greek. They had manners, they had hospitality, and they brought a warm fire to these guys. So, kind of interesting that these people were hospitable.

Guest (Male): Pastor Brett Mether pausing in our study of today's word with another reason for Paul to be of good cheer as the Lord continues to provide safe passage on his promised missionary journey to Rome. And we'll continue with more of today's word. And also Pastor Brett will be back in just a moment to give you a chance to share a prayer request. But first Brett Mether is the senior pastor of Athey Creek Church just outside of Portland, Oregon. Each episode of today's word serves to enrich your understanding of God's word and support your ongoing spiritual journey.

If you missed any portion of our study, you'll find all of Pastor Brett messages online at todayswordradio.com. That's todayswordradio.com. Well, Pastor Brett is with me now. You know, we've been on the air for over a year and a half and I know there are people listening that may have need for prayer. Brett, is there a place on the todayswordwebsite that offers help?

Brett Meador: Yes, one of the greatest privileges we have here at today's word radio is praying for the people who listen to this program. Uh we know that many people tuning in today are carrying very real burdens and it might be a health issue or a struggling marriage, financial pressure, or loneliness. Whatever the needs are, we'd love to stand with you. You don't have to carry those things alone. That's what the church gets to do. And so you can visit todayswordradio.com. Leave us a a prayer request, a simple request. Our team would love to pray along with you, stand with you.

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, be careful or literally anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Prayer doesn't mean that every problem instantly disappears, but it does mean that we bring our burdens to the one who's greater than every problem. That's why Peter said in 1 Peter 5:7, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. I love that verse. God doesn't merely know what you're going through.

He cares about what you're going through. So, go to todayswordradio.com, send us your request. If you don't want to, don't share anything that's uncomfortable, but make sure just let us know how we can pray for you. We'd be honored to stand with you.

Guest (Male): Yeah, we sure would. And that web address again, if you'd like to share a prayer request is todayswordradio.com. Just click on the link that says share a prayer request. Again, todayswordradio.com. Well, next time Pastor Brett continues to describe the Apostle Paul's missionary journey as his storm battered ship runs aground on the island of Malta. Today's word with Pastor Brett Mether is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in Westland, Oregon.