Acts 27:13-25 King
James Version (KJV)
And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat: Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling 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 then taken away.
But after long abstinence Paul stood
forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me,
and not have loosed from Crete, and to 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 of the ship.
For there stood by me this night the
angel of God, 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.”
I am taking my text from Verse 25….
"Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”
***Acts 27 gives us the account of Pauls shipwreck. According the remaining scriptures in Acts 27, the storm lasted 14 days and nights and grew
worse day by day.
I want to
call your attention to just three words in Verse 25, “I believe God.” Believe God!
You know,
when it’s all boiled down, this is what FAITH is…
..simply believing God.
(example)
“It doesn’t
really mean a real fire in hell.
The man in
hell wasn’t really thirsty.
"He didn’t
really ask for literal water."
Then the minister would proceed to give his view (the modern interpretation).
The teen
girl had just about all she could stand.
She loved the precious Word of God. So, Sshe said to the Pastor after service one day, “Pastor, I want to ask you
one question.” He said, “Sure.” She said, “Pastor, you keep saying when you
read Gods Word that the Lord doesn’t mean what He says. Well, if the Lord doesn’t mean what He says in the
Bible, then why didn’t He say what He meant?”
Friends,
you can be sure that God does indeed
say what He means
and means what He says!
Paul was
persuaded of this and he said, “I believe God.”
Paul had great faith. Before I
explain and talk about the faith Paul had, I want you to think with me about
“degrees of faith.”
There is a
degree of faith that can not believe – unless there is some type of sign, a
great manifestation or feeling. This
kind of faith always looks to something in addition to the Word of God to make
you believe. It wants some other prop on
which to lean, some crutch to rely on.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things
not seen."
This degree of faith is based on signs and
feelings has to feel the substance and see the evidence BEFORE it believes.
There is
also a greater degree of faith. There
is a faith that can trust God without feeling, without sight, without reason,
without signs, etc. This faith trusts God
without any outside help. It simply
takes hold of the Word of God. This
faith claims the promises of God and holds on to them like a turtle waits for
thunder. This faith hold on until the
answer comes. This kind of faith pleases
God more than the faith that depends on feelings and signs.
What type of faith did Paul possess? He had a faith of greater degree than any other. I am persuaded that the type of faith Paul had, we all need in these last days. It’s bad enough not to have any feelings or
signs at all to lean on and to boost your faith but, it’s even more trying and
challenging when there is unfavorable signs and feeling that discourage your
faith. These situations call for great
faith. Great faith that will not take no
for an answer. Great faith that won’t
let contrary signs keep you from believing.
Notice
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 then taken away.”
Here we see
Paul’s faith in the face of adverse circumstance. In this scripture verse Paul is basically
saying that all hope was gone. Their
situation is getting worse instead of better.
Therefore, they might just as well give up. Things sure did look bad for Paul and his
crew. The storm raged on and it looked
like the ship, the men and all would be lost in spite of what God said.
Today, the
devil may be saying to you…
“God
promises you the salvation of your household BUT, they’re worse than ever.”
“God
promised healing BUT, you and your family are still sick.”
“God
promised _______________BUT_________________.”
Paul, had reached our third degree of faith.
Things didn’t look bad to him because he did not base his faith on looks.
He had faith that believes – even with contrary signs. Paul said, “in spite of all, in the face of
this storm, I believe God!”
God had
promised to save Paul and all those on board the ship.
God’s promise was more real to Paul than the
storm.
Yes, God
kept His Word!
Everyone was saved.
Folks, many
of you have storms that are raging in your lives.
You may be going through a test, a trial, a hard place, a storm of any
kind. But, have faith in God. Only those that believe God are going to ride
them out and make it safe to the other side.
If you are in the middle of a storm, I challenge you to say with Paul, I
BELIEVE GOD. In spite of contrary signs
or feelings of doubt, BELIEVE GOD. He
will take care of you and meet your need!
Thank you for reading this anointed sermon from God through my father, Rev. David A. Raynor, Sr.
May we say a prayer for/with you?
Heavenly Father,
For those experiencing a storm in their lives today,
please help them to BELIEVE in you,
to
feel your love and presence in an extraordinary way.
We ask Lord for your
hand of protection and blessing.
We ask that you will slow the current,
quiet
the storm,
and bring a flow of incredible peace in their lives.
Guard their hearts, protect their minds, and wrap them tight in your loving arms.
Father, we know we will have
trouble in this world.
But, you told us
that we will never have to face anything alone.
Thank you that whatever today may
hold, you are more than enough to get us through it.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
