Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
By remembering that Jesus is our safe harbor Part 2 (11/15/09)
Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision
Title: : By remembering that Jesus is our safe harbor Part 2 Text: Acts 27:14-44
Introduction: I’d like to start off a few questions.
· Why is that on Sunday morning thousands of churches have more empty seats than full?
· Why is it that the average worship service in America has 84 people in attendance?
· Why is it that on any given Sunday only 50% of the people on any church roll will attend?
Charles Stanley has written that the answer is tragically simple! God’s people have made a decision about Jesus….but have never made a commitment to His church.” (Charles Stanley. Confronting Casual Christianity)
In our text today, we’ll find the Apostle Paul telling his shipmates, in the midst of a terrible storm, to stay on the ship. As we go through our text this morning, I believe we’ll find that it’s not a stretch to see that Paul is talking about the church.
· Hearing God’s Word,
· obeying God’s Word,
· being encouraged by others,
· believing God,
· giving thanks publicly to God,
· having a place to belong
...all the things we’ll find Paul talk about in our text this morning are the same things that happen when you stay on the ship...when you’re here on Sunday mornings, when you make a commitment to the church.
In life’s storms, the church is the pilot boat that leads us to our safe harbor, Jesus.
Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 27:14 (pg. 855 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) For it’s there we’ll continue to discover that we enlarge our vision of God by remembering that Jesus is our safe Harbor.
II. Acts 27:14-26 The calm in the storm
Read: Acts 27:14-26
Last week we found that the Centurion didn’t take Paul’s godly advice and choose the wisdom of man instead. He made the bad choice not to dock at Fair Haven and instead head to a larger more comfortable port. As the decision was made, the weather improved a bit...but a storm was on the horizon.
And boy did it come...it was a fierce storm, a ‘nor-easter.’ We’re familiar with them, in fact we just had one this past week. But from what I can tell in the text, this was a big one.
The crew did what they could to weather the storm but it didn’t look good. In fact they believed there was no hope of being saved. Ever felt that way? Perhaps you acted as the crew did.
Notice that the storm was so strong that the crew decided to just let the wind and waves take them where they will. Sound familiar? When storms hit us, we too are often dragged along by the gale force winds of fear, anxiety, and tossed about on the waves of doubt and sorrow. Like a ship without a rudder, we are at the mercy of the storm. Sound familiar? Perhaps Paul was thinking of this when he wrote:
Read: Ephesians 4:14-16 ‘Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’
‘From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’....the church. We work together to help each other navigate through the storms of life.
Paul reminds them that had they listened to his advice and docked in Fair Haven, they would have avoided the storm. I wonder how many storms we could avoid by trusting in Jesus as our safe harbor? Just a thought.
I keep making a church connection in our text. Why? Because of the terms Paul uses in verses 22-25 when he tells his shipmates about God’s deliverance.
· ‘...keep your courage’ There is strength found in the church.
· ‘not one of you will be lost...’ There is salvation in the church.
· ‘..an Angel of God...stood beside me’ God is present in His church. He is in our midst when 2 or three are gathered together.
· ‘...whose I am’ We belong to God and are a part of His church.
· ‘...whom I serve’ We serve God through the church. Remember it was the church in Antioch that sent Paul out as a Kingdom Builder.
· ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul’ God comforts His people through His Church.
· ‘You must stand trial before Caesar...’ God discloses His will through His church.
· ‘God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you’ This tells me that Paul was praying for the safety of his shipmates. Prayer finds it’s power and fulfillment in the church.
· ‘...I have faith in God that it will happen...’ Regular church attendance builds our faith in God, especially in the midst of life’s storms.
There is a calm in the storm, a shelter in the ‘nor-easters of life. It’s here, it’s the church...not this building, but you and you and you, us...together with the powerful presence of Almighty God, we are the church, the calm in the storm’s of life.
Transition: As we close out chapter 27, Paul will encourage us to stay on the ship...to make a commitment to the church.
III. Acts 27:27-44 Staying on the ship
Read: Acts 27:27-44
Things are thought to be getting better, they are getting closer to land, so what is their first thought? Abandon ship...every man for himself.
Truth be told, when things are going bad in our lives, many eventually find their way back to church...until things get a little better then they are gone again....know people like that?
Notice what Paul says ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’ That’s what God told him. That’s what had to be done. And it is true today. There is salvation, safety, deliverance, comfort, encouragement, nourishment, healing, and forgiveness...in the church.
As God moves through His Holy Spirit in our lives, we then can minister to the needs of those sitting around you.
You can’t make it on your own...The soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it fall away. We too need to cut our ties to our supposed lifeboat, the world, and trust in God’s provision of the church.
Then notice that Paul tells his shipmates to eat...to get nourished, to regain their strength so they will be able to survive when they get on land. The church is a place to eat...and we certainly know that here at CBC.
Are you taking advantage of the spiritual food here? Food that will nourish and strengthen you to survive in the world and make it through the storms of life? What food?
· Sunday Morning Worship, Sunday School, Mid Week Praise & Prayer, Women’s Walk, Men’s Breakfast, Youth Group, Pioneer Girls, and other small groups as they startup.
Speaking of food, Paul takes bread, offers thanks to God for it...in front of all his shipmates...then he broke it and ate. What does that sound like? Communion, the Lord’s Supper...Thanking God for His work of salvation...publicly, in front of everyone.
· The Lord’s Supper is more than just something we add to the Worship Service on the first Sunday of the month.
· It’s a public demonstration of our thanks to God for His work of salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, for you. Shouldn’t you be here to participate in that?
Notice that after eating together, they were all encouraged. Need I talk about the encouragement we get from feeding on God’s Word, from communing with God at the Lord’s Supper?
Finally, Luke tells us that the strong swam to shore and the weak held on to planks and other pieces of the ship to help them make it safely to shore.
Folks, we are the planks, we are the pieces that make up the ship, the church, and we need to help each other when the storms hit members of our church family. Another stretch...perhaps, but was Paul thinking of this when he wrote:
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-28a ‘The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has...’
Is there any question here that Paul is referring to the church?
By following God’s command, everyone reached land safely. The same can be said today when you face life’s storms by trusting in Jesus, your safe harbor.
Conclusion
ILL: Christian author Jerry Bridges wrote: “As I have watched the parade of people through our church, and other churches. I wonder why so few commit themselves to a local body of believers in a significant way. Many sit and soak and do little else, and they flee at the first sign of trouble or pressure. They fail to become involved or to give; the priority for corporate worship falls far down on the list. They criticize all that is wrong with a specific local congregation. . . What can we do besides comment or complain? We need to accept the challenge to commit ourselves to responsible membership.” (Jerry Bridges. Spirit of Revival)
For the Christian, the local church is the first level of commitment outside of our personal relationship with the Lord. With all its imperfections, the church is still the Lord’s major avenue through which he accomplishes his work.
Yet, some just don’t see church attendance as a necessity
· They see recreation as a necessity.
· They see yard work as a necessity.
· They see entertaining as a necessity.
· They see viewing sporting events as a necessity.
But regular church attendance ranks low on their ‘to do’ list. They have every intention of coming, unless of course something else comes up.
Commitment to a local church means
deciding on a church “home” and moving in for a permanent stay.
Make it your pilot boat that leads you to your safe harbor...Jesus.