Surviving the Storm

There are some places you go to that you never forget.

They stick in your memory forever.

And for me, one of these is Malta.

Bridget and I went on a cruise to celebrate special birthdays.

And one of the places I went to was Malta.

And I remember going in.

It was a bright, sunny day.

The sea was very calm.

And as you came towards Malta, you saw this stunning city on the hill above you,

a big, fortified city.

You don't really get a proper impression with it from a photo.

It was absolutely magnificent.

One place I think I will never forget.

I think Luke also would never forget when he came to Malta.

But his circumstances were very different from ours.

Luke swam ashore.

Perhaps he was clinging to some driftwood as the ship they were on had broken up.

after 14 days in a storm, a wild storm at sea.

Not knowing where they were, not knowing where they were going and fearing for their lives.

And I'm sure as Luke came to Malta, he was very thankful that God had preserved his life

and everyone else on board.

Thankful too, as we saw in the reading for the great hospitality offered to them by the Maltese people.

And I think we can be thankful to Luke or thankful for Luke for the account that he gives us

or in the passage that he's read to us.

It is really tense.

It is in many ways quite exciting.

And it draws us in as a great adventure.

And of course, Luke was recording it firsthand.

It's clear from the way Luke writes his book, the Book of Acts,

whether he is there or not there.

He talks about we or they.

This is definitely one of the we passages.

Luke had come through the storm and he gives us a very vivid account of it.

And there were two things that particularly struck me

as I was thinking of this chapter over the last week.

The first thing is that God, in his mercy, provides for us,

but he doesn't always provide in the ways that we expect.

And the second thing is that we have opportunities as believers, as Christians,

and knowing the Lord Jesus, we have opportunities to influence others,

even if we're not in positions of formal authority.

And I hope we'll see both of these as we go through this morning.

But I want to begin by just walking through the passage.

I have read it beautifully, but there's a lot in it.

So let's just go through again and just make sure we understand what is going on.

So if you've been following in previous weeks,

you'll know that Paul had come to Jerusalem.

He was hoping to end up in Rome, but he'd come to Jerusalem.

When he was in Jerusalem, he was arrested.

He was in prison in Caesarea for two years,

no doubt chafing at the bit to get away.

And then he is sent away to Rome because he appeals to Caesar.

He is sent away to Rome as a prisoner.

And that's where we pick it up this morning.

Paul, along with Luke, and with another man called Aristarchus,

who was one of those who had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem,

they joined the boat that is going ultimately towards Rome.

I always like a good map.

So let's put a map up and we'll walk through it just to get a feel for the journeys of Paul.

And his companions start off at the bottom right in Caesarea,

and they're heading up to the top left, which is Rome.

So first of all, they're on probably a relatively small ship

that takes them around the coast, around the top of Cyprus,

and they come to this place called Myra.

Relatively uneventful part of the journey, I think,

although they're the first signs of bad weather, of stormy weather,

as they make that bit of the journey.

But that is the relatively straightforward bit.

Now, the boat they were on was probably quite a small boat.

It wasn't one that would either be going to Rome

or would be suitable for going to Rome.

So they then pick up a much bigger boat at the port there.

And that's where their problems begin.

So the idea would have been they would have gone west,

so gone left in the map there.

But actually what happens is they get into really stormy weather,

and they have to head south, and they end up in Crete.

Now, a big part of the problem with that

is that they were running against a very tight deadline.

If you're sailing in the Mediterranean,

there are parts of the year when it's safe to sail,

and there are parts of the year when it's not safe to sail.

And Paul and his companions landed in Crete

just about the time when it was becoming unsafe to sail.

He refers, you may have noticed in the passage,

to it being after the Day of Atonement.

It was probably early October.

And it was getting to the point where it was going to be

very stormy weather on the seas,

and you probably didn't want to be making that hop from Crete

over towards Italy, probably Sicily initially.

And so there was a decision to make.

They were in a place in Crete that wasn't a very good harbour,

it wasn't in many ways a very safe harbour,

and the question was how much further could they get before the weather set in.

And Paul says, don't try it.

Just stay here.

If you go from here, the ship's going to get destroyed.

There will probably be loss of life.

And at that point, Paul is outnumbered.

Paul, remember, is a prisoner.

We'll come back to that.

He's a prisoner, so really has no status at all on the boat.

So Paul says, don't go.

But the captain and the centurion who's looking after Paul and the prisoners,

they decide they're going to go along the coast of Crete,

probably a distance of about 40 miles,

and find somewhere that's a bit more suitable,

and then stay there for the winter.

That place is called Phoenix, if you can see there on the map of Crete.

So it wasn't a very big distance they were planning to go.

They were going to go about 40 miles.

They ended up traveling about 600 miles.

600 miles in a boat that was totally out of control.

They didn't know where they were.

There was nothing they could do to help themselves.

They were just drifting along at sea.

And they did a number of things to try and help the situation.

They came behind a small island that's talked about in the passage.

They took the lifeboat onto the ship.

The lifeboat would probably have been dangling behind the ship,

being towed along by the ship.

So they took it on so that it was a bit more secure.

They tied ropes around the ship to prevent it from falling to pieces.

Eventually, they started throwing things out of the ship

and lowering the anchors to prevent them drifting towards Africa.

So you just see the bottom of the map is the north coast of Africa,

where there were some really dangerous sandbanks and rocks

where they might have got destroyed.

But basically, they don't know where they are

and they don't know what's going to happen.

They're in a huge storm at sea.

It's dark all the time.

The wind is blowing.

The rain is falling down.

And it's a desperate situation.

And they're all just about giving up hope

when Paul intervenes and says,

an angel of the Lord has come to me

and he's revealed we're all going to be saved.

We'll wash up on some island.

And that island, of course, turns out to be Malta,

down towards the bottom left,

the southwest on the map that's on the screen.

So they end up in Malta,

but not in a straightforward way.

They approach it at night.

They recognize that they're coming to land

and the sailors think,

great, this is our chance.

We'll get the life vote and we'll go away.

We'll save ourselves

and just leave the rest to whatever happens to them.

Paul thwarts that plan

and they all end up together coming towards Malta,

but they get stuck on a sandbank

and the last little bit,

they have to swim.

Really terrifying experience for everybody.

And yet an experience where we can see

that God is ultimately in control.

276 people left the port on that ship.

Despite everything that happened,

276 people arrived in Malta,

all of them safe.

We then in Malta have the story

of a number of things that happened to Paul.

As he was helping to get wood,

a snake came out of the wood

and extremely bit him,

but didn't do him any harm.

He was able to heal Publius' servant,

the chief man on the island

and do many other miracles as well.

And then the final bit,

they wait three months in Malta

and the last bit is pretty straightforward.

They head first for Sicily,

then for the bottom of Italy

and work their way up.

Last bit on foot

and they're accompanied by some

of the Roman Christians for the last part.

So that briefly is what happened.

That is how Paul got from Caesarea,

from the land where he came from,

right up to Rome at the end.

Not as expected.

But as I said,

there are two things that really struck me

as I was reading this passage.

And we're going to start

by thinking about Paul's unexpected influence.

Now just think about the situation here.

You've got Paul.

He's a prisoner.

He's in chains.

Whether he was in chains all the time in the ship,

we don't know.

He might well have been chained to a soldier,

more or less continuously.

Paul is a prisoner.

No status at all on this ship.

Yes, he was probably recognized

as a celebrity prisoner, if you like,

not just a normal murderer,

robber or something like that.

Nevertheless, he has no formal status on the ship.

And yet again and again,

as you read through,

it seems to be Paul who's actually in control here.

He's the one who's able to identify what's happening,

to think through the situations

and give wise advice,

who has God on his side

and receives messages from God,

and who ultimately is the one

who can give the assurance

that they'll be brought safely to land

and to do the things that bring it about.

This man who is a prisoner,

who is in that sense the lowest of the low on the ship,

is ultimately the person

who is able to save everyone there

with God's help

and to bring them to land.

And we might say,

well, why is that?

And how does that impact on us?

And I think what came to me

over the last few days

is the opportunities that we too have

to be influences for good,

to be representatives of God,

even when we're positions

where we don't have a given authority,

where we're not in a position of power.

Even if at work,

we're in a relatively junior position,

even if in our neighbourhood,

we're not particularly influential or well-known,

even in the church,

if we're not in the leadership.

There are opportunities

to be good representatives of God

and to be influences on others.

So let's just talk about a few things here.

The first thing I think we notice about Paul

is he has a very attractive character.

Did you notice by the time they got to Sidon,

which wasn't very far away from Caesarea,

he had so impressed the centurion

that the centurion was happy for this prisoner

to go and to meet the people,

the Christians in Sidon.

As you go in the boat,

you can see respect building for Paul

as time goes on.

The people liked him,

people took to him.

And then when they came to Malta,

what's happened?

Paul was helping them to gather the wood.

He wasn't saying,

well, I'm above this or I'm a prisoner,

I shouldn't have to do that.

Paul was pulling his weight,

helping the people on the island,

and then later helping them when they were ill.

So at the end,

they were really honoring him

and they really were attracted to him.

Paul had a very attractive character.

And that should be the case of us too,

if we're Christians,

that we should be demonstrating

the fruit of the Spirit

that Paul talks about in Galatians.

And we should be people

who others can look up to

and can think,

yes, there's someone I can respect,

someone who shows virtuous character,

someone who is friendly and helpful.

We should be attractive to others.

Now, there will be times

when we can live like that.

And just because we're Christians,

people will be opposed to us

and will try to do us down.

But we have a duty to live as we can

for the Lord Jesus.

There's a lovely verse in 1 Peter 3,

which talks about the unfading beauty

of a gentle and quiet spirit.

I like that.

The unfading beauty

of a gentle and quiet spirit.

And that's what we,

if we're Christians,

should seek to have

as we seek to emulate

and to learn from

the character of the Lord Jesus.

So Paul had an attractive character.

Second thing Paul clearly had

was personal authority.

When Paul spoke,

people listened.

Now, in this case,

it's helped that the first time he spoke,

he was right.

He warned them of danger.

And there was danger.

And so they weren't so quick

to dismiss him other times.

But Paul had authority.

Paul was able to say with authority,

you will be saved.

No one will die on this boat.

Paul was able to say,

we all need to eat food now.

We haven't been eating for the last week

because it's been so dreadful.

We've been so tense and perhaps seasick.

Now is the time we need to eat

because as we come to land,

we'll need strength.

Paul is able to see

and to say that the sailors

are about to abandon ship

and leave everyone behind.

And the centurion listens to him

and acts on it.

Paul is a man who,

as you go through,

you can see that he has

personal authority.

And that's something that is good

for us to have as well.

That people know that we're those

who are worth listening to.

When we say things,

we don't say them to be unhelpful

or to be spiteful

or to do people down.

We say things that are designed to help

and to encourage

and to move things forward.

And if we're like that,

people will listen to us.

We may not be the most talkative.

We may not be the most loud.

But if when we speak,

people can see,

yes, that is something

that is worth hearing,

then when we have something

really important to say,

we will do it with authority

and people will listen to us

as they did to Paul.

Peter writes,

same chapter referred to before,

chapter 3,

always be prepared

to give an answer

to everyone

who asks you to give

the reason for the hope

that you have,

but do this

with gentleness

and respect.

I think that's a large part

of the secret

of gaining authority

to show gentleness

and respect,

but to speak in a way

which people believe

and they understand

that you have the right

to say it.

One of my appraisals

and work,

one of the quite surprising things

my boss said to me one time

was he said,

you're the conscience

of the department.

I had no idea

that he thought like that.

Now it wasn't that I'd been

going around saying,

I'm a Christian,

you can't do this,

you can't do that

and we must act

in this way.

But I think what he felt

was I was someone

who had the interests

of customers at heart

and sometimes would say,

okay,

that may seem commercially good

but it's not good

for our customers,

it's probably not

the right thing to do.

And so he felt

that I had something

worthwhile to contribute

that when I spoke

in these circumstances

I had authority

and whether he was right

or not I don't know

but that was his impression.

And I think all of us,

wherever we are,

if we are careful

in what we say

and if we try to be helpful

and positive

then we will gain authority.

One of the things

worth noting

on Paul's authority,

Paul's authority

was used particularly

to express a message

of hope.

This reassurance

that everyone would be saved

if they acted

in the way

that he suggested

they should.

His was a message,

yes,

God is with us,

God can help us,

you can have hope

for the future.

And perhaps for us,

one of the great opportunities

to speak with authority

is when people are going

through difficult situations,

when they're struggling

with life

and when they're looking ahead

and saying,

I don't know

what's going to happen,

we really don't have any hope.

That was the situation

on this boat here.

Well, we have a great message

of hope

through the Lord Jesus.

That Jesus came

into this world,

that he lived,

that he died

for our sins

and that through him

we can have eternal life.

But more than that,

through him in this life

we can know his peace

and his presence

and his guidance.

And even in the most

difficult times

we can have hope

through the Lord Jesus.

And that's a message

we can give with authority.

We can give it

with the authority

of the Bible.

That there is hope

for those who may appear

hopeless.

And however bad

someone's situation,

the Lord Jesus

is able to help

and to strengthen them.

Third thing I suggest

that Paul gives here

is practical wisdom.

Now there is some

miraculous stuff

and we'll come on to that.

But actually a lot

of what Paul says

is just common sense

and experience.

Why did Paul think

it wasn't safe

to sail

between the harbours

in Crete?

There's no indication here

that it was because

he'd had some divine intervention

or seen a vision

at that stage.

But Paul was a very

seasoned seaman.

He tells us

in 1 Corinthians

that he'd been shipwrecked

three times

before this

and had spent

a day and a night

adrift at sea.

He knew what

the Mediterranean

was like.

He knew the dangers

that were

present there

probably even more

than the sailors

on that boat.

And he used that

as practical wisdom

to say,

really,

you shouldn't

be doing that.

He had the practical

nous and understanding

to recognise

that when the sailors

were about to leave

and were saying,

oh, we're just getting

lifeboats,

that actually

what they were doing

was planning

to run away

and to leave

the others behind.

He had the common sense

to think,

well, if people

are going to have to swim

potentially towards the shore,

they need to have

a bit of strength,

so they need to eat.

He demonstrated

practical wisdom

in the situation.

And we need to as well.

Christian life

is not all about

God giving us

great guidance

and help

and showing us

clearly

the way ahead.

God has given us

the powers

of observation.

And as we go

through life

and as we learn

often from bitter experience

what works well,

what doesn't work well,

what should and shouldn't

be done,

then God gives us

the common sense

and the wisdom

to put that

into practice.

To learn from experience

and to make

sound

judgements.

And he expects us

to do that.

I was reminded

of the parable

of the talents

and to some extent

I think that's

what that is about.

People who've been given,

the servants who've been given,

some of them

have a lot of money,

some of them

not very much money,

but the question is

what good,

what use do you make

of the things

you've been given?

And we can apply that

to spiritual gifts

and that's perfectly relevant.

I think it also applies

to what God has given us

in our intellect,

in our practical skills,

in our people skills,

that we should use these

and day to day

we should show

the kind of practical wisdom

that Paul did.

Fourthly though,

there is

spiritual power.

So the first three

are really things

about our character

and what we do

and what we say.

But we need to know

that without God's power

and God's strength

with us,

then we are powerless.

And throughout this passage

again,

you see Paul's reliance

on God.

The angel appears to him.

That is the thing

that gives Paul

the real assurance

that no one

will be lost.

Now Paul already knew

he was going to make it

to Rome.

God had already told him that

but this assurance

that no one would be lost,

that came by

divine intervention

by the angel.

When they get him

to the island of Malta,

when Paul is saved

from the snake,

when he's able

to heal others,

that is again

divine intervention

that is spiritual power.

Now we may not see angels.

We may not be able

to survive being poisoned

or to heal others

miraculously.

But we too need

God's power

in our lives

as we seek

to serve him.

Because without God's power,

then nothing that we try

to do

will be effective.

The greatest miracle

of all

is when someone

comes to know

and trust the Lord Jesus

and passes

from death

to life.

And we know

that we can't do that.

We have a part

to play as Christians

in talking to others

about the Lord Jesus,

in helping them

to understand

the glorious message

of salvation.

But ultimately,

unless we've got

spiritual power,

unless we're relying

on God,

then it will be useless.

Paul displayed

spiritual power.

And then finally,

the last thing

that struck me

in this context here

was that Paul

had an appropriate witness

on board that ship.

Now I'm sure

that Paul talked to them

about the Lord Jesus,

about the death of Jesus,

about why Paul

was in chains,

and the importance

to him

of telling others

the gospel message.

But that's not recorded

in this passage.

But there are a few things

that are recorded

that are really just Paul

talking about

his experience

or doing things

that should come naturally

to us as Christians.

So he says,

when he says that

the ship is all

going to be saved,

he makes it clear

that that's because

he's had a vision

of an angel

and he's been told

that direct from God.

When he gives food

to those on the ship,

what does he do?

What do Christians

naturally do

when we have food?

He gives thanks

to God for it.

And I'm sure

in quite an unobtrusive way

and yet a very powerful way,

Paul would give thanks

to God

that he was going

to save them

and that he had provided

for those on the ship.

When Publius

needs the miracle

of healing,

then Paul prays

and prays, I think,

quite publicly

for that healing.

Doing things

which as Christians

should come naturally

to us,

not pushing forward

and in what some

would consider

an objectionable way,

always hammering

the message

of the gospel.

We need to tell people

the gospel

but we also need

to witness

just in a quiet way

of our experience

of God,

of the fact

that we do like

to thank God

for what he's given

to us,

particularly in practicing

grace around mealtimes

and in praying

for each other

and praying particularly

for those who are ill.

We need to have,

like Paul,

an appropriate witness.

And if we have

all these things,

if we have

an attractive character,

personal authority,

practical wisdom,

spiritual power,

an appropriate witness,

then we can have

an influence

that is far beyond

any formal power

or control

that we have.

people will respect us

and people will be drawn

to the Lord Jesus

through us.

As I said,

sometimes they will

turn against the Lord,

sometimes they will

turn against us

and that is part

of living

in a sinful world.

But we need to show

this kind of character

and have this kind

of influence

if we are to be

good witnesses

for the Lord Jesus

and to be a real help

to others,

particularly in coming

to know him.

So that's Paul's

unexpected influence.

Now fairly briefly,

let me talk about

God's unexpected providence

which I think is the

other key theme

in this passage.

The last third

of the book of Acts

roughly

is a description

of Paul's journey

to Rome.

It kind of mirrors

the gospel

where the last third

of Luke's gospel

is the Lord's journey

to Jerusalem

and the cross

and resurrection.

The last third

broadly of Acts

is Paul's journey

to Rome,

starting out

with the collection

that he made

in the Gentile churches,

then the journey

to Jerusalem

and then from there

to Rome.

Now Paul undoubtedly

thought or very likely

thought that he would

collect the money

from the Gentiles

to help the Christians

in Judea

who were going

through a time

of difficulty,

a time of famine.

He'd go to Jerusalem,

he'd spend some time

with the Christians there

and then he would

go on to Rome

and effectively

retrace his steps,

head for Rome

and then ultimately

from Rome

head to Spain

which is the next place

that he planned

to evangelize.

And Paul maybe

had it fairly clear

in his head,

God is providing

a way for me

to help the Christians

in Jerusalem

and then to go

and encourage

the Christians in Rome

and then to go

and reach those

who don't yet know

the gospel

in Spain.

But it turned out

very differently.

Paul ended up

two years in prison,

two years which

he must have been

really thinking

am I ever going

to get to Rome?

What's happening here?

Why am I like this?

He's taken on a ship

in chains,

he's taken to Rome

as a prisoner,

not as a free man

and then he gets

caught up in this

terrible storm

where it looks as if

everyone is going

to die.

Now God had confirmed

to Paul way back

in chapter 23,

I think that's about

two weeks ago

we looked at that,

that he would go

to Rome,

but he's languished

in prison,

he's in chains

and he's in a shipwreck.

And God's unexpected

providence means

that he may not

always protect us

from the storm.

In the gospel

we have the story,

more than one story

of the Lord Jesus

calming storms,

of the disciples

being saved

from the storm

and being able

to sail to shore.

And sometimes God

does that.

Sometimes we come

across a situation

in life which is

very difficult

and we pray about it

and God very quickly

intervenes

and things

return to normal.

We can see

him working

in it.

But often

and perhaps

more often

we go through

the storm

and are not

protected

from being

in it.

Whether it is

because we live

in a fallen world

and we will

inevitably face

opposition

as Christians

to the gospel

as Paul did

and a lot of

what's happened

to Paul here

is a result

of the Jews

turning against him

and wanting

to get rid of him.

We will see

opposition

if we stand

for the Lord Jesus

and some people

will not accept

the message.

Or it may be

again a result

of being in a fallen

world

that not through

any man-made thing

but things

turn against us.

Paul being caught

up in the storm

perhaps many people

being caught up

in illness

or in difficult

family circumstances

and we face

storms

in our lives

and God allows

us to go

through them.

Sometimes he protects

us from them

often he doesn't

and he lets us

go through them

so that we will

grow in our character

as Christians

so that we will

become more

dependent

on him

and it tests

and ultimately

strengthens

our faith.

I think over

the last two

or three years

it's been very

evident in this

church

that a lot

of generally

older people

who have been

pillars of the

church for many

years

have gone through

extremely

difficult

circumstances.

I won't

convince them

but many of us

will know

what they are.

They've gone

through times

of real illness

and of sadness

and of difficulty.

And I look

at these people

who are not

just brothers

and sisters

in Christ

I would say

they're more

like uncles

and aunts

in Christ

who have

influenced me

who have

cared for me

who have

encouraged me

and you think

well why is

it happening?

Why are these

people suffering

so much?

And the answer

is quite simply

that all of us

are subject

to the storms

of life

and perhaps

those who

suffer the most

and who come

through it

that is happening

so that the

strength of their

faith

the goal

of their

commitment

to the Lord

Jesus

is made

plain

to everyone

and yes

it keeps them

depending on

the Lord Jesus

it helps them

to grow

further in their

character

helps them

to look forward

even more

to when they

will go home

to be in heaven

with the Lord

Jesus

but all of us

will face the

storms at one

point or another

in our lives

and God

will not always

protect us

from getting

into the storm

and of course

he didn't protect

his own son

from the storm

either

that the Lord

Jesus suffered

much more

than we ever

will

when he went

to the cross

at Calvary

and took the

punishment

for our sins

but if God

won't protect us

always from

the storm

he will always

protect us

through the storm

if we're trusting

in him

he will bring

us out

on the other

side

better off

better Christians

and able to

look back

and to thank him

for his grace

and his providence

Paul wouldn't

have chosen

I'm sure

to go to Rome

the way he did

and yet the way

he went to Rome

gave him opportunities

there were opportunities

on the ship

for witness

and to demonstrate

the great power

and wisdom

of God

there was the

opportunity in Malta

that three months

there

such a contrast

when he was in prison

back in Caesarea

three months in Malta

where people were

coming to him

and he was able

to heal

and he was able

to witness

to the saving power

of the Lord Jesus

and then as he comes

towards Rome

when the Christians

come out

perhaps having heard

of the difficulty

of his journey

Paul is encouraged

and strengthened

by God's people

being there

and being there

to help him

Paul knew

he was going

to reach Rome

as we said earlier

because he trusted

God's promise

and he knew

he could rely

on God's presence

in the worst

of times

and for us too

that's the case

if we are going

through difficult

if you are going

through a difficult

time at the moment

be assured

that God

will be with you

and if you trust him

he will bring you

through it

be assured

that his promises

are always secure

and if we read

the Bible

we come across

a promise of God

there we can lay

hold on it

and we can take

comfort

and strength

from it

yes we'll go

through the storm

but God will be

with us

in the storm

and God will

protect us

through

the storm

perhaps the

second most

famous storm

in Christian

history

took place

not between

Crete and Malta

but off the

coast of Ireland

John Newton

having been a slave

himself in Africa

was now a slave

trader

and off the Galway

coast

his ship

went into

a dreadful

storm

and the sailors

on the ship

feared for their

lives

and they spent

a whole night

trying to keep

the ship

from sinking

not sure exactly

what they were

doing

probably bailing

water out

and making

everything secure

and desperate

for their

lives

and in his

desperation

John Newton

who wasn't a

Christian at that

stage

called on God

for mercy

and God did

bring him

through the storm

and everyone else

on the boat

with him

now at that point

John Newton

didn't immediately

become a Christian

everything was

straightforward

from then on

but that was

the first step

in John Newton

beginning to

understand

the grace

of God

and ultimately

coming to know

God

and becoming

a vicar

down in

Olney

and John Newton

of course

was a very

famous hymn writer

we sang a

version of one

of his hymns

right at the

beginning

Amazing Grace

I want to end

with a couple

of verses

from another

of John Newton's

hymn

that is perhaps

not so well

known

but I think

directly relates

to his experience

of the storm

and perhaps

can help us

as we go

through storms

in life

here's what

John Newton

says

be gone

unbelief

my saviour

is near

and for my

relief

will surely

appear

by prayer

let me wrestle

and he will

perform

with Christ

in the vessel

I smile

at the storm

since all

that I meet

shall work

for my good

the bitterest

sweet

the medicine

food

though painful

at present

will cease

before long

and then

oh how pleasant

the conqueror's

song

I think the smiling

there is symbolic

rather than literal

but you get the meaning

if we have the Lord

Jesus with us

we can come through

the storms of life

and we can emerge

at the end

stronger

we can be conquerors

we can go

knowing

that God

has preserved us

and God

has a place

for us

in heaven

let's pray together

Father we thank you

for your word to us

this morning

we thank you

for this passage

that is

in many ways

so tense

and exciting

but also

which brings out

so much

your goodness

your providence

and the responsibilities

too

that we have

to influence others

and to be

forces for good

and witnesses

for the Lord Jesus

in our world

help us as we

go into the coming weeks

that we may

face the storms of life

with confidence

that you are in control

and that we may

demonstrate the character

and power

of the Lord Jesus

that we may be

forces for good

and may be witnesses

to the saving power

of Jesus

to those around us

we take time again

to remember

as we did earlier

those who are going

through the most

difficult of times

at the moment

for those who are

in hospital

for those who are

in suffering

at home

for those

whose future

might appear

uncertain

and we pray

as they go

through the storm

that they may know

your presence

with them

and may be able

to lay hold

on your promises

and on the fact

that you

are in control

of everything

we thank you

for your presence

this morning

we commit ourselves

to you now

in the name

of the Lord Jesus

Amen