1
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:08,119
This is Living Waters of Grace, 
the teaching ministry of Clark 

2
00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,240
Wofford, senior pastor of 
Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, 

3
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400
County of Greensburg, PA. 
Now here's Pastor Clark as he 

4
00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,720
continues teaching through God's
Word. 

5
00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,880
In life, sometimes you have 
decisions you're going to make 

6
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,760
about some type of plan you 
might have. 

7
00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:49,160
It's always good to run your 
plans past the Lord and ask Him 

8
00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:54,680
what he thinks you should do. 
Wait on the Lord and pray and 

9
00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,320
ask him what you should do. 
A lot of times we don't think 

10
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,360
that way. 
We just respond out of our 

11
00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,640
emotion or our mood or human 
reasoning, and we just do what 

12
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,120
we think we're going to do. 
Most of us have been part of a 

13
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,840
team at some point. 
Whether it was at work on a 

14
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,880
sports team or as a member of a 
music group, we work together 

15
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,200
for the good of the whole. 
Sometimes we took constructive 

16
00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,280
criticism or had to listen to 
other people's opinions. 

17
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,720
Today, Pastor Clark reminds you 
that this is especially helpful 

18
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,080
to remember in your relationship
with Jesus. 

19
00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,280
Consult him on everything. 
He's a perfect leader and 

20
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,200
teammate. 
Why would you want to make 

21
00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,920
decisions apart from him now? 
Here's Pastor Clark in Acts 

22
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:44,400
Chapter 27 with today's edition 
of Living Waters of Grace. 

23
00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,200
Paul is going to Rome. 
He's wanted to go to Rome pretty

24
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,040
much his whole ministry life, 
and it just seemed like there 

25
00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,880
was always things in the way 
that prevented him from getting 

26
00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:56,840
there. 
And so now he's going to have to

27
00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,400
take a long voyage and a couple 
ships and have his life risked 

28
00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:01,560
and we're going to read about 
that. 

29
00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,720
Now. 
The one thing to I think to 

30
00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,080
consider this voyage ends up in 
shipwreck. 

31
00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:12,240
In shipwreck, I've never been. 
I've been at sea and I've been 

32
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,040
in boats and that kind of stuff,
but I've never been shipwrecked.

33
00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,040
It's a very terrifying thing to 
experience if the boat is 

34
00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,880
starting to take on water and it
starts to go down and you might 

35
00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,800
die, right? 
But I've been shipwrecked in my 

36
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,560
life personally, through 
circumstances of my own doing 

37
00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,920
and sin and ruining my life when
I was a younger man doing things

38
00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,720
that cause consequences to 
happen in my life. 

39
00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,680
And then I've also been in 
situations, even as a Christian,

40
00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,160
where God has allowed me to go 
through tough times and 

41
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,160
challenging times and life 
threatening times and tragic 

42
00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:50,680
times that teach me how to 
depend more on Him and how to 

43
00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,320
surrender to him and how to 
yield to Him and how to get out 

44
00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,320
of the way so that he can have 
His way. 

45
00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,240
So if you're here today, you 
might be in a a place of feeling

46
00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,200
like there's no hope. 
Or maybe you're sensing that 

47
00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,640
there is hope, but you're 
wondering when that hope might 

48
00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:09,680
appear for you. 
You're feeling like your life's 

49
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,160
wrecked. 
Or maybe you've made decisions. 

50
00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,360
Maybe there's relationships that
are unreconcilable. 

51
00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,680
Maybe there's health issues 
you're dealing with that are 

52
00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,480
just very, very challenging. 
Maybe there's issues with 

53
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,720
children or fractured 
friendships that you wish 

54
00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:26,960
weren't fractured. 
There could be all kind of stuff

55
00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,840
that you personally are dealing 
with today. 

56
00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,720
And I'm here to tell you as we 
study this chapter, that you're 

57
00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,840
not alone, that everyone who 
lives life goes through times of

58
00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,080
challenge and adversity and 
difficulty. 

59
00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,320
It's not uncommon. 
It's normal. 

60
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,640
And the apostle Paul, who walked
totally with the Lord, was 

61
00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:50,000
totally committed to the Lord, 
also went through these things. 

62
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,640
Just because you're a Christian 
doesn't mean you escape 

63
00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,720
adversity or challenges or 
difficulty when you're a 

64
00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,280
Christian. 
God uses these things, and he 

65
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,120
even allows warfare and the 
enemy at times to attack us in 

66
00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,560
order that we might draw closer 
to the Lord. 

67
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,160
And sometimes when you're going 
through something, you want to 

68
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,960
say, well, God, if you really 
care about me, if you really 

69
00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,920
love me, why are you putting me 
through this? 

70
00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:16,399
But God always has a reason in 
time to get us through whatever 

71
00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:19,839
it is we're getting through to 
begin to understand one thing 

72
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,800
for sure. 
I can't live life without the 

73
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,200
help of the Lord and neither can
you. 

74
00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,720
Lord speak to us today about how
we can make application and 

75
00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,720
parallel what Paul went through 
in our own personal life today. 

76
00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,320
And perhaps what it is that 
we're facing, what it is we're 

77
00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,560
dealing with, the tragedies 
we've been through, the things 

78
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:44,040
we're trying to overcome. 
God show us how Paul depended 

79
00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,120
upon you and we ask all these 
things in Jesus name, Amen. 

80
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:51,520
First one. 
And when it was decided that 

81
00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,640
they we should sail to Italy, 
they delivered Paul and some 

82
00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,320
other prisoners to one named 
Julius, a centurion of the 

83
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,800
Augustan Regiment. 
So this Julius is a very 

84
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,920
powerful leader. 
He's going to watch over the 

85
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,200
prisoners, especially Paul and 
those who had gone with him in 

86
00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,480
order to make sure that they 
make the journey and get the 

87
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,160
room. 
So entering a ship of the Adrum 

88
00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,800
ATM, we put the sea meaning to 
sail along the coast of Asia. 

89
00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:25,360
So if you look at a map, they're
coming out of the Bible lands 

90
00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,800
and they're coming up the coast 
up toward Greece to come around.

91
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,160
And this group of people that 
went with Paul that mentions a 

92
00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,040
couple names here. 
First of all, Luke is giving the

93
00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,360
declaration here. 
What happened in this chapter? 

94
00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,960
And so he was with Paul and then
Aristocas, a Macedonian of 

95
00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,120
Thessalonica, was with us. 
This is another brother in the 

96
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,440
Lord. 
It also had travelled with Paul 

97
00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,000
and Paul was allowed to have 
some help. 

98
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,720
Luke was his physician, so he 
was there to minister to Paul's 

99
00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,920
health issues. 
And Aristarchus was a brother 

100
00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,040
who was also allowed to come on.
The ship basically took the 

101
00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,520
place of a slave, but also 
prisoner that he might be with 

102
00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,400
Paul. 
And so they're heading up the 

103
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,360
coast of Macedonian of 
Thessalonica was with us. 

104
00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,120
And the next day we landed at 
Sidon. 

105
00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,440
And Julius treated Paul kindly 
and gave him liberty to go to 

106
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,280
his friends and receive care. 
So Paul had a lot of freedom 

107
00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:28,120
because of his testimony. 
He wasn't a prisoner because of 

108
00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:30,920
doing something like a crime of 
murder. 

109
00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,840
Like most of the prisoners on 
this boat, we're going to be 

110
00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:37,560
delivered to Rome to be killed 
basically for their crimes. 

111
00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,040
Paul was a political prisoner 
and so Julius gave him some 

112
00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,400
freedom. 
So Paul stopped here at Sidon, 

113
00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,760
doesn't tell us who we saw, but 
he was with different people, 

114
00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,480
friends that knew him and they 
ministered to him. 

115
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,040
And Julius treated Paul kindly 
and gave him liberty to go to 

116
00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,800
his friends and receive care. 
And when he put the sea from 

117
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,800
there, we sailed under the 
shelter of Cyprus. 

118
00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:05,760
Now Cypress is going up there 
near the coast of Greece, 

119
00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,400
beautiful place in the world 
because the winds were contrary.

120
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,040
And when we had sailed over the 
sea, which is off Cilicia and 

121
00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,440
Pamphylia, we came to Mara, city
of Lycia. 

122
00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,040
Now, if you took the time and 
looked on the Bible map, you 

123
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,760
just see how they're gradually 
moving through these waters to 

124
00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,960
head up to Rome. 
They are the centurion found an 

125
00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:31,680
Alexandrian ship sailing to 
Italy and he put us on board. 

126
00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,320
And so now there's this 
opportunity to get going faster.

127
00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:40,160
It's a bigger ship, about 146 
feet long, about 36 feet wide 

128
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:45,720
that covered, carried grain from
Egypt and Egypt brought food to 

129
00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,200
Rome. 
So they were always given 

130
00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,880
preference on the seas and 
access to the harbors in Italy. 

131
00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,320
And so all this stuff is on 
water, what they're doing 

132
00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,560
dealing with here. 
And it says when we had sailed 

133
00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,400
slowly many days, we arrived 
with difficulty off sign us, the

134
00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,800
wind not pretty permitting us to
proceed. 

135
00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,720
We sailed under the shelter of 
Creek off Saloma, passing it 

136
00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,080
with difficulty. 
We came to place called Fair 

137
00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,280
Haven near the city of Lacia. 
So they're going up the coast 

138
00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,360
past Lebanon. 
Now they're off the coast of 

139
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,440
Greece and Crete, and they're 
trying to find a place that they

140
00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,920
can be for the storms to be able
to not destroy them. 

141
00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:33,799
And Fair Havens is, is is 
one-on-one side of Crete there. 

142
00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:39,400
So now when much time had been 
spent and sailing was now 

143
00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:44,039
dangerous because of the fast. 
And this fast relates to Yom 

144
00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:48,040
Kippur, the Day of Atonement, 
October, the Jewish feast of 

145
00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:52,680
fasting isn't good to be 
traveling in the waters past 

146
00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:54,680
October and going into the 
winter time. 

147
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,640
So that was 1 issue there that 
gave us the insight of when this

148
00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,400
was occurring and Paul's giving 
them his opinion though his 

149
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,360
sense, his warning. 
He says in verse 10 men, I 

150
00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:11,080
perceive that this voyage will 
end with disaster and much loss 

151
00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:15,240
not only of the cargo and ship 
but also our lives. 

152
00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,440
So in life, sometimes you have 
decisions you're going to make 

153
00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,320
about some type of plan you 
might have. 

154
00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:28,600
It's always good to run your 
plans past the Lord and ask Him 

155
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,960
what He thinks you should do. 
Wait on the Lord and pray and 

156
00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,520
ask Him what you should do. 
A lot of times we don't think 

157
00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,520
that way. 
We just respond out of our 

158
00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,920
emotion or our mood or human 
reasoning and we just do what we

159
00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,600
think we're going to do. 
But that's not how God's created

160
00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,840
us to live. 
And we're learning to depend on 

161
00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:54,360
the Lord. 
We don't immediately depend on 

162
00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,600
the Lord when we get saved. 
We still have a lot of self 

163
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,960
pride, whatever we think. 
We know how to handle things and

164
00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:04,720
what to do and all that kind of 
stuff. 

165
00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:07,800
And it's interesting when you 
tell someone that cares about 

166
00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,120
you as a deep Christian, what 
your plans are, what you're 

167
00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,120
going to do. 
A wise Christian would say, 

168
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:14,440
well, have you prayed about 
that? 

169
00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,960
Have you asked the Lord what he 
might want you to do? 

170
00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,120
And sometimes you get a shock 
look from the person. 

171
00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:21,920
Well, well, no, I, I didn't do 
that. 

172
00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:28,000
Well, it's always good to ask 
God what his thoughts are and if

173
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,320
there's any reason why you 
shouldn't do what it is you're 

174
00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,920
planning to do. 
You want the Lord to reveal it 

175
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:34,560
to you. 
You want him to speak to you so 

176
00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:38,040
that you would not bypass his 
perfect will for your life. 

177
00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,440
Paul, knowing the Lord and 
walking deeply with the Lord, 

178
00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:46,520
had experience in the sea. 
In Second Corinthians Chapter 

179
00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,000
11, it says he was shipwrecked 3
times. 

180
00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,200
So this guy knows what he's 
talking about. 

181
00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,600
He can tell by the winds and 
what's happening in the 

182
00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,160
environment and the seas that 
this is not a good plan to 

183
00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,080
proceed. 
And so he's giving them his 

184
00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,000
insight and he's telling them if
you're going to ruin everything,

185
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,960
you're going to lose your cargo 
and risk all of our lives. 

186
00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:10,560
Verse 11 Nevertheless, the 
centurion was more persuaded by 

187
00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:13,880
the helmsman, the captain of the
ship and the owner of the ship 

188
00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,880
than by the things spoken by 
Paul. 

189
00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,640
And because the harbor was not 
suitable to winter in, the 

190
00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:21,760
majority advises set sail from 
there. 

191
00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,800
Also, if by any means they could
reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete

192
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,720
opening toward the southwest and
northwest and winter there. 

193
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,280
So that would have been more in 
the direction of Italy. 

194
00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:38,160
It was only about 40 miles from 
this point to Phoenix and they 

195
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:39,960
thought they could make it 
because they had already 

196
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,880
travelled all these miles and 
and made it thus far. 

197
00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:48,000
This particular port, this Fair 
Haven was a real small community

198
00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,920
and the people that ran the 
ship, the crew, they didn't want

199
00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,640
to be there over winter because 
it was a boring place, wasn't 

200
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,200
much to do. 
They wanted to go to a more 

201
00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,240
happening place that they'd have
entertainment, do whatever crazy

202
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,000
stuff they wanted to do. 
So that was one of the reasons 

203
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,280
they wanted to get out of that 
Fair Haven harboring and go to 

204
00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:10,600
this Phoenix place winter there.
So in verse 13, when the South 

205
00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:15,200
wind blew softly, supposing that
they had obtained their desire 

206
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,840
putting out the sea, they sailed
close by Creek. 

207
00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,160
So it started out good the 
journey, the wind was perfect, 

208
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,600
nice sail looked like it was 
going to be smooth ride. 

209
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,400
I'm sure the captain of the ship
looked at Paul and said, you 

210
00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,280
know, you're wrong. 
I'm right kind of thing, but not

211
00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,440
long after verse 14, a temptress
head when a rose called your 

212
00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,680
Clyde. 
And this is translated the 

213
00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:41,520
typhoon or a severe 
northeasterly storm. 

214
00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,520
If you've ever been to the shore
on land and you have a vacation 

215
00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:48,480
and all of a sudden the winds 
start coming up and it gets to 

216
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,200
the temperatures drop and the 
waves start looking really crazy

217
00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,680
and the lifeguards won't let you
in the in the water. 

218
00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,680
That's a discouraging time 
because northeasters could last 

219
00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,680
a week and your whole vacation 
and all the money is spent to be

220
00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:02,280
at the beach. 
You know, you can't go in the 

221
00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:03,960
water. 
You can go up maybe to your 

222
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:06,520
knees and that's it. 
So this is what's happening 

223
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,200
here. 
This is a very, very serious 

224
00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:13,440
storm and it's scary. 
Someone said it's like they were

225
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:17,600
in this really cool boat and 
this floating and the sun and 

226
00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,040
the gentle breeze and all of a 
sudden they're like a toothpick 

227
00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:26,080
in the mid midst of 40 foot 
swells, that this is 

228
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,200
unbelievable. 
So the ship was caught and it 

229
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,000
could not head into the wind. 
So we let her drive. 

230
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,320
So they didn't have the ability 
to steer this boat. 

231
00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,680
Now this boat was taken by the 
wind and being pushed down more 

232
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,320
toward the coast of Africa 
instead of the shores of Italy. 

233
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,200
And they couldn't even really 
tell where they were going. 

234
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,160
And running under the shelter of
an island called Claudia, we 

235
00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,080
secured the skiff with 
difficulty. 

236
00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:55,160
They're trying to stabilize us, 
this huge vessel, and when they 

237
00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,680
had stake taken it on board, 
they use cables. 

238
00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:01,800
So they're pulling the the 
lifeboat out of the water to 

239
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,520
skiff and getting it into the 
big boat because it would start 

240
00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,640
smashing the other boat. 
And they undergirded the ship 

241
00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,000
and with these cables to sort of
wrap it around to prevent it 

242
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,600
from coming apart because of the
waves less they should run 

243
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:19,080
aground on the sands. 
They struck sail and were so 

244
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:23,120
driven and because we were 
exceedingly Tempest toss the 

245
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,760
next day they lighten the ship. 
So they're starting to dump 

246
00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,200
stuff out of the boat. 
The cargo, which was worth a lot

247
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,960
of money, they had to begin to 
get rid of it because of the 

248
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:36,920
weight. 
They're they're lightning the 

249
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,200
ship. 
On the third day we threw the 

250
00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,240
ship's tackle overboard with our
own hands. 

251
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,480
So not any are they getting rid 
of the grain. 

252
00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,680
But now they're getting rid of 
any kind of physical bedding or 

253
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,200
any kind of equipment. 
It isn't necessary right now. 

254
00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:54,200
And they're getting rid of all 
of it. 

255
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,000
It says in verse 20 now when 
neither sun nor stars appeared 

256
00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,160
for many days and those small 
Tempest beat on us all hope that

257
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,120
we would be saved was finally 
given up. 

258
00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,560
Have you ever been in a 
situation where you're going 

259
00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:15,760
through something that you feel 
that there's no hope left and 

260
00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,040
they're ready to give up? 
I'm sure you have been. 

261
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,520
I know I have been. 
There doesn't seem to be any 

262
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:27,360
answer, any reason for why it is
what it is you're going through.

263
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:34,640
And it's a really time of 
testing your faith and how well 

264
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,200
you know God because God will 
never fail you. 

265
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,640
He promises us throughout the 
Scriptures, Jesus never fails. 

266
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,160
Our faith fails. 
We get our eyes off of the Lord,

267
00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,880
We get our minds and our hearts 
out of the word of God, and then

268
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,800
all of a sudden we have nothing 
to stand on, do we? 

269
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,240
There's no stability. 
Everything's uncertain. 

270
00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:06,480
Everything's up in the air and 
they're at a point right now 

271
00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:12,760
that they are basically hopeless
and they're giving up. 

272
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,720
I don't know where you are 
today, but I'm here to tell you 

273
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,320
and encourage you. 
Don't give up no matter what. 

274
00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,240
Get close to God. 
He's ready to do something. 

275
00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,720
You get close to Him, He'll 
reveal himself to you in ways 

276
00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:34,120
that you never even knew Him. 
I hate to say it, but we're all 

277
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,120
at least I'll say myself, 
knuckleheads. 

278
00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:44,600
I'm going to say that about you.
But God has to many times cause 

279
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,640
stuff to happen in order to get 
our attention, to show us like 

280
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,200
we're missing things. 
We're not seeing things the way 

281
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,160
he wants us to. 
We're maybe not living the way 

282
00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,560
he wants us to live. 
He's he loves us so much that 

283
00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,520
he's going to do everything he 
can sometimes. 

284
00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,200
And he starts gradually many 
times to get your attention. 

285
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,880
And then if you don't listen, 
then maybe things get a little 

286
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,760
bit more challenging, more 
difficult. 

287
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,040
But here's Paul in this 
situation. 

288
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,000
He's a human being like the rest
of them. 

289
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:15,599
I'm sure he's freaking out too, 
in his ways. 

290
00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:19,359
A lot of people are seasick. 
They can't even think about 

291
00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:24,280
eating anything. 
But Paul begins to speak verse 

292
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:26,800
21. 
But after long abstinence from 

293
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,400
food, then Paul stood in the 
midst of them and said, Men, you

294
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,800
should have listened to me and 
not have sailed from Crete and 

295
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:39,400
incurred this disaster and loss.
Has then anybody ever told you 

296
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,360
after you made a decision and 
everything fell apart? 

297
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,560
I told you so. 
You shouldn't have done that. 

298
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,160
Always Monday morning 
quarterbacks always telling you 

299
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,240
how you should have handled it 
differently. 

300
00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:52,560
Well, that's the last thing you 
want to hear at that point in 

301
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,640
time because, like, you already 
made the decision and 

302
00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:56,920
everything's messed up. 
You don't need to tell me that. 

303
00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,200
I already know I've messed up, 
right? 

304
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:04,280
So he says. 
And now I urge you in verse 22 

305
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:09,120
to take heart, for there will be
no loss of life among you, but 

306
00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:10,960
only of the ship. 
Now they must. 

307
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,840
Some of them had to think he was
nuts. 

308
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,160
The ship is going everywhere and
it is like, no way, how are we 

309
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,200
not going to die? 
But Paul during this journey was

310
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,120
also sharing the gospel. 
And I'm sure there was people on

311
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,840
the ship at that time because of
what was happening, said, hey, 

312
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,800
Paul, what do I need to do to be
saved? 

313
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,560
Is there an afterlife? 
The other is, let me tell you 

314
00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:34,960
about it. 
Let me tell you this life's real

315
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,200
short. 
You want to put your trust in 

316
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,240
Jesus because one day you're 
going to leave this world and 

317
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,320
you want to be where he is. 
You don't want to be in hell. 

318
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:44,880
You want to be in heaven with 
the Lord. 

319
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,480
And he's made a way because of 
what Jesus did on the cross to 

320
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,800
die for us and to forgive us of 
our sins, to cleanse us, forgive

321
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,760
us, give us new life. 
So there is probably a lot of 

322
00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,880
deathbed conversions here. 
I always like visiting hospitals

323
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,280
when someone's getting ready to 
die and they still have 

324
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,640
consciousness and their loved 
ones ask the pastor to go and 

325
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,360
talk to the person who's in the 
bed. 

326
00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:13,000
The person in the bed knows that
it's coming down the home 

327
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,880
stretch and they're going to 
pass from this life. 

328
00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,120
And that's when you begin to 
tell them about the gospel. 

329
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,600
And I'm amazed. 
And how many people are 

330
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,600
definitely prepared at that 
point to hear it and to believe 

331
00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,960
it and to depend on the Lord so 
they can go into heaven? 

332
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,280
Isn't that wonderful? 
God in his mercy, He does that. 

333
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,160
And occasionally someone will 
say anything. 

334
00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,400
You don't know if they believed 
or didn't, but you know, you, 

335
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,240
you, you tell them the truth and
you trust the Holy Spirit to do 

336
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,200
what only He can do. 
And so Paul's telling them 

337
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:45,920
there's not going to be any loss
of life. 

338
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,680
And this is amazing here, verse 
23. 

339
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,520
Now we know. 
And Acts 23 verse 11, Paul was 

340
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,600
in jail and he wasn't sure if he
was going to be able to get the 

341
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,320
Rome. 
Jesus showed up personally and 

342
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,280
spoke to Paul and told him that 
you're going to get the Rome, 

343
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:06,480
don't worry about it, I'm going 
to get you there. 

344
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,360
So Paul tucked that down in his 
heart, a promise from God to 

345
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,480
hold on to. 
But now he's got another 

346
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,600
spiritual encounter. 
For there stood by me this night

347
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,840
an Angel of the of the God to 
whom I belong and whom I serve, 

348
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,720
saying, do not be afraid, Paul, 
you must be brought before 

349
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,880
Caesar. 
And indeed God has granted you 

350
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,400
all those who sail with you. 
So the Angel reminded Paul, 

351
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,320
don't you remember? 
Jesus told you you're going to 

352
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,600
get the roam. 
Paul's faith, I'm sure wasn't 

353
00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,240
shipwrecked, but he's, you know,
he's human. 

354
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,960
Like, you know this stuff. 
You know what's going to happen 

355
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,040
here? 
He needed the confirmation from 

356
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:47,080
the Lord that it was going to be
OK and they were going to get 

357
00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,560
through it. 
Don't be afraid, Paul. 

358
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,640
So Paul's being admonished not 
to be afraid. 

359
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,560
And fear is a horrible thing, 
isn't it? 

360
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:02,680
Fear can really mess you up. 
It can cause you to just freak 

361
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:07,080
out. 
It can cause you to be hopeless.

362
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,240
It can cause you to hear stupid 
things in your head that are 

363
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,760
lies from the devil. 
It can. 

364
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,920
It can cause people to do 
horrible things. 

365
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,920
Fear. 
God hasn't given us a spirit of 

366
00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,120
fear, the Bible says, but a 
power and of love and of a sound

367
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,080
mind. 
When we have fear, we have to 

368
00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:34,040
call it out as a lie because God
does not give us that spirit, 

369
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,760
does He? 
And we have to acknowledge that 

370
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,680
and ask the Lord to replace the 
thoughts that we have that are 

371
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:44,120
causing the fear with the things
that He tells us to think upon. 

372
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,880
Paul, think on these things, 
whichever things are pure, 

373
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,320
lovely, just, and a good report.
That's a discipline. 

374
00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,120
It's real easy to get down the 
fear track and to stay on that, 

375
00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,360
right? 
No, I'm not going to fear, I'm 

376
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:02,600
not going to live with this in 
my head. 

377
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,440
Lord, take this out. 
Help me. 

378
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,560
Ask the Lord to help you. 
He will stabilize my thoughts. 

379
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,680
God give me truth to think on 
and not lies. 

380
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:18,560
Therefore take heart men. 
And He says that to us today. 

381
00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:22,320
Take heart brothers and sisters,
for I believe God that it will 

382
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:27,480
be just as it was as he told me.
I believe God. 

383
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:34,920
Who do you believe in your life?
You believe Fox News, CNN, Wall 

384
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,880
Street? 
Or do you believe the God of 

385
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,240
heaven, the creator of the 
universe? 

386
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:45,080
Everything in your life, in my 
life, is designed by God to 

387
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,440
cause our faith to increase, not
to decrease. 

388
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,560
Adversity and trial and 
heartache and tragedy are 

389
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,000
allowed in our lives to deepen 
us, not to destroy us. 

390
00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:01,360
If we believe God, no matter 
what, we're going to get 

391
00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:02,440
through. 
Amen. 

392
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,280
If we don't believe God, it is 
hopeless. 

393
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,360
There is no answer apart from 
God Himself. 

394
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,640
So God tests us. 
And in every situation, He knows

395
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,800
where you're at. 
Clark needs more faith. 

396
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,160
He needs to go deeper with me, 
and I'm going to allow this to 

397
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,960
occur so that he's on his face 
crying out to me like he never 

398
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,280
cried out to me before. 
Someone told me this morning 

399
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:34,160
they were moments from death. 
Kidney operating at 2%. 

400
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:40,200
A Christian told his brother 
that God will do whatever he has

401
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:45,240
to do to get us back with him. 
It will allow adversity. 

402
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,240
It will allow us to get smacked 
around in life. 

403
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,320
It will allow all kinds of 
things to happen to us that we 

404
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,000
don't like and we don't think 
it's fair. 

405
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:55,320
Until finally we say, I give up 
Lord. 

406
00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,240
We're so glad you joined us 
today on this edition of Living 

407
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,240
Waters of Grace. 
Pastor Clark is teaching through

408
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,560
the Book of Acts, which is the 
only book that chronicles the 

409
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,400
history of the early church 
immediately after Jesus's 

410
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,560
ascension. 
It gives us a front row seat to 

411
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,800
how the Gospel began to move 
outwards, starting in Jerusalem 

412
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,720
and reaching into the heart of 
the Roman Empire. 

413
00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,200
In just three decades, a small 
group of frightened ordinary 

414
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,920
believers became a bold, spirit 
empowered movement that 

415
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,120
transformed the known world. 
Acts is not just a history 

416
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,440
lesson. 
It's a reminder of what God can 

417
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,320
do when His people are 
surrendered, obedient and filled

418
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,920
with the Holy Spirit. 
Their perseverance still 

419
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:46,040
inspires us today. 
May we follow their example and 

420
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,640
live faithfully for Christ in 
our own time. 

421
00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,200
We hope today's message 
encouraged you. 

422
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,160
Living Waters of Grace is a 
ministry of Calvary Chapel, 

423
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,520
Westmoreland. 
If you're in the Greensburg, PA 

424
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,000
area, we'd love to have you join
us in person. 

425
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:06,720
Our Sunday service begins at 
10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St.

426
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,760
Unit 6B. 
Be sure to visit 

427
00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,680
calvarychapelonline.com to 
confirm times and learn more. 

428
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,400
If you are in the Greensburg 
area, you can listen to Grace FM

429
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,400
on the new 91.7 frequency. 
Please pray about supporting 

430
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,360
this outreach. 
Gifts can be sent to Grace FMPO 

431
00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:33,480
Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. 
Stay connected through Facebook,

432
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,000
YouTube, or our Calvary Chapel 
Westmoreland app. 

433
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,920
Join our e-mail list, submit 
prayer requests, and give online

434
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:47,120
all at calvarychapelonline.com. 
Thank you for tuning in and 

435
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:48,680
spending this time in God's 
Word. 

436
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,040
Be sure to join us again for 
Living Waters of Grace.