The songwriter said, I wondered what he saw in me to
suffer such deep agony. He taught you that, didn't he? Absolutely nothing. Didn't see
anything in us. He said, I loved you because
I would. He said, you were an enemy, you
were ungodly, and I laid down my life for you. Not that we
loved God, but that He loved us. That's what he saw. Now Paul and Aristarchus and
Luke, they've been, they're on this ship. Paul's been arrested.
He's being transported to Rome. And they've sailed some places
already, but we read in verse 9, when much time was spent,
and when sailing was now dangerous, The fast was now already passed.
That's marking the time of the year it was. Paul admonished
them and said to them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will
be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lady and ship,
but also of our lives. Nevertheless, the centurion believed
the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which
were spoken by Paul. What did the centurion See, when
he saw Paul, why didn't he listen to Paul? He saw a prisoner, a little bent, crooked, stuttering,
blind prisoner. This man wasn't a sailor. He
didn't know anything about sailing. And Paul had sinned at Jerusalem.
What's he doing here as a prisoner? He sinned at Jerusalem. He took
James' advice and James said, you come under a vow and be at
charges for these men that are under this vow and that way all
the Jews will know that you are not against the law. Christ already
fulfilled the law. It was the same sin that Peter
committed when he switched from the Gentiles' table to the Jews'
table. Do you remember what Paul said
about that? I saw that he walked not according to the gospel.
That's what Paul did at Jerusalem. But the Lord stopped it. He stopped it. The Lord sovereignly
had Paul thrown out of the temple. had him arrested, and the Lord
slammed the door shut of the temple, declaring before everybody,
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Paul couldn't even go through with it. So here's
Paul, he's arrested. This satyrian saw Paul as nothing
but a prisoner. That's all he saw. He wasn't
a wise man. He didn't know a thing about
sailing. And he believed the master and the owner of the ship
more than those things which were spoken by Paul. Now that
was somebody impressive. The master and the owner of the
ship. If you owned a ship. And what
was the motive of the master and owner of the ship? He didn't
much care about the lives. He wanted to get his products
where they had to go because he had some money invested in
this thing. But God's chosen weak things,
despised things, to bring to nothing things that are, to bring
low the proud. And Paul was Christ's ambassador.
He was Christ's messenger. And there were a lot of fellows
in this ship with Paul. We're fellows, as God's saints,
we're fellows in the same ship, in fellowship. We're in fellowship with Christ,
fellowship with the Father in Christ, and fellowship with one
another in Christ. And we're on this sea, we're
on this voyage, we're going across this sea. That which we've seen
and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship
with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ. But they didn't listen to Paul.
They listened to the master and owner of the ship. This was the
man who appeared most wise to listen to, naturally speaking.
Verse 12, and because the haven was not commodious to winter
in, the more part advised to depart than saw so. He had numbers
with him. If by any means they might attain
to Phenicia and there to winter, this haven of Crete which lies
toward the southwest and northwest. And so the south wind blew softly
and supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they loosed and
they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, there arose
against it a tempestuous wind called Eroclodon. God sent this
storm. Christ, our God, sent this storm. The same one who ruled that stormy
wind and made the sea calm when he walked this earth, that's
who sent this hurricane. He causeth the vapors to ascend
from the ends of the earth. He maketh lightnings for the
rain. He bringeth the wind out of His treasuries. Fire and hail
and snow and vapor and stormy wind fulfilling His Word, just
like we saw in Psalm 107. When our Lord begins a work of
grace, He sends a spiritual storm. And
when He chastens His child or His church, He sends a spiritual
storm. Verse 15, 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. And when they had taken it up,
they used helps undergirding the ship, and they feared lest
they should fall into the quicksands. And they straked sail, and so
were driven, and they were exceedingly tossed with a tempest. So 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." This was
a natural response by these sailors and it would be what sailors
would do. They went to work to save the
ship and to save themselves. But all sinners by nature are
like these sailors in spiritual matters. When spiritual matters
come, we see the storm, we use our natural wisdom, and we make
every attempt to save ourselves. But God's elect are saved one
way. Not by power, not by might, but
by the Lord's Spirit. Why? Why is God going to do it
this way? They were brought to a place
where all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
Why would God bring His child to that place? Why would He bring
His believing children to that place? Again and again and again. Why? That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Verse 21, but after long abstinence,
Paul stood forth in the midst of them and he said, Sirs, you
should have hearkened unto me and not have loosed from creep,
and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you
to be of good cheer. What a word. You didn't listen
to me before, he said. You should have, but you didn't. You loosed and now we're in this
hurricane. But listen to this word, but
be of good cheer. 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. And you reckon
these men, these sailors, you reckon they care anything at
all about what Paul's saying? You think they believe what he's
saying? Paul stands up before these men and says, don't worry,
nobody's going to die, the ship's going to be lost. How do you
know this, Paul? Because the angel of the Lord
stood by me tonight and told me. The angel of the Lord that
you can't see stood by me and told me this. And he said, fear
not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, thou must be.
And Lord God has 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. Howbeit, we must be cast upon
a certain island. But then the fourteenth night
was come. You reckon in those days in between there they doubted
Paul? Thought you said this thing was
going to work out. They had driven up and down in
Adria about midnight, the shipment deemed they drew near to some
country, and they began to sound and trying to test how deep it
was. Verse 29, then fearing lest we
should fall upon rocks, they saw it was getting shallow, they
cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day.
And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when
they had let down the boat into the sea, under color, as though
they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said
to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship,
you cannot be saved. This ship is a type of Christ.
What got me looking at this was, we've been studying John 15,
where our Lord said, abide in me, and I abide in you. For without
Me you can do nothing. Abide in Me. Abide in My Word.
Abide in Me and I in you. And then again, when I was studying
Psalm 107, I got to looking at this again. Now, I want to show
you how this is a picture of Christ and a picture of the assembling
of God's people together under the preaching of His Word. Now,
first thing we see is a type of Christ in this ship and in
this word that Paul preached, what he declared. It says, as
they cast out the anchors, our anchor, where is our anchor?
Our anchor is within the veil. You have to cast the anchor out
and our anchor is within the veil. Our anchor is not in us,
it is outside of us. It is in God's right hand. He is our hope of righteousness.
He's our anchor that keeps us steadfast in knowing all will
be well. But some of these men, they pretended
like they were casting the anchor out. But that's not what they
were doing. They were up there letting the
lifeboat down. And they were fixing to get out of the ship
and go. And Paul said, verse 31, to the
centurion and to the soldiers, now listen to this, except these
abide in the ship You cannot be saved except all these abide
in a ship. None of you can be saved. Christ said, Abide in Me and
I in you, for without Me you can do nothing. This ship with
Paul declaring His Word, it's a picture of the fellowship we
have in Christ. Abiding in Christ, abiding with
His people in Christ under the preaching of the Word of God.
This is what the Lord works in His people. Because, as you see
Paul stand here and declare this Word of the Lord, it's a picture
of being in fellowship with God's people in Christ under the preaching
of the Gospel. Because this is how it pleased
God to save. After that, in the wisdom of men, these men were
looking to their wisdom. This was the ship owner's wisdom
and this was the wisdom they were looking to, the wisdom of
the sailors. God said, after that, in the wisdom of man, men
didn't know God. They couldn't find out God. God
gave ample time through the ages to show men can't find out God
by their own searching, by their own self-study. None of that. It pleased God to save through
the foolishness of preaching. Them that believe. So Christ
came and throughout the New Testament, if you read this New Testament,
now He spoke in different ways in time past. He saved some people
in different ways in time past. But if you read this scripture,
I still am of the, this is me speaking, but I believe God saved
through the preaching of the gospel in the Old Testament too.
He just doesn't tell us who came and preached to Abraham, but
somebody declared the truth to him, Christ himself, I think.
And then so on through the prophets and what have you. But in this
New Testament, every single person called to faith was called through
the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Every one of them. The Lord called Paul, because
he's an apostle, so He called him personally, but He sent him
to a man to preach the truth to him, to tell him what great
things the Lord had for him. And they were made willing by
the Spirit of God to continue how? Steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.
That's what He made His people do. And so it is to this day,
and it's going to be this way until Christ returns. This is
how it's going to be. And we're gonna see that Christ
saves everyone in this ship. That's what we're gonna see happen
here. He uses his messengers to declare the word of Christ.
That's what he's gonna do. Listen to Romans 10, 13. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then
shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? How shall
they believe in him whom they've not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? It's about Christ getting the
glory. It's written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach
the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.
So then faith come up by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Now God saves through the preaching of Christ and Him crucified.
That preaching is declared concerning Christ, concerning these scriptures
in truth, according to these scriptures. He saves this way,
not just the first hour He calls you. But He's going to save through
the preaching of the Word all the way to the end. all the way
to the end. God has to make the word effectual
and He does so through the gospel He sends. He reveals salvation
is Christ and He brings you into fellowship with Christ through
faith in Him. And we have to abide in Christ.
We must abide in Him. We must abide in His words. We must believe Him and we have
to continue in His word and the essence of everything our Lord
has commanded us is to love one another as He loved us. Think
about how He loved you and how He's continued to love you. And so we have to abide in fellowship
together under this gospel with His people, believe in Christ,
and love one another. This is Christ's Word. This is
God's means of saving His people and carrying His people on this
voyage across this sea until we get to Heaven's glory. This
is how He's pleased to do it. Except we abide in Christ, we
cannot be saved. Except we abide in fellowship
under His gospel, we cannot be saved. We have to continue trusting
Him, being fed by Him through His Word. Now what's the message? What's the message? Well, Paul
cried, now I exhort you to be of good cheer. I exhort you to
be of good cheer. Now you just think about this.
Get the setting here and think about this. This is basically
a storm, it's like a hurricane, like we name hurricanes. That's
what it's named and it's either a terrible tropical storm or
it's a hurricane. But they're in the middle of
this thing. Paul stands up and says, be of good cheer. Be of
good cheer. The waves are coming over the
ship. The ship's rocking. It's going up and down and to
and fro. Things are bad. That's what it's going to be
like when God starts blessing the gospel to our hearts. It's
going to be a storm. It's going to be a storm. But that's so in His church as
we go through on this voyage. It's going to be so. Why? Why? Well, the same reason it
was in the first Darwin. Did God bring a storm into you
when he first saved you? Did he make you just lose all
hope of being saved? Why does he do that? Well, the
reason he did that is the same reason he does this throughout
many times throughout our life with all the different kinds
of trials. Why does he do it? Why does he do it? Here's why. John 16.33, listen to what our
Lord said. These things I have spoken unto
you. Everything He spoke to them that night before He went to
the cross. These things I have spoken unto
you. Here's the reason. That in me you might have peace. Do you have peace? You reckon them soldiers had
peace? Reckon them sailors had peace? They're looking at the
waves, they're looking at that storm, they're looking at them
clouds. They don't have no peace. There ain't been a star shining
in 14 days. They don't have no peace. Paul
did. Paul did. Why? Because these
are two different people looking for peace in two different places. Paul's peace is in Christ. You
know why they were so shaken and troubled and upset and trying
to flee out of the ship and everything else? Their peace was in smooth
waves. Their peace was in that warm
breeze that was blowing. Their peace was in the sunshine.
Their peace was in calm seas. And when that went away, they
didn't have no peace. Paul's peace wasn't in that.
Paul's peace was in Christ. Christ said, in me, I've spoken
this, that in me you might have peace. Now listen, in the world
you shall have tribulation. Is that by accident? No. The
Lord sends the tribulation just for this, He sent this storm
and He sends it for the same reason. You know why? to make
you know you're not going to have peace in anything in you
or this world. Not at all. It'll never happen.
And if you have peace in anything in you or this world, it's a
false peace. It's a false peace. But be of good cheer. That's
what Christ said. That's just what Paul said. Be
of good cheer. Why? Christ said, I have overcome
the world. That's the purpose of the storm.
Every time. From the beginning when He first
makes you lose all hope and you have no peace in yourself. Why
is it? To make you know that peace is
Christ. Christ made peace with God our Father. He reconciled
us when we were enemies. He reconciled us to God and brought
peace for His people. You let this world turn against
you. You let the devil rage against
you. You let all hell come against you. and say everything they're
going to say against you and try to tear you down, Christ
is going to save you. Christ is going to save you.
In Christ, we have peace. In Christ, we have peace. Nowhere
else. Christ alone sanctifies, and
you know what? He's going to keep us separated
unto him. And He's going to keep us knowing
He is our separation. He is our sanctification. He
is the holiness of heart. You know how He makes you see
that? He lets you sometimes go through these troubles so that
you don't have any peace in yourself and you can't get it. You know
what He shows you by that? Holiness is not of you. You can't
make yourself have it. It's of Him. He gives it. And
when He gives it in your heart, nobody can shake it. People can condemn you, but they can't shake
it. So we sail on and we're going
to find tribulation, we're going to find trouble, but it's just
like Christ said it will be. He said in the world you'll have
trouble. But we're going to come into
this fellowship and Christ declares into our hearts, I exhort you,
be of good cheer. That's what he's going to teach
to be of good cheer. He says in the heart, these things I've
spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. And he's not
going to let us find peace anywhere. The message is Christ our salvation. Paul said there shall be no loss
of any man's life among you but of the ship. That's Christ our salvation.
He said abide in this ship. Now listen, abide in this ship.
Because there will be no loss of any man's life, but the ship
will be lost. How shall the ship be lost and
I not be lost if I am abiding in the ship? Well, look down here at verse
41. Falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship
aground, and the fore part stuck fast and remained unmovable,
but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
That's what happened in Christ. Two seas met in Christ. He's
the God-man. Two seas met in Christ. All His
people were in Him just like they were in this ship. And He
bore our sins and the sea of justice fell upon Him. The wrath
of God fell upon Him for the sins of His people. And He satisfied justice. He
said, this ship is going to be broken by this. And He said, this is My body
which is broken for you. And because He satisfied justice,
God's just for the sea of mercy to fall upon you. Two seas met
in Christ. And so God's just and He's the
justifier. Truth and mercy, righteousness
and peace. Mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. We can't make
that happen in any shape or form, but Christ did. Christ did. And every believer is going to
be made to say with Paul, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. How's that? That's him two seas
meeting. I died with Christ in the sea
of justice, nevertheless I live with Christ in the sea of mercy.
This is the message Christ sends to his people who are abiding
in fellowship. Paul declared where he got it.
Verse 23, there stood by me this night the angel of God, that's
Christ, 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 sell with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer,
for I believe, God, that it shall be even as it was told me, howbeit
we must be cast upon a certain island. Paul said of Christ,
Whose I am and whom I serve. He said to me, fear not, thou
must be brought before Caesar. Christ had some in Caesar's household,
and they must be brought. Christ redeemed them. They must
be given the gospel. They must be called out. They
must be called to faith in Christ. There is no remote possibility
that any harm is going to come to Paul or Luke or Aristarchus. They're going to be brought to
Caesar's palace, because he's going to preach the gospel to
those folks, and he's going to call them out. Christ said, neither
pray I for these alone, for my apostles right here and my disciples
here, but I pray for them also which shall believe on me through
their word. All who Christ redeemed must
hear the gospel, and they shall. All who Christ redeemed must
be given the gospel of Christ, and they shall. All who He redeemed
must be given faith, regenerated and given faith, and they shall.
All who He redeemed must be kept and preserved and delivered to
that eternal inheritance, and they shall. Christ also loved the church,
and He gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it and cleanse
it. with the washing of water by
the Word, that He might present it to Himself, a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. And by Him, all God's elect are
going to be delivered, every one of them, without spot, holy
and blameless, by Him, in Him. Just like he told Paul here,
he said, Lo, God hath given thee all them that sell with thee.
That's what God said to Christ His Son. He gave all them to
Christ and Christ is going to bring them all in the fellowship
to glory with Him. Every one of them. Neither is
there salvation in any other. There is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Must be saved. Now, do you know
how much mercy God has shown you? Do you know how much mercy
He has shown you? I want you to think about this.
I preached on this out in California. You think about this. You think
about, now I know we look at Joseph and he is a beautiful
type of Christ, but you think about Joseph as the man and you
think about what his brethren did to him and think about what
he suffered because of everything they did. Think about that. How would you treat your brethren
if they did that to you? If you went to jail, and you
suffered in jail, would you give them everything you got? Would
you give them every dime you got? Would you keep giving them
every dime you got? Would you keep loving them and
keep nourishing them? They came to him and he said,
you meant it for evil, God meant it for good. To save as much
people alive as it is at stake and he nourished them. He didn't
turn him away. He didn't turn his back on him.
He didn't quit speaking to him. He saved him and nourished him.
You know why? He knew what a wicked, foul sinner
he was in himself and how God had shown him mercy. And if you
know that, that's what you'll do. That's what you'll do. After
declaring that word, Christ left him in that stormy sea for 14
days. After he sent Paul to declare that, he left them in that sea
for 14 days. Why does Christ put fellows in
this ship, in this sea, and send all these storms? Why does He
do that? To prove them that are His workmanship. That's why He does it. To prove
them that are His workmanship. His people shall persevere in
fellowship with Christ and with one another. The men in the stern, believe Christ's Word. They dropped
anchor and waited for the day. That's what Christ's people are
going to do. We're going to drop anchor and we're going to abide
in fellowship with Christ and fellowship with one another.
But Christ proved that those men that were in the force ship,
they didn't believe. What did they do? They pretended
to be letting down their anchor, but they were letting down a
lifeboat. They were looking for a way out. When tribulation or persecution
arises because of the Word, by and by, those without root are
offended and they perish. When Paul saw these sailors trying
to depart, he said to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship,
you cannot be saved. What does that mean? Except Christ
save every sinner He promised to save, none can be saved. Except
Christ saved everyone he purposed to save, not one can be saved.
If one's lost, they all gonna be lost. Because Christ cannot
fail. Cannot fail. This is the Father's
will which has sent me, that of all which He has given me,
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. And He said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.
My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I am My Father
alone. So by the efficacy of His blood, Christ is going to keep his people.
He has to. Because he made us perfectly
spotless in him. Complete in him. And he will
not lose one. And when he reveals this gospel
to you, you know what you do? You do exactly what the soldiers
did. They went to those lifeboats
and they cut them loose and they let them fall. And they said,
we're not even going to look at lifeboats anymore. Cut them
loose. And they let them fall. They
didn't have a backup plan. They didn't have a plan B. They
didn't have something reserved that, well, we'll just go out
this way or that way or the other way, and we'll save ourselves
out of this ship. Nope. They said, we're in the
ship from here on, and this is it. Staying in it. Staying in it. It made them merciful,
too, when When the soldiers want to kill
the prisoners, that centurion said, no, we are
not going to kill them. This man just told us how we
are going to survive and it came to pass, didn't it? We are not
killing them. We are going to show mercy. Well,
did they survive? Did the Word of the Lord come
to pass? Did it come to pass just like the Lord said it would?
It always does. It always does. What happened? Look down at verse 44. Look at the last sentence. And
so it came to pass. It always does. The Lord said
to Paul, there won't be any loss of life but the ship. And so it came to pass that they
escaped all safe to land. You know what's going to come
to pass, brethren? All God's people. Everybody He loved from
eternity, everybody Christ redeemed and born of His Spirit, they're
going to all arrive safe on heavenly Canaan shores and not once going
to be lost. And you know what will happen
then? We won't have this malicious sinful flesh then. We're going
to love perfectly as one and never stop doing it. Never stop
doing it. Amen. Okay.