Oh, my. Well, I'm excited for this message today. I'm very excited for this message, just like I was for the Sunday school, and it was a great blessing putting this together. And remember how the Lord told Paul, you have to go to Rome. You must, he said. You must go to Rome. Well, the aim of the message today is to Rome. To Rome. My, open your Bibles, if you would, to Acts chapter 27. Last week, we finished Acts chapter 26, where we saw Agrippa and Festus, by God's sovereign will, send Paul to Rome. And again, Paul must go to Rome. He has to. He has to go to Rome. Because the Lord told him he had to go to Rome. My, oh my. He must.

Look at Acts chapter 23. Put your finger over there in Acts chapter 23 and look at verse 11. This will be the start of our message here. Look at this. In the night falling, the Lord stood by him, said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. Well, we're going to see the must part coming to pass now. Look at this.

Acts chapter 27, verses 1 to 4. Let's stand up and read these first four verses. We're going to go all the way, I think, to verse 12 today. Lord willing. Now, there's several words in here you got to bear. Give me grace. I even listen to how they're pronounced, but I know Canadian, I'm going to mess it up. So, okay.

And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners under one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And entering into a ship of Adram-mit-yem, we launched, meaning to sail by the coast of Asia, one Ereistarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we touched at Sidon, and joyously, courteously, entreated Paul and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself. And when we launched from thence, we sailed unto Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

Okay, this message today, we are going to see even more, once again, our sovereign God at work. Now, Paul is not gonna arrive in Jerusalem when the ship captain wants him to arrive there. Paul is gonna arrive at Rome when God wants him to be there. And next week, we're gonna learn that God has some sheep on an island that they weren't even planning on going to. But the age-old question that comes up that people ask us all the time, what will God do if some people's on a deserted island and they don't know nothing, and they're one of God's sheep? God will send them a preacher, and we're gonna see that. We're gonna see it happen. I think that's the next week's message. They weren't planning on going there.

But God who controls the winds and the waves and everything, doesn't he? And that's who saved us. God himself became a man and through his blood and righteousness he saved us from all our sins at Calvary's Cross. So remember as we're reading this about our sovereign God, because we're gonna see his sovereignty at work here.

When it says the winds are contrary, that was all according to the will and purpose of God. My. My oh my. Next week, we're going to see a huge storm they get into. That storm's by the will and purpose of God. This is the preparation before that storm.

Now, all through this wondrous book, we have seen the believers' heartfelt longing for the salvation of lost souls, haven't we? Paul's went into different cities preaching the gospel. And even last week, we saw Paul's desire for the lost when he told Agrippa, I would that you and all the people in this room were as I, except in bonds. Meaning, I wish you all were saved. He had a desire for the lost, didn't he? But he also knew God's will had to be done, right?

And those hearers that were in that room had to hear the gospel. Now, every preacher's desire is that the Lord would save people through the preaching of the word. But there are going to be some that are going to dig their feet in and be hardened by the gospel. And that's because of their own sinfulness.

What does God have to do for a man to go to hell? Nothing. Just leave him alone. You heard me. What does he have to do for us to go to heaven? Everything. Aren't you glad God didn't leave us alone? Oh my. My oh my. I'm sure thankful. So we've seen in this book the fact that true conversion is actually a miraculous work of God the Holy Spirit. It's not by man's will, not by anything man does, not by any human effort.

The gospel centers on repentance and faith in the atoning blood of Christ. And faith and repentance is a gift from God, right, which we receive when we're born again. And that faith has one center, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only reason we come running to Christ is because we have faith to believe and he's made us willing. It's wonderful. So we can say salvation's of the Lord. From beginning to end.

And Paul desired that all who hear him, like King Agrippa, and those assembled with him would be saved. Not by human persuasion, but by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. You know, I preach the Word of God praying that God will use it to either build you up or to save a lost sinner amongst us. And then, as it goes out on the internet, to build up the saints out in the world and save lost sinners. And I know you do the same thing. We have a desire for the lost in this congregation, don't we?

You know, I heard one time, Somebody told Henry Mahan, well, you're a Calvinist, aren't you? And he goes, well, I believe the doctrines of grace. And the guy said, well, that'll kill the church. And Henry said, actually, no. No, it won't. It'll give a church more of a desire for lost people. And it's true. We can witness the people telling them about the unsearchable riches of Christ and leave it in God's hands. Right? Because it's all Him. My. And it's wonderful.

We can pray for the messages as they go out, even right here in our congregation. I love what Tom said, that the Lord would use it, give us opening ears and eyes to see. Give me the words to speak. But it all has to come by the power of the Holy Spirit, doesn't it? It all has to. My.

And I believe this message will build us up in our faith to trust God in all circumstances. It helped me. I pray it'll help you too. Our God is absolutely sovereign. Now, last week we looked at how, again, Paul's profound desire was that the Lord would save those who were within ear range of what he was preaching.

He's a prisoner at Caesarea, remember, for more than two years. And now finally, Paul's being sent to Rome. He would make his personal appeal to Caesar. And while he was en route to Rome, traveling by sea, we're going to see a terrible storm will come up. That's next week's study. A terrible storm will come up. Like a hurricane. My. It'll come from the Northeast, which places the whole company in great danger.

And Acts 27 is a detailed account of that storm. And today we'll look at the first 12 verses. And now this chapter is recorded to give us more than just historical facts. It's recorded in the scriptures to give us practical spiritual gospel instruction.

Now in Paul's day, the sea could be a terrible thing. It was the main routes, one of the main routes for transportation along with the Roman roads that had been built. There was a lot of sea travel. And it was very perilous. Very perilous. And even the best captain could be caught out in a storm all of a sudden that comes up. And they would do all they could to read the signs in the sky.

But when a storm comes up, we know it's God's providence, don't we? We get snowstorms all the time that we don't expect sometimes, but God sends them. You know, the weatherman says, oh, there'll be no snow this week. And then it snows every day of the week. Because God wants it to. He's sovereign, isn't he? He's absolutely sovereign. Now, think of this.

These sailors had no engine to propel them. You know, when there's rough water and you're in the sailboat, they often have a little engine on the back in case the wind ceases, and you can at least crank that engine on and get back to the land. They didn't have no engine. They traveled by wind power and ore power.

And a lot of times, the slaves were the ones doing the rowing, and they were chained inside. One of the things that's awful in the war, sea wars of the ancient times, is the screams from slaves as they went down beneath the water, still chained. And the Romans did that, and the Greeks did that. The Carthaginians did that.

No regard for the life. But of course, if there was any men, soldiers in heavy armor, guess what? They went down with them. My. We're gonna see something remarkable in this storm that happens. No one will perish. All by God's decree and will. It's absolutely amazing. So the imagery used of the sea's terror is used throughout the word of God.

Turn if you would to Mark chapter four. We're gonna look at one portion here. Remember Jonah was thrown into the sea to appease the storm, but actually to appease God. As soon as they threw Jonah in the water and the whale swallowed him up, that storm ceased, didn't it?

Well, here's the disciples. They're on the Sea of Galilee, and they're terribly frightened. Terribly frightened. They cried out to the Master to save them. Look at Mark, chapter 4, verses 37 to 39. Look at this. And there arose a great storm. This is like a typhoon. It's like a hurricane. Great storm, the scripture says. In the Greek, it's a huge storm. They're being tossed like a little toy boat.

My oh my. But why has this come to pass? Well, this has come to pass according to God's will, right? And according to His purpose. And we're gonna see our sovereign king, our savior, exercise his sovereign power. This is our king, who in his weakness said to that thief on the cross, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Our God is mighty. Look at this.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat unto the ship, so that it was now full. There was water coming right over the sides into the boat, and it was getting ready to sink. They were, and get this, they were seasoned fishermen. Right? Peter, John, James, they're seasoned fishermen. And they're afraid.

And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. There's the Lord over all. What's he doing? He's sleeping in his flesh. He's sleeping on a pillow. There's this huge storm going all around. I mean, they're all thinking we're going to die. And the Lord's asleep on a pillow.

See, it shows he's just like us, right? He gets tired, doesn't he? He's fully man. And now we're going to see he's fully God, too. He's having a nap. You know why? Because he's pillowing his head on God's absolute sovereignty. Right? What a lesson for us, beloved. What a lesson for us. Let us pillow our head on God's sovereign mercy and grace to us. Oh my.

And they woke him and said, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Now, I'd chuckle, but I'd have done the same thing. Wouldn't we all? We're going to die, Lord! Oh my, because that's what the flesh does, right? You ever notice when a calamity comes or something comes unexpected in our lives? We get all worked up, don't we?

Then we calm down after a while. after we look to Christ. So, they're just like us. See? Peter and John and James and the apostles, they're not super-Christians. They're people afflicted with the same things we have. Let's never vault Bible characters up. The only one we vault is Christ. Right? And look at this.

Okay, so we see his humanity. He's falling asleep on a pillow. And man, this storm is raging and howling. He's not woken up. Because look, look what it says. It says, and they awake him. He was sleeping. They woke him up. And they say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose. Look at this. and rebuked the wind, here's his deity, and said unto the sea, peace be still. And what happened? Well, immediately, just like that. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

You ever wake up in the morning? I used to go up to a place in northern Ontario with my mom and dad. And it was called Camp Eagle Eye, really neat place. Did it all the time in my childhood. And we'd go up there, and my brothers and I would like to go out early in the morning on the boat, take dad's boat out.

And we'd just, we'd go fishing the reeds and all that for bass. But you're just sitting there, and that lake, or actually it was the channels to the Great Lake, where the big ships come through, was the channels. And it would just be so still, and so, that's what I picture here. Not even a ripple. And when those geese come flying, they tip their wings. It's so beautiful. I saw all that stuff. Just beautiful. But just like glass. That's what happened here. It's just like glass.

One minute it's raging over the boat, and the next minute, by the power of the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's peaceful. Think of how we are in our natural state, raging. And then when the Lord saves us, we have the peace that passes all understanding. We still have waves in our lives, I'm not saying that, but what a peace we have in Christ, right? This is who saved us. This is the one who says, I hold you in my hand. And nobody's gonna pluck you out of my hand, not even yourself. Oh my, what peace that gives us. The world has all these things going on, and yet we can pillow our head in God's sovereignty. Why do we get anxious? Why do we get fearful? Why do we get worked up?

The flesh, the flesh, the flesh. That's why. But praise God, the Spirit, which wars against the flesh, shows us Christ, our true rest. The very one who spoke, and the waves were calm. The very one who spoke, And the raging sea of the Sea of Galilee became like glass. So remember. This is who's in charge. Listen to what Paul wrote here. I was, I've read this before, but this was remarkable. 2 Corinthians 11, 26, listen to this.

Paul says, injurians, often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, this is what he's went through, peril on the water, peril of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, the Jews, in perils by the heathen, the Gentiles, in perils in the city, We've seen some of that in the book of Acts, haven't we? And in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. Do you know Paul was shipwrecked three times? Oh my. My oh my.

Jude compares the influence of false religion to raging waves of the sea. Revelation, John saw the beast rise up out of the sea. In Revelation 21.1, he says, in the new creation, our great God says, there'll be no more sea, no more division. In literature, poetry, and scripture, Our life in this world is compared to a voyage across the vast sea. Listen to what Job says, Job 9,

26. They are passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. See a ship one minute, it's gone, right? Especially on our great lakes here. It's amazing, see when them big ships go by and all of a sudden you see it, you watch them, it's so incredible. They get little, little, little, little, little, and then you can't see them anymore. And that's all within what, an hour? So Job's telling us our life's like a vapor.

That's what he's telling us. My. And as we sail across this vast sea of life in the world, we must pass through many storms, many storms of life. And it's God's book that shows us how to prepare and survive those storms. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. These are spiritual lessons in this chapter. There's many spiritual lessons in this chapter.

1 Timothy says this, or 2 Timothy 3.16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. But one thing I can tell you in the midst of the storms of life is just keep looking to Christ. Just keep looking to Christ, because he's in charge of everything.

It may look like turmoil going on, but it's not. You know, I was thinking when that one leader was taken out of Venezuela, and I mentioned this before too, and even in Libya, or what's that country? Libya, remember Gaddafi? He's in power one minute, he's gone. The guy in Venezuela, he's in power, and then he's gone.

That's by the Lord's decree. He uses presidents and stuff, they're just pawns in his hands, beloved. But his will is accomplished. It's amazing. Remember Saddam Hussein? He was in power all, and gone, just like that. According to God's will and purpose, right? We have new presidents every four years, sometimes. That's all according to God's will and purpose. Yeah.

I try not to complain about the government much anymore because God puts them in power. Well, sometimes I start complaining, and I shouldn't, though. But I always remember, well, Lord, you put them in power. Josh is complaining about this president, or somebody else is complaining about that president, and I say, well, God put them in power. You can argue with him, I ain't gonna argue with him.

Right? And you ever notice something? How many presidents have you lived through in your life? Think of this. Remember Donny Bell telling me this. This is amazing. He goes, how many presidents have you lived through your life, Wayne? And I told him, well, I've been here since I was 33. And he started telling me all the presidents that he'd been living through. And he goes, you know what? My life hasn't changed. I'm still free to go to church. Taxes might be a little bit more. Groceries might cost a little bit more.

But the Lord keeps his sheep and takes care of them, doesn't he? Isn't that amazing? And that's true for all the saints all over the world. He watches over his own. We're gonna see that here in this chapter too. Again, this is a historical account of Paul's journey to Rome. And our Lord Jesus, by the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit of God, works within us to give us spiritual wisdom that we can apply to our own pilgrimage journey through this world. So this is instructive for us as God's people, as we see Paul resting in the sovereignty of God. He said, the Lord told him he must go. He's resting in that, isn't he? He's resting in that. And remember too, Luke is with him. And we're going to see that in our text. Let's read verse one.

And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustus band. Very, very famous legion. Augustus' legion, just like Caesar's legion. Every emperor had their own favorite legion. Centurion, a man over 100. Well, this man named Julius, was it just by chance that he got this assignment? Nope. Isn't that amazing?

God even chose the centurion who would go with Paul. And he ordained all the prisoners that would go with Paul. And then we see in verse 2 that Ariastarchus is a believer who's also on the journey with Paul. And Luke is also with Paul. Look at this. And when he, when it was determined that we, look at that, Luke's including himself, isn't he? We should sail into Italy. Oh my. They delivered Paul and certain other prisoners under one named Julius, the centurion of Augustus' band. So God himself determined the time for Paul to go to Rome. He determined who would be travelling with Paul. So never forget, The people who you are around in your everyday life is determined by God. Isn't that amazing? That's incredible.

My, even the person that picks at us, right? What does that, everybody has somebody that usually picks on them a little bit, right? I had one guy calls me false preacher every time he sees me. I just, I'm like, well, I just keep preaching the gospel, Paul. Oh, well, count it a small thing to be judged by you. But that's there to make me keep going to Christ. And you know what I realized? I was just like him. I was religious and lost. Why? See? All things work for good for those who are the called. For those who are in Christ Jesus. Even the things we can't understand.

So this centurion was chosen by the Lord to be Paul's Paul's officer in charge, the officer in charge of Paul, and all the other prisoners in his custody. And so were all the other legionaries that went with him. Now let's read verse 2. Well, Luke is writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. And he would never move us to believe that King Agrippa, Festus, or any other person in authority would be the one who determined when Paul went to Rome. No, this was all determined by God himself. And all those in Paul's company is all determined by God himself too. right down to the ship that they sail in, right down to the waters that they sail on, right down to the wind that propels the sails and the ship.

Notice the word we in verse one and two. We see Luke included himself among those who were ordained by God to sail with Paul. And we know this because it says, when it was determined that we should sail into Italy. Now, every one of us here are determined by God to be here, to be a part of this body. Isn't that wonderful? And God has taken our hearts and knit them together, hasn't he?

In love, scripture says. And whoever else he chooses to have come, he said, Chris and Exodus come in, and your wife, Julia, and he, you know what? Donny Bell said, you keep preaching, and you look up, and there's a couple more people. You keep preaching, you look up, and maybe a few more people. But you just keep preaching the gospel. You just keep being faithful to preach the truth. It's all in God's hands, isn't it? My. Now Paul's a prisoner. He's a prisoner, we see.

And we see that Luke also mentions a man by the name of Aristarchus. Turn, if you would, to Acts chapter 19. We've heard about this fella before. Acts chapter 19. He's a Macedonian of Thessalonica. And he was ordained by our Lord to be one of Paul's traveling companions. But look at this, Acts 19, verse 29. And the whole city was filled with confusion, and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, man of Macedonia, Paul's companions, in travel.

Fellow believers, born again blood-washed former idol worshipers, Now they're Paul's companion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater. Now turn over one more chapter to Acts chapter 20. Look at verse 4. And there accompanied him into Asia, Sophora of Berea, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus. and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timetheus, and of Asia, Trichicus, and Trophimus.

So here again we see Herastarchus is a blood-washed, born-again believer, traveling with Paul. And he finds Paul, Paul's going on to Rome, and he gets on that ship, ordained by God. So not only is Paul now have Luke with him, but he has even more believers with him now to encourage him, to encourage him as he travels to Rome. We see God's providential, ordained hand at work in choosing the men who would travel with Paul. These men, again, would not only be encouraged by Paul to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ during any trying experience, but the men who would also encourage Paul as well, like Luke.

My. God's preachers have the honor of encouraging those who are under our ministry to continue in the faith. grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel colossians 1 don't be ever be don't ever be shaken from your hope in the gospel and the gospel is concerned in a person isn't it the lord jesus christ yeah And we, who are God's preachers, are encouraged by His people, His saints, who travel with us.

You guys don't know how much joy you bring me. Just seeing you, being with you, traveling through this world with you, encouraging each other. Tell me you're praying for me. and for Vicki, and for Josh, and my daughter. It's wonderful. And I pray for you guys, too, and your kids. Oh, my.

Because we love each other. And these are faithful companions of Paul. You all are faithful companions for me. And vice versa, I hope. We're traveling through this world of woe. And the love of God is manifest in us, isn't it? By our love for one another, our love for Jesus Christ, our love for his gospel, and the fact that we're willing to take a stand in the face of all those who oppose Christ and his glorious gospel. Brethren, our Lord knows. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows we're but dust. Aren't we? Frail, little pieces of animated dust. And he watches over us. Always. Always.

Let's read Acts 27.3 now. And the next day we touched at Sidon and Julius courteously entreated Paul and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh him. Now look at this. You remember how the Jews found favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and he just handed over their gold to the Israelites? How many times has God shown faith to us in people's eyes? I've seen it many times in our lives, Vicki and I's lives, and we just marvel. I'm sure you've seen it in your life. It's incredible. It's absolutely amazing.

So it appears that there were disciples in this city. at Sidon, and the Lord moved the centurion. So Paul found favor in his eyes, and he said, you can go with your companions into the city. He's a prisoner. And I imagine there was probably some guards assigned to him.

Guess what they heard? They heard the gospel, didn't they? Oh, yeah, they did. Yes, they did. And you think Paul's sitting there amongst all the prisoners in the boat? Do you think he's telling them about, oh, this is nice weather we got going here? No, he's telling them about Christ, isn't he? Oh, my. This is remarkable.

He's a prisoner. And so the Roman centurion, who's in authority over Paul and all the soldiers and all the prisoners, he says to Paul, yeah, you can go refresh yourself with your friends. Now, Paul's a Roman citizen too, so there's certain privileges, but he's still a prisoner. Not only would Paul have been refreshed in his spirit as he spent some quality time with true believers, but they would also have been honored to minister to Paul, to have him there with them. And this is just the way Christian love works, isn't it? Just how it works. It's just how it works. We've often experienced that refreshing from the saints, haven't we? Many times. Many times.

We can go to a different church down south. Some of you went to churches down south and they greet you like they've known you for 50 years. Just like how we do when Norm and Donnie come here and the other preachers, we treat them, we love them, don't we? It's like, oh, it's so good to see you again. Oh, my. And they would be honoured to minister to Paul's physical needs. You need bread, brother? Here you go. Here's some water. My.

And the reason that happens is because of God's amazing grace. That's why. That's the only thing that makes us differ. from the lost is the grace of God. There's nothing in us that would cause God to set his love upon us. He did it because it pleased him to do so. That's amazing. That's amazing grace, isn't it? That's amazing grace.

We have that in our own assembly too. We love the honor of having preachers come or visitors come. Remember Greg comes from the church in New Jersey and we're like, hey Greg, it's good to see you. My, and his wife, and Christoph comes too, and it's so wonderful to see them. My.

And we rejoice in the same gospel, don't we? We rejoice in the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and his full atonement to save us from our sins through his blood and righteousness. And we're all got the same Spirit, right? Because we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And we have the same Father, and we're accepted in the Beloved, which is Christ.

Oh my! We got family all over the world, beloved. Some will never meet this side of glory, but we'll see them in glory. Oh my! Let's read verses 4 to 6 now. And when we had launched from Thence, we sailed under Cyprus because the winds were contrary. Now that's interesting right there. We'll look at that later.

And when we had sailed over the Sea of Cilicia in Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lyca. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy, and he put us there. And so they switched ships. They found a ship out of Alexandria.

And we've heard Alexandria before. Paul's been there and preaching to the Gentiles. And it's amazing, look how detailed this is, right down to the ship of Alexandria. This is all for our learning. They switched ships. The centurion made the choice. He said, okay, we're gonna find another ship.

And notice in that text, it says we sailed under Cyprus because the winds were contrary. After sailing along the coast of Asia, On the second day of their journey, the ship they were sailing on brought them to Sidon. Again, a famous seaport on the northern coast of Israel. And after they left Sidon, the ship that Paul was on was forced to sail below the island of Cyprus. Normally, ships would sail above the island of Cyprus. And to get to Myra, the quickest route was above Cyprus, not below it. So we see here, the reason they did it was because the winds were contrary. They weren't allowed to sail over the top of Cyprus.

Who sent the winds? God. Who made them contrary? God. You think, well, why would he do that? Because it pleased him to do so. There's a reason, though. There's a reason. So we see they were forced to sail below the island of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. Now, if the winds had been right, they would have went right over the top of Cyprus, sailed right into Myra. But they weren't. They weren't. They were obliged to go below Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand. going in part about it through the seas of Caecilia and Pamphylia to Lyca.

All this was purposed by God. All of it. Our Lord Jesus Christ controls the winds and the waves. We saw that, didn't we? In Mark. He controls the winds and the waves. He controls the sea. Again, he proved that. Proved that when his disciples, they witnessed it in the verse after all that. They said, what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? Mark 4,

41. Who is this? He's God. And do you see how easily he controlled the wind and the waves? Just with a word. That's our Savior. That's our Redeemer, beloved. That's the one who became a man and saved us from our sins. God in the flesh. My. God help us to lay to heart, from this portion of Scripture, the absolute sovereignty of God. As we see here, He's in full control, isn't He? Now, now, Julian doesn't know, but he's getting on the ship that God's ordained him to get on, isn't he?

And the one who was the captain of the first boat, he probably thought, well, just the wind, we gotta go down this way. And Paul's thinking in his mind probably, this is all happening by God's sovereignty. And the other believers too. They don't understand it, but they're trusting God, aren't they? In the midst of the storms of life. My. Now, think of this, too. That ship that Paul was traveling in, that first one, couldn't have gone any other way. Because God ordained that it would go underneath Cyprus. Think of the things that go on in our lives. My. We see through a glass darkly, don't we? We really do. And we cry out like Peter, how Lord help my unbelief. My.

These little vessels of clay that we travel in across the seas of this life, whether they be Smooth sailing or rough, God's providential hand has determined every turn we will make and every obstacle that hinders us. Our desire to go in a certain direction has been placed there by God himself.

Some people say, that's fatalism. No, it's not. That's reality. Either God's in control of everything or he's not God, right? Scripture says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And we're only good in Christ, aren't we? Yeah, only in Christ. My. And remember, all the obstacles in this life, God has put them there for us. And most of those happen, I know some are real heartaches. But what do they cause us to do? They cause us to run to Christ, don't they?

You know, I made so many mistakes when I was a young man, and I think back on how my mom and dad thought, and how I just scuttled away whatever they said. So when I see my kids do that, I think, well, they're just like me. And I just keep praying for him, just keep praying. It's all we can do, right? Guide him and pray for him. And I'll tell you what, we feel awful hopeless, don't we? We actually feel awful helpless, don't we? But God is our refuge and strength, isn't he? A very present help in trouble. Oh my. That's why we just cling to him, eh? And remember, it's not our grip on him, it's his grip on us. My, oh my. So these God-honoring truths that we're looking at will help us to sail under any island of difficulty that we may face in our lives, too, during our journey home to Canaan.

My, And when they arrived at the city of Myra, the ship that they were on was not going to Italy. So Julius the Centurion put all those who were headed for Rome aboard a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy. As that Roman centurion had his orders, and he would not have disobeyed them at all.

If he loses a prisoner, he loses his life. That's how they worked back then. My. But this Roman centurion had no idea what he was in for, did he? He had no idea what was coming. And he sailed away from Myra. sailing on that ship that will almost cost him his life.

But every event that took place in Paul's journey to Rome was ordained and executed by our sovereign Lord according to his eternal will and purpose. And that helps us, doesn't it? That helps us in our lives. Think of this, this ship from Alexandria, built by ungodly men, right? More than likely, built by ungodly men. It'd been used many times to benefit the owner of the boat. But the main purpose for the building of that ship, think of this, years and years before, was for Paul to be in that ship.

The cross that our Lord hung on, he had that seed fall to the ground, didn't he? And he nurtured that seed in his sovereignty. And he had that tree grow, didn't he? To however big it was, And one day, some guy went out in the woods and chopped down that tree, and took it and planed it, sold it to some Romans, and they used it to nail our Lord to it, all by the decree and will and purpose of God. Everything in this world are just instruments in the Lord's hands. My, oh my.

The great fish that was designed to swallow Jonah was ordained by the Lord, wasn't it? This ship from Alexandria, a chief city of Egypt, which was built by Alexander the Great, was designed to carry Paul to the island where some of the Lord's sheep were. where they're gonna get shipwrecked on this island, that they weren't even planning to go, but God had some lost sheep there. And this was the very ship that they would travel on, and it would be shipwrecked. And nobody on that ship will perish. Isn't that amazing? Now, shipwrecks on the sea were like car accidents for us, happen all the time. All the time.

On the authority of God's word, I can boldly and truthfully declare that our Lord Jesus Christ will not lose one of his sheep for whom he bled and died for. whom he redeemed, he says, and other sheep, listen to this in John 10, 16, this concerning us Gentiles, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, must.

John 10, 16, I must bring them. It's not a question of whether he will, it's not a question of, oh, if they let me. See, the God who can't save unless you let him is not the God of the Bible. is not the God of the Bible. Because the God of the Bible says this, I, the sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd, Jew and Gentile, saved with one shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. And our Lord says, I must bring them. And we're living proof of that. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, my. God's last sheep must hear the gospel. They must hear the gospel of God's grace and redemption through Christ Jesus and Him alone. My, oh, my.

And our Lord predetermined a typhoon that would strike this ship. and caused them to go to an island that they were never planning on going to. Let's read verses 7 to 12 of Acts chapter 27. And when we had sailed slowly, more days and scares were come over unto Cyndius, the wind not suffering us, we sailed unto Crete over against Salmon. and hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called the Fair Havens, nigh whereunto was the city of Lassia. Now when much time was spent And when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading in the ship, but also of our lives.

You know, God's preachers warn the lost all the time, don't they? Flee from the wrath to come. flee from the wrath to come. Look at this. Nevertheless, the centurion believed the master. He's like, you're no sailor, Paul. I'm going to go with the captain. He believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to enter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Fiance, and there to winter, which is at the haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south, west, and northwest.

So the historical meanings of these verses are easy enough to understand, right? These are real places. It's easy enough for us to understand that. And those who are dwelling in them, those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, will be led by the Holy Spirit of God to see and understand the spiritual truths that are set forth here. That God is in absolute control over all these events. And God is in absolute control over all the events of our lives. See, we can learn from this. We can get strength from this, can't we? In our weakness, He is strong. We're weak, aren't we? But our Lord is mighty. Our Lord is the one who calmed the seas and the waters. That's our King.

My, you know, I can't explain how all things are working together for good. I can't explain that. I look at certain circumstances and I can't explain it. I can't. Can you? I can't. But you know what? I believe it. By the grace of God, I believe it. Yeah. I look and I think sometimes, how's this working out for my good? And I'm not questioning God, I'm just wondering, how's this working out?

But see, in the midst of the storm, we never see it. We see like, in the midst of the storm, we're like the disciples. Lord, save me or I'm gonna perish. Meanwhile, the Lord's sleeping on a pillow. And he gets up and he commands the waves in the sea, peace be still, boom, that's it.

So I can't explain how all things are working for my good, my eternal good or your eternal good as a believer, but they are. And they're all working for the glory of Christ. And I not only believe they are, I know they are. How do I know? Romans 8, 28, right? May we burn this into our hearts. And we know this is something we've been taught through the storms of life. And we know that all things work together for good.

To them that love God, people stop right there. But it continues to them. who are the called according to his purpose. See, when I was in religion, they never finished that verse. They always said, all things happen for the good, for those who love God. You gotta keep going, there's more to that verse, isn't there? To them who are the called according to his purpose. Look at that. Every single saint that's redeemed by God, And Luke's writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, just as Paul in Romans is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.

He tells us that they sailed slowly for many days. Why? Because it was the will and purpose of God. They were going to arrive at their destination at the exact time that God ordained. Not a second before and not a second late. Now, that's amazing. And he tells us the wind was not suffering us, the wind wasn't strong. Who controls the winds and the waves? Christ. So we see because they had little wind that they hardly or barely passed by the island of Crete.

And Salmon, a maritime city on the east side of the island of Crete, were once again reminded, once again, of our Lord's sovereignty, of our Lord's control. Through all this, all the movement of Paul on that ship is according to the will and purpose of God. What comfort that can give us as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ. And we can comfort one another with those words, can't we?

Oh, it's wonderful. When it seems like our preaching or our witnessing has just fallen on deaf ears, remember who controls every heart. Remember who controls every heart. Remember who is the only one who can give the increase. And let us continue to move at the ordained pace that we're traveling on. waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to give the increase.

And that's what we do here, don't we? Oh, it's wonderful. I'll tell you what, it's wonderful just to rest in Christ. Our text tells us that they did finally come to a place which is called the Fair Havens, which was close to the city of La Silla. Some say that Fair Havens was a place that could harbor ships. close to the city of Lysaea, which was also on the island of Crete. So they haven't even left Crete yet. And Luke's account tells us that much time was spent there. How much time? As much as God ordained. Right? Oh yeah.

And then we see Paul even warned the centurion. Oh my, he said, he said, if we attempt to sail, it's gonna result in the loss of the ship's cargo and damage to the ship, and it could result in the loss of lives also. See, God hadn't told Paul yet that none of them would perish. My, but the Roman centurion, he was an authority. He chose to believe the ship captain rather than Paul. And he had that authority to do that, didn't he?

And the owner of the ship said, no, we should sail now. And the words that Paul spoke fell on deaf ears. And the Fair Havens was, from what we read in the text, it wasn't a place where they could winter at. So, they need to find a better place for the ship to tie up for the wintertime.

Now let's not lose sight of God's sovereign control. God's sovereign control over all of these events we're reading about. Even the good advice of Paul, which was not heeded because our Lord's sovereign will and purpose had to come to pass. You mean to tell me even that centurion saying, no, I'm going to go with the ship's captain was ordained by God? Absolutely. Or it wouldn't have happened. Oh, there's a purpose in this. There's a purpose in this, beloved. Oh, my.

The ship is going to be destroyed just off the coast of an island called Melita, where some of our Lord's lost sheep are. there's a reason. Oh it's going to be amazing next week when we look at that. So this was a setup for us to see the sovereignty of God at work. And then we see the sovereignty of God executed in that storm.

And then them going to that island and Paul preaching and there's some lost sheep. So if people ask you what happens if there's people on an island They've never heard the gospel. How are they gonna hear it? Just take them to this portion when we get done with it.

Say, there you go. God sent a preacher. God sent a preacher. I always tell that people. People say, well, what would God do if there's lost sheep on this island in the middle of nowhere? He'll send a preacher. Somehow, he will. And they will hear the gospel. We may have them go on sermon audio. Download some messages and go, oh my, I need to be saved. Just like we did here in the gospel of the grace of God in Christ. My, it's wonderful, isn't it? Isn't it just wonderful? Amen and amen. Brother Travis, can you close us in prayer?