Acts chapter 27. Acts, and the 27th chapter, we'll begin
reading in verse 14 through 26, and then we'll skip
and go to 42 to the end of the chapter. Paul is on a ship, and the ship
is having trouble. It's not the right time to sail,
but they left anyway. Paul's on his way, his voyage
to Rome, and he's on this ship, and it's not going well. But
let's pick it up in verse 14. But not long after, there rose
against it, the ship a tempestuous wind called Euroclodon. And when
the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, they
let her drive. And running under a certain island,
which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat. which, when they had taken up,
they used helps in undergirding the ship, and fearing lest they
should fall into the quicksands, they strike sail, and so were
driven. And we being exceedingly tossed
with the tempest, 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 we neither saw sun nor
stars, and many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us,
all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after
long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said,
Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed
from Crete and to have gained this harm and loss." That's kind
of almost a smack. That would be kind of like, see,
I told you so. That's what he's saying. And he says, and now
I exhort you to be of good cheer. To be of good cheer. But don't
you see we're doomed? For there shall be no loss of
any man's life among you but of the ship. For there stood
by me this night an angel of God, 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 sail with thee." Now,
we don't look for visions and dreams. But the scripture says
we have a more sure word of prophecy. That's this right here. The New
Testament hadn't been written yet when this was going on. But
we have a more sure word of prophecy. It's the canonization of scriptures.
It's complete. So what the angel told Paul,
for a very specific situation, you have a very specific situation,
and I thought about this, and I know people You know, you're
getting kind of weird. I'm not getting holy ghosts rolling
or anything. I'm saying if you are in a situation
and the Lord shows you a verse or brings something out, you
lay hold of that verse and you claim it as a promise. There
is no difference in that. That's walking by faith than
what's going on here. And it's more sure what we have
here than what Paul had, these verbal outspeakings. Wherefore,
verse 25, sirs, be of good cheer. This is the second time he says
it. For I believe God that it shall be even as it was told
me. He didn't say you believe God. I believe God that we're
not going to perish. You tell me that a believer in
the midst of an unbelieving workplace or whatever is not an advantage? except for the elect, these days
would be shortened. The Lord takes care of His people.
And if there's a few other people, He sends the rain on the just
and the unjust. That's what I'm saying here. Be of good cheer. And He says,
verse 26, how be it we must be cast upon a certain island. Now
skip over to verse 41. and they're on a ship and they
fell in a place where the 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. And the
soldiers' counsel by their captains, superiors, was to kill the prisoners
lest any of them should swim out and escape. But the centurion,
God took this man's mind and thought and heart and said, you're
not going to do this. Now he didn't hear any audible
voice, but the centurion, willing to save Paul, why? Because God
so directed it. I refer you to Esther. kept them from their purpose,
and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves
first into the sea and get to land, and the rest, some on boards
and some on broken pieces of ships. And so it came to pass
that they escaped all safe to land." Now, I can paraphrase
that last verse in Kings and the iron did swim." A miracle,
right? Well, who's ever heard of iron
swimming? Who's ever heard of vile, corrupt, worthless sinners
saved by the grace of God? With men it's impossible, but
with God it's possible. So this is an iron swimming moment. Have you not had... I mean, since
God's done something for you, have you not had some iron swimming
moments? where all seemed impossible,
all seemed lost, and then deliverance came. Well, what we're going to look
at, we're going to look at Paul's confession of faith. Just a phrase
found in verse 23. Paul's confession of faith. God, whose I am, and whom I serve."
God, whose I am, and whom I serve. This kind of goes back to Bible
class. If you're talking about definition
of terms, tell them who God is. Tell them who God is. The knowledge
of the Holy is the beginning of wisdom. The God whom I belong covers
the inward life. The God whom I serve covers the
outward life. That's a nutshell, a nugget.
Let's look firstly at verse 23, God whose I am. Let's look at
that phrase. Turn with me to Psalms 100. Psalms
100 and verse 3. Psalms 100 and verse 3, Know
ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and
not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. Now this is more, this is not
the creation, this is not the creator and the creature, this
is not that relationship which everybody has. When Paul says,
whose I am, he's speaking about whose I am by redemption. You can know a little bit of
the Bible and you can know a little bit about God, but it's not really,
and I say it's not going to do you any good, until you know
Him as your Redeemer. the one whose you are. Paul has no cursory knowledge
of his God, but a deep benevolent relationship, whose I am. This
is no creature, creator, or body, but a fully pardoned, fully redeemed,
and fully purchased statement by one who knows it. I am God's. He says, well, look at 1 Corinthians
6. He says it in another place because
we don't have to guess. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and
20. What? Know you not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, And you're not your own. You're
not your own. For you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. And that, that you
are not your own. That's what I was talking to
Bruce about, the borrowed righteousness. Everything we have is borrowed.
There's nothing, we don't own anything. were bought with a price. Christ
is that price, was that price, as a lamb sacrificed in the place
of the guilty. Three things dealing with this
statement, whose I am, this bold confession. This then is Paul's
statement of boldness. It acknowledges, firstly, I am
owned by God, I am bought by His Son, The payment is paid
in full by the blood of Christ and sealed by the covenant of
grace, bound up by the spirit of grace and supplications. Can
we say this? Can we say this to ourselves?
Can we say this to ourselves? I am God's. He bought me. His son died for
me. And the Spirit's quickened me.
Yes or no? Yes or no? We sing that song,
I am my Lord's and He is mine. Second thing, Paul also in this
statement is acknowledging he would never have belonged to
God if it had been left up to himself. What does he say? Turn to 1 Timothy
chapter 1. What does he say here in 1 Timothy
chapter 1? 1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 12 through
15. He says, I thank Christ Jesus,
our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry, or putting me in Christ, or putting
me in this church. who I was before, a blasphemer,
a persecutor, injurious. But I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. And oh, incidentally, lest I
get too puffed up, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom
I am chief. Right now. If God withholds His
grace, we're going down. It's like gravity. We're going
down. That's the natural law of gravity. We have a natural law of depravity.
It's going down. We're going down. Because he said he was a hater
of the brethren. He persecuted the brethren. He
stood by while they killed Stephen. I stoned him. So in this statement,
I am God. Who's I am? God will have the
heart and this He will own or He will have none of us. He is
interested in the heart. Thirdly, this statement, the
declaration says, of whose I am also admits and concedes and
confesses God's absolute sovereignty over us and all for whom He died
and subsequently owns. This comforts me. This absolutely
comforts me. Because as your pastor, a poor,
maybe example of that, but, you know, sometimes I can't articulate,
sometimes I don't put words... It's not me. It's not up to me. Now I need to be clear when I
speak, and clear when I preach. But Paul, you know, Apollos,
they watered, they can't add the increase, it's God. So if
our children, if they ever hear the Gospels being preached, Lord
willing, every Wednesday, every Sunday here, whether it's me
or someone else, but what we're saying is that we, whose I am,
we agree with Paul, he is absolutely sovereign over us and everything
about us. Look again at the situation.
Paul's in the middle of, the ship's just, he's not standing
still. He's holding on to something. The waves are pounding him. In
the midst of this, he knew God was absolutely sovereign and
by His Word, we have this Word, we're told he was going to see
Caesar. Nothing was going to happen.
Now, it didn't happen the way he thought. Smooth sailing. Isn't
that what we like? Smooth sailing. We live in this
country. We can do this, by this, through this. Smooth sailing?
Not necessarily. Things get in the way. People
get in the way, illness gets in the way, everything gets in
the way. But what do we do? We're gods. Basically what one
man, or what it says in the scriptures, is in order for Satan or whoever
to get to us, he's got to go through Christ. So Christ is
allowing it, permitting it. My, my, my. What comfort. what peace, what rest. I mean,
if we really believed that we were gods and that He can do
with us as He pleases, we'd wake up, we would in all things give
thanks, rejoice, we would rejoice always. And I know, I know I'm
standing up here and I've been through stuff and you've been
through stuff and it's a lot harder, but look at what He's
going through. He got a word from God. Well,
if God spoke with me, no, no, no. No, you have the Word. This is how He speaks to His
people. Through His Word. Abba, Father, I can't explain
it, but I know it's true. And I've seen it. If God through
His Word says He will never leave us, it must be true. If God in His Word says, I will
never forsake you, It must be true. If God says in His Word
that He will feed us, carry us, clothe us, nourish us, it must
be true. Why do we worry about what we're
going to wear? Because that's human nature.
It's all this stuff. A sparrow? The Father is concerned about
when a sparrow falls. Aren't we worth much more? If He sent His Son, if we're
His, in redemption, He sent His Son to die, to die. He sent His Son to do things
that His Son, He knew was coming, but had never experienced. Do not doubt this. Do not doubt
Him. Do not doubt His words of promise
to each and every one of you who are of His church. One writer said, we get God for
ourselves and we give ourselves to God. Turn to Jeremiah 31.
Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 33. Jeremiah 31, 33. But this shall
be the covenant, that I, whose God is speaking,
will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. I own them." Redemptive. Substitution. righteousness,
justification, glorification. I will be their God and they
shall be my people. I own them. And you know what? Contrary to what the world, and
I was reading something Scott Richardson wrote, just got a
bulletin this morning from somebody, and he made a comment about free
will. He said free will has been the cause of every murder, every
death, every war, everything negative, opposite of God. If
you want to look at free will, he said that's the cause of everything.
the wicked. We are owned, bought, paid for
by Christ. Before we move on, remember Paul's
chief confidence when he's standing up here in this tumultuous situation. His chief confidence arose from
the consideration of whose property he was and whose service He was
engaged in. If everybody laughs at you, everybody
mocks you, this world's gone mad, right is wrong, girl's a
boy, boy's a girl, all this, it doesn't matter. If you have
the mind of Christ, and if you have direction from the Word
to do something, it doesn't make any difference. You remember
whose property you are and whose service you're in, and que sera,
sera. The God who never lies, never
fails, and who can dictate any circumstance, any situation to
promote His honor and glory. Do you think this wind, this
Euroclidon just came up? God, He knew His God is over
all this. If we are Jesus' property, depend
upon it, we will be His care and responsibility. I don't know
how else to say it. Turn to Isaiah 43. His covenant
cannot be broken, thwarted, or paused. Isaiah 43. I've often stated If you want
to read just God's sovereignty and His greatness, start in Isaiah
41, 42, 43, all these Isaiah 40s. Isaiah 43 and verse 1, But
now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he
that formed thee, O Israel, fear not. Now it's a specific group
of people. He's talking about His church, His elect, His sheep,
His remnant. No one else. For I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name, You are mine. We are His property. If that's
the only thing I can get in my head, He's my... I am His property
and therefore I am His responsibility. And the next phrase, back to our
text, you can't have one without the other. Now this is... I'm
saying, oh, I can just live how I want to live? No. Here it is,
right? It's a little nutshell. This
is the gospel in a nutshell. This is what, within and without. This is it in a nutshell. God,
whose I am, and whom I serve. This is James. People have a
problem with James. You're not seeing it right if
you have a problem with James. And Martin Luther, he didn't
have a problem with James, and then towards the latter part
of his life, which is not commonly reported, but I've been looking
at this, there's three or four commentators that say, yeah,
Martin Luther at the end of his life said, yeah, James is inspired
by God. I was wrong. Show me your faith
without works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. After
salvation. God's whose I am, Whom I serve. You're going to have to have
them both. If you're a new creature in Christ, you've got new principles,
new thoughts, new dictates, new want-tos, new desires. Whom I
serve. Now, he's talking to heathen.
He's talking to people who don't understand who God is, but he's
telling them who God is. He's confessing his faith to
them. You can't have one without the
other if you belong to Christ. You've got whom God, whose I
am and whom I serve. The word serve is very interesting.
It's one employed by a worshiper. It's properly to render religious
homage. That's what this word serve,
religious homage. He's worshiping. It has to do
with worship. as in Christ serving His Father. It says in Luke 2, He was always
about His Father's business. That's serving. As in Paul, Ephesians
4, it says you were sometimes alienated, but now... And as pastors, elders, deacons,
and all the elect people, turn with me to Galatians 5. Galatians 5, verse 13, this is what it is to serve.
Verse 13, for brethren, you have been called unto liberally, only
use not your liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by love serve
one another. To God whose I am and whom I serve. Hebrews 13, verse 16, Hebrews 13, verse 16, But to
do good and communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased. He's talking to the church. Proverbs 3.27, you don't have
to turn there, I'll read it to you. Proverbs 3.27, withhold
not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power
of thine hand to do it. Well, that's pretty general.
That is. Serve. Driving down the road, pull over. Serve. Serve Christ. As in Christ, serve the Father. As in Paul, serve the church.
as in the pastors, elders, deacons, all of the people together. I
could go on and on. But back to our text in Acts
chapter 27, and I want us to note the history that's going
on here in Paul. Verse 22, I exhort you, be of
good cheer. There shall be no loss of any
man's life among you but the ship. Fear not, verse 24, He
said the angel told him he must be brought to Caesar. Verse 25,
Therefore, sirs, believers, unbelievers, be of good cheer, for I believe
God that it shall be even as it was told me. So Paul was serving
God with his calm and submissiveness to God and to men. You say, well,
how was he serving? Well, he stood up and I say took
control. I don't know. He said, you know
what? This is his convention. Paul
was serving God. He was in service to those who
were afraid and in great need. He said, be of good cheer, be
of good cheer, be of good cheer. I remember years ago, for service,
they were fighting fires, and they weren't winning, they were
losing, and they were all huddled on top of a knoll. The workers were grumbling, and
the supervisor said, have faith. And he said, well, is faith going
to feed us? He said, have faith. They all walked out alive. He was in service to those who
were afraid and in great need. Paul was in service as he was
like Abraham. He believed God against hope
in circumstances or situations. Now, I must say this because
it's like, ah, every believer is strong in faith. Compare this
shipwreck with an almost shipwreck in the Old Testament with Jonah.
Where was Jonah? If you read it, compare Paul's boldness to Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the
ship, asleep. He wasn't standing for God. As
a matter of fact, when they started casting lots, and a lot fell on Jonah,
and then they found out, he said, who are you? I'm a Hebrew and
I'm running from God. He told them that. We're going to save the ship
or let's throw him? They're both believers. So I'm
not saying... I'm Mr. Abraham. I'm not saying
I'm Isaac. I'm not saying I'm... I act an
awful lot like Jonah. Mad. Discouraged. I don't want to preach the gospel
to these people. They're a bunch of heathen. It's
not up to me. We're ambassadors for Christ
as though God did beseech you. Be reconciled. God's priests, and that's what
we are, are never far from the altar, always giving thanks and
praise to Jehovah. We're not ever very far, as in
the Old Testament, never very far from the altar. May we not
be very far from Christ. Always asking for thanks, praise,
and wisdom. What do I do in this situation?
Well, there's a passage You don't have to turn there. In Zechariah
14, he says, at evening time it shall be light. At evening
time. Well, it's evening, it's dark.
Is the sun going to rise in the evening? Yes, for God's people
it does. It does. He's the Son of Righteousness,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He comes with healing on His
wings. So here's Paul. He trusts God because He's His
and He's going to serve Him until His last breath. Why is it evening
time and it shall be light? And at evening time it shall
be light. Why? Because we are Christ's. And
He will perform that which He started until our work is done. And we don't have any idea when
that is. We don't have any idea when that is. And secondly, because
we serve Him. We desire to serve Him. He owns
us. He commands us to. It's our privilege. It's our honor. As Peter said,
to whom shall we go? He has the words of eternal life.
We gladly own our elder brother, our friend, and our Redeemer. And He owns us. May this give
us cause to have peace and comfort in a world that is, it's, the
world, this is going on right there, in Acts 27, it's tempestuous. You can't not be affected by
the stuff that's going on because it's crazy. But, you can stand
up and say, God owns me. He is totally sovereign. And
you know what? I serve Him. It may not seem
like much to you, but He allows me to serve Him. To God be the
glory. Bruce, would you close us?