Paul had been arrested for his preaching about Jesus and had spent some time in and out of jail for his faith when he finally decided to appeal his case to Rome. In Paul’s day, if you were a Roman citizen and did not like the outcome of your trial, you could appeal the case to a higher court so Paul decides to take his case to the very top and go Rome and in Acts 27 we find the story of Paul’s voyage across the Mediterranean Sea. To sum up their voyage in a word – it was bad. The weather was against them the entire way and as they were sailing south of the island of Crete they ran into a vicious storm and this is where we pick up the story: Acts 27:18-39.
In the middle of the storm when they felt that all hope was lost and they were about to be torn to pieces on the rocks it says they let down 4 anchors. These anchors, one thrown off each side of the boat, helped hold the boat in place during the storm so they wouldn’t drift on the rocks and have the boat destroyed. The anchors provided stability and security that gave them a glimmer of hope that they might be able to survive. As I thought about those anchors holding the boat steady, I asked myself, what it is that holds us steady in the midst of life’s storms? When we are feeling tossed about by life and afraid that we will be torn to pieces by the problems and circumstances around us, what are the anchors of our faith that give us hope and keep us focused? While there might be many, I want us to consider 4 that we find in this story of Paul.
The first anchor of faith is knowing that God has a purpose for our lives. Look at Acts 27:23. What gave Paul courage and strength in the midst of the hurricane that raged around him was knowing that God was not done with him yet. The word that came to Paul was that he shouldn’t fear the storm because God still had a purpose for him. When we understand that God has a purpose for our lives, the storms may blow all around us but we can feel confident and secure knowing that they won’t overwhelm or overtake us because God still has work for us to do.
The key here is knowing God has a purpose for us and he tells us that he does in Jeremiah 29:11. God has a purpose for our lives and no matter what storms may come, God will work to accomplish His purpose, and we hear this in Philippians 1:6. So God will work to bring about his purpose and this truth can give us the strength and stability we need when nothing around us makes any sense. When everything seems to be falling apart financially, emotionally, relationally or physically we need to remember that God has a purpose for our lives and God will keep working to help us accomplish that purpose.
Knowing God has a purpose for our lives is the easy part, knowing what that purpose is the hard part. If you are struggling to find God’s purpose and want to know what it is, then I invite you to simply ask God to reveal it to you. An angel stood by Paul on the boat, in the storm, during the night and revealed to him that God’s purpose for him was to get to Rome so he could stand before the Emperor and share the good news of Jesus. God revealed Paul’s purpose to him and I believe God still wants to reveal his purpose to us, but to find it we have to be willing to ask and then we have to be willing to search. Let’s go back to Jeremiah 29, God says he has a plan for us, but how do we discover that plan? By asking and then searching for God, look at Jeremiah 29:12-14. God promises he will reveal himself to us when we search for him and when we search for God’s plan – he will reveal that too.
I really do believe this because God did this for me. At a time when I was caught in a storm and feeling tossed about wondering which way to go and what to do with my life I asked a friend if he thought God still spoke to people in dreams and he said, Yes, I do. So I told him I wanted God to speak to me and tell me what to do with my life. He told me to ask God to reveal himself and his purpose to me – so I did and you know what happened? Nothing. Day after day, week after week – nothing happened. But several months later God spoke in a dream and what I heard as was this: 2 Timothy 2:2. That’s it. God finally revealed himself to me and gave me one single scripture verse, an obscure verse, a verse I didn’t even know. I had no idea what the verse was so went and looked it up and this is what it said: 2 Timothy 2:2.
So now everything was clear – right? I was struggling to know if I should go back to school or keep working and this told me what I needed to do with my life – right? It told me to go back to school, no, wait, it told me to keep working. Wait, it didn’t tell me much of anything. I still didn’t know my purpose which meant that I had to keep searching. So I prayed about this verse, read it every day and searched until I found God’s purpose for my life in it. Today I am still doing what this verse says, I am simply entrusting to reliable and faithful people what I know about God in hopes that you will share with others. When life has gotten crazy and I have felt like giving up or giving in (not that I have ever felt that way here, mind you) – this verse comes back to me and God’s purpose becomes the anchor that helps hold me fast. When we know God’s purpose for our lives and can claim that for ourselves, it can be that anchor that holds us through the storms.
A second anchor of our faith is knowing that God offers us salvation, look at Acts 27:31. God said they would all be saved if they did what? If they stayed in the ship. Do you remember from a few weeks ago what they ship came to symbolize? The church, and Jesus himself. So as long as we stay in Christ – we will be saved. As long as we stay connected to God through Jesus Christ – it doesn’t matter what happens around us, we will be saved. The truth is that there can be incredible peace that comes when we know that God will save us and be there for us and give us life no matter what happens and the best example of this every seen was seen in Jesus.
The most chaotic time of Jesus’ life was the time of his arrest, trial and crucifixion. There is great confusion and turmoil and events just start taking off and yet the picture of Jesus through it all is of a man at peace. He is not anxious, he is not afraid, he is not angry or agitated, he is at peace and that is because he knows that salvation and life are coming. Jesus knows that while the cross may look like it wins on Friday – the victory of the empty grave is coming on Sunday. While the storms of betrayal, arrest, trial, flogging, crucifixion and death blow all around him on Friday – Jesus is at peace because he knows that resurrection, salvation and life are coming on Sunday.
We can find that same peace in our lives when we know that the final victory is ours. We can find peace when we know that salvation is ours through the love of God given to us through Jesus Christ. This is the promise we hear from Romans 8:35-39. All the storms listed here, dangers, hardships, troubles, demons ,the future and even death can’t tear us apart when our anchor is in the salvation God offers through Jesus. Even in the midst of death when everything seems to be lost – the anchor that can hold us steady is that God offers us salvation and life.
The third anchor that can help hold us steady no matter what is going on around us is that God provides. Look at Acts 27:35-36. In the midst of the storm Paul tells the people to eat and take nourishment and this reminds us that no matter what may be happening in our lives, God is the one who provides for us. I have to say that we have seen this anchor at work all week. When Donny Robson died a few weeks ago it was hard for his family to see how God was going to provide for them and care for them, but then God laid it on one man’s heart to finish the work Donny began, and slowly a team of people grew and plans were made to finish the house Donny started. Once the work started people came out of nowhere to provide all the resources for the work, even food to feed the workers. In the midst of their storm – God provided.
Jesus promises us that God will provide, look at Matthew 6:25-32. If God provides for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field then we can be certain that God will provide for us because as children created in the image and likeness of God, we hold a special place in God’s heart. If God provides for birds and flowers how much more will he provide for us. So we don’t need to be afraid or anxious, God will provide. Sometimes it’s hard to see how, or when, or where, but if we throw out this anchor and trust God, he will be there and he will provide.
And then the last anchor of our faith is found in Acts 27:38. Now this is not a call for us to go home and throw everything away, we need to look at this a little more symbolically and in light of the words found in Hebrews 12:1b, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. What we need to throw overboard and purge from our lives is sin and we do this, we confess our sin to God because we know that God will forgive. That’s the fourth anchor we see here, God’s forgiveness.
The Bible is clear, when we confess our sin - God is faithful and will forgive us. The Psalms say, as far as the east is from the west that is how far God will remove our sin from us when we confess our sin and let it go. The simple message of Jesus was - repent and believe, and repent means to turn away from sin, or to throw our sin overboard and out of our lives. Knowing that God forgives us is an anchor that can hold us in life and faith because when everything starts to go wrong, we begin to wonder if God really cares for us or loves us. We wonder sometimes if the problems we face are because of our sin and we doubt whether or not God can or wants to forgive us. But God does forgive. God wants to forgive. God is just waiting for us to get serious about confession and repentance so he can forgive. One of the most powerful and enduring images of God given to us by Jesus is of God as a loving father who runs out to forgive his son when he returns home.
What are the sins that need to be confessed in your life today? What are the things that we need to get rid of and who will help us throw them overboard? The truth is that sometimes we need help to get rid of sinful actions and behaviors in our lives and so we need to ask for help and with love and grace and patience we need to offer help. Once we lay aside the weight of sin in our lives, we will begin to experience the power of God’s forgiveness and the freedom and new life that comes with it.
So Paul let down four anchors to hold his boat steady during the storm and those anchors helped save his life. There are also anchors of our faith that we can trust in to find stability and strength in the midst of our own storms and four of them that we see here are: God’s purpose for our lives, God’s salvation offered to us through Jesus, God’s provision and God’s forgiveness. These are four anchors, but there are more and I want you invite you to share the anchors of your faith with others.
On this week’s next steps we are inviting you to think about what the anchors are that hold your faith steady. What are the truths of God that keep you balanced and help give you perspective during difficult times? What are the anchors that keep you balanced, give you perspective and help keep you pushing on in faith? It is important for us to share these with one another because they may become the anchors that will hold them in steady in times of need. So I invite you this week to share your faith. Identify the anchors of your faith and if nothing else, email them to us so we can share them with the church. Our hope is to compile a list of these anchors and include them in the newsletter as a source of encouragement to everyone in the church. So please take this next step and identify the anchors that hold your faith steady and keep your lives strong.
Next Steps ~ The Anchors of Faith
God’s Purpose: What is the purpose God has for your life?
Pray with patience until God reveals His purpose.
Seek God’s purpose with perseverance. Jeremiah 29:11-14
God’s Salvation: Thank God for the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Read Romans 8:35-39. What storm are you going through?
How can God’s love help you find your balance & strength?
God’s Provision: List 3 things God has provided for you this week.
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How does this help you trust God for the future.
God’s Forgiveness: What sins need to be confessed and “thrown overboard”? Open your hands to God’s forgiveness in prayer.
Other Anchors:
What 4 Anchors (truths about God) help keep your faith strong?
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Share these with someone who needs encouragement this week.
If you are willing to share these anchors with the congregation, please email them to the church office. (Names will not be listed.)
faithchurchoffice@yahoo.com
