Four Strong Anchors

4 Strong Anchors for Life’s Stormy Seas

Pastor Jamie Wright * Maranatha Fellowship Church * 06-06-04 POWERPOINT AVALIABLE UPON REQUEST

A man drives to work at 6:30 a.m. as he has for 8 years. He punches in his time-card and is soon confronted by his supervisor. John is berated and humiliated as he has been repeatedly over the years over minor things. This time he quits---STORMS

A strong thunderstorm sweeps through the area and destroys a farmers crops and barns. He is already deep in debt---STORMS

A widow faces an empty house and bed for the first time in 40 years---STORMS

Parents sit on the couch. It is 3:00 a.m. Their sixteen year old son has not come home. They fear he has been drinking. As they wait, Dad has another beer----STORMS

We all face storms. Some are physical-- i.e., tornadoes, floods, earthquakes. Some are personal--- i.e., death, job problems, soured friendships. Storms are a part of life. The right question is not whether they will come, or when , but how we will respond to them. Paul faced a life-threatening storm. He was on his way to Rome to see Caesar, to stand trial. For 14 days the ship was in a raging sea. But Paul never panicked. As the crew panicked, Paul stood and shared the anchors that held his life secure.

TEXT - Acts 27:14-44

Intro-

These brave sailors were in a storm that seemed to be overwhelming. In an effort to save the ship and their lives, they cast four anchors into the sea. Sadly, these anchors proved ineffective against the storm and the ship was ultimately lost.

However, on board that ship was a man named Paul. He was a special man for several reasons: 1. He was a child of God; 2. He was a man on a mission; 3. He was a man of faith; and 4. He was in fellowship with God. Because of who he was Paul was anchored in the midst of that storm, even though the ship wasn’t!

Those sailors threw four anchors into the sea in an attempt to steady that ship. Those anchors failed. As I read this text, I became aware that Paul had four anchors as well. These anchors steadied him during the storm. Even though that ship was shaken and battered, Paul was able to make it because he had STRONG ANCHORS. TOO many people have weak ANCHORS. GOD HAS STRONG ANCHORS

New Living Translation - Hebrews 6:19:

"This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary . . .

God’s Word Translation - Hebrews 6:19:

" We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives . . .

New Century Version - Hebrews 6:19:

" We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong . . .

The same anchors that kept Paul steady on his stormy seas are available to you and me on our stormy seas.

I. THE STRONG ANCHOR OF GOD’S PRESENCE vs. 23

“For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.”

Paul found that even in the midst of the raging storm he was not alone. The Lord came to him to minister peace to his heart.

Hebrews 13:5 “…I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Matthew 28:20 “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”

It would be a blessing if we could enjoy the manifest presence of the Lord as Paul did. But even when you cannot see Him, He is still there: watching, leading, protecting, being God.

Dr. Tony Compolo says that when he was a boy growing up in a congested and bustling city, his mother arranged a teenage girl who lived nearby to walk home with him at the end of the day. For this she was paid a nickel a day. But Tony rebelled in the second grade and told his mother, I’ll walk myself to school and if you give me a nickel a week, I will be extra careful. You can keep the other twenty cents and we’ll be better off.”

After a period of pleading and begging, little Tony finally got his way. For the next two years he walked himself back and forth to school. It was an eight-block walk with many streets to cross, but he was careful and didn’t talk to strangers or get distracted along the way.

Years later at a family party, he bragged about his independence and reminded his family of how he had taken care of himself as a boy. His mother laughed and added the rest of the story. “Did you really think you were alone?” she asked. “Every morning when you left for school, I left with you. I walked behind you all the way. When you got out of school at 3:30 in the afternoon, I was there. I always kept myself hidden, but I was there and I followed you all the way home. I just wanted to be there for you in case you needed me.”