How to Survive a Storm

oh thank you Jesus praise God praise God I do want to say thank you to the District board and all that had a part in my being greatly privileged to be part of this wonderful camp meeting what a great spirit of the Lord the power of God his presence has been Among Us thankful for the evidence of the presence of God in our midst and Faith of course is that evidence and there is faith in this house tonight amen oh Hallelujah praise God thank you brother and sister patski the brother and sister Dibble thank you for your hospitality thank you for your kindness to us Fidelity to the word of God and the way of God I have such um a sense of confidence about what God is doing and going to do in the state of Connecticut I really believe that God is going to do incredible things year by year his presence and power become greater and greater and I believe it with all of my heart now here on the last night I want to just share a few Thoughts with you um I'm not exactly sure what God's going to do with this but I'm willing to uh trust that he knows what he's doing and he's going to use it to his glory and to our benefit I want to turn to the book of Acts I think you're familiar with the book of Acts volume two of Luke's two volume work of the history of the church and the ministry of Jesus Christ.

chapter 27 and I'm going to begin reading at verse 13 acts 2713 and when the south wind blew softly supposing that they had obtained their purpose loosing then they sailed close by cre you got to watch that South Wind it'll fool you if you're not careful but not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon and when the ship was caught and could not bear up to the wind we let her drive and I want to preach tonight on this topic how to survive a storm how to survive Lord Jesus thank you for your word it's marvelous powerful Universal Insight truth and help I pray you'd anoint tonight accomplish your purpose use me I pray speak to all of us through this Thy Word in Jesus name amen God bless you thank you please be seated.

Storms Come to all of us no matter how spiritual how righteous kind good storms will come Jesus Jesus said that it Reigns The just and the unjust good happens to bad people and bad things happen to good people the arrival of a storm in our life has nothing to do with our relationship with God or with God's love for us it's important before I ever begin that you settle in your heart and mind that when troubles come it doesn't mean God has abandoned you he promised never to abandon you it doesn't mean he's mad at you or that somehow you're out of favor that's not it storms come to everybody so Universal is this experience and so certain is it that it is coming to each and every one of us that storms are simply a part of life and even a part of the Christian experience I think then we must we must understand that whether we make it or not whether we're in the end saved or not in large measure has to do with whether or not we survive the storms so it is vitally important that each of us learn understand what it means and how to survive the storm and maybe since this maybe since this experience of Tempest and trouble and disappointment and heartache and times when it seems everything's out of control maybe because it is so Universal that all of us experience than we can see why an entire entire chapter of the 28 that are in the book of Acts an entire chapter and a third are dedicated taken up with the minute details of Paul's Voyage to Rome as a prisoner to be tried in the Imperial courts we are told that we told about ship home ports and sailing routes and sea ports and wind speed and direction and Compass directions and even the name of that violent two-week storm, Euroclydon and although Luke is describing his own experience as he is traveling with the Apostle Paul and lived through and indeed helped to work to keep the ship afloat it's not just a travel log it is a lesson on how to make it through the storm the storms of Our Lives demand that we understand how to do it so.

how do we survive storms well I think the best way to survive a storm is to not get in it in the first place now that's my favorite method to be somewhere else when the storm comes and I'm sorry to tell you I have to I have to preach the word of God so I'm sorry to tell you that some storms can be avoided and I'll work to offend you even more some storms we call ourselves the wrong friends the wrong decisions listening to the idiots on the internet we can put ourselves In Harm's Way by our own choices in life now how can we avoid the storm in the first place well I think we find it right here in this 27th chapter they had sailed and the winds were contrary and they were not making much progress they sailed from one small obscure port to the other until finally they reached a place where they were basically becalm for some uh some period of time and the master of the ship had decided Well we want to make it to this other Port so I'm going to give it my best to get there and Paul who was not a sailor he was a preacher said I don't think you ought to try that I perceive the loss of a ship I see a lot of trouble ahead so why don't we just stay where we are until circumstances change ladies and gentlemen you can avoid a lot of Heartache if you'll just listen to the spiritual advisors and leaders that God has put in your life we live in the age of experts and you got to have an expert because that nobody else knows what to do well let me tell you something the greatest experts in your life are those who have a connection with the almighty God those who hear from him those who walk with him those who live within his book when we cut them out of our Lives because we convince ourselves that we know better or so and so knows better or this expert or that expert can tell me better we're headed for a storm uh get in the port uh listen to your pastor let your spiritual leaders guide your life and you can stay out of a lot of storms obey them that have the rule over you that watch for your souls one of the most hated verses in the Bible in this current age uh we are not a law unto ourselves uh we must not take our own lives within our hands uh we must be led by God through Godly leadership within our life I didn't plan to say this and I probably ought not go here but here here I am so you know last night you can't fire me now but it became in Vogue for young preachers to gather up mentors now there's nothing wrong with having a mentor I think I just settled that over the last five minutes you need spiritual mentors in your life but it kind of became the Vogue that the young preacher would pick his mentors now once again nothing wrong with that but what I noticed happened they would pick mentors then when they wanted to do something and those mentors said you don't need to do that they just fired that set of mentors and hired them another set now I'm going to tell you something if you control the mentors in your life you are the authority in your life and you're on Dangerous Ground you need mentors you don't pick mentors you didn't hire mentors you can't fire mentors that will tell you the truth H and you'll submit yourself uh to those who can guide you oh I don't know Bishop why I'm here I heard a preacher preach and he ought have know better he was an older God he told people you don't want elected officials to be the mentors in your life because they're politicians can I use my favorite word — baloney you need mentors that you didn't put there mentors that you cannot control mentors that God set in your life and the number one is your pastor you need to listen to what the man of woman of God tells you in your life and Obey them hear me hear me there is no submission when there is only agreement submission only happens when you don't agree with it but you do it anyway that is submission and that will save you from a lot of storms that will come your way seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else will fall in place but now of course.

there's lots of storms we don't cause that we didn't make wrong decisions lots of Storms Come into our life that are totally out of our control they come because we're breathing air and our heart's beaten and we're living on this planet and that's the only reason now I know God can use storms to teach and train I know God can use storms to correct but sometimes I'm going to tell you something if you got covid God didn't give you covid oh some of you don't believe that do you got Co cuz you contacted the covid-19 virus good people got it bad people got it people of all walks of life got it it's because we're living here and sometimes storms just come so when the storm comes when you couldn't avoid itth when it wasn't because you were not listening to spiritual guidance uh once you're in a storm how do we survive it well first of all you do what you can to fix it let me put it a different way you do what you can to keep the boat afloat well no I'm pre I'm preaching the Bible it says we were exceedingly tossed with a tempest so we lighten the ship then the third day with our own hands we threw off the tackling of the ship and then when we saw no sun nor stars in many days we started using helps they stretched ropes across the uh the hull of that ship to keep the Timbers from separating in the violent sea they did everything they could to keep the boat a float if you need to apologize to somebody go apologize if you need to forgive somebody forgive them if you need to handle your money better handle it better if you need a new set of friends go get you a new set of friends do the hard work to keep the boat afloat it isn't for us to Simply sit in the corner of a heaving deck and do nothing if there's something to do get with it get busy make peace H find a way to calm the storm in your life uh if you're not praying start praying if you're not reading the book get back in the book uh if you've slipped in your church attendance come back to the house of God you got to keep the boat afloat uh so do what you need to do secondly remember in the most violent of storms God knows where you are I preached it every night I think I might as well preach it again tonight job said I couldn't find him but he knows the path I'm on when I can't find him I just keep watching because I know he's going to show up because he knows what I'm going through he knows where I am I don't know how to tell you what it's like to be in a storm with the sea so high and the wind so violent and your little ship so tossed that you have almost no hope here's what it said that when we got in the worst of it all hope was lost but that's when Paul got up and said don't be afraid H God knows where we are and the God that I serve sent his Angel last night and he stood by me and he said fear not Paul I'm going to get you to Rome and I'm giving you everybody that's in the boat with you God's Got A Cause God's got a purpose uh God's got his hand uh on your life uh and there's not a storm so violent H there's not a trouble so bad there's not a burden so heavy that can separate us from the love of God he'll never forget us he'll never abandon us he'll never leave us alone so my advice is this when you're standing on that deck and you're hanging on on to a shattered Mast and you don't know whether you're going to be afloat 5 minutes from now that's a good time to start watching for the presence of God that's a good time to begin listening for the voice of the Lord because he knows where you are and then the third thing during the storm and this one's very important if you're going to survive the storm you got to stay in the ship if you abandon ship you're going to perish it's bad out there it's dark in that night out there there's dangers we've never thought of spiritual battles that rage all around us but in here the lights are on in here yeah it may be storm toss and yeah we may be facing problems we cannot fathom but listen to this preacher if you stay in the boat the boat's going to make it it'll get you to the shore if you stay in the boat you're going to get where God has called you to go don't you abandon ship don't you quit the church don't you quit going to God's house don't you quit praying don't you quit believing don't you quit worshiping the sailors were going to get out of the boat and Paul said they got to stay here you got to stay in the boat and the soldiers Cut the Ropes so that the lifeboats drifted away I love it cut the lifeboats we're staying with the ship get rid of the lifeboats we'll stay with this Old Ship of Zion that's been sailing for Millennia and it's going to keep right on sailing until Jesus H takes us out of here yes it will eventually shipwreck but it will only be after after the Rapture has come and caught us out of this Earth so stay with the boat pray one more prayer sing one more song preach one more sermon open the book and read one more chapter just keep doing what you know to do let me go back to brother job he said he knows the path that I take he didn't say I'm just going to stand here until God shows up he said I'm just going to stay on the road I've been on I'm just going to keep going the direction I've been going I'm going to keep doing what I know to do and God's going to say I know where job is Job's going to church job's in the prayer meeting job's in the altar job's in the word of God when I find him I'll find him with his hands lifted and his heart lifted worshiping my name you stay where God can find you stay in the church uh you stay in the house of God you don't get bitter you don't get angry you don't blame everybody around you don't find fault with the preacher instead you move up a Pew or two and you get your hands a little higher in the air and you shout on the first note instead of the last you let God know this is where I'll be this is where I'll stay I'm going to stay with the ship oh I'm preaching to somebody right now I know what bitterness feels like I know what what despair feels like I know what grief are deep that you can't shake it I know what it's all like I know what it is and I'm sorry I'm probably saying too much but I know what it is to be angry with God I know what it is to blame him I know what it is to say we prayed and we fasted and we did everything your book said do and you did not answer but I thank God for one important thing we never gave up we never gave in we went through that storm in the same ship that we were in when we got in that storm and riding that Old Ship staying with the church even when our hearts were shattered God saw us through because he knew where we were we're in the boat and we're going to stay in the boat oh let's worship him just a minute God is doing something here right now oh Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus I know what it is to sing the songs when I didn't feel it I know what it is to lift my hands in prayer when my heart did not follow them I know what it is to feel like I just don't know if I can put one foot ahead of the other but let me tell you it was in the darkness that Jesus came and put his arms around us do in the darkness he does his best work it's in the darkness that Mary found the Risen Savior it's in the darkness that the Dew brought the Mana to feed the children of Israel it's in darkness that Victory came to Gideon and his host and it was in the darkness that Paul felt an angel stand beside him so no matter how dark it gets uh keep your feet planted on the deck of the ship and God's going to see you through so you do what you need to do you remember that God knows what you're going through and it all cost you stay with the ship it's how you make it through the storm.

but you know what I'm glad this story doesn't stop when the winds died it was a two week hurricane 14 days Luke tells us but can I tell you all storms come to an end no matter how long the wind blows or how hard the rain falls how many flashes of lightning and terrible peels of Thunder there Comes A Time When Storms end that storm ain't going to last forever you don't have to hold on forever the day came the dawn they saw where they were anchored for fear of hitting rocks there was a little inlet at an island they did not know what it was but it was safe haven and they determined as the wind died that they would plant the ship into that little creek that opened to the Sea and as they did the ship began to break apart but all of them not one of them were lost they all made it to the beach I'm so glad the storm the story doesn't just tell us what to do before and during the storm tells us what to do After the Storm cuz if you think the devil is going to give up because you made it through the storm oh no when you're at your weakest most exhausted when you've just survived your rocklen you got to be vigilant After the Storm what we see is the Luke writes that the Barbarian people on this little island — later they learned its name was Melita but on this little island they were kind to them and they started a fire on the beach now they had been cast into the sea and they had they had on broken pieces of the ship and By Their Own Strength had made their way up on that beach it was chilly and they were cold and they were s and wet and oh how good the fire fell ladies and gentlemen when the storm ends get even closer to the fire you need the fire more after you survived the storm than you did before the storm make sure you don't wander Far Away Paul was out picking up some sticks to put on the fire and he walked over and dropped them on the flame and a Viper came out of that those sticks and fastened onto his hand and The Barbarians said uh-huh uhhuh storm didn't get him but snake got him he won't survive this oh not that snake yeah I recognize those spots he's going to swell up he's going to die he won't make this got him in the end it's over for him sad he could serve survive a storm like that and then the snake get him in the end but Paul didn't run and holler and scream he was close to the fire so he just shook that snake off into the fire that was already burning that's why you need to stay close to the fire you never know when you're going to get to shake that devil off of your life and into the flame of a Pentecostal Revival don't sink to the back row come on come on up where the fire is H come on up where the glory Falls H come on up where God is at at present what if there is no fire we'll start one there's no better candidate than someone who has ritten out the storm someone who has seen God in the middle of the Tempest uh someone who has made it to shore when all hope had been lost uh to get in the middle of that church and start praying like never before worshiping like never before believing like never before and get a fire started that will turn a community upside down one of the advantages of surviving storms is it puts us closer to God our faith is higher our joy is greater turn it loose uh set your church on fire set your town on fire set your family on fire the devil hates the fire of the Holy Ghost stand with me I I've got one more point they can come and get ready to worship we got one more point we know what to do before the storm we follow leadership spiritual influence in our lives we know what to do during the storm we do what's necessary to keep the boat afloat we understand God knows where we are and we'll come to our rescue and we stay with the ship and now we've learned from this incredibly detailed account of a of a ship caught in the middle of a hurricane we've learned that when it's over that's when you most need the fire but one more point and this one this one I had never seen before until about a week ago when I God laid this sermon on my heart for this camp meeting and I realized that Luke went out of his way that one of the details that he gave us that the ship that saw them through the storm was a ship of Alexandria it wasn't the ship they started with that was from somewhere else but the ship that they rode out the storm in was a ship of Alexandria when they were finally ready to leave the island of Molita and continue their Journey to the city of Rome Luke says we found us another ship and it too was from Alexandria might have been the same owners maybe the same kind of ship maybe it was a duplicate the last thing I want to tell you.

don't be afraid to get back in the boat don't be afraid of the sea it wasn't the boat's fault it was the storm's fault and we have a destination God has called us to get somewhere and I know it's hard hard when you've been betrayed and your love has been turned aside but I urge you to love again when you've invested months years in someone only to have them turn on you and walk away oh Pastor pastor's wife just invest in someone else don't be afraid of the sea don't stop doing what you know to do don't stop believing that God's going to give you Revival that God's going to honor your sacrifice your commitment your ministry your love for him I've won I've won friends from school years ago to God to only watch them walk walk away and it hurts I know it hurts and no Pastor there's no Pastor that haven't experienced someone that you had that you just knew they were going to make it they were going to make a difference only to see them turn their back on God just get back in the boat Rome is waiting a church huh an Emperor's household and you're going to make a difference if you keep sailing on if you fail try again if your prayers aren't answered pray again if you believe with all your heart and it doesn't come to pass dare to keep believing get back in the boat God is going to take you where he wants you to go would you lift Your Hands Across the building right now in Jesus name the altars are open there's a place for you get back in the boat come on don't don't quit now you've sailed too far you've you've weathered too many storms get back in the boat come on Paul I planned this from the beginning when I knocked you down on the road to Damascus I said you were going to preach to Kings Emperors so get back in the boat don't let the storm stop you don't let the storm rob you come on come on come on do it again preach it again teach that Bible study again knock another door don't stop now no storm is permanent no failure is fatal if you'll get back up if you'll Sail on another mile you're going to make it.