FOUR STRONG ANCHORS FOR LIFE’S STORMY SEAS (Part 1)

Acts 27:14-29

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 we read this text, we learn 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 stand steady and strong. You see, those same anchors are available to you and me this evening. We would discuss these Four Strong Anchors for Life’s Stormy Seas.

1. v.23 THE STRONG ANCHOR OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
2. Even in the midst of that raging storm, Paul found that he was not alone. The Lord came to him to minister peace to his heart.
3. Regardless of the storm that tosses your life and mine, if we have the same confidence that Paul has in his relationship to the Lord, v. 23, then we can have faith in His promise to be with us always – Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5 (David – Psalm 23:4)
4. What an encouragement it is to know that we will never face an instant of life on our own! Every step, every valley, every mountain will be graced by His presence! Psalm 23:6 – The blessed footmen of God, goodness and mercy, follow us everywhere we go!
5. It would be a blessing if we enjoyed 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 for 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 all 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 said. “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.”)