Red sky in morning…

an a who am I to deny what the Lord can do can you imagine with all of the faith in the room what the Lord can do what the Lord can do it’s going a Happ just let the way make it through he’s going to move he’s going to move can you imagine with all of the faith in the room what the Lord can do what the Lord can do and it’s going to happen just let the way make it through he’s going to move he’s

going to move can you imagine all of the Fai in the room what the Lord can do what the Lord can do it’s going to happen just let the way maker through he’s going to move he’s going to move anything is possible anything is possible do you believe that morning anything is possible who am I to deny what the Lord Can Do Anything is Possible anything is possible anything is possible who am I to deny what the Lord can do anything is possible anything is possible

who am I to deny what the Lord can do who am I to deny what the Lord can sing God is able God is more than God is more than aable sing you are more you are more you are more more than aable you are more than aable who am I to deny what the Lord can do take a seat church just for a moment just take a seat with the lights down and I lost count how many times we sang you are more than able

but I find myself even as the Music Stops the Beautiful Soul felt music and the truth of those words start to fade if they fade to a place where I say lord it’s me say it again tell me again that you are The Sovereign Lord the creator of Heaven and Earth by your strong arm and outstretched hand nothing is too difficult for you Ezekiel understood that and job after the most horrific Human Experience recorded sat quietly before you God and he says now I know you

can do all things and no plan because you have all the power can be thwarted will you take the thing that you’re waiting for we were asked about miracles that we want that we need some of you are living in that moment where it needs to come soon to call you desperate or dire is not extreme would you take that and put it in front of him and no one’s going to watch you do it but just put your hands as though you’re saying here it

is Jesus here are the people I’m thinking about here’s my problem that I know too well and you hear it in my voice maybe you’re saying that this morning Lord I’m not saying it out loud like Pastor Steve but I’m I’m my voice would crack I would not make it through CU I need you we say it all the time you’re the Lord of this church you’re the head you’re the the one we bow before but way more personal than that you want to be the

Lord of our hearts and our lives and what’s in our hands right now so Lord even if the storm doesn’t dissipate strengthen the heart of people like me who are in the storm and that goes for all the people praying to you right now and the one that is able Jesus Christ we pray amen amen wow thank you everybody what a great and true and Powerful song almost feel a little bit like some of you listen to my playlist in my car because that’s it’s been

a song that’s been part of of my survival and today wasn’t the day to tell you this because Brett did such a beautiful job of describing 30 years but the truth is the the storms that come and threaten us and I don’t just mean us as the McCracken or me as a pastor I mean us as Jesus people I mean every single one of us some of you are climbing huge mountains right now and I love you in that I want so badly for Jesus to

just walk into this room and say can I can I sit next to you excuse me can you make room for me because he wants to and here’s the good news the holy spirit is very present and touchable so don’t make this a moment that that leaves us but make it your moment that stays and and it becomes that Cornerstone that we sang about at the beginning for you a stone is solid it’s a rock and it’s it’s the one that we take shelter in amen

it’s Jesus I I just I want to say this because there’s no no one that matters more to my longevity and Ministry than the one that took my name my last name 40 years ago and has been by my side the entire way and so everything you said Brett I thought of it for my Debbie you know and there it is I just I want I want you all to know that and I’m not going to say something cute like behind every great man is a

greater woman or whatever it’s the saying goes I just believe that I would not have lasted and endured all that goes with 30 years here and 13 years before here and I’ve had Debbie with me the whole way and so I love you and thank you Debbie yeah that’s sweet so let’s bow our heads and go home everybody that pretty much covers it but so I have a name I want to throw out maybe a few of you have heard this woman’s name but if you

have keep it to yourself until I tell you details her name is Jessica Watson and she if you were Australian you would say right away oh I know her I she’s a national hero she’s a person that lives in Australia in Melbourne actually and she is now 30 years old but she was awarded the order of Australia medal which to us it’s probably the medal of freedom in America like the big thing where the president you know is involved in acknowledging that she’s awarded this order

of Australia medal because she was the first to sail the world solo and unassisted at age 16 her achievement resulted in her induction to the Australian sailing Hall of Fame in 2022 so just recently but her story was made into a mustsee movie and and I say that because we saw it and we want to see it again I I rarely do that I know what’s coming you know that kind of thing but this is a keeper and it’s called true Spirit if you want to

write down a title that’s worth getting Debbie and I saw it and we were absolutely Spellbound part of that is because we remember we remember actually being there and being in the Sydney Harbor and in front of the Sydney Opera House and most of you can imagine that from images you’ve seen only on the day that she finished her circumnavigation of the planet on the on the Waters of this Earth she came into that Harbor to I’m going to guess Millions it was hundreds of of

thousands of folks that just you couldn’t see surface that they were standing on it was just bodyto body people and people understandably in wrapped attention to her achievement which has me thinking there’s something I think about voyages at Sea that that can I think capture our imagination I mean it surely it might be something like like the Jessica story and it’s on a on display permanently in a museum actually I think it was called the pink lady or it had pink in the name the sailboat

that she made her way around the world in so it’s that big a deal maybe that kind of captures your attention you anybody in this room have has either seen another movie or read the book or know something about the unsinkable Titanic and I don’t know maybe some of you wrote on it I don’t I don’t know if that’s true exactly probably not but or maybe it’s something silly like Gilligan’s Island just sit right back and you’ll hear a tail a tale of a see I

caught you singing you guys tale of a faithful trip that started from this Tropic Port aboard this tiny ship and then you hear about the m and then this the weather started getting rough the tiny ship was tossed if not for the courage of The Fearless Crew The Minnow would be everybody now The Minnow would be L look at you guys go man that’s a car that’s a classic has nothing to do with church but it was a classic Debbie and I have taken two cruises

in our lives the first the second year I think we were married in the Caribbean and then many many years later in Mexico and both of them were absolute luxury liners as all cruise ships are how many of you have taken a cruise look at you look at you how many are about to take a cruise oh my wife just honey where are we going there’s lot to be some kind of conversation after church you know honey the things you said about me today say there’s

a a ship that’s leaving but next to her was another hand that went up Kenne is leaving this week yeah three hour no I’m just kidding but both of those cruises that we’ve been on just two some people do it a lot they were elegant trips and and both featured food that was EXT extraordinary and constant it was fabulous food ports of call come to mind they were they where you pull in and dock for a while maybe all day or overnight or something like that

usually during the day and they were full ADV adventure I remember in Mexico the zipline tour we took in the canopy down there it was just fantastic stuff but in no sense did we ever worry about being lost at sea never once and nor were we laying awake at night wondering if somehow we would be hit by a tsunami these trips and I’m sure most cruise ships are pampered living at its best my Bible’s open to acts 27 and in contrast the Apostle Paul’s Voyage from

cesaria on the shore of Israel the western shore looking out across the Mediterranean Sea actually was in every way other than what I’ve just described a cruise ship to be it was a nightmare on the high seas so the story goes this way after a wait of more than two years Paul’s trial before Governor fesus and then King Agrippa had been referred to the emperor in Rome you you remember that at the end of chapter 26 where they’re conferring after a hearing and the inclusion AG

grippa says def Festus this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar in other words had he not insisted that he go and have his case heard six, 18800 miles west of where he stood in in Rome so chapter 27 then opens with a detail of the 1800 mile Voyage which by the way ended 650 M or so short at the end of chapter 27 we’ll have to go to chapter 28 to finish the voyage if you will now as we

prepare to take on chapter 27 I want you to notice something I’ve never done this in the Pulpit but I’ll give you a caveat when I have you do it would you look at your Bible and I think it’s true on apps as well you can see it on almost every Bible will include four words as a kind of a heading if if you will a subheading Paul sails for Rome okay so Paul sails for Rome that’s simple it’s straightforward if you know the context you

know Paul what I just said is in cesaria and he’s about to leave there is no Road there is a far roundabout way he’s going to sail as those four words say for Rome but to the uninformed there is nothing as you read that subheading by the way that is not inspired it’s just an editor staving the obvious that’s what chapter 27 is about you have no preparation though you can hear it in my tone change right now to prepare you for the exhausting SOS do

you know what SOS stands for something about single is what I heard it’s it’s actually not it’s save our souls in nautical terms okay so SOS is laced throughout chapter 27 so let’s read it and and then talk about a couple of takeaways We Begin verse one when it was decided that we would sail for Italy Paul and some of the other prisoners were handed over to a centurion military man named Julius who belong to the Imperial regiment we boarded a ship for aditum about to

sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia Asia is north of here and west of there and it’s it it hugs the northern part of the Mediterranean Sea and we put out to seea arist starus a Macedonian from thessalonica was also with us verse three the next day we landed at a siden and some of you already have your map out my apologies this would have been a great morning to have a map and have it moving and all but I don’t so

trust me we’re making our way North and then West and well let’s just say Terror unfolds they head for they land in siden which is about 70 miles north of where they left in cesaria are We There Yet no because in kindness to Paul Julius this military man allowed him to get off the boat and go to friends so they might provide for his needs we’ve got a voyage ahead usually it’s a two-e voyage today it won’t be but we have a voyage ahead and I

need supplies they don’t feed you as they do on cruise ships in this particular case from there we went out to sea again and passed to the Lee of Cyprus the leeward side is this is the wind blocked side so the wind was coming from the north and we are we are on the the northern side of Cyprus which is an island and south of Asia that’s where you can find yourself in a map because the winds were against us when we had sailed across the

Open Sea off the coast of cissa and pamilia we landed at Myra in liysa we we were in Lissa a long time ago in this series there the Centurion found an alexandrian ship and sailed for in sailing for Italy and put us on board so there was a connecting flight if we were talking about airplanes and airports verse 7even we made slow Headway for many days and look at how the tone starts to change and we had difficulty arriving at snidas when the wind did not

allow us to hold our course we had a big Windstorm the trees in our yard all are naked today because because of that all their leaves were fell we get wind but this was a wind that was so powerful they could not hold their course so we sailed to the Lee of CET opposite salony we moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens near the town of Leia much time had been lost you can tell they’re behind schedule and sailing

had already become dangerous because by now it was after the day of atonement Yom Kapur which is in early October so Paul warned them verse 10 this is key men I I can see that our Voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo and this gets everybody’s attention and to our own lives as well but the Centurion this is the military man instead of listening to what Paul said followed the advice of the pilot and owner of the ship they

did have an opinion it is their boat since the harbor was unsuitable in winter in the the majority rather to Winter in the majority decided that we should Sail on hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there this was a harbor in cre an interesting way of saying it faced due east at the tip of cre which is the second island due east meaning it was facing both Southwest and Northwest okay so that’s that’s the scene here so when a gentle South Wind began to blow which

was a change in wind direction they saw their opportunity and they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of cre before very long however a wind of Hurricane Force called the northwest northeaster swept down from the island the ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind so we gave way to it and were driven along as we passed to the Lee of the small island called cata we were hardly able to make the Lifeboat secure so the men hoisted it up

on board then we passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together because they were afraid they would run ground and the sandb bars of s citus cus they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along I just have to stop and say I would I would everything in me wants to know how you secure a boat a ship by going under it except swimmers have to do that so imagine we’re not told but I’m sure there were no volunteers and more

than likely some were lost we took Verse 18 such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw cargo overboard to make it more ballast to lift it up on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands I’m sure right here I want to insert and they also threw up through the day because it’s a bad storm right verse 20 when neither Sun nor Stars appeared from many days no we’re not describing Oregon and the storm

continued key word here raging we finally gave up we were certain we would die that’s what the rest of the verse means we gave up hope of being saved after they had gone a long time without food Paul stood up before them and said men you should have taken my advice not to sail from C then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss but now I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost you can’t hear the

laughter because they probably weren’t in a laughing mood but that was an absurd statement to these seasoned Sailors you’re not going to you’re not going to be lost not one of you only this ship will be destroyed last night he tells why he knows so much last night an angel of the Lord of God to whom I belong and whom I serve he stood beside me and he said this my Bible has a quotation there do not be afraid Paul you must stand trial in Rome

before Caesar and God has con graciously given you the lives of all of those sailing with you what a power what a incredible Grace statement so keep up your courage men the quote by the way ended at verse 24 keep up your courage men for I have faith in God and it will happen just as he told me nevertheless we must run a a ground on some Island let me stop for a second that’s a lot I mean from four words Paul sails for Rome who

would have thought was smooth sailing for a while some light chop stronger Breeze if I had spent time on on the high seas or any of us had we would have understood that the winds are changing the the skies are are darkening the swells are increasing we would get it all we would see it all U I’m tempted to tell you a funny story about my my one time sailing a little dinghy in the San Francisco Bay and we we weren’t we were kids we went

out in a dinghy my brother and myself and my my friend Ricky Evans his dad was a was a man that owned a a marina a sailboat Marina they built one in their garage and that’s the the ship we took and we didn’t get maybe several hundred yards from Shore and the the swells grew and the winds blew and unexpectedly the Mast broke in half and my brother and I are just howling we are laughing so stinking hard because we knew how to swim but Ricky

Evans he knew how to swim but he also knew he couldn’t swim far enough or fast enough from his dad when his dad finds out we took the boat out and sure sure enough it sank and we and not not clear down to the bottom of the bay it just was underwater completely there was no evidence of a boat and just and we hear this and I’m thinking get you know what is that what is that sound I look up and it’s it’s a Coast Guard

Cutter coming to us and they drag Us in the boat and I just I told you I wouldn’t tell you but that’s a very funny memory of mine and and I’m he drags us on there and and their their lecture was noteworthy and memorable but what are you guys thinking and Ricky is just crying his eyes out thinking I’m dead that’s what I’m thinking because my dad’s going to say where’s the boat and we don’t have a good answer but anyway there was no laughter there

was no comic relief this was one that takes the oxygen out of the air and the weather verse 10 worsens northeaster is an awful thing I did some research we have nor Easter that’s American term for storms on the East Coast this is a northeaster think hurricane think a very high number hurricane and it was it was a great threat to the 200 we’re told 276 Souls on board and the mood mood changes that’s why I took the time to read it and call your attention

to it in verse 20 it changes sign significantly when the men really truly it became dire the terror set in we are going to die was the sentiment on these I remind you again seasoned Sailors and then Paul stands up and he and he says what he did in a very commanding and calming way we’re going to make it he says it twice be courageous in the middle do not fear we’re going to make it be courageous and I don’t know what the reaction was but

I’m not sure I would have bought it when we’re living a nightmare and there there’s a reassuring development like like Paul’s words were an attempt at that most of us begin at least for for a moment to breathe a sigh of relief don’t we it’s like this is not going to turn out well this is going down we are going down this will we will not live if you have time enough to think that out and then verse 24 and 5 we just read you know

that there’s there’s hope do you mean do we’re going to make it and honestly honestly I I think it’s possible to miss the words of verse 26 we must run a ground on some Island you have this moment here it is even though we hear reassuring words from this happens in life today from God we’ll open the Bible at some Panic moment in our lives and we hear reassuring we read reassuring words that God has to say like you’re going to make it you’ll see your

way through this be courageous do not fear those kinds of re reassuring words most frequent command in the Bible fear not God knows something about humans some things you don’t have to guess why they would fear but some of us nibble our nails and we Pace the floor and we sigh and we sweat and we we’re not sure about big and and little in some cases imagined things but they’re real to the person going through them and we can hear words from God and and maybe

even from godly people like reliable people who actually listen to God and walk with God but let me say this gently we can have all of that but listen to me shipwrecks still happen they do in fact the hardest part of the voyage is now verse 27 on the 14th night we were still being driven across the Adriatic I don’t know at what point the passengers just go we’re hosed kiss it off we’re gone I don’t know 14 more nights about midnight the sailors sensed that

they were approaching land they took soundings to drop a measurement down found the waters 120 ft deep short time later they took them again and it’s 90 ft that’s 25% less you do the trajectory and you realize verse 29 that we might be dashed against The Rock so they dropped four anchors from the stern the back of the boat and PR and prayed for daylight in an attempt to escape from the ship notice who jumps in they they hadn’t jumped yet they had lowered the life

booat they lower the Lifeboat into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow they knew they’d be stopped these Sailors Paul catches them calls attention to it unless these men stay with the ship you cannot be saved remember what he was told so the sailors Cut the Ropes and let the lifeboats drift away just before Dawn Paul urged them all to eat remember they’ve been praying for daylight for the last 14 days you have been in constant suspense and have gone

without food you don’t eat in times like this you haven’t eaten a thing so now I urge you to take some food you need it to survive not one of you will lose a single hair from his head after he said this he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of 270 so number of people and then he broke it and began to eat and they were all encouraged and all of them ate food themselves alt together 276 of them on board when

they had eaten as much as they wanted they lightened the ship by throwing the the rest of the food the grain into the sea when daylight came they did not recognize the land but they saw a bay with a Sandy Beach when they decided to run the ship ground where they decided to run the ship ground if they could Cutting Loose the anchors now they they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the Rudders then they hoisted the

for sale to the wind it’s all the way up and made for the beach verse 41 but the ship struck a sand bar and ran ground the bow struck fast that’s the front it went straight into The Sandbar and the stern by that time was now in Direct Hit direct line of all these crashing waves into this island and and it quickly took its toll breaking to Pieces the ship in the surf the soldiers planned to kill everyone because they would die if anyone got away

so to prevent them from doing that from swimming away and escaping but a centurion Centurion wanted I think I believe it’s Julius he wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and swim the rest were to get on planks or other pieces of ship and in this way look How It Ends everyone landed safely I there’s four words that end this four words that started it for four that ended four that ended

it are actually inspired words from God in this everyone reached land safely everyone reached land safely sheesh I would I would have never sailed again I’ll bet 200 1 76 of the rest of the people on board would say the exact same thing this is crazy but not Paul and his Entourage because they in fact wintered there wisely and three months later we’ll pick up that next week they sailed on a three-hour tour huh man so many implications I I know I know you’re making them

you’re you’ve made them as we passed by them in this in this second to the last chapter of our over year-long study in step with the spirit but I want to tell you about two quickly as I end two that are I’m calling them takeaways from me they may be very similar to yours and if they not if you have other takeaways would you please bless me and write me and tell me yours because I think the Holy Spirit speaks in lots of different ways to

to all of us so if there’s something else in this story and you’re going wow that was the moment verse so and so let me know I have many more but the two I want to mention the first one is this sometimes our plans don’t work out as we wish comma sometimes I could almost modify that and say much of the time our plans don’t work out according to schedule as we wished according to plan before I go on and finish my sentence raise your hand

if that describes you like a hundred times this week I mean really not big things necessarily but enough stuff to make you go why do I even plan here’s my here’s the Finish sometimes our plans don’t work out as we’d wish but they end up working out anyway for our good and for God’s glory but they do work out anyway for my good good and God’s glory incredible more than two years had passed yet Paul still wasn’t in Rome you remember way back a while ago

they were clear back in yeah chapter 24: 20 when two years had passed he’s still in jail you kidding me this imagery by a mentor of mine Chuck swindall was most helpful to me and I want you to hear it he writes imagine yourself traveling back in time to stand on the deck of this ship as one of the pass MERS knowing the end of the story as you now know how would your behavior differ from those on board the others we’ve read about the unpleasant

conditions would affect you no less and the wind and the rain would chill you just the same but and anxiety would have no effect on your outlook so it is with your circumstances now now listen he adds struggles and difficulties will always be a part of life this side of the grave and your life in this realm will someday end I was at a memorial yesterday that confirmed that but we have been assured of God’s presence in the person of the Holy Spirit within us he

finishes and he has promised to save all who trust in him furthermore every experience pleasure cruises or ship RX will be used for his glory now everybody said amen amen my second takeaway sometimes Jesus calms the storms and sometimes he chooses to calm us as the the stubborn storm continues I love those you see them by swimming pools in different places where people swim and sometimes get in trouble the life rings I wish that was part of the story at every point you know a LIF

ring the storm raged the fact is clear when viewing Paul’s Voyage to Rome sometimes Jesus calms our storms that’s true but sometimes he calms us as the storm continues am I describing you or somebody you know right now yeah yeah okay the storm never relented take courage don’t fear take courage you need to hear that when the storm continues let’s bow our heads this morning we have a final song as we do each week Christian it’s time to claim the truth that nothing can separate us

from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord Romans 8:39 tells us that not even a terrible northeaster a hurricane a Relentless unabated storm but I have to ask you a question I said Christians because that’s the essential for that to be true are you a Christian and I I just I I don’t want to leave you hanging with a question if you’re not and only you know that then you can become one right now single verse the Bible doesn’t condition it at

all simply says whoever which is whoever every one of us me you here in the house someplace else whoever calls upon the name of the Lord help me Jesus let’s put it in nautical terms Save Me Jesus I’m sinking we’ll be saved whoever you must trust in Jesus Christ there is no other life ring to be thrown it’s trusting in the one that says I’ve got you take courage don’t lose Faith here’s some more courage today’s truth in our study of this second to the last

chapter it’s captured by the words of this song we’re going to sing it’s really beautiful and when the oceans rage I don’t have to be afraid because I know that you love me your love never fails the wind is strong and the waters are deep but I’m not alone here in the open sees because your love never fails let’s stand together and be led in song and make this a song of a statement from your heart if you’re not sure about his love we can talk

about that won’t happen right in this moment but we can talk about it would you stand with us and lead us worship team as we wrap up our morning nothing can separate even if I ran away your love never fail I know I still make mistakes you have new mercies for me every day Your Love Never Fails you stay the same Through the Ages your love never c

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,921 words.