{"id":1700,"date":"2022-08-07T21:59:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T20:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2022-08-07T21:59:28","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T20:59:28","slug":"we-lost-all-hope-acts-2713-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=1700","title":{"rendered":"We lost all hope! Acts 27:13-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

I came across a fictional list of improbable quotes – remarks that famous people would NEVER have made.
\nPeter Pan would never have said \u201cOh, grow up!\u201d
\nFlorence Nightingale would never have said \u201cGo away, I\u2019m on my tea break\u201d
\nSylvester Stallone would never have asked \u201cPrecisely what is my motivation in this scene?\u201d
\nHere\u2019s one you would never expect. Surely the Apostle Paul would never have said, \u201cAll hope is lost!\u201d
\nYet things are so desperate on this ship that we read
\nActs 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved. (NIV)
\nNLT \u201cAll hope was gone\u201d
\nNew Century \u2013 \u201cWe lost all hope of being saved\u201d
\nNew RSV \u201call hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.\u201d
\nMessage \u201cwe lost all hope of rescue.\u201d
\nIt is Doctor Luke traveling with the apostle Paul who wrote this account in Acts. So it was actually Luke, and all the sailors, who lost all hope. When that happened there was just one person aboard the ship who had not sunk into despair. Among all the sailors and passengers, when even Luke himself was in despair, one man did not become despondent! One man of faith had not lost all hope. We will come to him in a few moments.
\nFor everybody else, \u201cAll hope was gone.\u201d \u201cWe lost all hope.\u201d This can happen to Christians more often than we talk about. I\u2019ve never been in a shipwreck. I have been in more than one storm at sea. I have had a brief experience of being out of my depth in the sea swallowing sea water and facing the possibility of drowning. And these are scary experiences. But the whole of life is full of storms \u2013 and the lives of Christians are no less stormy than anybody else\u2019s. First there are the storms of life which every human being can face. Unpleasant or difficult experiences arising from need, from illness or accident or natural disaster, from bereavement and grief, from rejection or even abuse, from disappointment and discouragement. Such times can be so hard that even Christians can be brought so low that they are tempted to give up hope. Then, some Christians also have to face the storms of opposition and ridicule and persecution, and in some places even martyrdom. They can feel pressed to give up hope! Whenever believers go out on a limb and take risks for the sake of the gospel, storms will come! And hope can fade to despair even for believers.
\nSo if you have ever felt tempted to give up all hope \u2013 don\u2019t feel guilty. You are in good company and I\u2019m not only talking about Luke.
\nWe talk about the sufferings of Job. Remember how his personal suffering and afflictions, as well as grief for the loss of his family, caused Job to curse the day he was born.
\nJob 3 11 \u201cWhy did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
\n12 Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed?
\n13 For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest
\n16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?
\nThink about how Moses felt in the wilderness when all the people were demanding food to eat. Moses was ready to give up.
\nNumbers 11 11 He asked the LORD, \u201cWhy have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? … 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now
\nMoses found the burden of leading God\u2019s people too much for him. He lost all hope. That is the kind of experience which many Christians, and even many Christian leaders, have gone through!
\nRemember how Elijah felt after the contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Jezebel was out to kill him.
\n1 Kings 19 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day\u2019s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. \u201cI have had enough, LORD,\u201d he said. \u201cTake my life; I am no better than my ancestors.\u201d 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
\nStanding up for God had driven Elijah to the point where he was ready to give up!
\nAnd think about Jonah when he preached to the people of Nineveh so powerfully that they actually repented! At the moment when he should have been rejoicing, instead Jonah fell into deep despair and he said
\nJonah 4 . 3 Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.\u2019
\nAll these great believers came to a point in their lives when they give up hope! Many Christians have done \u2013 so if that includes you then don\u2019t feel guilty. Faced with hopeless situations it is perfectly natural to want to give up!
\nIt has been said that \u201cMan can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope\u201d. The sign at the entrance of Dante\u2019s hell reads, \u201cAbandon hope, all you who enter here\u201d, and a place where there is no hope is a good definition of hell.
\nYou may have faced such a situation when you have been in despair. You may secretly be feeling that way today. Let\u2019s see what we can learn from the one man aboard that sinking ship who did not abandon hope! Who was it guided the sailors to safety? It was the apostle Paul.
\nLet\u2019s begin by remembering that this was not the first difficult situation that Paul had faced. God had brought Paul safely through so many of the challenges of life, and he had also experienced God\u2019s faithfulness in the midst of all kinds of opposition and persecution. Paul had already proved in his own life that God could be trusted. In not one but two passages in 2 Corinthians Paul listed the ways he had suffered for God.
\n2 Cor 6:4 \u2026 troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; \u2026 8 through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
\nThere were so many times Paul when had been knocked down but not knocked out! Then in 2 Corinthians 11 he reports how he had
\n2 Corinthians 11:23 been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
\nHere Paul is giving his testimony about all the challenging and painful situations where he had experienced God\u2019s help. Most of us have probably not gone through times as hard as those in our own lives. So it is good for us to learn from Paul\u2019s experiences. It is good for us to be encouraged by the examples of the great saints of scripture and the great saints of history and the great saints in the church around the world today who go through terrible times, but to do not give up. Their experiences inspire us to serve God faithfully and not to despair. Paul didn\u2019t abandon hope. He didn\u2019t wallow in pity! So we also should never give up!
\nHere in the story of the shipwreck we find no less than SIX pointers to Paul\u2019s faith and determination: six things WE should remember in the middle of whatever storms we are facing to help us to keep on going and not give up hope! Last week I gave you a sermon with four points all beginning with the same letter. Since I am on a roll here are six points all starting with the letter P.
\nGod\u2019s Presence
\n23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
\nGod is with us whatever storms in life we may be facing. Sometimes, as Jesus did in the boat on the sea of Galilee when the apostles thought they were drowning, sometimes God calms the storms. Sometimes God leaves the storms raging and he calms US in the midst of the storm. Either way, it is recognising the presence of God which will stop us from giving up hope.
\nWe have to make time and space to find the presence of God. In the midst of the chaos and panic on board, sailors throwing everything they could overboard to lighten the ship, Paul was busy praying! It is very hard to pray with storms raging around us, when we think we are about to sink! But then more than ever we need to make time and space to pray and recognise the presence of Almighty God.
\nGod\u2019s Promise
\n23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, \u201cDo not be afraid, Paul.
\nYou must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.\u201d 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
\nPaul received God\u2019s promises in words of prophecy. Many times Paul, and the Early Church, and Christians ever since, have been comforted and saved from despair by words of prophecy, by dreams and visions, or even by the appearance of an angel. But again we need to make time in the middle of the storm to listen to God and hear his still small voice of calm!
\nFor us of course God also speaks to us his promises of Scripture! So we must make time to read the Word, to learn it, to hide it in our hearts!
\nGod\u2019s Purposes and God\u2019s Plan
\n24You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.\u201d
\nPaul knew that God had a master plan for his life and that NOTHING could stop God\u2019s plan from being fulfilled. He would go on to Rome to proclaim the gospel before the Emperor himself. God also had plans for the lives of all the sailors who were with Paul. God has a masterplan for each of our lives too. And nothing can stop God\u2019s purposes for us from being fulfilled. So when the storms of life are beating the last remnants of hope out of us, we should remember that God is in control \u2013 HIS will shall be done in our lives. He will accomplish in and through us everything which His cosmic masterplan intends.
\nGod\u2019s Power
\n25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
\nIn the midst of the storms of life when we are tempted to think that all hope is gone, we need to remember that nothing is impossible for God.
\nIn the 17th century, Jeremy Taylor wrote, \u201cIt is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.\u201d
\nFrom her experience of God\u2019s help through the atrocities of a Nazi Concentration Camp, Corrie Ten Boom confidently declared, \u201cWe do not need great faith, just faith in a great God\u201d.
\nStorms at sea, shipwrecks, the storms of life we experience, are all within the control of Almighty God our Heavenly Father. Remember we serve the God who is able to do so much more than we can ask or even imagine. HE is our hope! He is our shield and our very great reward!
\nGod\u2019s Protection
\n25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.\u2019
\nMax Lucado wrote, \u201cIt is when we are out of options that we are most ready for God’s surprises.\u201d
\nWhen we come to the end of hope \u2013 God steps in and does his saving work. The rest of Acts chapter 27 is the story of how, despite a terrible shipwreck, not a single life was lost. After two weeks in this dreadful storm the boat was about to crash into the rocks.
\n33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. \u2018For the last fourteen days,\u2019 he said, \u2018you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food\u2014you haven\u2019t eaten anything. 34 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.\u2019 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
\nPaul was even able to break bread with all the sailors and soldiers and all the other prisoners, so everybody knew it was God\u2019s protection which brought them safe to land. They tried rescuing the ship by throwing the cargo overboard but that didn\u2019t work so they decided to run the shop aground.
\n43 \u2026 the centurion wanted to spare Paul\u2019s life and \u2026 ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.
\nEvery single person was saved through God\u2019s wonderful protection. And in the midst of all this, we see how Paul received
\nGod\u2019s Peace
\nWhen everybody else had given up hope, Paul was able to say to them all, not once but twice, \u201ckeep up your courage!\u201d As the storm raged around them, Paul rested in God\u2019s peace. And that came to him through prayer.
\nPhilippians 4 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
\nPerhaps you are at the point of giving up all hope today. Perhaps you may come to that point in the days ahead when the storms of life are battering you down into despair. You won\u2019t be alone if you fall so low. Remember Job and Moses and Elijah and Jonah and even Luke. But in that slough of despond remember the apostle Paul. Remember God\u2019s presence, God\u2019s promise, God\u2019s purposes, God\u2019s power and God\u2019s protection. And God\u2019s peace which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I came across a fictional list of improbable quotes – remarks that famous people would NEVER have made. Peter Pan would never have said…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1701,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}