An Inevitable Crash | Sunday, February 28, 2021

Good morning and welcome to our online broadcast. I’m Pastor Garrett, and I just want to ask you to take a minute right now to invite your friends, family members, and co-workers to join our live service at live.ccchurch.com. You can send it as a text message or email. We would love to get more people watching and to hear the message of the Lord.

With that, let's go ahead and jump over to worship with Pastor Anthony. Let's pray.

Oh, Heavenly Father, we thank You, God, for this amazing day. Like the psalmist says, whenever I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. You are truly trustworthy; You have shown Yourself to be a trustworthy God. In these times, Lord, You have been with us, and You promise to never leave us or forsake us. So, God, we will worship You for who You are, and we will worship You for what You've done.

We bless You and praise You. Receive our worship now in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Silence the enemy. Praise be a weapon that conquers all anxiety. It rises, declaring Your name in the dark, and it changes everything. We will sing with all we are and claim Your victory. We will see You break down every wall.

We praise You, Lord. Let faith be the song that overcomes the raging sea. Let faith be the song that calms the storm inside.

We praise You, God, because You are worthy. All right, let's sing this truth: this is what living looks like, this is what freedom feels like, and this is what heaven sounds like. We praise You, we praise You.

This is what living looks like, this is what freedom feels like, and this is what heaven sounds like. We praise You, we praise You. We will see You break down.

Every wall, we'll watch the giants. God, we praise You. We praise You. We praise You.

Hey, welcome, and thanks again for tuning in to Cross Connection Church. I'm Pastor Garrett, and here at Cross Connection Church, we're all about living life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ.

Part of the ways that we live life in connection with God through Jesus is through prayer. We want to encourage you to be praying this week. As your pastoral staff and prayer team here at Cross Connection Church, we want to be lifting you up in prayer this week as well. So check out prayer.lifeinconnection.com on your mobile phones or computers this week, or even today. We would love to hear from you and know how we can be praying with and for you. Again, check it out at prayer.lifeinconnection.com. God is faithful to us; He hears our prayers and answers so many of our prayers here at Cross Connection Church. So don't delay; we would love to be praying with and for you this week.

Speaking of prayer, our mission this week is Bill and Donna Davis with Ethnos 360. We want to ask you to be praying with and for them. For the last 30 years, Cross Connection Church has supported Bill and Donna and their organization, Ethnos 360. Thirty years is incredible! The ministry that they've done is remarkable. They spent 28 years in the jungle of Palawan, Philippines, doing the Lord's work. They were translating the Bible into the Palawan dialect, both in written form and in audio form. For the last 30 years, they have been completely transforming that whole region of the Philippines by sharing the gospel in their own language.

Now, Bill and Donna are stateside. For the last couple of years, they've been here, still leading Ethnos 360 and training missionaries who are going out to the Philippines. So be praying with and for them this week. They are doing incredible work sharing the gospel.

The Gospel of God is being shared with those in the Philippines. I have a couple of announcements for you this week.

For the men, this Tuesday at nine o'clock, please show up here at Cross Connection Church. We will be doing a little landscaping project and some demolition work. I would love to see you here, so please sign up at events.lifeinconnection.com.

For the ladies, we have a couple of different women's ministry events coming up. Check out events.lifeinconnection.com for all the updates and to sign up. They have a retreat coming up on April 10th, so don't miss out, gals! It’s going to be an awesome time of being refreshed in the Lord. Again, events.lifeinconnection.com is your central spot for all announcements and events going on here at Cross Connection Church.

With that, we will hand the mic back over to Anthony, who will lead us in a song of worship. We will be worshiping the Lord with our giving. For those of you who call Cross Connection Church your home church, the ways that you can give today are as follows:

First, you can text the number 84321 from your cell phone. Second, on your computer, you can go to give.lifeinconnection.com. I apologize for the confusion with the events site. Lastly, you can simply mail your tithe or offering to the church address at 1675 Seven Oaks Road.

We would also love to see you tonight at four o'clock here on the patio at Cross Connection Church. We will be having a devotion service with worship, and we will have the heaters out. It’s going to be a great time, so I hope to see you here at four o'clock for our devotion tonight.

God bless you all, and we will see you next week.

Suddenly, I’m not afraid, because when You speak, freedom raises. There is hope in every single word You say. I don’t want to miss one word You speak, because everything You say is life to me.

I don't want to miss one word You speak. So quiet my heart; I'm listening. I'm sorry.

Your ways, You know just what I need. I trust You, Jesus. You speak.

Everything you say is truth. You speak because everything you say is a knife to me. Yes, oh God, we just believe that, Lord God, You are amazing. You speak truth into our lives, and Lord God, we just open our hearts to that truth. So, Lord, would You just speak through us now through Your Word. In Jesus' name, amen.

I hope you don't mind if I slightly deviate from our text this week. We were going to be in Deuteronomy, but I want to share a message this morning from the New Testament book of Acts. It is from a text that I've taught from before, and it is a similar message that I have taught before from that very same text. However, it is a message that has been on my heart this last week as I've been looking back through this text in the book of Acts and working through it for a class that I'm presently in.

This morning, we're going to be considering some thoughts from the New Testament book of Acts, chapter 27. I think that the Lord has some things for us to think about. In considering this passage and looking at life in this present moment in 2021, and reflecting on life over the last year, one of the things becomes clear: sometimes a crash is inevitable.

Years ago, I was driving in South Louisiana, just north of New Orleans, and I was about to complete a long day of driving in torrential rain. Now, being from Southern California, San Diego to be specific,

If I'm honest, I can admit that we San Diegans aren't exactly the best at driving in the rain. That's no secret; we don't get a lot of rain here in San Diego, and that's part of the allure of this area. However, what that means is that, if I remember correctly, we hold the record for having the most accidents in a single hour in the United States of America. Of course, it was during an hour that there was rain in our area. So, when it rains, there are a lot of accidents, and we don't really know how to drive all that well in the rain.

I had been driving from North Louisiana back to a friend's house just outside of New Orleans, in a place called Mandeville. I was merging from one highway to another and accelerating to get up to the speed of traffic when I felt an unsettling feeling from the rear tires of the truck I was driving as it lost traction. I began to hydroplane on the freeway. I remember that years before, my dad had once told me that if you ever find yourself in a situation where you're sliding in the snow or hydroplaning in the rain, you need to steer into the slide.

In that moment, I don't really recall how I reacted, but clearly, I don't think that I reacted the right way. Very quickly, the vehicle was spinning across the lanes of traffic and into the opposite side of the highway, into oncoming traffic. It was very clear in that moment that a crash was inevitable, and ultimately, I did crash right into the side of a late model Ford Thunderbird. Once I lost control of the vehicle, there was nothing I could do to avoid the collision.

Every one of us has a story that is probably similar to that, or we can point to a similar situation. I was recently speaking with a friend of mine who had seen a 1,500 percent increase in his investment over the last dozen or so years, from an initial investment that was in the tens of thousands. Twelve years ago, it was nearly up to a million dollars. This person was not an investment advisor and not a big-time market watcher; they had just put this money into a number of investments about 12 years ago and watched it go up 1,500 percent.

He was sharing with me that he's pulling this money out because he's concerned that a crash is inevitable. He may or may not be right. I'm not an investment advisor, so don't take your investment advice from me; I have no idea. He was just sharing with me his situation, and he could be right or he could be wrong. A number of people made out very well by doing the same thing just before the dot-com bust of the early 2000s.

These names might not be familiar to you unless you have seen the movie "The Big Short," but Michael Burry and Mark Baum did the same thing just before the subprime fiasco of 2008 and 2009. They could see that a crash was inevitable. The Apostle Paul, nearly 2,000 years ago, could see the very same thing. He was on a ship being extradited from Caesarea in Israel to Rome. The story of this collision is recorded for us in Acts 27 and also a little bit more in chapter 28, but mostly in Acts chapter 27.

Paul's collision story began several chapters before Acts 27 and actually several years before this situation. Prior to this ill-fated voyage, he was on a journey back to Jerusalem after several years of Spirit-guided and truly divinely successful ministry among the cities of Greece, Macedonia, and Asia Minor. Paul had received a benevolence offering for the Christians in Jerusalem, who were going through a famine during that period of time. He was on his way back to Jerusalem to share this offering from the Christians of Macedonia, Asia Minor, and Greece with those in severe need in Jerusalem.

Not only was he going to be sharing this offering, but Paul was also intent upon celebrating Pentecost, which, for all intents and purposes, is the birthday of the Church. He was on his way back to Jerusalem to celebrate with the churches of the city. Throughout Paul's final journey to Jerusalem, at virtually every place that he stopped, the Christians and the churches of those areas would plead with him to change his plans. They prophesied to him that chains and tribulations were awaiting him.

Jerusalem. They said, "We really don't want you to go back there." Just as they foretold, as he rejoiced and celebrated in Jerusalem, an uproar arose in the city. Through a chain of events, Paul found himself no longer a free man. Ultimately, after the uproar there in Jerusalem, Paul was in the custody of the Romans, under which he would undergo a multi-year trial. This would end with an appeal by Paul to the highest authority of the day, the Roman Emperor.

Though it was clear to all of those who had examined his case that Paul had done nothing deserving of death or chains, he would have to bring his case to the emperor. Thus, the story of the final chapters of Acts begins with these words in Acts chapter 27, verses 1 and 2: "When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some of the other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan regiment. Entering a ship of Adramythium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us."

What is fascinating about this section of Scripture is just how specific Luke, the author of this passage in Acts, is in chronicling the details of the time and the location of what is going on. So much so is he specific about these things that this passage of Scripture is used by even non-Christian historians to understand ancient shipping in the Mediterranean 2,000 years ago.

Because of the specificity of what is going on in this passage, we can pretty closely determine, based upon the names and the temporal markers mentioned here, that it is very likely this voyage for Paul from Caesarea to Rome began in about mid-August of the year 60 A.D. But all of that aside, those interesting details put aside, I think it's worth noting what we read in Acts 27, verse 1: "When it was decided that we should set sail to Italy." Though Paul is at the center stage of this whole drama, the narrative unfolds with significant historical context.

It should be noted that sometimes our path is planned for us. Sometimes we don't have a say in all that is going on. This means that even when we can see and would desire to avoid an inevitable crash or collision, it is entirely out of our hands to do so because we are not ultimately in control. I don't know about you, but I don't like being out of control of situations. I don't think I'm a control freak, but I don't like to be out of control. You can take that however you want.

As you follow the story of Paul's journey to Rome, you realize that he is, in many ways, just a passenger. Even though he is at the center of this drama, he is just a passenger. He is certainly not at the helm of everything that is going on. However, here's the key thing to consider: though the path was planned for Paul and he was not in control, it is very clear that neither were those who were planning the journey. The people that were in control—the centurion who is guarding Paul, the soldiers around him, the merchants on the ship, the helmsman of the ship, and the owner of the ship—are not really in control of this situation either.

Now, this may seem strange to you, but before you try to understand the events of Acts chapter 27 and all that goes on in this journey, as well as everything that occurs in the last chapter of Acts, Acts chapter 28, it's important to back up and remember the prophetic and reassuring word that Paul received when all of this chaos began back in Acts chapter 23. Early in his incarceration, when Paul was taken into custody in the city of Jerusalem by the Roman guards, he faced threats against his life. Paul was sitting there in custody under the Romans, uncertain about his future and unsure of what was going on.

God gave him assurance with a word in Acts chapter 23, verse 11. There we read, "Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." I know I said that sometimes our path is planned for us, but I think if you are taking notes this morning, you should probably remove the word.

Sometimes, we need to remember that our path is planned for us. This was Paul's assurance as he lived through a multi-year storm, seemingly careening towards a crash—a shipwreck at the end of Acts chapter 27 and a jail cell in the city of Rome in Acts chapter 28. Paul received a reassuring word from God: "Be of good cheer, Paul. In the same way that you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, you will also testify of Me in Rome."

People may have differing views on the sovereignty of God. Some Christians hold a very strong position on God's sovereignty, while others adopt a softer view. However, the picture we are given in the Scriptures, particularly in these final chapters of Acts, is that God is doing something and that He knows what He is doing, even when we may not entirely understand what is going on. When things are unclear to us, God knows what He is doing, and He is working. This is a true encouragement to me and to all that we have been experiencing as individuals and as communities, as churches, over the last year.

I am reminded of the 3,000-year-old wisdom of Solomon from Proverbs chapter 16. There we read in verse 9, "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." My pastor when I was growing up, Pastor Pat Kenny, who pastored the church before I did, used to have a magnet on the side of a metal filing cabinet in his office that said, "Man plans, God laughs." This may be a hard truth for us, but it can also be a great peace-inducing reality.

Paul, in the book of Philippians, writes about the peace from God, or the peace of God, that surpasses understanding. He wrote those words after the ill-fated voyage recorded in Acts chapter 27. Where do you think he learned about that understanding-surpassing peace of God? Right here, in the midst of storms. Again, I love what King Solomon writes in Proverbs 20, especially in the New Living Translation. Proverbs 20:24 says, "The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything?"

Along the way, I've been wrestling with that for a long time. I'm constantly trying to understand everything, and I have to consistently remind myself that the Lord is directing things and that the path is planned for me. So the question is, can I effectively enjoy the ride even when it feels like I'm hydroplaning towards a collision? Our path is planned for us, and the planner of our path, which is God, has a plan that is much bigger than the one we would plan for ourselves.

So the question is, can you trust that this is true? That's what disciples of Jesus are learning every single day. As we walk with the Lord, we're learning to trust Him. We're learning how to live by faith and not by sight, and that's a really difficult lesson for us to learn. Maybe you've experienced the difficulty of this over the last year; I certainly have. But there's no other way to be pleasing to God. The author of the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith, it is impossible to please God. So if we want to be pleasing to God, we've got to learn this very important lesson about learning to trust in Him and walk by faith and not by sight.

Paul, Luke, and another Christian from the city of Thessalonica named Aristarchus, along with a ship full of merchants and soldiers, set out from Caesarea in Israel in about mid-August of the year 60 A.D., bound for Rome. It's really amazing to me when I read this section of Scripture that I had the huge privilege of following this exact route—almost this identical route—with a group of people, some of my closest friends in ministry. Of course, my wife and my parents were also able to be on this journey.

Right at the end of 2019, Pastor David Guzik from Enduring Word and my friend Lance Ralston, who pastors a Calvary Chapel church in Oxnard, California, and I led a group of over 100 people on a Mediterranean cruise in the fall of 2019. The ship had just sailed from Israel to Cyprus and then to Malta, and ultimately we went to Rome. Coincidentally, while we were on this trip, we hit a storm in the Mediterranean and had a couple of rough days at sea while traveling from Cyprus to Malta. Thankfully, our trip did not take near as long as...

Paul's trip from that area was a whole lot more comfortable than what he and all the people must have experienced at that time. We were on a beautiful cruise ship in the middle of the Mediterranean, but we were in a storm. It was at least interesting for us to see what the seas in that place would have looked like around that same time of year. Of course, we talked through this very same passage of Scripture as we were going on that trip and were at sea.

Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus were aboard a merchant ship headed toward Rome. I don't have time to read through every verse in Acts chapter 27, but I encourage you to read through it later. It is worth pointing out that this journey was not going as the helmsman, the guy who was captaining the ship, anticipated. There are a couple of things in this passage that I love from the Apostle Paul, who by this time had already experienced shipwrecks before. Although Paul was not a sailor by trade, he had a little bit of experience at sea and may have had a bit of oceanic PTSD at this point.

At one point before the storm, Paul said to the group of sailors, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo but also of our very lives." The seasoned sailors didn't really listen to Paul, which leads to one of my favorite moments from the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts. In Acts 27:21, Paul stood in the midst of the men and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss." This can be called an apostolic "I told you so."

Paul's "I told you so" leads right into the main verses I want to highlight before I close today. In Acts 27:21, Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood before me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must be brought before Caesar, and indeed God has granted...'"

You all, those who sail with you, therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as He has told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.

In the midst of the storm, as the crash was looming and the collision was inevitable, Paul received the reassuring word from God, with which he was able to reassure others. Here is the key in all of this, which became clear to Paul as he experienced this circumstance 2,000 years ago. I hope that you can hold on to this key from this passage as well as you experience storms that are according to God's leading.

The storms God leads us into are intended for His purposes to bring salvation to others. The merchants and the sailors aboard the ship did not listen to the prisoner named Paul early in the voyage when he told them that they should not go any further. However, as they journeyed through this storm, Paul gained credibility. As a result of his peace in the midst of the storm, others who were going through storms witnessed this. Consequently, he gained the opportunity to speak evangelistically to all those on board.

Our path is planned for us; God has prepared good works for all of us that we should walk in them. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10 says that sometimes the path takes us right in and through huge storms. The storms that God leads us into are intended for His purposes and are meant to bring salvation to others. This was true in the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, which you can read later on. I don't have time to get into it today, but it is also true right here in this text in Acts chapter 27, and it is true in our lives as well, if you can receive it.

The circumstance you're facing right now, the storm you're in the midst of, which seems to be leading to an inevitable crash, if you can receive it, God meant it for good in order to bring about, as it is this day, to save many people alive. Father, I pray that you would help us.

To take to heart this passage of Scripture and this story, we reflect on the events that took place in Paul's life. We learn the lessons from them, recognizing that, Lord, You have a path that You have ordered for us. We may have plans for ourselves, but You have a path that You’ve laid out. Sometimes, this path takes us through challenging circumstances. Ultimately, You want to use these challenges in our lives to bring honor and glory to Your name and to help us stand out as a light.

Lord, I pray that as we go through challenging circumstances—through storms, dark times, and valleys—you would use these experiences in our lives. As we follow You, trusting not by sight but by faith, may these circumstances cause us to shine brightly. Let people see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven.

I pray for my brothers and sisters, Lord, that You would encourage them with this word and strengthen our faith in You. May we be pleasing to You through our trust and faith. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

In the darkness, we were waiting, without hope and without light, until from heaven You came running. There was mercy in Your eyes to fulfill the law and the prophets. You came, the Word, from a throne of endless glory to a cradle. Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit. Praise forever to the King of Kings.

To redeem, knowing this was our salvation, Jesus praised the Spirit.

In the morning that He rose, all of heaven held its breath until that stone was moved for good. For the Lamb had conquered death, and the dead rose from their tombs. The angels stood in awe for the souls

Father God, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your grace. We pray that You would cause Your Word to be deep in our hearts, Lord, that we would remember it this week and that it would be an encouragement to us.

I pray for anybody in our church, anyone hearing this message, who is going through a challenging storm right now. I ask that You would encourage them and strengthen them to believe that You are working and that You have a way of working all things together for good to those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.

So, God, encourage those who hear Your Word, that we would take these things to heart and that we would follow You by faith, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

And now may the Lord bless and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace, His peace that surpasses all understanding, that it would guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus this week.

God bless you this week! I hope to see you this evening at the church. We'll be gathering together for a time of worship and devotion from the Scriptures at four o'clock out in the patio at Cross Connection. God bless you, and we'll see you next time.