If you would, open your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 27. What a hymn. John Newton was the author of that hymn. Many of you will remember his name. That was one of his less popular hymns, or has been, but worthy of our time this morning, isn't it? "'break thy schemes of earthly joy, "'that thou may find thy all in me.'" May it be true, by his grace. Acts chapter 27, and our text this morning is the entire chapter, because it is a single homiletical unit. And I wrestled with reading a portion of the chapter, but I decided, for a couple of reasons, to read the entire chapter together. Number one, of course, as the Apostle Paul told Timothy, until I come, give heed to the public reading of Scripture. It's commanded in the Word of God. And then secondly, I didn't know what in the world I would cut out. Because you need the whole story. So again, as you did last Lord's Day, gird up your loins, and because this is the Word of God, and you are the people of God on the Lord's Day, would you please stand, if you are able, for the hearing and the receiving of the Word of God. Acts 27, I will begin reading in verse one, and we will read through the entire chapter together. Luke wrote these words as he was carried along by God's Spirit. And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramitium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea. accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There, the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Canidas. And as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the Lee of Crete, off Salmone, coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of La Silla. Since much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, because even the fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. but the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. Now, when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But, soon, a tempestuous wind, called the Northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Kata, We managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship, then fearing that they would run aground on the surdice, they lowered the gear and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, men, you should have listened to me. and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you, take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, do not be afraid. Paul, you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island. And when the 14th night had come, as they were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight, the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found 20 fathoms. A little farther on, they took a sounding again and found 15 fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go. As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, today is the 14th day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you. And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. We were in all 276 persons in the ship. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. Now, when it was day, They did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders, then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach, but striking a reef. They ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldier's plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever. You may be seated and you did a fantastic job. Thank you, brother. Some passages of Scripture are more immediately applicable to our lives than others. For example, when preaching through the fruit of the Spirit, in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the expositor of the Word of God does not have far to travel. in order to secure practical instruction for the church today. Other passages, however, proved to be more challenging. And to be honest, I have an affinity for the more challenging passages of Scripture. Acts 27 is one of the more difficult passages as it relates to how in the world this text instructs us as followers of Jesus Christ. On the one hand, the text is straightforward, isn't it? For 44 verses, Luke offers a detailed account of Paul's itinerary from Caesarea to Malta. We find out, of course, it's Malta in Acts 28. On his way to Rome, this account includes a significant amount of nautical detail. In fact, scholars have been puzzled for years over the details that Luke shares as he is carried along by God's Spirit. We learn of a severe storm which resulted in a shipwreck just off the coast of this island called Malta. So, so should this sermon simply be a sermon on the details and challenges of Paul's ancient journey by sea to Rome? I do not think so. I do not think so. In fact, I would suggest that while the historical details are important and, by the way, perfectly true, after all, this is the inerrant Word of God, Luke tells us the story in such a way and I'm going to have to fight throughout the sermon not to chase too much of this, Luke tells us the story in such a way as to instruct the church, and don't miss this, in Christian perseverance and obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls, to steal from the language of Peter in 1 Peter 1, verse nine. In other words, this is a text about endurance, and about faith in the midst of trials throughout this life. As I desire each sermon to be, this will also, I hope, be a lesson in how to interpret Scripture. As I've stated, God the Spirit does not include Paul's itinerary His sailing adventure merely, that word's important, merely to tell us what happened to Paul. As Paul himself wrote in Romans chapter 15, verse four, for whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. And then Paul goes on to say, so that. So why was it written for our instruction? The purpose, so that through endurance, and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. Acts 27 was written for our instruction so that through endurance and through the encouragement of these scriptures, we as the church might have hope, okay? So if you're taking notes, here's what we're going to do. We are going to identify and unpack five truths in this passage together. five truths that empower us to persevere in Christ throughout this life. And I'm just going to give them to you as they surface. All right, so we're not going to give them to you up front. But five truths that empower us from Acts 27 to 27. that empower us to persevere in Christ. And young worshipers, I hope you have one of our worship aids, if you're in here with us, and you're following along throughout the sermon, you can use those worship aids. Again, they're in the back, and they're located just to the side of those connection boxes. You're welcome to get up and grab one of those. But you'll notice in your worship aids, the questions are blank this week, and that is just for the simple reason that Brandi Satterfield had to leave town, and I wasn't ready yet. So here are a couple of questions for you, all right? You can jot these down. A couple of questions for you to pay close attention to throughout the sermon. Number one, what did the angel tell Paul? What did the angel tell Paul? Number two, in addition to what did the angel tell Paul and parents, grandparents, you can help, your young worshipers, please do, In addition to, what did the angel tell Paul? Secondly, how many of the passengers were saved in the end? This is extremely important as we're talking about perseverance in Christ. How many of the passengers were saved in the end? All right. Well, with these introductory matters behind us, let's get right to our five truths. First truth, and we're just gonna mention the truth and unpack them in the text, all right? Number one, God's plan includes difficulty. God's plan includes difficulty. Let's identify a few places in the text that I think are instructive in this regard. We're just gonna glance through some of this. Look at verse seven. Luke writes these words. We sailed slowly for a number of days, and we arrived, and the English Standard Version reads, with difficulty off Canidas. We arrived with difficulty. So early on, we begin to see these hints of difficulty surfacing along the journey. Look further at verse eight. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens. Verse nine, Luke tells us that much time had passed and the voyage was now, it was now dangerous. Because even the fast was already over. God's plan includes difficulty. God's plan includes danger. The most severe trouble in the text began in verse 14, where Luke informs us, but as soon, but soon rather, a tempestuous wind. And by the way, that Greek word that's used there, translated tempestuous, is the word from which we get our word typhoon. It's a strong word. Soon a tempestuous wind called the Northeaster. struck down from the land. And this is the storm that threatens the lives of all on board for 14 days and eventually leads to the shipwreck in verse 41. The church enduring difficulty has been a theme throughout the book of Acts. If you've been with us, this won't surprise you at all. Paul's story even began with these words of commission by the Lord Jesus. In Acts 9, verse 16, I will show him, that is Paul, how he must suffer for the sake of my name. Paul became closely acquainted with suffering. In fact, as Paul and Barnabas revisited various areas they had previously proclaimed the gospel, in Acts chapter 14, verse 22, Luke informed us then that they were strengthening the disciples as they traveled around, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and here was their message. They were saying, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. That's the message the Apostle Paul chose to give new believers as he was revisiting these areas. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom. God's plan includes difficulty, and none of this is surprising, or at least it shouldn't be. After all, the Lord Jesus instructed us in this way. In John chapter 15, verse 20, Jesus said, remember the word, that I spoke to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. Peter has written these words, 1 Peter chapter four, verse 12. Beloved, I love this, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you, to test you. as though something strange were happening to you. What is Peter saying? Believers in Christ ought not be surprised when they go through difficulty, and even immense difficulty, as if something strange were happening to us. This is precisely in accordance with the promise and plan of our sovereign Savior. God's plan includes difficulty. It is just the way it is. Difficulty is one of the instruments God has chosen to use to sanctify us. Second, we do have to keep moving this morning. Second, in addition to God's plan including difficulty, the way to preserve your life is by trusting God's instruction. The way to preserve your life is by trusting God's instruction. It's fairly straightforward. In the text, God gives instruction through the Apostle Paul. So the Apostle Paul is God's mouthpiece. And as we read the text a moment ago, we noticed this in verse 10, Paul advises the others in this way, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury. and much loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives. And what ended up happening, they did not heed Paul's instruction. In other words, Luke wants us to see that they got into this mess because they weren't listening. They didn't listen, they didn't heed Paul's warning. Now, think about this with me for just a moment. Given that Paul was not a sailor, this shouldn't surprise us either. To whom did they listen? The owner of the ship. The professional. This makes sense, doesn't it? They listened to the professionals on board. They listened to the sailors who said everything is gonna be okay. And as a result, they dismissed God's clear instruction through the Apostle Paul. Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with much injury and loss, not merely to the cargo, not merely to the ship, but also to our lives. And since those aboard failed to listen to Paul's initial instruction, their lives were indeed threatened. So we could actually say the converse here, discarding God's instruction jeopardizes our lives. The words of Ephesians 6 are relevant here. This is a passage that we had our children memorize very early on. And this also is a passage that quotes Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. So Ephesians 6, verses one through three, Paul the Apostle wrote these words, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. That's instruction from the Lord. Children, that's instruction from God. Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. And then Paul goes on to say, honor your father and mother. And then he adds this parenthetical comment. This is the first commandment with a promise. What's the promise? So that it may go well with you. And that you may live long in the land. Or as some translations read, live long on the earth. There's this connection throughout scripture between instruction, God's instruction and obedience to that instruction and long life. That shouldn't surprise us. It should not surprise us. And discarding God's clear instruction results in jeopardizing our lives. This, of course, was vividly demonstrated in Genesis chapter three, when the first human beings discarded God's instruction in the garden. And as a result, according to God's warning, died, and now all their progeny die and suffer from the affliction of sin and depravity. As I mentioned a moment ago, this is one of the truths we taught our children early on. In fact, so they memorized Ephesians 6. And so we taught them this connection between God's instruction in life and disobeying the Lord and death And I'll never forget, Tan and I were talking about this the other day, Titus, they were very young, toddlers, maybe, and Titus, who is now well into his teenage years, he disobeyed our instruction, and we weren't around when it happened, but his sister was around. He probably had preferred we be around. And Madeline ran to us, and this is what she said, Titus is going to die. And of course it surprised us. How? We disobeyed you. And disobedience results in death. Now, it's more complex than that, isn't it? There's a great deal of complexity there, but she was right to see the connection. In the text, Acts 27, discarding God's clear instruction jeopardizes lives. Obeying, trusting in and obeying God's clear instruction preserves lives. Now just a bit more from the text. For a short period of time, the travel appeared to be peaceful. Look with me at verse 13. So they're traveling along, and they've experienced some difficulty, but now, verse 13, when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. It seemed for a season that although they had not listened to Paul, everything was going to be okay. They were expecting now a smooth and relaxing trip. It is true, isn't it, that wickedness prevails for a season, but only for a season. Verse 14 informs us that soon a tempestuous wind called the Northeaster struck down from the land, and from this point on, their lives were threatened. And amid the storm, Paul speaks these bold instructions, verses 21 to 26. Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and he said, men, you should have listened to me. Now this isn't so much as an I told you so, perhaps as much as it is, now you need to listen. Now please listen to me. Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss, yet now, this is the point, now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship. How do you know that, Paul? Because an angel of God appeared to me. An angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship appeared to me. And the angel said, do not be afraid, Paul, you must. And that language is magnificent. It's necessary that you stand before Caesar. It will happen. Why? God, of course, had promised that it would happen. If you've been with us throughout Acts. God had promised that Paul would go to Jerusalem and that eventually, through Jerusalem, he would make his way to Rome, and he would stand before Caesar and bear testimony. And then the angel went on to testify to Paul, behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. So not only must you appear before Caesar, but everybody aboard with you will travel safely in the end. It's quite a promise. So take heart, Paul says. For I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. Perhaps it's helpful to say this as well here. God's instruction, church family, is often counterintuitive and otherworldly. It's often the case that it's counterintuitive and otherworldly. In fact, later in the text, what ends up happening, and we'll talk about this under our third truth, The sailors, when it gets really bad, the sailors actually plan to get off the ship. They've sailed much, they know what's about to happen. The ship is going down and so the sailors know that they've got a smaller vessel, a boat that they pull behind the ship, this would have been very common, and they could get down in that boat and they could escape potentially. And so as they're doing that, the Apostle Paul actually gives the warning that if they get off, you cannot be saved. And as you consider that kind of instruction, God's instruction in the text is counterintuitive. It's running contrary to conventional wisdom. It is often the case that God chooses what appears to be foolish in this world to shame the wise. And there's no clearer depiction of this than the gospel of Jesus Christ. How is it, how is it that God has chosen in his mercy to rescue sinners? How is it that God has chosen to grant forgiveness to sinners and rebels? How is it that God has chosen to give eternal resurrection life to those who are spiritually and morally dead? He's chosen to do it by the death of the God man. That's otherworldly. It's counterintuitive. It's folly to those who are perishing. But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God and the wisdom of God. And so friends, I would encourage you this morning that if you don't know the Lord Jesus, what we are proclaiming as Christians, we recognize to be otherworldly. counterintuitive, contrary to conventional wisdom. We know that. It's built into the fabric of Christianity. We know that. We believe in a God who turns worldly wisdom on its head. And we believe he's done this supremely through the cross on which Jesus Christ, the God-man, died, bearing our sins, taking upon himself our curse, We believe God has done this through his burial. We believe that God has done this through his resurrection from the dead on the third day. We believe that everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone is rescued forever. And so if you'd like to talk more about this, we would love to visit with you. We'd encourage you to stick around after the service and have a conversation with us. Perhaps, perhaps the Spirit of God is at work in your heart, even right now, drawing you to faith in Christ. We also believe it must be the Spirit who does this. Perhaps you have questions about this. We would love to just engage with you and talk with you about what it means to trust in Jesus Christ and what Christianity really is all about. So after the service, you can exit one of these double doors behind you and take a left, and on the right-hand side out there, there is a room called Crossroads. Go to that room, please, and have a conversation with one of our elders, one of our church leaders about Jesus Christ. Third, third truth. Third truth this morning, perseverance is necessary. Perseverance is necessary. Another way to say it is it's not optional. God had promised Paul that everyone on board would be saved. Remember that? However, Notice verses 30 and 31, and I just made mention of this a moment ago. Now what gives? God had promised Paul through the angel who appeared to Paul in the middle of the night, everyone aboard will be saved. And then here Paul says, if you get off the ship, no promise. Here's the point. God had promised that all would be saved by means of their perseverance to remain on the ship through the storm. God's promise was inseparable from perseverance, endurance. This also should not surprise us. God does not promise salvation in the absence of perseverance. Nowhere in the New Testament are we promised eternal life in the absence of perseverance, but through it. Jesus said it this way, the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10, 22, Matthew 24, verse 13. And it isn't that genuine believers in Jesus Christ can lose their saved status before God. Don't misunderstand me. Rather, rather, those who are genuine believers will persevere until the end. and they'll do so by the preservation and power of God. So we've seen first, God's plan includes difficulty. Second, the way to preserve your life is by trusting God's instructions. Third, perseverance is necessary. Fourth, now this one, this one may surprise you, okay? And this is where I really have to stay focused. Let me say it to you, and before you run out the door, hear me out, okay? Fourth, we receive encouragement to persevere together through the Lord's Supper. We receive encouragement to persevere together through the Lord's Supper. Now this truth may feel odd and out of place, but stay with me. In verses 33 through 36, amid the storm, Paul leads all the passengers in a meal, okay? He leads the passengers in a meal. Now let me be clear, hear this. I don't want to be misunderstood. I do not believe that what Paul did with those aboard in verses 33 to 36 was the Lord's supper. That's not what I'm suggesting. I do not believe this was the Lord's supper. After all, the passengers on the ship were not believers. and this was not the church. However, however, and I couldn't get away from it. I tried all week long to get away from this. All week long, I tried to get away from this conclusion, but I could not. I do believe that Luke presents the material in such a way as to exhort us as the church to find parallels with gathering and partaking of the Lord's Supper. and what was happening when Paul stood up and led in a meal. So not the Lord's Supper, however, the parallels are just so clear to me. Let me show you some of those, okay? Let me highlight some of the textual clues. Notice the verbs in verse 35. This is where you've gotta engage a bit here, okay? Verse 35, when he had said these things, that's Paul, when Paul had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it. He took, he gave thanks, he broke the bread. Now consider Luke 22 verse 19, which remember is volume one of this book. Luke wrote the gospel of Luke as a volume one and the book of Acts as a volume two. So Luke 22, verse 19, Luke recounts Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper. And he says, Jesus took bread, and when he had given things, he broke it. He took it, he gave things, and he broke it. The verbal parallels are difficult to miss. Additionally, let me give you a few more bits. Some of you skeptics in the room, it's okay. Additionally, as I have pointed out previously when we were walking through Acts 20, Luke introduced us to the Lord's Supper through the language of the breaking of bread as a central act of worship in Acts 2 verse 42. So Luke began this volume two by introducing us to the central activities of the church. One of those central activities was the, definite article, the breaking of bread. Throughout Acts, whenever bread is broken, my understanding is that it almost always, if not always, has some reference to the Lord's Supper. In fact, in fact, in Luke 24, this gets really exciting for me. In Luke 24, the conclusion of volume one, okay, remember that. Luke is wrapping up volume one. Luke 24, I would suggest, helps us learn how to read volume two. So the end of volume one, the gospel of Luke, teaches us how to read and interpret the book of Acts. So in Luke 24, verse 30 and 31, Jesus took bread. offered a blessing and broke it before the disciples after his resurrection. Now that shouldn't surprise us, okay. We see the parallels there. But then in Luke 24 verse 35, Luke tells us this, that he, Christ, was known to the disciples in the breaking of bread. In other words, the disciples didn't recognize the risen Lord Jesus until he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. So what is Luke telling us? God's people see the Savior in the breaking of the bread. God's people cling to the Savior by faith through the breaking of the bread. When God's people gather to partake of the Lord's Supper, we are seeing Christ with the spiritual eye. with the eye of faith and trusting in Christ more deeply so that we might persevere finally until the end. Now a bit more here, a bit more because this was such a difficult conclusion to come to throughout the week exegetically. I just wanna give you a bit more that informed me. Acts 27, our text, Verse 34, look at the text with me. Acts 27, verse 34. This is what the English Standard Version reads. Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength. The translation choice is interesting. And let me say, we have tremendous English translations. But we have some that aren't so tremendous. But we have some tremendous English translations. But here the translation choice is interesting. The Greek word in this verse is salvation. In fact, when I was working through translation, this is how you could translate this. Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it is for your salvation. Now that is a curious thing to say. Unless Luke is trying to cause us to look beyond a simple meal. Unless Luke is actually calling us to look beyond the meal to the one actually the meal signifies, the one who is our salvation. Jesus the Christ. One more bit. One more bit. Luke tells us twice. He tells us twice that the day on which Paul led in this meal is the 14th day. Did you see that? Verse 27 and verse 33. I know this gets a bit technical, but you're doing a great job. We're learning how to read the text together. Verse 27 and verse 33, it's the 14th day. Now why is this significant? I don't get obsessed with numbers, but as one second century author says, numbers do arise out of an already existing theology and role. It's not that numbers are insignificant. So here he mentions it twice. The number 14, is significant in the Old Testament, especially as it relates to the 14th day. For example, most often, in fact, almost every time, almost every time in the Old Testament the 14th day is mentioned, it's a reference to Passover. And so I observed this early in the week and I thought, well, that's intriguing. Now, there are some exceptions. Esther chapter nine, the Feast of Purim, occurs on the 14th day, but even that feast is a feast of deliverance, of salvation, God rescuing his people from the hand of Haman. But most often, throughout the Old Testament, consistently, when the 14th day is mentioned, there is a reference to the Passover, which was celebrated on the 14th day of the first month. In most cases, there were a couple of exceptions where it was celebrated on the second month. Throughout the Gospels, the Lord's Supper is presented as what? The Christian Passover. Okay. Now, maybe that's a stretch. Maybe it's a stretch. I don't think it is. I wouldn't tell you if I thought it was. But what's motivating me as I'm doing this, what's informing me as I'm doing this is I believe that God has given us a book. That this is authored by the living God. In other words, it has a single divine author. And so I think it's quite appropriate, of course, to look for these kinds of parallels. So I'm suggesting that Luke, as he's carried along by God's Spirit, is subtly teaching us that when we gather throughout this life and we observe the Lord's Supper in worship, we are helped, we are encouraged to persevere until the Lord returns. although we do not use the language in our circles, Baptist circles and even broader evangelical circles. Do you know what the part of the sanctuary or the main worship center where the congregation sits and pews was historically known as? It was known as the nave, N-A-V-E, the nave. Nave comes from a Latin word, Novice, N-A-V-I-S. You know what novice means? Ship. Isn't that interesting? Ship. It's intriguing. Consider this, church. Consider this with me when we gather together for worship. When we hear the word of God, when we're singing together, when we are partaking of the Lord's Supper and we're observing baptism and other activities as a local church, we are doing it in the ship of God's promise. As we seek to persevere in faith. And the ship may be destroyed, but no one in the ship which leads us to our final point. Final truth, okay? Fifth, in the end, we will be saved by the preservation and power of God. In the end, we will be saved by the preservation and power of God. Luke uses this word saved five times in our chapter. The first time it's used is in Acts 27, verse 20. So he wants us to see this connection between God's rescue of Paul and those aboard this ship in a temporary manner, and I would argue, our eternal salvation. Acts 27 verse 20, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. There are some, there are some who argue that the language of being saved or saving in Acts 27 must refer to just this temporary being rescued from the storm in Paul's day. We don't have time to do this. I think that is contrary to how Luke uses the word throughout the gospel of Luke and throughout the book of Acts. Was Paul and all those aboard, were they rescued in a transitory way from the storm. Yes, yes. But that transitory rescue points us, as Luke tells the story, born along by God's Spirit, it points us to our final eternal salvation in Christ. And again, we've said this, but notice how many were saved in the end. Look at verse 44. And so it was that all were brought safely. By the way, that's the word saved as well. All were saved. And then it says to land. It's interesting though, because it's the same language that's used in the New Testament and then even in the Greek Old Testament to refer to the land of promise. So in the end, verse 44, every single one, without exception, was saved to the land God promised them. Do you see this? I can't unsee it. I tried all week. It was God who saved us in the beginning, It is God who keeps us in the present. It will be God who finally rescues us in the end. If I could lose my salvation, I would. And I would have already. But it is He who holds me fast. As Jesus said in John 6, verses 38 and 39, we'll begin to land this plane here, or ship, depending on what image you wanna use. John 6, 38 and 39, Jesus said this, I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And then verse 39, and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me. but raise it up on the last day. Christ will not lose a single soul of those given him by the Father. Which is why, as believers in Jesus Christ, we can sing through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, what a joy it is for me to spend time studying your word and then having the fulfillment of that joy, as C.S. Lewis described so many years ago, and sharing it with your people on the Lord's Day. We pray, God, that you would grant us perseverance that leads to eternal life, that we would know that your plan includes difficulty, that we would also know that the way to preserve our lives is by trusting your instruction, even when your instruction is counterintuitive and otherworldly. Father, impress upon us even this morning that perseverance is necessary. Remind us, dear God, according to your word, that we do receive encouragement to persevere together through worshipful activities like the Lord's Supper, But Father, in the end, we know that while you use means and while we must persevere, if we persevere, it is simply because of your preservation and power at work in us and for us. And so Father, please, bring us to the land safely. every last one of us. In the name of your son, and by your spirit we pray, and all God's people said.