Dr. Mike Jones

WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN ALL HOPE SEEMS GONE!

Scripture: Turn to the Book of Acts 27:20 – 25
20 The terrible storm raged unabated many days,until at last all hope was gone.
21 No one had eaten for a long time, but finally Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Fair Havens—you would have avoided all this injury and loss!
22 But cheer up! Not one of us will lose our lives, even though the ship will go down.
23 “For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me
24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul—for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God has granted your request and will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’
25 So take courage! For I believe God! It will be just as he said!

What can we take away from these verses: A storm is raging – captain and crew aren’t really sure where they are because they’ve not been able to see the moon or stars for many days.
The ship was breaking up and the food was running very low. The cargo had been thrown overboard to lighten the ship.
The soldiers on the ship wanted to kill the prisoners to keep them from escaping. The soldiers would be executed if they lost their prisoners.
You can tell from these scenarios, things were getting DESPERATE!
Fear was running wild among almost everyone!
Hope was diminishing with every passing moment!
Paul himself wrote these words concerning this situation, “ . . . all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.”

WHAT IS HOPE?
· Biblical Hope is the expectation/anticipation of EVERYTHING coming out alright!
· Hope – that divine part of us that keeps our eyes focused on the prize ahead. It sustains us for the storms that lie ahead.

WHAT IS THE SUSTAINER?
· God’s Presence: Paul said, “For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, . . . ”
· God’s Message: “Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”
· God’s Love will never change. 2Thessalonians 2:16-17, “16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and hope, which we don’t deserve, 17 comfort your hearts with all comfort, and help you in every good thing you say and do.”

So, what’s the major source of HOPE?
Apostle Paul tell us in this verse: GOD’S LOVE! And He’s given us everlasting comfort and hope, which we don’t deserve.
How Do We Get It? Through Christ: God made it possible that Jesus would be the ONLY channel through which LOVE from God and HOPE from God can come into our lives.
By What? GRACE: God gave US His Hope as a gift; so, how do we receive it? By GRACE! How do we know this? Paul said, God gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, by grace. Remember saints, Grace cannot be earned. Anything that can be earned is not grace. [The gifts and blessings that come by grace can only be received by FAITH.]
· God’s Word and His purpose will never change. How do we know this? Because, Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” And in Romans 11:29, it says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

The Causes of Storms
· As we can see in the story in Acts 27, that the Apostle Paul didn’t cause the storm; so, we can conclude, that not every storm we experience is our fault.
· People refusing to listen to God’s instructions. [Verse 21, 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.”]

Other Causes of Storms –
· Poor choices.
· Pushing the limits – by doing things that are reckless
· Desiring comfort over safety.

So, What Does Hope Do?
· Hope ENCOURAGES – Listen to what Apostle Paul said in verse 22, “And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.”
· Hope helps us to remember we are never out of God’s Reach! How do we know this? Verses 23-24, “23 For this very night there 7ystood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 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.”
· Hope RESTORES and it helps us to make it THROUGH the VALLEY Of DISPARE, and look towards the future.
· Hope helps us to LOOK beyond our PRESENT and look toward the FUTURE!

Conclusion: 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.” Our anchors of HOPE are: Faith, the presence of God, and assurance of a good outcome!