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The Mighty Storm - The Book of Acts · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the rest, some on boards and
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  Speaker 1: some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it
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  Speaker 1: came to pass that they escaped all safe to land.
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  Speaker 1: Acts 27.44 As I continue on the journey to my destiny,
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  Speaker 1: and when the storms of life begin to beat on
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  Speaker 1: the ship of my life, I will urge those around
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  Speaker 1: me that God will bring us through. because the Lord
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  Speaker 1: is with me. Use me, Lord, to encourage those around me,
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  Speaker 1: even my enemies, that you have not forsaken us just
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  Speaker 1: because we have experienced a shipwreck moment. Through Paul's story
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  Speaker 1: in Acts 27, I will celebrate the fact that whether
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  Speaker 1: I come in one piece or whether my life arrives
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  Speaker 1: in pieces, I will get to my final destination, no
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  Speaker 1: matter what. Thank you, Jesus, that the current of your
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  Speaker 1: favor will move me in the direction of my intended location.
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  Speaker 1: I am never lost when I put my hope and
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  Speaker 1: trust in you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your day. To learn
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  Speaker 1: more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story. Brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: THE MIGHTY STORM In our last story, Paul stood before
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  Speaker 2: King Agrippa, telling his story and facing trial. Agrippa was
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  Speaker 2: pleased with Paul, but did not set him free. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: Paul was sent to Rome, where he would face the
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  Speaker 2: judgment of Caesar. Now we hear of Paul's journey to Rome.
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  Speaker 2: He set sail with Roman soldiers, sailors, and prisoners. All
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  Speaker 2: seemed well until a mighty storm beat against the ship.
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  Speaker 2: Now Paul is forced to be a leader and comforter
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  Speaker 2: amidst a beast of nature, inspired by the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. In our previous time together, Paul
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  Speaker 3: appeared before Felix, the governor, and gave his defense against
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  Speaker 3: the false accusations of the Jewish leaders. Felix did not
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  Speaker 3: make a ruling, but left Paul under house arrest for
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  Speaker 3: two years. Then we heard as Paul gave his testimony
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  Speaker 3: before King Agrippa, a compelling persuasive witness that nearly won
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  Speaker 3: the king for Christ. The king was inclined to release Paul,
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  Speaker 3: but because he had appealed to Caesar, he was sent
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  Speaker 3: off to appear before the most powerful man in the world.
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  Speaker 3: Today we'll hear how Paul, under guard of Roman soldiers
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  Speaker 3: and with his friend and physician Luke by his side,
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  Speaker 3: sails towards Rome. Along the way, a mighty storm will
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  Speaker 3: arise and Paul will answer the call to comfort those
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  Speaker 3: who feared for their lives. Let's listen now to today's
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  Speaker 3: word from the book of Acts.
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  Speaker 2: The wind blew gently across the Mediterranean Sea. Paul looked
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  Speaker 2: above him, watching the sails flap in the wind. The
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  Speaker 2: seagulls flew idle behind the large sails, watching for any
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  Speaker 2: bread to fall below. Although Paul was going to Rome
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  Speaker 2: to face trial, he was thankful to be out of prison.
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  Speaker 2: The inviting sun and cool ocean breeze restored clarity to
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  Speaker 2: his mind. Although his body still ached from the beating,
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  Speaker 2: he rejoiced that he was able to stand in the sunlight.
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  Speaker 2: Luke was beside him, chronicling every moment of Paul's journey.
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  Speaker 2: He was a doctor and able to tend to Paul's
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  Speaker 2: injuries while out at sea. The two of them spoke
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  Speaker 2: to the sailors, connecting with them about the things of
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  Speaker 2: God as they sailed across the ocean towards Italy. The
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  Speaker 2: south wind blew softly, giving the captain the go-ahead to
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  Speaker 2: set course for Crete. As the sails caught the wind,
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  Speaker 2: the ship picked up speed. Its large frame bounced up
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  Speaker 2: and down over the ocean wakes. They were drawing close
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  Speaker 2: to shore, and all seemed well, until the south breeze shifted,
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  Speaker 2: and a strong wind replaced it. The wind was from
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  Speaker 2: the northeast, and it was an antagonizing foe for the
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  Speaker 2: captain and his crew. They pulled tightly on the sails
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  Speaker 2: to keep course, but the wind was ripping at the
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  Speaker 2: side of the ship, throwing it out. The crew managed
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  Speaker 2: to secure a course along a small island called Kauda. However,
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  Speaker 2: the wind made it impossible to drop anchor. They secured
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  Speaker 2: the cargo and braced for the wind to thrash even more.
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  Speaker 2: Then the rains came. They beat down relentlessly like arrows.
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  Speaker 2: For days there were no stars or sun, only darkness
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  Speaker 2: and water. Although the ship had not sunk, There was
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  Speaker 2: no hope for being rescued. As the men were protecting
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  Speaker 2: themselves under the deck, Paul stood up. The winds howled
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  Speaker 2: above them, and the boat was rocking endlessly. Do not
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  Speaker 2: be afraid, men, for God has promised that we will
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  Speaker 2: get out of this. There will be no loss of
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  Speaker 2: life among you, for I am destined to get to Rome.
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  Speaker 2: His words brought little comfort as the beastly storm roared
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  Speaker 2: above them. It had been two weeks of the unrelenting tempest,
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  Speaker 2: They were rationing food, preparing for an even longer journey ahead.
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  Speaker 2: The ship was forced towards a group of jagged rocks
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  Speaker 2: near the island. If the captain did not act quickly,
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  Speaker 2: the whole crew would be lost. So he ordered for
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  Speaker 2: all the anchors to be dropped at once. The chains
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  Speaker 2: were released, and the ship was forced into a steady
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  Speaker 2: halt before it reached a rocky grave. The rain beat
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  Speaker 2: down even harder, and Paul could see a faint image
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  Speaker 2: of men preparing to jump overboard towards the rocks. Many
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  Speaker 2: of the sailors looked at the rocks for salvation. They
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  Speaker 2: considered jumping ship and swimming for the island. But Paul
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  Speaker 2: urged against it. You will meet an untimely death, Paul yelled.
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  Speaker 2: The men stopped and cursed at Paul, but they listened.
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  Speaker 2: The rain stopped, but the winds continued to howl. The
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  Speaker 2: waves filled the deck with water. They were like small
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  Speaker 2: giants beating against the side of the ship. Paul saw
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  Speaker 2: that the men were losing strength. They had deprived themselves
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  Speaker 2: of food to ration. Paul went down into the ship
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  Speaker 2: to retrieve some bread. He broke it, blessed it, and
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  Speaker 2: fed it to the men. You will need your strength,
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  Speaker 2: Paul said gently. You will not perish because of the
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  Speaker 2: sea or from starvation. The Lord is with you. Paul
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  Speaker 2: continued to smile, grateful for the opportunity to serve his captors.
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  Speaker 2: He was strengthened by the Spirit of God. The men
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  Speaker 2: had set sail when the wind subsided and the dawn
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  Speaker 2: broke through the clouds. As the sun rose above the waters,
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  Speaker 2: the dim image of shore revealed itself through the fog.
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  Speaker 2: The men were encouraged and set course to run the
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  Speaker 2: ship onto the sand. However, they did not see the
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  Speaker 2: jagged reef dwelling below. As they approached the shore with hope,
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  Speaker 2: the boat's bottom began to tear apart from the sharp reef.
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  Speaker 2: The men were thrown forward and the boat's integrity began
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  Speaker 2: to perish. The waves crashed against the stern and the
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  Speaker 2: entire ship began to sink. The soldiers knew that they
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  Speaker 2: had to jump ship. However, they could not control the
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  Speaker 2: prisoners once they were in the water, so they drew
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  Speaker 2: their swords to kill the prisoners on board. The centurion
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  Speaker 2: saw this and ordered his men to stop immediately. He
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  Speaker 2: had grown close to Paul and did not desire to
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  Speaker 2: see him perish. So the sailors, soldiers, and prisoners jumped
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  Speaker 2: ship together. The waves crashed over them, and many were
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  Speaker 2: held under the water for minutes at a time. But
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  Speaker 2: the Lord was in the sea. The current pushed them
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  Speaker 2: forward and the waves hastily threw them towards the shore.
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  Speaker 2: Broken and exhausted, all the men made it safely to shore.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading as Paul begins his journey to Rome,
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  Speaker 3: sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. This was not a non-stop
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  Speaker 3: straight shot to Caesar. Their voyage took them to ports
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  Speaker 3: throughout Asia Minor. Paul, though a prisoner, enjoyed a degree
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  Speaker 3: of freedom as they traveled even getting to visit friends
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  Speaker 3: in port cities as they stopped. Luke was traveling with Paul,
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  Speaker 3: chronicling the trip and caring for Paul as his personal physician.
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  Speaker 3: As they traveled, Paul and Luke would no doubt have
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  Speaker 3: shared the gospel with Roman soldiers and the sailors on
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  Speaker 3: the ship. As their time at sea lengthened, the waters
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  Speaker 3: became less and less favorable for sailing. Paul even warned
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  Speaker 3: the centurions that their voyage would prove to be costly,
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  Speaker 3: both in supplies and their own well-being. But, the centurion
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  Speaker 3: listened to the captain of the ship and moved forward. Then,
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  Speaker 3: just as Paul had predicted, as they sailed a course
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  Speaker 3: for Crete, the winds began to pick up and soon
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  Speaker 3: they were caught up in a storm that was too
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  Speaker 3: mighty for the ship to deal with. They were blown
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  Speaker 3: off course and as they hung on for dear life,
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  Speaker 3: they began tossing cargo and tackle overboard. If you've ever
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  Speaker 3: been on a rough sea, you know how difficult this
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  Speaker 3: can be, even if it's just for a short while.
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  Speaker 3: They were in this storm three days, with no stars
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  Speaker 3: or sun in the sky to guide them. The crew
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  Speaker 3: and the passengers had been many days without food. They
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  Speaker 3: were weary and worried, to the point that they lost
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  Speaker 3: all hope of survival. That's when Paul stood up and
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  Speaker 3: spoke to them, saying an angel of the Lord had
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  Speaker 3: appeared to him, telling him he was to appear before Caesar,
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  Speaker 3: and that his God had promised that no life would
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  Speaker 3: be lost, only the ship. Then in Acts 27, 25,
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  Speaker 3: he says this, So take heart, men, for I have
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  Speaker 3: faith in God that it will be exactly as I
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  Speaker 3: have been told. When we find ourselves in the middle
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  Speaker 3: of the storms of life, we need to ask God
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  Speaker 3: to teach us as to how he can grow us
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  Speaker 3: in our faith. We can always advance positively through adversity.
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  Speaker 3: But here's something else we need to remember. God puts
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  Speaker 3: us in storms not only to perfect and correct us,
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  Speaker 3: but to use us to be a witness and a
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  Speaker 3: testimony to others. When we fight our own battles or
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  Speaker 3: face our own storms, we have an opportunity to trust
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  Speaker 3: in God. and to show our faith as well as
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  Speaker 3: share our faith with others. We have seen time and
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  Speaker 3: again in Scripture how God works in the storms of
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  Speaker 3: life to reveal His powerful, miraculous, mighty hand in order
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  Speaker 3: to turn people to Him. This is another example of
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  Speaker 3: how to deal with the storms of life. Paul the
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  Speaker 3: prisoner was now Paul the leader and comforter again. He
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  Speaker 3: is Paul the pastor. He urged the captain to run
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  Speaker 3: the ship ashore, for this was the only way to
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  Speaker 3: save those on board. The storm, which had lasted two
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  Speaker 3: weeks already, was still not over. They were without hardly
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  Speaker 3: any strength, so Paul broke some of the remaining bread,
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  Speaker 3: thanking God and giving it to the men to eat.
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  Speaker 3: They navigated to an island and began trying to find
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  Speaker 3: a safe place away from the rocks to land, but
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  Speaker 3: to no avail. As the ship was forced closer to
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  Speaker 3: perilous rocks, they ran into a reef. The ship was lost,
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  Speaker 3: but land was within reach. The soldiers feared the prisoners
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  Speaker 3: would escape. which would mean death for the soldiers for
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  Speaker 3: their failure, so they planned to kill them, including Paul. Fortunately,
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  Speaker 3: the centurion had grown to trust Paul and stop them.
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  Speaker 3: Everyone on the ship reached land safely, just as Paul
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  Speaker 3: had said. Once again, God's promises proved true, as they
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  Speaker 3: always do. This experience, though terrifying, enabled Paul to minister
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  Speaker 3: to lost men and point them to the God who saves.
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  Speaker 3: You may not understand why life storms come up, But
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  Speaker 3: when they do, God will use you to point others
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  Speaker 3: to Jesus if you will let him. Let's pray. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: thank you that through the storms of life that you
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  Speaker 3: are always with us to give us courage and strength.
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  Speaker 3: We thank you for your presence, your powerful presence in
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  Speaker 3: our lives. We pray that we would comfort others with
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  Speaker 3: the comfort that we are comforted and the courage that
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  Speaker 3: you give us that we would impart to others. Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for today's readings. that reminds us of this truth.
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  Speaker 3: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: God's power for Christian living, visit jackgram.org. When you visit
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  Speaker 3: us at jackgram.org, You will find many free resources as
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  Speaker 3: to how you may grow in your faith and share
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