As The Ship Sinks, Tell Me What To Do

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. Many pastors throughout America warning their congregations, don't take this journey, this journey of self-indulgence, this journey of crafting a course ahead of you and not listening to the voice of God. Welcome to A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon.

In Acts Chapter 27, we find Paul and other prisoners sailing on a ship headed for Rome. Paul warns the ship's occupants not to take this trip because it will result in damage and great loss. And as we'll see in today's lesson, Carter has the same dire warning for the direction of America.

Don't continue on this journey. Let's join Carter now with his message titled, As the Ship Sinks. This is what the Lord showed me about America as far back as I recall, it would be back in the 90s. Probably pre 9-11 during the tech boom when there were more millionaires being made in this country than perhaps ever before in history. During the seasons when we thought that we were the greatest ember, possibly at that time the greatest world power that was in existence at the time, I was still given of God this message. The Lord showed me a pattern of where America was going to go in the future. I remember in the 90s, I was preaching in Times Square Church and I turned on the platform to Pastor David Wilkerson who was sitting there on the platform and I told him I believe that I'm going to be here long enough in America to see the demise of this great nation. And everything that the Lord has spoken to be has happened.

It's unfolding exactly as it was shown 25 years ago almost now. I've preached this message numerous times in New York City. I've preached it in Washington. I've spoken it at pastors conferences.

I've spoken it in many other places, as many people that I felt as could hear the word of God and were willing to consider what the Holy Spirit was saying about the days that were just ahead of us. You know, back in the 90s and early 2000s, the days were just ahead, but we have now entered these days that I'm going to speak about. And the message title is, as the ship sinks, tell us what to do. As the ship sinks and there's nobody that's of sound reasoning today that doesn't see the bow of this great nation suddenly heading underwater. We begin to realize we're in a deeper trouble than we've ever imagined we could be in. After 400 years of being a nation, we're in a downward spiral on almost every front, morally, spiritually, socially, militarily, financially.

It just seems that the whole nation is circling the drain at the moment. And we're seeing something unfold before our eyes. Now, lest you be discouraged, there is a good side to this. There is something that God spoke through this story in Acts chapter 27.

And we get to this in just a few moments. And it's going to be the hope that you have for the future, for everyone here. As Isaac said in the song, for the person who feels unlovable or untouchable, the person who's addicted, the person whose family seems to be falling apart, there's a message in this for you that will give you hope and courage and strength for the future.

Acts chapter 27, here's the scene. There's a group of people on a journey. There's all kinds of voices. There's 275 voices on this particular journey. And there's one voice that speaks for God. There are seasons in society where the voice of God seems to be at a minimum.

And even in spite of the fact that Paul perhaps had a history, he had a reputation, there were literally miracles happening through his hands and through his life, yet the people on that journey chose to disregard his voice. He warned them. He said, listen, don't take this journey. If you embark on this journey, it's going to cost the ship. This vessel that's carrying you is going to sink. It's going to be destroyed. And he said, and people's lives are going to be in jeopardy.

Now, Paul said, please, I can see him pleading with the people. Please listen to me. Don't take this journey. I can hear Billy Graham in America warning the nation for years. Don't take this journey that you're embarking on. I hear David Wilkerson and others like him, many others, many pastors, probably in small towns throughout America, warning their congregations. Don't take this journey, this journey of self-indulgence, this journey of crafting a course ahead of you, and not listening to the voice of God. Putting the voice of God, as they did with Paul, into the belly of the ship, saying, we're not interested in what you have to say.

Do what you have to do down there all by yourself. We know what we are doing. We're crafting this journey, and this journey is going to be wonderful. It's going to make us, don't forget, it was not just a journey of transporting prisoners, but it was also a journey of commerce. The people on that ship are going to make money. The owners are going to make money.

It's all about making money. We don't want to hear this voice that says, don't focus in this direction. Don't take this journey. This voice that's saying this journey is going to end up in the loss of everything that you're trusting, and it's going to be also the threatening of the loss of life. Paul was warning, but the people wouldn't listen.

The owners and the helmsmen of the ship and such like, it says, when the wind blew softly, Acts 27, 13, supposing that obtained their desire, putting out to sea, off they went. What a wonderful journey this is going to be. I remember somebody on the radio saying in the early 2000s, there's more millionaires than in the history of the country. And besides that, we have all these narcotics in a sense to make us feel better when we don't feel good about ourselves. How much better can it be? And I remember thinking when I heard this on the radio, God almighty, this is exactly what was happening in Acts chapter 27. This is exactly what you've been speaking to my heart about all these years. People bragging and boasting about, there's no end. There's no end to the wealth. There's no end to this incredible journey. Don't put the words of the Holy One of Israel before us.

We're not interested in God, and we're not interested in these words that are trying to tell us this is not a good trajectory that you're on. And so they headed off on their journey, just like we did in America. And not long after they took off on the journey, it says, a tempestuous headwind arose called Urokleiden. The ship was caught.

We could not head into the wind, so we let her drive. And see, suddenly a storm arose. Suddenly things began to change. Suddenly the swirl of uncontrollable events started to happen around them. And the scripture says that when they used cables to undergird the ship, you remember the bailouts back in the 2000s of our major corporations as they began to, many of them began to go bankrupt.

And you think about even today, giving out free money to try to keep the country afloat. And they were exceedingly driven, tempest tossed, and then they lightened the ship. And on the third day, it says in verse 19, we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands.

These proven things that had gotten so many from point A to point B for years and years and years, it's almost inconceivable. They took it in their hands and they threw it overboard. Like we threw overboard the at 2000 year old definition of marriage. We just suddenly decided one day we're going to throw it overboard and redefine this. We threw overboard the protection guidance of our children. We threw overboard prayer in our schools and we just started throwing overboard everything that made this a nation that became actually the envy of the world for many, many years. All over the world, it gave us the ability to do technological things that other cultures in thousands of years were not able to do. It's just amazing the wisdom, the ability, the military might, the inventions that God gave to this particular nation. Then we started just throwing it all overboard.

Every day now in the news, we're throwing some new thing overboard that we've trusted in for years and years and years. And of course, the greatest of all tragedy is throwing God himself that gave us what we have and made us who we are and took us on this journey and took a little group of people that landed in Plymouth 400 years ago that were emaciated and weak and surrounded by enemies. And half of them died and the other half, all they could do is pray. You see, America started in a prayer meeting.

I don't know how many people know that. Just 53 pilgrims left and their prayer had to be something like this. If God, if you will give us a place where we can worship you freely and with conscience, according to the word of God, we will live for you and we promise this nation will be a nation that brings glory to your name. They actually made what they call the covenant with God. And we threw that overboard. We've thrown our history overboard. We don't even teach the right history in our schools anymore. All of these beautiful stories that are still discoverable are all but eradicated. And we're having to deal with a revisionist history that is not based on fact or it's not based on truth. And God took that little group of people, no resources, no chance of survival, surrounded by enemies.

And from that little group of 53 people that met in a house that's still there, the new house is on the foundation of that original house, it's lot number one America. And from that little pyramid came a nation of 330 million people that has been the envy of the world, place of prosperity and freedom, a place where we could at one time worship God freely and according to conscience, but now we have thrown that overboard as well. The word of God is becoming hate speech. The ways of God is becoming bigoted, undesired. And it's really tragic what's happening in our society.

It says now in verse 20, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest beat upon us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. We're not far from that moment now in this nation. We're on the edge of an imminent financial collapse. We're on the edge of a complete social meltdown.

We're on the edge of seeing more and increased violence in our cities and in our streets. And there's a point coming where hope, natural hope is going to give way to despair. And it says when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, 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.

Now I urge you to take heart for there will be no loss of life among you, but also of the ship. After long abstinence, Paul, this is my hope now for the future. After long abstinence, the church. After long abstinence, preachers that nobody wanted to listen to. After long abstinence, suddenly somebody calls for the word of God again.

I believe in this generation that's going to be en masse. I think we're going to live to see a significant turning to God. It doesn't mean the ship is going to be saved, but we're going to see in our time a significant turning to God in a season of crisis.

And I'm thankful for that. Without the crisis, they would not have turned to the word of God. Without the famine, the people of Elijah's day would not have gone to the top of Mount Carmel. Without the people of Egypt oppressing the Israelites, they would not have cried out to God. And when Moses showed up, they would not have listened. They would not have believed that God had sent him. God's mercy will pull out every carpet of security that's underneath the people about to perish, so that we will consider our ways. And I personally am really thankful for that.

I'm an optimist. It's not about saving the ship and losing the people. Let the ship go down if it needs to go down, if the people's hearts are going to turn. I don't know how it happened, but somebody somewhere said, where is that man that told us we shouldn't undertake this journey?

Where is that? He's down in level C in deck F or whatever. He's down stuck in the bowels of the ship. And I don't know if it's all the people.

I don't know if it's the centurion commander or the captain of the ship. But somebody said, get that man up here. There's a day coming, folks.

Listen to me. Your neighbors are going to knock on your door and say, give me a reason for the hope that you still have in your heart. I hear you and your family singing on Wednesday night. You have this thing on your, I can hear it through my walls. You got this meeting, this prayer meeting called worldwide permitting. What's that about?

And what is it that you believe in? And help me to understand. See, in the moment of crisis, suddenly they're calling for the word of God. Family members that weren't interested in you or your God are suddenly going to be calling you. You're going to get a call. You're going to get an email. You're going to get a text. They're going to say, tell me about the God that you believe in.

And I am just so, so thankful for this. I'm going to say it's as easy as A, B, C, D. I'm adding a D to Pastor Tim's ABC. Admit you can't save yourself. Admit you can't save yourself and call for the voice that you have been resisting. That's my cry to you.

Those that are sitting at home and you're addicted, you're afflicted, you're struggling, you're trying. You still believe that somehow in your own strength, you're going to get out of this and the way out is to admit you can't get out in your own strength. You won't get out.

You will always go back to what you used to be and actually you'll be worse in the end than you were in the beginning. So admit that you can't save yourself and call as they did for the voice that you have resisted, the voice of God. Call for the words of God.

You can do it in your bedroom. You can just say, God, start to speak to me. I want to hear your voice.

Show me the way forward. And in verse 22, Paul says, I urge you to take heart. There will be no loss of life among you, but only of the Shep.

So, I mean, in the natural, that doesn't make sense. I mean, this storm is amazing. These waves have got to be 20 feet high. This ship is going to be broken to pieces by the ferocity of the storm. Everyone who's a seafarer knows this thing is going down.

Just like everybody who's in the know concerning our economy in this particular time is forecasting a hurricane just ahead of us. But nevertheless, Paul says, I urge you to take heart. There will be no loss of life among you, but only of the Shep. So point two is believe that God has made a way for you to be saved.

Believe it. God made a way for you to be saved. When Jesus Christ went to the cross 2,000 years ago and gave his life and shed his blood for you, among the last things he said on that cross were the words, it is finished. The power of hell to take you down, the power of despair to swallow you, the power of this world to take away your relationship with God had been broken at the cross. Jesus Christ triumphed over your storm, triumphed over everything that wants to take you down and destroy you as things around you begin to sink.

You don't have to go with it because God has made a way for you to escape. Believe, believe that God will be faithful. He said to his own people, I will never leave you or forsake you.

Now either that's true or that's not true. I happen to know and believe that it is true because I've walked along enough with God to know that those words can be trusted. He will not leave you and he will not forsake you. Paul says, I urge you to take heart.

There will be no loss of life among you, but only of the Shep. And he said, I believe that it will be just as God told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island. So Paul was saying, it doesn't mean the storm is going to stop. It means the storm's power over you is going to be broken.

You have to understand that. The ship is still going to be lost. It's still going to sink.

As a matter of fact, it's going to be broken into pieces, but you are going to be spared. The scripture tells us that they dropped four anchors from the stern and they prayed for day to come. And then some of the sailors were seeking to escape the ship and they let down the lifeboats into the sea under the pretense that they were doing something to secure the ship. But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. So admit that you can't save yourself. Believe that God has made a way for you to be saved and confess Jesus Christ as not just only your Savior, but also your Lord.

That means he has the right to tell you what to do, which way you need to go. Paul said, if you don't stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Don't try to craft another way out of this dilemma than the way that God has made for you through his son, Jesus Christ.

He knows how to save you and he knows how to keep you. And then as the day began to dawn in verse 33 of Acts 27, Paul implored them all to take food. And I think I like the original King James that says, take meat.

There's a lot of people who've just lived on spiritual fluff. That's not going to get you through the coming storm. Take some meat. In other words, dig into the word of God.

Devour that just as the people in the days of Moses in Egypt, they had to consume the lamb within their homes. Take time to consume the word of God. Take time to read the word of God. Take time to ingest the promises of God. Take time to ingest the hard truths in the word of God. For example, in this world you shall have tribulation. Jesus said those words.

Don't push them away any longer. He said, you follow me and you're going to have trouble in this world, but be of good cheer. He said, for I have overcome the world. The world will come against you. Circumstances will try to take you down, but he says, don't let it take away your joy because I promise never to leave you or forsake you. And I have overcome everything that threatens to take away your security and your safety in the future.

Take some nourishment. He said, this is for your survival. And he said, now here's the plan. The ship is going to get stuck at a certain place and the violence of the sea is going to bust it to pieces. And I want you all, in any way you can, you grab a piece of wood and you hang onto it and you start swimming for sure.

Now I love that. I mean, can't God make us walk on the water? I mean, like naming the Syrian, can't he just wave his hand and make everything good?

Didn't he calm the storm? Didn't he stand by the boat and said, wind be still and waves be calm. And he wants me to grab a piece of wood and swim to shore. And that's the D. Decide to eat what he gives you and go where he tells you to go.

Follow where he doesn't do everything the same way every time. Follow him even if it means swimming to shore. Grab a hold of a piece of wood. Now a piece of wood that we have is called the cross of Jesus Christ. It's really big and it floats. It floats really good. You hang onto the whatever piece of the cross you can get a hold of. You hang onto that cross and the waves will beat on you and the winds will howl and the storms will threaten. But that cross doesn't sink. It floats. The storm can't take it down.

The waves can't push it under. And everyone placing their trust and confidence in Christ is going to make it to the other side, going to make it to the place of safety in God, going to make it to a place where we will sing, we will shout, we will dance, we will give God glory. It might be a rainy place. It might be a cold place as it was for them. But in that place, the power of God began to be known again. In that place, healing started to happen.

In that place, the snake was pushed off into the fire. In that place, every man, woman, every person on that ship was given a chance to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because you better believe that's what Paul was speaking to this group of people about Christ as Savior.

It doesn't mean they were saved, but they had seen the power of God and they were given a chance. That's my prayer now for America. God, show your power one more time. God, in our home fellowships, in our connect groups, in our prayer meetings, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, set free the oppressed, deliver the addicted.

God Almighty, let your power be known one more time. If we have to swim to get to that place. In the natural, you know, it was impossible. You know, I spent a lot of vacation time at the ocean, and when waves are that big, the undertow is so strong, you can't get to shore. You can't even get to shore in a boat.

Yet every one of them made it. Because the promises of God are yay and amen. And if he tells you you're going to make it, you're going to make it. Even when it looks like you're not.

I can tell you, you know, be fearful. I mean, you got 20-foot waves and you're hanging on to a board. You're kicking your feet and saying, well, Paul said we're going to make it. So here I go. You're on your back and you're kicking your feet and the waves are taller than this building.

I mean, the odds of getting there are zero in the natural. That whole crew should have drowned. Everybody should have drowned on that boat, but not one of them did. And as they stood around the fire and they saw that the serpent had no power against the life of Paul, and they saw the healing of God beginning to flow through his hands. I have to believe that we're going to meet a lot of these people in heaven.

And when I get there, I'm going to say, tell me what it was like, you know. What was it really like on that ship? And what did Paul look like when he came to the deck? And tell me about the communion service that Paul had when he broke the bread and gave thanks in the midst of a sinking ship and a storm. And God gave him the 275 that were traveling with him.

I can just imagine them around that fire right on that island. It must have been something else, you know. They see this guy. He's just got joy in his life.

I don't know. He's just got joy. And they're looking and this guy's a prisoner. This guy's being taken before Caesar, who's a nut. Caesar thinks he's God, by the way, at this time. And Paul's going there to tell him, no, you're not God. You know, there is another God. He's going there to do what he always does. And he's just so thankful.

I often pray when I read Paul's life and say, God, would you please help me? Like I complain if I have an ingrown toenail, you know what I mean? This guy is a prisoner. This guy, it's sloshing. People are vomiting down there.

It stinks. And they're in the storm. And they're in the belly of the ship. They don't even know what's going on.

They don't even know if they're going to the bottom of the ocean. But yet Paul is praying and God says, don't be afraid, Paul. I'm taking you before Caesar. I mean, that would be like you and I praying tonight and he's saying to you, don't be afraid, my daughter.

Don't be afraid, my son. I'm sending you to jail for 15 years, you know? But to Paul, he knew that was the plan of God. He didn't fully understand it. And God says, and because you're willing to undertake this journey, I'm giving you the 275 people that are traveling with you. Think it through. But here we are. Men, women, children, young and old, my God, and you have a plan for our lives. And by your grace, we're not going alone. We're going to take others with us. As they see within us the confidence and the joy. When they saw Paul's countenance on the deck of the ship, the Scripture says they took heart. They took heart. The whole thing is going down. But one man destroys the power of the storm.

One man plants hope in people's hearts again. That's why you and I are alive in this generation. You're a son. You're a daughter of the king.

You're an ambassador of this great victory. So why don't you rise up and admit and believe and confess and decide? I'm going with God, even if I got to swim. To get where he's got me to going, I don't care if it's cold.

I don't care how high the waves are. I'm grabbing a hold of that cross and I'm going. Thank you for joining us this week for A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information, log on to tsc.nyc. That's tsc.nyc. You can count on a powerful message each week on A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon.