Through the Storm

and Twinsburg, those that are joining us online. My name is Phil Curlin and I have the privilege to serve as one of the pastors on the team. Before I get into the message today, I wanna ask a favor of all of the men at every campus. If every man at every campus could stand on their feet. Every man young, a little bit older, more mature. Yeah, put your hands together, thank God for these men. (audience clapping) I'm gonna ask Pastor Jose and Pastor Miguel at Fairview. Pastor Fred, Pastor Jason at Twinsburg, Pastor John Michael, Pastor Jeff right here at Avon to join me on the platform for this moment. This is a moment. This is a moment. You heard it in a video if you were paying attention and in case you missed it, every man standing at every campus is invited from the pastoral team to join us on June 20th from 5 to 9 p.m. here at the Avon campus for the Forge. The journey men's event called the Forge. If you're a man of God that's learning and wanting to learn how to grow as the spiritual leader of your family, how to be the man that God created you to be, come to the Forge. No more excuses, amen, men, no more excuses. It's time, it's been too long. It's time to get together, Pastor Jeff. It's time to gather as the men of God. Listen, we called it the Forge

because a Forge is a place where men are formed, not coddled. Culture does enough of that. See, a Forge is where raw materials meet intense heat and pressure and shaping, it's not comfortable. See, weakness gets burned off. Impurities arise to the surface and what comes out, what will come out is stronger and sharper and ready to war on behalf of the Lord for our wives, for our children, for our brothers, join us at the Forge. See, the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 13, man, look at the screen. This is what the Apostle Paul says. This is our foundation for this men's event coming up next month. It says be on your guard, stand firm in the faith. Be courageous and be strong. No more drifting, no more compromise, no more passivity. You hear me? Take out your phone, scan the QR code, sign up for the Forge, it costs 40 bucks. They've spent 40 bucks in worse ways. You're gonna get, with that 40 bucks, food and merch, you don't even gotta pre-order your merch, just you're gonna get a sick hat, you're gonna get an awesome men's Forge T-shirt, be there, June 20th. Pastor, stretch your hand towards these men. If you're standing next to a man, put your hand on his shoulder like this,

we wanna declare a blessing over the men of journey church. Heavenly Father in Jesus' name, we're through the laying on our hands, we stir up the gift that is given to these men, these sons, brothers, fathers, husbands. Thank you, God, for the gift that they are. Lord, as we together continue to learn and grow, to become the men that you created us to be. Father, I pray you would remove every obstacle and these men right now would feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit to show up at the Forge on June 20th. God, we wouldn't just show up, we will let you speak to us, we will let you have your way with us for all the days to come. We give you our lives, Lord, we commit ourselves to you in Jesus' name, and everyone said, amen, amen, you can be seated as you put your hands together. All right, are you ready for the word of God? I said, are you ready for the word of God, journey church? Now they gave me a handheld, so you better look out, I'm ready to go. We have been in this series the last several weeks since Easter, taking a look at the book of Acts, the name of the series has been the next chapter. And we had a little interruption in that series last week because the Lord wanted to drop a word on our church through Pastor Tiffany Martin, and boy, did he ever, can you put your hands together and celebrate that word that she released last week? A message entitled Before and After, if you missed it

or even if you heard it, come on, go on YouTube and listen to last week's message. We're jumping back into the book of Acts if you have your Bible, why don't you hold it up in the air like this, like this, wave it, like you just don't care, you need this thing. It's your tool. It's the tool, the Bible says it's sharper than any double-edged sword. That's what the word of God is, okay? So I want you to open up to the book of Acts chapter 27. And as you're turning there, I wanna ask you a question, has anyone by a show of hands, has anyone ever been in a storm? Yeah? Okay. Now, maybe you're thinking about like a literal storm on a boat, how about this? Anybody ever been in a storm in your life, your finances, your marriage, your relationship? Okay, anybody in a storm right now? Okay, if you didn't raise your hands, I've got great news for you. I am an encouraging guy. If you didn't raise your hand, identifying that you've been in a storm or you're currently in a storm, here's your encouragement, there's a storm coming. Be blessed. Come on, we live in a fallen world with a real enemy

whose job assignment is to steal, kill, and destroy. And I just want you to know that all of us have, are, or will go through a storm. The question is not, will I go through a storm? The question is, how will I go through the storm? Look at your neighbor, tell them how will you go through the storm? In fact, for all the notetakers, which is all of you, 'cause that's what we do at Journey Church. We take notes during the message. The sermon title is this three words through the storm. I wanna preach to you seven points today. Pray for me. Seven rhymes with heaven. I usually struggle to make it through three points. We're gonna go for seven today. We're gonna go through Acts chapter 27, touch on Acts chapter 28. Last time I was with you, we looked at the book of Acts chapter 18 and Paul was doing some things. He was waiting on the Lord. The Lord said, don't quit now, Paul, don't quit now. There's an assignment for you. So don't quit. And so I wanna read to you from Acts chapter 27, picking up at verse four. Let's read the word of God together. From there we put out to see again and passed to the lie of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cecilia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. Yo, those are hard words. I think I did well. You should give me a round of applause. I mean, I practiced. (congregation applauding) Oh man. Verse six. Then the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and he put us on board. We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Snitus. I don't even know if that's how you pronounce it, but that's a cool word. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lie of Crete opposite Samune. We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens. Hey, I got that one right. Near the town of El. Much time had been lost and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the day of atonement pause. Why does that matter? At this day in time and culture, in this context, they did not believe it was safe at all to sail at this point in the calendar year. It was foolish.

It was a death wish they thought to sail after the day of atonement. And so back to the scripture, Paul warns them, verse 10, men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo and to our own lives also. But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete facing both Southwest and Northwest, verse 13. When a gentle South wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity so they weighed anger and sailed along the shore of Crete. Before very long, a wind of hurricane force called the Northeastern swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and we were driven along. The word of God, amen. is point number one, there is a storm. There is a storm. There's a storm that has come against Paul and perhaps for you, there is a storm in your life. But before Acts chapter 27 comes Acts chapter 26, right? Acts chapter 26 verse 32, a gripper says to Festus, these are leaders, Paul was on trial

and a gripper says to Festus, this man Paul, he could have been set free, but, say but, it actually says if, but if, but he appealed to Caesar. Paul said, I wanna go to Caesar. I'm appealing my trial. I wanna go to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Now, why is this matter? It matters because Paul could have been set free and he would have avoided the storm. Listen to me, but instead he's a ship on a prisoner. And here's what that means for us today. Not every storm means that you've missed God. It might be that you're right in the middle of his will as you go through the storm. I said, not every storm means that you're living in sin and you miss God and the devil's out to get you. Some storms might mean that you're in the center of the will of God, let me say it this way. The storm isn't always the problem. Sometimes it's the plan. Sometimes we pray the wrong prayer. God, get me out of this storm. It's okay to pray that, but if he doesn't take you out of it, you should change how you pray. Okay, God, so you're not gonna take me out of this storm then what's the purpose of it? What do you wanna teach me through the storm? If you let it, storms can teach you something about God, about yourself, and as I read a few minutes ago, Paul is on a ship, he's headed to Rome.

There's guards, there's prisoners, there's sailors. The Bible tells us there's 276 people on board. And at first, at first, everything looks fine, right? Look at verse 13 in your Bibles. A gentle South wind began to blow, so cute. It felt right, it seemed right. Come on, it looked like it was the perfect time to move on. You think I'm still talking about a storm? It feels right, it looks right, it seems right. I'll move on. And just as soon as they pulled the anchor out of the water and put it on the ship, just as soon as that happened, the Bible tells us that a Northeastern, a big old storm, a violent storm, a hurricane like storm, they couldn't steer, they couldn't see, they couldn't stop this storm. Been there, you ever been there in your life? You don't know where all of a sudden it came from, you were just trying to do the right next best thing. And all of a sudden out of nowhere, you got blindsided by your spouse, by your boss, by your kids, by your neighbor, by the bank. Come on, you got blindsided with bad news, with a storm. There is a storm, there's a storm. I mean, the Bible tells us that these men were taking a beating, this ship was being battered too, and fro, I mean, you keep reading, they started throwing cargo overboard. I mean, they were doing anything they could just to survive.

You ever been there? Doing anything, everything you could to just try and survive another day, another week, another month, just trying to make ends meet, just trying to maybe go on one more day night, one more counseling appointment, one more job interview, maybe God this time, even though every other time I've been in a storm, come on, but this time maybe God, it'll be different. See, Paul didn't cause and Paul couldn't control this storm. You don't deserve this storm that you're in, my friend. And you can't control it. But I found out there's three ways to go through a storm. One way you go through a storm, is you try to outrun it, I got this. I went to the forge, I'm a man. I went to sisterhood, I'm a woman of God, I got this. Another way to go through a storm is to run away from it. I don't got this, oh my God, what just happened? I'm out. The third way to go through a storm, if you're not gonna go through it, 'cause you think you can control it, and you're not gonna run from it, 'cause you know you can't, you could just drop the anchor and trust God through the storm. Some of us have been trying with our stubborn, striving selves to push through the storm, and we're blaming God for it.

And some of us, we done ripped that anchor up out of the boat, and we're trying to turn tail and run back to anywhere else than where we are right now. And the word of the Lord is stay. Anchor, anchor yourself in the storm. Paul was going to have to go through the storm, and so are you. So am I. Don't miss this. In Acts chapter 23, I'll put it on the screen. In Acts chapter 23, verse 11, several chapters, weeks before this storm we just read about, this is what it says, the following night, the Lord stood near to Paul, and he said to Paul, take courage, just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome. Paul had an assignment. He had to go through the storm to fulfill his assignment. Paul had a promise from God. God said Rome, but Paul is stuck in the storm, and it looks like he's gonna die at sea. You ever been there? You heard God say one thing, but your reality looks completely opposite. Like, have you ever been there? God gives you a promise, but your circumstances are screaming something completely different. You ever been there?

You thought you were moving forward, and suddenly everything starts to fall apart? Let me declare this truth over you. Why don't you let what God said before the storm carry you through the storm? Do you know what he said before the storm? Did you read about it? Do you hold on? Can you hold on to the promise that God has for your life? I know some of us are in a storm right now. Many of us raised our hands here at Avon, and I trust it, fair of you, in Twinsburg. But I wanna tell you something. God sent me here to tell you something. He told me to tell you, God is not confused. God is not absent. God has not forgotten about you. I'm gonna declare that again to this side of the room. God is not confused. He sees your storm. God is not absent. He's right there in the middle of your storm. God is not caught off guard. God is in complete control, even when you and I feel like we are not. God is not confused. He's not absent. He is not done. See, God, He didn't leave Paul in this storm. He led Paul through the storm.

Oh, that's good. You should write that down. God wasn't gonna leave Paul in the storm. He was gonna lead Paul through the, through the, God's gonna lead you through the. Why you keep listening to the dirty devil who tells you God's gonna leave you in the storm. God's not gonna leave you in the storm. God's gonna lead you, sermon title. He's gonna lead you where? Through the, what? There is a storm and God's gonna lead you through it. And here's the cool thing about God. See, 'cause when the storms come, you need to know that the devil wants you to believe you're all by yourself, but point number two, you're not alone. You are not alone. There's a couple of verses that I skipped that you would be tempted to skip in Acts chapter 27. Go back to verses one, two, and three. I started at verse four on purpose. See, 'cause Paul got in a boat and there was 276 other people, 75 other people on that boat with Paul. storm. Julius is a Roman centurion. He doesn't believe like Paul. He doesn't follow Jesus like Paul. He's actually part of the system that is holding Paul as a prisoner.

And yet, look at verse 3. Acts chapter 27. It was decided we would sail for Italy, Paul and other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius. They belonged to the imperial regiment. We boarded a ship about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia. We put out the sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. The next day we landed a side on, look at it, and Julius in kindness to Paul allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. It's not normal that a Roman centurion charged with keeping Paul as a prisoner would give Paul freedom. See Julius, a Roman centurion was a gift from God of favor and protection. And the other person that is noted here is Aristarchus. This was a brother to Paul, a friend to Paul. He didn't have to go on this boat. He wasn't a prisoner. He was not obligated to be there. He wasn't forced to be there. He chose to get on the boat with Paul because he was Paul's friend. The truth is God can bring the right people into the storm that you are going through. In fact, I believe, I'm going to go further, I believe that he has. Have you noticed them? Listen, sometimes they look different than you expect. Sometimes it's not as always a spiritual or as obvious as who you would have picked. The truth is you're not as alone as you think. I want to ask you to take 15 seconds and think about this question, who might God be putting in my life that I've missed because it wasn't who I thought. Write their name down. It's not who you thought.

It's not what you expected. Maybe they're showing you favor, but you keep dismissing it. Maybe they've been standing with you, but you haven't fully let them in. Listen, you don't need a crowd in the storm. You just need the few right people to get you through the storm. If God is surrounding you with the right people, here's the third thing I want you to see. Not only are you not alone, but number three, God is with you. That's a problem. It's not just a point. God is with you, actually after 27, we're at verse 20, it says, "Neither sun nor stars appeared for many days in the storm continued raging." We finally gave up all hope of being saved after they had gone a long time without food. Paul stood up before them and said, "Men, you should have taken my advice." I told you so. Not to sail from Crete, then you would have spared yourself this damage and loss. Say, "But," Paul says, "But now I urge you to keep up your courage because not one of you will be lost. Only the ship will be destroyed last night. Come on, an angel of God to whom I belong and whom I serve. He stood beside me, and the angel said, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must go to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. God has graciously given you the lives of all, say all, who sail with you." See, the word spoken over you isn't just for you, it might just be for everybody attached to you. God gave Paul a promise, and Paul said, verse 25, "Keep up your courage for I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me. I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me. I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me. If you don't have that kind of faith, you can borrow some of mine. I have faith in God that it's going to happen just as He said it would.

Nevertheless, you got to go through the storm, and we're going to have to crash this boat. You keep thinking the storm is a problem, and God keeps saying, "It's my plan, son." Take your hands off of it." See, God didn't remove the storm. He spoke in it. He spoke in it. Sometimes the storm gets so loud we can't hear the still small voice of our Savior. And we have to get away in solitude even in the midst of the storms of our lives. See, God never said, "If you follow me, there'll never be storms." What He did say is, "You will make it through the storm." Psalm 23, King David tells us, "You probably know it, even though I walk through the storm, through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, the Lord is with me." Watch this next part really closely, Acts 27, 1314. When a gentle South wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity to pull the anchor out of the sandbar, put it on the boat, and they began to sail along the shore of Crete. Just as soon as they pulled the anchor out of the boat, the thing that was keeping them secure now caused them to have a little bit of fear. But God was with them. See, I think the problem is that some of us in the midst of our storms, we anchor ourselves to a bar, to a person, to a phone. We anchor ourselves to temporary things that don't solve our need. What we need to do is we need to anchor ourselves to the Word of God. This is our anchor, not the things of the world, but the Word of God is our anchor. This is what holds us secure when everything else fails us. The Bible tells us in Hebrews, chapter 6, 19, that we have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure. I can hold myself firm, you scared yet, and secure. You think I'm going to walk off this stage? Nah. But the problem is, some things that we attach ourselves to, they fail us.

They give us a false sense of security. The Word of God doesn't do that. The Word of God never fails us. It's an anchor for our soul. Here's what I want you to see. The anchor was already in place before the storm showed up. Is your anchor already, you're not getting it. Come on, they're not getting it. Is your anchor the Word of God already secure even before the storm shows up? See the stronger the storm, the tighter the anchor holds. Not because the storm is weak, but because the anchor is stronger than the storm and your anchor isn't your feelings or your circumstances, your anchor is the Word of God. Let me ask you. What is God trying to say to you through this storm? Can you take your hands off of that anchor and put it on this anchor? God, what are you trying to say to me? I'll wait. You can jot it down in your notes. See, at Journey Church, we don't just talk at you. We want you to respond and wrestle with the Word in the moment and this week. What is God trying to say to you? He's trying to say to you, you are more than a conqueror because of Christ Jesus. He's trying to say to you that I love you, I see you, you don't have to be afraid, you don't have to worry, I know you're going through a storm, but you're not going through it alone. I've got you, says the Lord. Let go of that anchor and pick up this one. This one is firm and secure. In Acts chapter 27, verse 30, back to our story, it's been 14 days they've been going through this storm, 14 days of fear and 14 days of uncertainty, 14 days of no control. You ever had two weeks like that and by having two weeks like that right now, I appreciate

your courage to raise your hand. But then something happens. After two weeks, they see a glimmer of hope. They see what they think might be land, but instead of relief, they panic. Let me show you, Acts 27.30. The sailors do what many of us do in the storm. They start looking for a way out. an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion, Julius, and the soldiers, unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat, and they let it drift away." Verse 33, "Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat. Except for the last 14 days, you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food. You haven't eaten anything. I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive." You would think that when they saw land, they would have hope, but the sailors had fear and panic. And Paul saw what they were trying to do. He saw a get-out. He saw that, although they were secure, they were going to take matters into their own hands. They had an option B. They had a backup plan. And when Paul said... I wish this headset might work. What Paul said was, "You ready? You ready? I practiced this, but not with a handheld mic." Some of us were holding on to what we think's keeping us secure, and we're taking what we think is a step of faith. "Oh, God, help me, Lord." He said, "Cut the rope." What rope do you need to cut? You want to know why I didn't fall? Because I was rooted. I dug my foot in. I practiced. Some of us spend so much time at a temporary anchor. We don't have any time to practice being rooted in the Word of God. If we would leave all that behind, we could stand by faith and cut the rope, and we could allow God to sustain us and to hold us. I don't need that anchor when I got this one. Are you with me, Journey Church? Some of us, we got to cut the rope. We got to cut that relationship, that bad habit, that just-in-case option. Can I tell you sometimes the thing you're holding on to is the very thing keeping you from what God promised you? Maybe I'll say it gentler for you. Sometimes the thing that you keep holding on to and going back to is the very thing that's keeping you from what God promised you. Friend, I'm going to say it's

super clear. You can't live with one foot anchored to the world and try to have the other one anchored to the Word of God. It doesn't work. You're either in or you're out. You're either hot or you're cold. You're either part of this thing or you're not. We got to cut the rope. Some of us have to cut the rope. Who or what do you need to cut off because they or it is keeping you from what God has promised? There is a storm. You're not alone. God is with you. You got to cut the rope. So here's how the story ends. Are you ready? If you're ready, say I'm ready. Are you sure? They finally cut the rope. The boat crashes on this amazing place called Malta. It makes me think about like a milkshake. I'm, forgive me, Lord. But chapter 28 verse one says, "Once safely on shore, we're at a place called Malta. The islanders show us unusual kindness. They built a fire. They welcomed us. It was raining. It was cold. Paul's gathering a pile of brushwood. And as he put the wood on the fire, a snake driven out by the heat fastens itself to his hand. The islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand. They said to each other, this man must be a murderer. For though he escaped from the sea, the goddess justice has not allowed him to live. But Paul, what did he do? He shook it off. He shook off that snake. He shook the snake off into the fire, the Word of God you have been given authority to crush every lie of the enemy like a scorpion, like a snake under your feet. You gotta shake some things off, journey church. You gotta shake off some offense. You gotta shake off some betrayal. You gotta shake off some heartache. You gotta shake some things off because not everything that attaches itself to you has authority over you. You gotta shake it off. (congregation applauding) That's the whole sermon. You get nothing else. Not everything that attaches itself to you has authority over you.

You shake it off. If it helps, you just start singing. Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it. I don't know that song. I really don't. I know they play it at weddings. All I know is the word of God said Paul shook that thing off 'cause he had a mission. He had an assignment, .5, shake it off. What do you need to shake off that you've been carrying? What have you been carrying in your mind, in your head, in your heart? What pain have you been carrying? You hold on to these things. You and me, they become part of our story. They become part of our identity. God sent me to tell somebody. I don't even care if it's just one person today. He sent me to tell you, you don't have to keep carrying but tried to kill you. You can release forgiveness. Shake. Shake it off. Okay? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm mad at the devil for you. 'Cause as I look at you, I see that we've been lulled to sleep and we've gotten familiar with the snakes crawling all over us.

And we start saying, oh, whoa, is me. I'm a prisoner. I went through a storm. I crashed my ship. It couldn't have got worse. I even cut the rope. But now I'm on the island of Malta. I got to where I thought I was supposed to go and a snake is gonna take me out. If you don't shake it off, it will. Shake it off. As long as it's hanging on you, it's gonna drain you. If it's hanging on you, it's draining you. If it's hanging on you, it's draining you. Shake it. So for the sake of time, I'll let you read the rest of it on your own, but I got to tell you, the reason Paul shook it off, come on, Lord, show them what you showed me on Tuesday. Would you, Lord? Oh my gosh, you showed this to me. Holy spirit, would you show them? Help me, Lord, to show them what you showed me. So he shakes off the snake and all the people were like, whoa, I thought he was gonna die, but he's not dead. There's something different about him. Why don't you and the other 275 people come to Publius' house?

He's like the governor. Let's just go into his house. We're gonna hang out for a few days. We're gonna take care of you. You're gonna eat, rest, relax. But Paul doesn't just relax. Paul has an assignment. Point number six, you have an assignment. I know you're going to Rome, but you might have to take a detour to Malta because when Paul got to Publius' house, he found out, come on, say he found out. He found, stick with me, I'm almost done. He found out that Publius' dad had been sick for a while. And Paul's like, nah, nah, nah, nah. That's not how this goes down. I'm not just here to eat your food. I'm not gonna put my hand on your food. A snake tried to bite my hand. Give me your dad the same hand, the snake, the devil, tried to take out. I'm gonna use that same hand, put it on your father, and the power of God is gonna heal your father. And friends, that's exactly what happens. Paul walks up, and I believe it was probably the same hand. Maybe it wasn't, but the point is, he put his hand on Publius' dad, and Publius' dad gets super naturally healed. If he didn't shake off the snake, Publius' dad doesn't get healed.

In fact, when they saw the dad get healed, they all said, yo, there's a lot of other sick people here. Could we bring them to you? Give me my scripture, Acts, chapter 27, verse nine. When this happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured, Acts 28, verse nine. They honored us in many ways, and we were ready to sail. They furnished us with the supplies we need. So you didn't just go through the storm to make it. [chuckles] Okay, let me teach you something. Okay, you didn't just go through that storm. You aren't just going through that storm to make it. There's a mission. Okay, amen. All right, talk to me Pastor Phil, talk to me. Maybe your assignment looks like a conversation you didn't expect. A co-worker that suddenly opens up, a family member who finally lets their guard down, a hospital room that you don't think is fair that you're in, but a nurse is your assignment. In the midst of your storm, there's a doctor that needs you to minister to them. What if the very place you wish you could escape from is actually the place God wants to use you the most? What if the storm wasn't just about you making it? What if it was about someone else getting healed? Because you did.

We're all gonna go through storms. The question is, how are you gonna go through it? I told you the title of my sermon was what? What was the title of my sermon? That's only part of it, it's half of it. There's three words that need to be inserted before those three words. Go back to where you wrote the sermon title down. Point seven, the real title of the message is this. The promise goes through the storm. Your promise goes through the storm. In Acts, chapter 23, verse 11, God says to Paul, you must testify in Rome. And then in Acts, chapter 28, verse 14, it says, "And so we came to Rome through the storm, "through the shipwreck, through the snake bite, "through the storm." The promise, I hope you see it the way the Lord showed it to me, the promise goes through the storm. Everything in between Acts 23 and Acts 28, the storm, the wind, the waves, the shipwreck, the snake, the island. See some of us, we're living in the middle of that sentence. God spoke something over your life, but you're walking through what's something that doesn't look like what was promised. It looks like storms, it looks like setbacks, it looks like detours, it looks like unexpected pain, but I want you to hear me very clearly.

If God said it, the storm can't stop it. So drop the anchor, cut the rope, shake it off and step into your assignment. How are you going to go through the storm? A storm. [BLANK_AUDIO]