In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of listening to and obeying God's instructions. He uses the story of Paul's shipwreck in Acts 27 as an example. The ship faced a storm and the crew tried everything they could to save themselves, but it didn't work. The preacher highlights that they lost their way and their lives because they listened to the majority instead of following God's guidance. He encourages believers to anchor themselves in God's word and to not be swayed by popular opinion. The sermon emphasizes the need for a deep spiritual life and the importance of staying connected to God's voice.

Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us together here this evening. We pray that you will be in our midst and reveal yourself to us. In your grace, Amen. Now, this is our 14th CFT conference. CFT was started in 1990. I thank the Lord for giving us someone like his child, our brother Fano Sibisi, to lead this work. In 2000, he was diagnosed with a sickness that he has. If I'm not mistaken, it was in 2001, it was his last time that he could address us here personally. And I want to say it again, I thank God for giving us someone like him to be the president of this organization. And especially in this time where he is so ill. I don't know who else I could choose apart from him. And I can say CFT is blessed to have a leader who can lead us even while he is in bed with the illness that he has. It's no small thing, it's no easy thing to go through difficulty and through lots of pain and suffering. But it's also a known fact that difficulties draws closer to the Lord. Obviously not everyone gets closer to him. Some people, their hearts are hardened. But for a child of the Lord whose desire is to live in God's will, difficult times are times in which we are drawn closer to the Lord. Therefore I call CFT blessed. Because of him, the servant of the Lord, in this sick bed, in this pain, but at the same time in a high and uplifted place, in a holy place in a spiritual sense. It's easy when things are plain sailing. That you at the same time then are light in your inner spiritual way. That there's no depth. But this evening again I thank the Lord for his child. That we can have someone like him who is, so to say, qualified in this way while he is in the shadow of death. Our spiritual life should not just be superficial but should have depth. And so pain and suffering and difficulty can sanctify us and draw us close to the Lord. The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, he had a daughter who was very blessed. The Lord used her, worked through her. She went around spreading the Gospel. And it didn't take long and she got sick. She fell ill and was seriously ill on her deathbed. And as a result she couldn't travel around anymore and work for the Lord as she had. And one child of the Lord came to her while she was so sick. And said, but why is it, what is the reason that you are so gifted and talented on this state? You were serving the Lord all over, going from one place to the other. God was with you. He worked through you. Your service was fantastic. Why should it be that a person like you should be so ill and cut down with such a sickness? Why is it? And then she said, she answered and said, My duty is not just to serve the Lord, going up and down, working for Him. My first responsibility and duty is to be in the will of God and to do His will. And that means more to me than just serving Him. That to do His will and to be found in His will. It's good to find people who have some quality in them. Who are not just superficial. In this verse. But as it says here, to have an anchor for the soul. There are many Christians in the world. And there are also many who go up and down serving the Lord, working for Him. But their soul has no anchor. That's what a ship's anchor looks like. Which is let down when there's a storm. And you need, the ship needs to be secured. That it's firm and not blown around by the storm and by the wind. Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, that we can be in this ministry of CFT. And busy with this theme that we have today. That we may have an anchor for the soul. That the ship that we find ourselves on will not sink in the sea. That in the midst of a storm, we can be sure that we have an anchor for the soul. That we won't be shaken and blown about, but that we'll be like a star in the sky. And we thank you, Lord, also for your servant that you chose and entrusted with this work here, with this ministry of CFT. Thank you, Lord. And that he can do this work even while he is sick and going through the pain and the difficulty. But that you even use that, that he can qualify to do this work. And not in his own strength, but in your strength. Amen. We'll read from Acts chapter 27. From verse 21. And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said to them, I will give you food. I will give you water. I will give you bread. I will give you water. I will give you bread. I will give you bread. And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. And then verse 29. And fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors. We'll read thus far. I went to the Lord's servant. Now, just earlier on. I asked him whether there was something on his heart regarding this evening and this conference. He said, yes, there is. And he said, it's his desire that the children of the Lord find a deeper life in Christ and in the Lord. The anchor. And he said the theme is the anchor. And he said a big problem among the Christians is that so easily their strength or their fervor runs out or diminishes. Then, after some time, a person hasn't got the strength and the fire to carry on anymore. These are the words that he spoke and which he would have spoken himself. It's very true that when you are facing death, you look at things very differently than when you are healthy. Then one goes a lot deeper. The Zulus even say that one should speak the truth like someone who's dying. In fact, it would be quite good if the Lord would put his children at death's door every now and then, that a person can look death in the eyes. And wake them up in that way. And then you will realize what things are really like. You get a totally different perspective. You look at the same thing, but you see it through totally different eyes. That's why he says he would like to see that the children of the Lord find a deeper life in the Lord. And he asked that I speak about how a Christian, how a person can find that deeper life in Christ. Now our text really includes the whole chapter. In fact, one should have started reading in the 26th chapter already. We don't have the time now to read everything. You can do that when you go to bed. You don't need to speak so much and chat so much. Take the Lord's word and read it tonight or maybe even during the night or tomorrow morning. Read God's word. Paul said, men, you should have followed my advice. You should have listened. Then you would have saved so much and not incurred this loss. We've heard how Charles said that we should obey and listen to God's word. That is something very deep. If we want to go deeper and experience a deeper life with Christ, we need to find out what God's word says. Here in this chapter, we read about Paul and them. They were on a ship. I don't have time to go into the reasons for this, but they were on this ship. While on the ship, they wanted to sail further. Paul was on his way to Rome, to Caesar. Caesar said to them, If you want to go to Caesar, It's not right to go now. If we do, we will suffer much. But the centurion in charge of them took no notice of what he said. But rather listened to what the captain and the owner of the ship said. Because on the ship was the captain, the pilot, but also the owner of the ship. And also many others. Close to 300 people, around about 270 something. What a country! That's what Caesar said. He didn't want to go to Rome. Why should we go to Rome? Why should we go to Caesar? So when Paul advised them not to set sail, the centurion was influenced by the captain and the owner of the ship, and he decided that they obviously were more experienced at the trade, and followed their advice. The ship was full of people, and it was asked, well, what do you say? In other words, it was put to the vote. And the majority said, let us go, let's sail. The next morning, when they woke up, the sun was shining, it was calm, it was a wonderful day, and they said, well, everything is favourable, let's go. Just a slight breeze, the weather is perfect, it's going in the direction we want to go. They said, everything is in our favour, it's going our way, so they set sail. It didn't take long, and the wind came up, a terrible storm arose. A cyclone or tornado, and the ship was tossed to and fro. And the captain couldn't eat anymore. The owner of the ship couldn't eat anymore. And even the centurion started fasting. In fact, everyone. For two weeks, they didn't eat anything, and these were experienced sailors. Eventually, they all lost hope, they lost all hope that they would ever survive. They all lost hope that they would ever survive. And then eventually, they started throwing things overboard, the food, the wheat, even the things that they had taken along to sell in Rome, they were just throwing everything overboard, and the owner of the ship realised his great loss. Eventually, he was only concerned about one more thing, and that was to save his ship. But that didn't do it. And then they took cables and ropes, and they undergirded the ship, just to keep it together, so that it didn't fall apart. And they lost all hope that they would even survive. And then Paul stood up. And he spoke and said, You ought to have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Now brethren, I want to tell you this, whether you're the cleverest person or the least intellectual person, no matter who you are, you will be helped by one thing, and that is to listen to what God says, and when he has spoken to you, that you then keep what he has told you. Otherwise, what happened to the owner of that ship will happen to you as well. It will be exactly the same. And then eventually, they let down not just one anchor, but four, on all sides of the ship, in every corner. They did everything that was humanly possible, everything in their knowledge and in their power they did, but it didn't help them. It didn't help. And then the man of God stood up. He said, You should have done what you were told. But because you didn't, you've lost everything. And they themselves realized that they didn't just lose their way, but that they were losing their own lives. And why? Because of the majority vote. The will of the people. The reason had been because they listened to the voice of the majority, and they lost out on what God had said. If you want to go deeper in your spiritual life, then don't go along with the majority. You need to separate yourself from the people and be united with Christ, and that you become one with Him. And not that you say, Well, what does my husband say? What does my wife say? What do the children say? But that you say, What does Jesus say regarding this matter? Then you're going deeper. As long as you still listen to what people say, then woe to you. And no matter who that person is, whether they be great or small, whether it's the president or the professor or whoever it is, if you don't say, What does Jesus say about the matter? Then you're in trouble. Or it could just even be a superstition or humanism. That which is propagated by that which is the in-thing in that time, and that wind which blows throughout the world and in Africa as well. So you have to stop going along with what everybody and what man says and go along with that which God says and what his word says. Julius, that's in truth. Jesus said to Paul, Jesus said to Paul, He didn't have the discernment that what this man was saying was actually what Jesus Christ, what God was saying. He didn't have the discernment that the captain and the owner of the ship were just speaking in a human way. That was the human way of seeing things. That's how they were approaching the matter. And dear CFT members, that is the danger. If you look at things in a human way, the things of the Lord. Remember Peter, when the Lord was speaking to them, to the disciples and said, The son of man must suffer much and must die. Then Peter said to him, but Lord, don't speak like that. And the Lord rebuked him and said, behind me, Satan. Jesus realized that it was the devil that was at work now and he was speaking through Peter. Peter was now united with Satan, with the devil. That is tragic when a child of the Lord unites with the devil. When you don't see things the way God sees them, but you see them the way man sees them. Then you're in a slippery, dangerous place. You've lost your anchor. And you can have four of them. You can have four of your own anchors. And you can drop them. You can do whatever you think. And you say, well, now I've solved the problem. This is a foolproof solution. But you are the fool in the matter. And you do your own thing. You come up with your own solution. You do what you think is right. And God is not in it. You plan. You do everything. And you think, well, now I've sorted it out. But God is not in it. We have to obey God. We must have that depth in our spiritual lives, that we get to that point where God can speak to us, that we listen to him, and then that we obey him. Do what he says. And don't be deceived that you do your own thing, and you say, well, it's going well. Everything is in our favor. Just look how everything is going our way, and you don't realize that disaster is around the corner. It's no small thing to obey God. It's far easier to just obey your own feelings, to follow the way you see things and think at best. Remember Jonah. God spoke. Go to Nineveh. And this is what you must say. But Jonah didn't like it because it didn't go along with his feelings and his desires and his goals. It just went against his brain. It went against his politics. And he made up his mind. He said, I'm not going to Nineveh. And off he went to Joppa. Boarded a ship. And once on the ship, he went down into the hold. Deep down, and he went to sleep there. And the Bible says that a deep sleep fell upon him. Just imagine. A deep sleep came over him. If you don't obey God, the devil will see to it that a deep sleep will come over you. Escape. Escape. And that ship also encountered a storm similar to this one. The sailors panicked. They threw everything overboard to try and save their lives. But there was one man, a prophet of God, who had deep peace in his heart. What a tragedy if children of God go into the wrong direction, having perfect peace and satisfaction. Having perfect peace and joy in their hearts, knowing everything is all right and they're on their way to hell. But perfect peace. A cursed deep sleep has come over them. They think they are right. They are wrong. Escape. The ship was in danger of sinking. But they are full of amen and hallelujahs. Fully at peace with the situation. Because a deep sleep has come over them. Because of the disobedience of God's Word that is so plain, so clear, that even a blind man shouldn't err on that road. The ship was in danger of sinking. And so eventually they'd lost everything. All their possessions. Their economy was in ruins. They had nothing left. They didn't even have food to eat anymore. And they were only trying to save their lives. With disobedience was in his heart. When they questioned Jonah, he said, When they questioned Jonah, he said, No, men, I must be honest. God had sent me. He had spoken to me, but I was disobedient to him. And then blood was thicker than water. And then blood was thicker than water. And we who are God's children have got the thickest blood. We are cleansed and washed with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are cleansed and washed with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you as a black man, If blackness still means something to you, If blackness still means something to you, And you as a white man, Whiteness still means something to you, Then you know, Then you know into which direction you are going. But but if God is not gracious to you when you do what Jonah did then God will send a lot of trouble across your way. Oh If I Stand for my rights or my I have my position And my viewpoint as a white man And I stick to that just because i'm also white in the same way if a black does it because he's black Then we're not in the gospel. We're not busy with the lord's things Then a deep sleep has come over us Foreign And then we become like that prophet Um sleeping in that ship and then that rocking boat Becomes like a rocking chair that just rocks us to sleep While everyone else realizes things are going wrong we're about to perish But there you are quite at peace thinking everything is going all right Samuel spoke to the king of israel Is And he challenged him he said oh king what is this that I hear it sounds like cattle and like sheep Um, did you then not go and destroy everything that the lord had commanded you to commanded you to destroy? And then the king said oh we kept that back to sacrifice to the lord Foreign But we only kept that which is the best that which we found good And samuel said oh king don't you know that to the lord disobedience is the same as a sin of witchcraft jonah The bottom of the ship was fast asleep And because he was bewitched Not because he went to a witch But because he was disobedient to that what god had commanded him and told him to do Disobedience is like witchcraft Um Like paul asked the galatians he says who has bewitched you Uncle So dear member of cft Male or female old or young if god speaks to you and you do not obey then you will also be bewitched Um You'll be like one of those That brother fano referred to those who lose the power and the strength And the fervor they become bewitched Lonely They lose strength and they lose the their fire for the lord Let me stop here Good finally Every member of cft should take the bible and say what does the bible say? God's word will wake you out of your sleep That you ask and say lord, what do you say? Okay There are people that say well, what's the problem things are going well, we're at peace And you don't realize that you're in the midst of a storm We're here in south africa and we could say well things are going well I could mention many things that are not going well Like the the laws that have been relaxed regarding pornography Um And that homosexuality is now allowed It's legal And it becomes acceptable, um and one says well that's the way things are going Oh And yet there are people that are saying our we we trust Uh that through you you people at sizzabantu that god will use you to change the situation That things will change Foreign But at the same time there's a land claim against this property where They are trying to take away What we've got here. Do you see that we're in the midst of a storm and what the devil is planning? But some people don't see it They say things are going well We don't know where it'll all end We preach and we proclaim that there's only one way and that's jesus christ But it's not politically correct to say it in fact, it's not it's against the constitution If a child is naughty If a child is naughty You can't even punish it corporal punishment is not allowed in spite of the fact that the bible says that if a father doesn't Use the rod on his child. He doesn't love that child Foreign And if I say that jesus christ is the only way then i'm not in line with What is said? Foreign So, I don't know whether you understand or whether you perhaps also like one in that ship fast asleep and you don't hear don't see Foreign Foreign But Paul warned them But they didn't listen to him they listened to the voice of the majority they went along with them they said let's go and There was danger ahead But if it wasn't hadn't wasn't for paul, they would have all perished but because of him their lives were saved See that was also a majority rule Foreign But that one that way was the way of death and took them into death But then god saved them because of one man Who had an anchor? Our anchor is jesus christ No Any other anchor Is worthless, even if you have four four other anchors, whatever you do in your own strength won't help Only one anchor helps and that is christ Foreign It won't help you to be white it won't help you because you're black But you need to be one with christ that will help So Foreign Remember when the disciples were in that ship and the storm arose and they feared for their lives they thought they would Would sink and die But they called upon the lord and they said oh lord help and And save us and he spoke to the wind and it became perfectly calm and they were amazed They said what type of man is this that he speaks to the wind and the storm calms They had an anchor And that anchor was jesus christ the almighty Foreign Jesus christ Foreign Foreign Jesus christ who has everything in his hands. We need to leave our own thing And become united with him do what he tells us that is what will help us here in africa and all over my christ Is Dear christian for truth stand for christ That's what will help you and everyone else around you and not just your friends even your foes What Abide in him Every day every moment and then that strength that fire will not go out Will not grow less and will will not disappear but will grow and continue That Foreign The 12 disciples there on the sea They had an anchor for the soul that saved them and paul as well Even though he had warned them. They wouldn't listen. They took him along Into that storm, but because he had an anchor for the soul that saved them in him I don't know whether you understand. Maybe you understand. Maybe you don't I just leave it there