GracePoint
Sunday, May 28, 2023 - Pastor Steve Webster
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Here in Acts 27 we find the apostle Paul traveling as a prisoner some 2,000 miles by ship to Rome, having appealed the false charges against him to Caesar. Paul’s 6-month voyage, from September of 59 AD through March of 60 AD, was filled with hardship and life threatening danger. However, though faced with sickness, storms, and shipwreck, Paul remained throughout calm, courageous, and confident. How can you and I likewise weather the inevitable storms of life?
When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. Acts 27:1-6, ESV
Paul’s heart must have beat faster that day as finally he set sail for Rome, for back in Acts 23 the Lord had encouraged him with the promise: “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Acts 23:11, ESV
I. We need to rely on God’s _______________ despite the storm
Reliance upon the promises of God enable us, like Paul, to look beyond the immediate storms that engulf us and anticipate that the Lord is leading us along a pathway that despite its difficulties leads to the blessing of his fulfilled promises.
At Myra Julius had the prisoners transferred to one of these larger ships that was heading for Italy. Verse. 27 of our text tells us that there were 276 persons in total on this ship, most of them undoubtedly the soldiers and prisoners under Julius’ command.
We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. Acts 27:7-8, ESV
Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. And because the harbour was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. Acts 27:9-20, ESV
II. We need to realize that God has a _______________ for the storm
You see, the Bible teaches us that God allows storms to blow into our lives for various reasons. Probably more than any other reason, sometimes God allows tough times to come into our lives as those in Christ so that we’ll learn to trust him in the midst of it, as opposed to ourselves, or something or someone else.
Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26, ESV
Paul twice tells his shipmates here not to be discouraged even though they’d continue to have to fight for their lives, because he knew that the Lord was with them and with the realization of his presence in the midst of the storm comes renewed confidence and courage.
III. We need to recognize God’s _______________ in the storm
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b, ESV
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10, ESV
No matter how severe the storm, as one of God’s own you never go into it alone.
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. Acts 27:27-29, ESV
The decreasing depth of the water showed that they were indeed approaching land. They were actually about 3 miles from the entrance of what is today appropriately called St. Paul’s Bay on the island of Malta, but they didn’t know that at the time, and they were praying for daybreak so that they could see where they were.
And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. Acts 27:30-32, ESV
IV. We need to remain faithful to God’s _______________ throughout the storm
Even though the sailors had heard from Paul concerning God’s promise of their ultimate safety, they decided it was time to take things into their own hands. Likewise, instead of relying on God’s promises, we often revert to our own strategies in an effort to bring relief from the storms we face.
“Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. Acts 27:33-44, ESV
That in the midst of that mayhem every one of the passengers aboard that ship would survive is incredible. God’s power and providence had triumphed, and his glory had been displayed.