The story we are looking at today shows a godly man, a man chosen and used by God as an apostle, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, yet who suffers incarceration, deprivation, a nightmarish couple of weeks at sea in the midst of a major nor’easter, and ultimately ends up being shipwrecked and having to swim for land. It’s an amazing account of hardship, but I hope that you will see why the Holy Spirit gives us this story in this passage. I hope to show you that God allows His people to go through storms and even shipwrecks in order to use them for His glory.

Now this principle is contrary to practically everything you will hear today on Christian radio, or on so called Christian television, or from most pulpits in the modern evangelical church which seem to try to seduce people to the gospel by means of the enticement of a better life. And I hope you will not just discard this message as another one of Roy’s rants about how dire everything is. But I hope you will see that this is a Biblical principle that is illustrated over and over again in the Bible. It is not something that only happened in Biblical times, but it is something that happens in our lives as well. So it’s important that we understand that in the last days difficult times will come. I hope you will consider 2Tim. 3:12 which says, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Or as Paul said in Acts 14:22, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

The point being, that you should not expect that the Christian faith guarantees you a life of comfort and ease and pleasure. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation, but take courage, for I have overcome the world.” Jesus said in Matthew 5 that God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. So there are going to be storms in your life. They are unavoidable. And sometimes those storms end up causing shipwrecks. Many times they are beyond our ability to avoid either. But what is important is to know that God is with us in the storm, even in the shipwreck, and He will preserve our soul and use it for His glory if we trust in Him.

Now let’s consider something else that’s important to realize right at the beginning of the story, and that is God’s timing. Paul was told by the Lord way back in chapter 23 vs.11, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.” But here is Paul over two years later and he still hasn’t gotten to Rome. He has spent the last two years languishing in prison. A fairly nice prison by most standards of that day, but still a prison nonetheless. Now he’s finally on a ship sailing to Rome, still under guard, and they get caught in this massive storm at sea, and eventually shipwrecked on an island.

And what I think we can take from that is the principle of God’s timing. The Lord said in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” God has His own time table. And if we are not careful in considering his timing, we can easily out run God and end up finding ourselves in a mess.

Now I emphasize that because many times Christians come to a point in their life where they want to know God’s will. They may seek God’s counsel in regards to a decision that they are about to make. They want to know God’s will, if He is with them or not, or will bless them or not. And I want to emphasize that we have to be careful about judging things based on human timetables and what seems rational or natural to us. God has His own timing and purposes. It doesn’t mean we don’t plan or strategize, but we should not mistake the seeming silence of God as an indication of a green light. Or neither should we suppose that God is not working simply because we don’t see immediate results. What we have to depend upon is the word of the Lord. In Paul’s case, 2 ½ years later he was still trusting in the word of the Lord that promised he would go to Rome even though it had not come to pass yet.

Remember that Abraham was 75 years old when God promised to raise up a son from him which would result in a great nation coming from his loins, but he was 100 years old when Isaac was born. And in similar fashion, Joseph was 17 when he was taken captive, but 30 when he was elevated to second in command over Egypt.   Thus Hebrews 6 tells us to imitate those patriarchs who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Now if we are going to go through these trials in such as way as to inherit the promises, and avoid the peril, then we must be careful to conduct ourselves according to the will of God, which is admittedly difficult to do as we just described. It’s difficult because God’s will is not always determined according to human intellect or the way we would naturally suppose things to be. So we are given this passage I believe to help establish some principles to guide us as we go through the storms and even shipwrecks of life.

First note that Festus decides that Paul is to go to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, even though he admits that Paul has done no crime. And so he determines that he will go by ship, and puts a Roman centurion in charge of his transport named Julius. The centurion would have had 100 soldiers under his command. And the text tells us that there were other prisoners on the ship as well as the author Luke and Aristarchus who accompanied Paul, so all told there were 276 people on board the ship.

God’s providence allowed for Paul’s doctor as well as his friend, Aristarchus, to travel with him. Though Paul was a prisoner, he had been given special consideration for the last couple of years, and it would seem that continued even aboard the ship. The centurion Julius shows Paul kindness, even allowing him to visit other Christians in Sidon. But notice vs. 3 says he allowed him to receive care. It’s not unlikely that Paul was ill during this time. That would account for Luke and Aristarchus traveling with him. We don’t know what illness Paul had for sure, but we do know that the Galatians were willing to give Paul their very own eyes if possible. So most commentators believe that because of that passage as well as others that Paul had a serious illness in his eyes that limited his vision.

And that is a testament to God’s provision and care for our needs. Though Paul asked three times for God to remove this thorn in his flesh, yet God did not heal Paul, but He did give him a doctor and a companion to help him. 1 Cor. 10:13 promises that “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” I cannot overemphasize the fact that God a human touch to accomplish a divine purpose. God desires to use us to comfort and strengthen and minister to one another.

Now at Sidon they were put on another ship and this is when they start running into trouble.   They already had contrary winds up to this point, but now the wind was really against them. So much so that they finally find themselves forced to land at a port called Fair Havens. Now it’s interesting to note this, because we have already determined that it was God’s will that Paul go to Rome, and yet at every step of the way he is being delayed, the wind was contrary, and they had difficult going.

We have difficulty accepting such circumstances as God’s will, don’t we? I have had similar experiences at 7:30 in the morning with contrary winds and bad weather just before church starts. And I have asked myself many times what God’s will could possibly be in such a case. There have even been times when we had to cancel services because of a storm. I have to admit that at such times I have a hard time accepting that it is God’s will. I tend to think in such times that Satan has won the day and we lost. And yet we know that is not the case in Paul’s situation, even though it goes from bad to worse. Just because it is God’s will does not mean that there will not be opposition or even delay. That’s why we are told to persevere, to endure under trials. Opposition is often more of an indicator of God’s will than fair winds, as we will see in a moment.

By the time they made port and waited for the wind to change it had become an unfavorable season for ship travel. It was after the feast of atonement, sometime in mid October, and in that region the winter was considered a very dangerous time for sea travel. And so Paul, who I think was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, advises the centurion and the captain that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to continue on. Paul said, ““Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

But the centurion, though he favors Paul with some kindness, doesn’t think that Paul knows as much about seafaring as the captain does, and so he disregards Paul’s advice. I get that from time to time myself. I sometimes offer advice to someone in my church about a career choice, or marriage counseling, or financial advice. And many times I think they feel that I don’t really know much about such things so they disregard my advice. They may concede that might be able to teach the Bible, but for practical advice they will go to a trained counselor or advisor and listen to them. I don’t think Paul claimed to be a sea captain, but I do think that he had the immeasurable advantage of the input of the Holy Spirit. And in like manner, I may not be a trained counselor or advisor, but I do have access to the truth of the Holy Spirit and can relate godly principles set forth by Him in the word of God. The Bible is practical advice. It is our guide for daily life. It is sufficient.

Now notice that they disregard Paul’s advice not necessarily because it isn’t sound, but because it’s contrary to their carnal desires. They want to go to a more interesting, more comfortable winter quarters.   And this is the beginning of their trouble and of ours as well: when we turn away from godly counsel in search of counsel which conforms to our desires. Paul would later warn Timothy about people’s tendency to do that in 2Tim. 4:3-5 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

But unfortunately, they failed to follow Paul’s advice. And instead, when a south wind sprung up, thinking that this signaled fair weather and was a good omen, they set sail once again. And of course, Paul is taken on board. The Bible says no man is an island. Your actions affect others. Your decisions about where you will work or live or what you might do affect others. And God will hold you accountable for the way in which your actions affected others. As parents, your leadership affects your children. Our thinking today is too much influenced by pop culture, like the song by the Kinks, which says, “It’s your life, And you can do what you want, Do what you like, But please don’t keep-a me waiting, Please don’t keep-a me waiting, ‘Cause I’m so tired, Tired of waiting, Tired of waiting for you.” So you have on the one hand the declaration that you can do whatever you want to with your life, but on the other hand another declaration of the impatience of waiting. In other words, we want what we want, and we want it now.

So be aware that when you are pursuing something like a job or where to live, or marriage, that we don’t read favorable circumstances as an indication of God’s will. As silly as it sounds, I know of several times when people interpreted a certain cloud formation as a sign from God, or a song they heard on the radio, or the sun came out from behind the clouds, and off they go to the races to do what they had already purposed in their mind to do, and were just looking for an excuse to do it. For example; getting approved for that loan may not be an indication of God’s will.

How do we avoid such mistakes? Simple; seek God’s word and then trust it. Paul’s word was as a prophet of God. And the centurion probably knew by experience that Paul’s word could be trusted as he had been with him in Caesarea for two years. But as Christians we are told we should lean not on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct our paths.

Well, the fair south wind that signaled good weather for the ship didn’t last long, and a nor’easter sprang up which made making any headway practically impossible. I don’t know how many of you came down to the beach during the recent nor’easter we had a few weeks ago. But if you did you realized the tremendous power of those storms. They are every bit as dangerous as a hurricane, probably even more so in some cases because people aren’t expecting as much destruction as they can create. Ours lasted about 6 or 7 days if I remember correctly. The one in this story lasted 2 weeks. That is a tremendous storm, and quite a long time to be dealing with the effects of such a storm on a ship.

Notice that Luke says that they gave up trying to sail the ship into the wind and allowed the ship to be driven along by the wind. He says the same thing again in vs.17, that they let down the sea anchor after undergirding the ship with cables and let the ship be driven along. I may be stretching it a bit here, but I cannot help but see the connection to a wrong choice leading to a situation in which you are no longer in control, but the situation is controlling you. You find yourself caught up in this maelstrom of activity that is driving you. A good illustration is addiction. I think that people caught in addiction are driven by something, perhaps even demonic presence that is driving them, hurrying them to destruction, not heeding any warnings, actually unable to do anything to stop themselves. They may slow themselves down temporarily by dragging an anchor so to speak, but they are being moved inexorably to destruction.

But it may not be something as obvious as addiction to drugs or alcohol. Maybe it’s a decision you made in your career, and now you find yourself caught up in this rat race that is driving you and controlling you, and ultimately will destroy you either spiritually or physically. Or maybe it’s financial decisions which has obligated you and now controls you. We make such decisions thinking we are utilizing our prerogative for self control, self determination. And for a while we tell ourselves we have it under control. But sooner or later the situation which is not of God ends up controlling us.” Ephesians 2 tells us that Satan has designed the course of this world to control us, by getting us to indulge the desires of the mind and flesh. The course refers to a river bed that controls the swelling river, sweeping everything along in it’s path to a particular end. That is what Satan designed the things of this world to do, to sweep us along in the path of destruction.

I just heard yesterday of an acquaintance of mine that was tempted at work and then caught up in the snare of adultery, and now is suffering the destruction as the truth has become known to his family. Satan tries to convince us that we can make independent choices about our lives with impunity. But it’s a lie and a trap and a snare and often impossible to get out of once he gets you caught up in it.

Well, the storm went from bad to worse. The sun and stars could not be seen, and so the sailors lost track of exactly where they were. For two weeks it was unrelenting wind, waves and rain. Day after day, night after night it continued. One night a few years ago I was tracking a hurricane on NOAA which has buoys strategically placed along the Eastern Seaboard anywhere from 26 to 70 miles or so off shore. These buoys supply real time information regarding wind speed, wave height and so forth. And I’ll never forget seeing this one buoy reading off of Cape Hatteras late at night which was over 50 feet in height and just getting a mental picture in my mind of being out there in waves 5 stories tall in the blackness of the storm and breaking out in a cold sweat. I don’t know how big the waves were during this storm depicted in Acts, but we cannot imagine the fear and despair of being lifted up to these tremendous heights and then crashing down into the depths of the sea as they went over them, wondering every minute if they will make it over the next swell.

Well, you can imagine they couldn’t eat in those conditions. So when they had gotten to the point that they had no more hope of surviving the storm, Paul stands in their midst and addresses them. Now let’s not forget something. There were three Christians on board that ship as well. The centurion and the captain may have brought this on themselves by not heeding Paul’s advice, but God allowed Paul, Luke and Aristarchus to go through this storm with them. And even Paul I think had been terrified by this storm. Acts 27:21-26 Paul said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. “Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. “For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ “Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. “But we must run aground on a certain island.”

Notice the words, “God has granted you…” That shows us that Paul had been praying. He may have been frightened, but he answered that fear with prayer. And God responded to his prayer. And when the angel of God spoke to Paul, he reminded him of God’s earlier promise to bring him before Caesar. That is where we find our comfort in the storm, ladies and gentlemen. First we know that we have God on our side. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” No matter where we are, no matter what time of night or day, we can pray to God and He hears us. I like the fact that the angel of God was able to appear before Paul in the middle of the night, on a ship in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a raging nor’easter. The captain of the ship didn’t even know where they were, but the angel of the Lord had no trouble finding Paul. The longer I live the more convinced I am that our prayers are a mighty weapon that God has given us.

And furthermore the angel had said, “God has granted you all those who sail with you.” Paul had been praying that the sailors and soldiers accompanying him would be spared as well as that his own purpose would be accomplished on this trip. God heard his prayer and granted him their lives.

This incident is given to us in order to show us the tremendous power that a man of faith exercises. I wish I could get this across to you today. I have a feeling that none of us, myself included, has any idea of the amount of power God has committed to us through the instrument of prayer. He does such mighty things if we will but ask him. Remember that James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” God is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think. One commentator said that the church is really the secret government of earth, and that it has power to affect the current events which happen around us. We sometimes feel that we are helpless, drifting through our lives, waiting to get to heaven some day. But the Scriptures never portray a Christian that way. He is intimately related to the events happening around him and through God is able to exert great control over them. This is why James also says, “The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16). So God granted this one man, because of his prayer, the lives of the two hundred seventy-five individuals who sailed with him. They were spared because Paul prayed for them. I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that. If God gave Paul 276 people, then maybe I can count on Him to give me a couple.

And of course the other principle that we should learn from this is that in life’s most difficult circumstances, we can rely on God’s promises. That is really the basis for our faith; the written promises of God. Not faith in our feelings, or faith in our wishes, or faith in the size of our faith, but faith in what God says. Let me remind you of what I spoke of last week. Faith is not just accepting intellectually certain facts or knowledge. Faith is trusting in that knowledge to the point of placing your complete weight upon them. Trusting your life to the facts of the gospel. That is faith. Paul trusted in the word of the Lord. He cast all his care upon the Lord.

Paul was exposed to the same peril as these other men, and yet God strengthened him with His word in the midst of the trial. God didn’t take him out of it. The storm was no less severe for Paul than it was for anyone else. The danger was just as evident, the waves were just as high, the darkness just as intense, the apparent hopelessness just as great. Everything was the same except that God granted to him a promise, a secret knowledge that the others did not possess. He didn’t lessen the trial but he gave an inward reassurance that enabled Paul to trust in God’s deliverance. This is the testimony of the Christian faith. It is a way for you to live and to act and react differently from those around you so as to bring glory to God.

As the story continues, it’s interesting to note that some of the sailors try to escape and Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” I think that indicates that we if we are going to be delivered in these storms then we must commit wholeheartedly to deliverance by God. In other words, we cannot be relying on human wisdom or ingenuity, and at the same time expect God to take care of us if something goes wrong. That is not how God works. We are told to “cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us.” To trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Some of the men wanted to go this way, and some that way, but no, Paul said, unless you all commit to the Lord’s way, you cannot be saved.

It reminds me of a popular song a few years back which had a line which said, “I will do down with this ship, I won’t raise my hands in surrender. There will be no white flag upon my door…” James said in James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” If God said it, then we need to commit to it, to obey it, and come what may, stay with it. Go down with the ship if necessary believing in a God who can rescue you from the depths of the sea just as surely as he rescued Moses from the sea, or Noah from the sea, or even Jonah from the depths. I will go down with this ship. I won’t surrender my faith to human reason. The worst that can happen to me is that God will have to raise me from the dead.

Well, they do go down with the ship. On the fourteenth day, Paul encourages them to eat something so that they will regain some strength for what is coming. He took bread and broke it and gave thanks to God. There are some who see in that indications of Paul leading the ship in communion but I think it’s simply a picture here of salvation. Paul’s message from God is the basis for their faith. They have to believe Paul and totally commit and trust in his word. And through God’s word Paul promises that not a hair of their head will perish. Paul offering up thanks to God and breaking the bread is a picture of salvation. Jesus is the bread of life that was broken for us, offered up for us, that we might receive eternal life. And in that promise we have hope. So these men were given hope by the faith that Paul proclaimed in God.

And in yet another metaphor of salvation, they throw all the cargo overboard. They throw out their means of making a profit. Everything is committed at that point. They have abandoned all tackle, all extra weight, and even the cargo which was their sole means of making a living. You know, God wants us to surrender everything to him, not only at salvation, but everyday, in every circumstance choose to trust God rather than rely on human resources.

I’ve was looking at the original 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous the other day. And number 3 is “I will make a decision to turn my will and life over to the care of God.” That’s what it AA requires as part of it’s 12 steps to sobriety. Number one is to admit that you are powerless, out of control. Number 2 is to believe that only God can deliver you. And then 3, commit your life and will to the care of God. Total commitment. Full surrender. There was an attractive young mother who attended our Christmas party a couple of years ago who had two beautiful little girls there all dressed up in little dresses. I didn’t really know her at that point, but remember thinking how nice they looked. But I found out later this woman was a heroin addict, and a month or so after our party she abandoned her children to go after the drug again. I lost track of her not long after that. But just yesterday I saw a post she had put on facebook that a friend of mine commented on. And all she wrote was just three words in all caps; GOD I SURRENDER.   Listen, that’s what God requires for everyone, not just addicts. He wants you to surrender everything and trust Him.

Well, that’s exactly what God required in our story. The last thing these guys on board this ship had to throw overboard was themselves. They ran aground as they hit the reef outside the island and the ship began to break up. The soldiers were going to do their customary duty and kill all the prisoners because they were afraid they might escape and they would be held accountable. But the centurion by this point realizes that Paul is to be taken at his word and so he dismisses that order. So some grabbed onto planks and whatever would float, and others who could swim jumped in as well and headed for the beach and by a miracle of God all 276 persons made it safely to shore.

Listen, that is what God’s purpose is in bringing us through these storms and shipwrecks of life. To come to the point of complete dependence upon God. To cast your entire person upon the providence of God. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” And then to teach us to wait for the Lord. To be patient, to wait for him and not run ahead with our plans. Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” And Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

And finally to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, regardless of the situation we find ourselves in believing that He will answer us and hear us. Phil. 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I have been in many storms and even a few shipwrecks in my life. And I can vouch for the fact that your trust in God will not be ill founded. Cast yourself on the mercy of God and He will sustain you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. And in that confidence brought about by being in the will of God we are able to pray effectively for one another, pray for our children, pray for the unsaved, and have hope in the promise that God will give us souls, that not one hair of their head will perish. Trust in the Lord, commit your way to Him, for this is the path not only to salvation, but our sanctification, and one day our glorification. So that we might sing the words of this old hymn,

Through many dangers, toils and snares,

we have already come;

‘Tis grace hath brought us safe thus far,

and grace will lead us home.