Acts 27: In the Midst of the Storm, Seek to Help Others

 

Scripture: Acts 27:34 “I am confident that we will all make it safely to land.”

 

Title: In the Midst of the Storm, Seek to Help Others

 

Acts 27:1 Julius, a centurion who was a part of the Imperial Regiment, escorted Paul and other prisoners onto a ship bound for Italy.

2 The ship was from Adramyttium and was planning to stop at ports along the southern coast of Asia. Some of us went along on the trip including Aristarchus, who was from Thessalonica in Macedonia. 3 We landed in Sidon the following day and Julius allowed Paul to visit some friends who had additional provisions for him. 4 Our next leg of the trip took us past Cyprus. 5 We landed at Myra in Lycia, after we crossed the open sea. 6 It was there we found a ship from Alexandria heading for Italy and Julius took us all on board. 7 The trip was slow because of the winds, and many days later we arrived off the coast near Cnidus. While we wanted to go towards Italy, we altered the course to the southwest and sailed below Crete, past the city of Salmone. 8 After some time we arrived at Fair Havens near Lasea. 9 Sailing was now becoming difficult because of the time of the year, after the days of the Fast. Paul spoke a warning to the captain and the centurion, 10 "I see a great loss to both the ship and the cargo, possibly our lives if we choose to make this journey." 11 But his words were not welcomed, and they chose instead to follow the lead of the owner and the captain. 12 Fair Havens was not a safe place to spend the winter so the powers to be chose to attempt a sail to the harbor of Phoenix, which faced to the northwest and southwest. 13 Soon a breeze came up and they captain thought they should set sail, moving along the south shore of Crete. 14 It did not take long for the "northeaster" to sweep over the land and catch the ship in what felt like a hurricane. 15 The storm was so strong the captain turned downwind and let the storm drive us. 16 We quickly passed the small island of Cauda, where we had some trouble securing the lifeboat. 17 Once it was on board the ship, the men strung ropes under the belly of the ship to hold it together.  They feared the ship might run aground on some sandbars off of Syrtis, so they set the sea anchor to slow the speed of the ship as they ran downwind. 18 The next day the ship was being violently pushed by the wind and the men started throwing the cargo over the sides of the boat to remove the excess weight. 19 Three days later they needed to throw the ship's tackle overboard as well. 20 Then we went through a period when we could not tell if it was day of night, we think that lasted for many more days. Most on the ship were giving up hope of our living through this ordeal.

21 Most were avoiding eating and Paul finally encouraged us all to eat. He said, "I did warn you back in Crete, had you listened you would have avoided this great loss. 22 "But I want to encourage you and let you know that no one will lose their life on this trip. Only the ship will be destroyed. 23 I received a vision from the God I serve; an angel came to me 24 and said, 'Paul, do not fear. You will get to witness to Caesar and God will spare the lives of all who are traveling with you.' 25 So, take courage. I believe God will do what He has shown me. 26 We will be shipwrecked on an island for a while."

27 We were somewhere in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, after two weeks, and the sailors expected we were near land. 28 They took soundings and realized the water was getting shallower. 29 They were afraid we would crash into some rocks so they let out four anchors in the stern and prayed we would make it until morning. 30 The sailors let out the lifeboat, wanting to escape, but at the same time pretending to put out more anchors. 31 Paul spoke to the centurion, "You will not be saved unless the sailors stay with the ship." 32 That convinced the soldiers to cut the lifeboat loose and it fell into the sea. 33 Paul spoke to everyone just before sunrise, "We have been through a lot of suspense over the past fourteen days and most of us have not eaten at all. 34 "Today we must eat in order to make it through. I am confident that we will all make it safely to land." 35 Having said this, he reached out for some bread, publicly gave thanks to God, and began to eat. 36 Others began eating as well. 37 There was a total of 276 people on board the ship. 38 Once everyone had eaten, they threw all of the grain into the sea to make the ship lighter. 39 In the morning, they saw an island before them with a wide sandy beach and headed that direction, expecting to jamb the ship into the shore. 40 They cut loose the anchors, freed up the rudders, and hoisted the foresail. The wind was blowing them directly towards the beach. 41 To their surprise they ran aground on a sandbar and could not go further. The ship was being broken apart by the surf. 42 Fearing the prisoners might escape, the soldiers planned to kill them. 43 However, the centurion stopped the soldiers from their plans desiring to spare Paul's life. He ordered that everyone who was able, to jump into the water and swim to shore. 44 He instructed the others to find pieces of the broken ship to use for support as they made the journey. Everyone finally reached the shore and were safe.

 

This is a story about Paul's endurance or how he makes it through the tough times.

 

Paul is on his way to Rome as a prisoner. He has been in prison in Caesarea for over two years awaiting a ruling on the charges trumped up by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Now he is on his way to Rome under the care of the Roman government.

 

He does have the freedom to get off the ship when it comes into port so he can visit with some of the followers of Jesus in each town. His guard is a centurion in the Roman army.

 

The weather is becoming unfavorable and traveling by ship is a slow process compared to how we travel today. At one port Paul warns the captain and his guard that they will be in grave danger if they set out to sea again. Not that they have any desire to listen to Paul, but he has to live with their choices even knowing that difficulty is coming their way.

 

Paul knew he was right the longer the trip went on. Which makes any suffering more difficult when you think you could have avoided the hassle, but some stubborn people were the ones with the decision-making power.

 

The ship ended up in the middle of a great storm that seemed at times like a hurricane and lasted more than two weeks. During the trip the crew threw everything they could overboard to lighten the load. They even threw out the ship's tackle knowing that they could not steer or sail the ship once they had done that.

 

Everyone on the trip was giving up hope and it became Paul's job to bring them courage as he found hope in God. In this case, he saw a vision that God would spare everyone. He began to tell everyone about the vision and what God had said. Then he added a comment of faith, "I believe He will do what He has said." That is the reassurance that others need to know, that we believe what God says. 

 

On the night before they ship was destroyed, Paul spoke to everyone just before sunrise, "We have been through a lot of suspense over the past fourteen days and most of us have not eaten at all. Today we must eat in order to make it through. I am confident that we will all make it safely to land." Having said this, he reached out for some bread, publicly gave thanks to God, and began to eat. Others began eating as well.

 

Another word for endurance is perseverance. Having the strength to get to the other side.

 

Some of the storms of this life are caused by nature. We know too well about fire and earthquakes here in California. Other storms are caused by people's bad and evil choices. Many storms last a long time and many times in the midst of the storm God seems far away.

 

As in the case of the people on the ship with Paul, fear sets in, and they chose to eat nothing at all. In these times, we make irrational choices, like the soldiers wanting to kill the prisoners or the sailors thinking only of themselves and wanting to escape the ship and let the others die.

 

For Paul, even though he has the encouragement from God, things don't just get better. They try to run the ship into a beach and instead it gets stuck in a sandbar and begins to break apart. They have literally lost everything, except their life.

 

Where is God in the midst of all of this? Maybe in a lone voice, one we might not want to listen to. Paul speaks words of encouragement, "take eat." We desire God to come and help us, not just walk through the storm with us.

 

I am sure Paul questioned many times in the 14 days of storm. He was hoping God would help. But I am sure, like us, he wanted God to stop the storm, to get the ship back on track and help everyone avoid the suffering. That was not God's plan.

 

The people on the ship, for some reason, had a better chance of believing if they went through the experience than if it all just went away.

 

There is a familiar phrase in Hallmark movies where the parent says to the child, "I just want you to be happy." What the parent means is "If you would follow my advice, you would be better off."

 

What we often want from God is to restore us to a quiet happy life. On the coastal route of California, Highway One, is the Camaldolese Monastery. I have visited there a number of times. A friend of mine who had a number of issues with anxiety was constantly trying to find peace. He went to the monastery and was talking with one of the brothers. The brother said to him, "If you cannot find peace at home, you won't find it here. If you can find it at home, you will enhance it here."

 

Paul still listened for the voice of God in the midst of the storm.

 

Do you remember the story of Elijah in the cave? He had just witnessed the power of God against the priests of Baal. He had given the priests the opportunity to prove the power of their God. They built an altar of wood and prepped the fire and called upon Baal to bring fire down and consume the sacrifice. Baal did not show up. Then Elijah poured water on the wood and prayed asking God to demonstrate His power. God brought a spark from the sky and consumed the sacrifice in flames.

 

Ahab the king and his wife Jezebel put out a vendetta on Elijah and he ran for forty days to the cave. He gives up, tells God he is through being a prophet and sits in the darkness and sulks. "Woe is me."

 

God speaks to him, "What are you doing here?" Elijah tried to explain his dilemma but to no avail. God says, "Go outside the cave and stand in the presence of the LORD." There he experienced a mighty wind, an earthquake, and fire. But God did not speak to him.

 

Then Elijah heard God speak to him in a still small voice, "Get back out there, there is work to be done."

 

It is okay to be afraid. Sometimes we run in fear. We often find our own version of the "cave." We want to give up, it feels good to think all is lost and we can just walk away from our troubles. But we cannot. They will go with us wherever we go.

 

However, God is not dead. He has not given up on us. He has not moved. He is still with us. If we will listen, behind the storm, He has work for us to do.

 

The message is often the same, "Take care of our neighbors, even when we have a need. Speak out the good news, to us and to them. God is alive and well. Be the voice of warning when people seem to go astray. Take up the voice of encouragement when others need hope. 

 

We may not always hear God clearly. We may not always get it right. But we are called to not give up. To endure until the end of time.

 

Isaiah said, "Give hope to those without strength, and come along side those who are weak.  When others are anxious, speak to them, "Do not be afraid, be hopeful, God is on our side, He will bring His vengeance in His time, and He will bring us to safety." (Isaiah 35:3-4 EBV)

 

Jude wrote these words of courage, "Stand strong on your mature faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, maintain your awareness of God's love, look forward to His coming mercy of eternal life in our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Spread His mercy to others, especially those who doubt. Snatch others out of the fire of sin they live in being cautious not to be caught up in the pollution of their lives. (Jude 20-23 EBV)

 

If we will listen, behind the storm, He has work for us to do. He did not expect our lives to be easy, but He promises to always be with us. He promised to bless us with His presence, His mercy, and His love.

 

Our calling is to, "Take care of our neighbors, speak His good news, lovingly be the voice of warning when people seem to go astray, and be the voice of encouragement when others need hope., 

 

We may not always hear God clearly

We may not always get it right

But we are called to never give up,

to endure to the end with faith.

 

I bless you in the name of Jesus with endurance and faith.

 

Edd Breeden