"Fly High" Acts Pt. 26 Series

Fly High – Acts pt. 26

Opening Illustration on the lighter side of life: See video clip from AHA.COM what not to do when you get stuck in the snow!

Thesis: Paul’s journey reveals how to sink a ship (a life, a family, a ministry) in three easy ways. Don’t listen to sound advice, allow discontentment to take root in your life, and think that you are exempt from the forces of nature.

Scripture Text: Acts 27:1-26

A STORM AT SEA

1As soon as arrangements were complete for our sailing to Italy, Paul and a few other prisoners were placed under the supervision of a centurion named Julius, a member of an elite guard. 2We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was bound for Ephesus and ports west. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, went with us.

3The next day we put in at Sidon. Julius treated Paul most decently—let him get off the ship and enjoy the hospitality of his friends there.

4Out to sea again, we sailed north under the protection of the northeast shore of Cyprus because winds out of the west were against us, 5and then along the coast westward to the port of Myra. 6There the centurion found an Egyptian ship headed for Italy and transferred us on board. 7We ran into bad weather and found it impossible to stay on course. After much difficulty, we finally made it to the southern coast of the island of Crete 8and docked at Good Harbor (appropriate name!).

9By this time we had lost a lot of time. We had passed the autumn equinox, so it would be stormy weather from now on through the winter, too dangerous for sailing. Paul warned, 10“I see only disaster ahead for cargo and ship—to say nothing of our lives!—if we put out to sea now.”

12But it was not the best harbor for staying the winter. Phoenix, a few miles further on, was more suitable. 11The centurion set Paul’s warning aside and let the ship captain and the ship owner talk him into trying for the next harbor.

13When a gentle southerly breeze came up, they weighed anchor, thinking it would be smooth sailing. 14But they were no sooner out to sea than a gale-force wind, the infamous nor’easter, struck. 15They lost all control of the ship. It was a cork in the storm.

16We came under the lee of the small island named Clauda, and managed to get a lifeboat ready and reef the sails. 17But rocky shoals prevented us from getting close. We only managed to avoid them by throwing out drift anchors.

18Next day, out on the high seas again and badly damaged now by the storm, we dumped the cargo overboard. 19The third day the sailors lightened the ship further by throwing off all the tackle and provisions. 20It had been many days since we had seen either sun or stars. Wind and waves were battering us unmercifully, and we lost all hope of rescue.

21With our appetite for both food and life long gone, Paul took his place in our midst and said, “Friends, you really should have listened to me back in Crete. We could have avoided all this trouble and trial. 22But there’s no need to dwell on that now. From now on, things are looking up! I can assure you that there’ll not be a single drowning among us, although I can’t say as much for the ship—the ship itself is doomed.

23“Last night God’s angel stood at my side, an angel of this God I serve, 24saying to me, ‘Don’t give up, Paul. You’re going to stand before Caesar yet—and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it.’ 25So, dear friends, take heart. I believe God will do exactly what he told me. 26But we’re going to shipwreck on some island or other.”

Introduction:

A few years back the movie the Titanic came out. It was a box office smash. People seemed once again fascinated by this tragedy at sea. About 1,500 people lost their lives in this ship wreck tragedy. This great ship was said by the media to be:

“Unsinkable” – even God himself could not sink her said one paper of the day!

The Titanic was called the ship of dreams.

The Titanic was considered to be the best technological ship in the world.

She boasted of being the fastest passenger liner in the sea.

So how did she sink?

An arrogant leadership ran her full steam 20.5 knots (24 miles per hour) through an ice burg filled sea thinking that nothing could hurt her. They ignored warnings from other ships and continued at full speed. They wanted to break a record for crossing the ocean in a large luxurious ship for her owners the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company – popularly known as the "White Star" line. Her full name (RMS) Titanic means Royal Mail Ship Titanic. She not only carried passengers but she also carried mail for the states and for Great Britain. They were racing at a frantic speed to show the world how quick and luxurious she was. She hit an ice berg and 1,500 people lost their lives. If you study why this ship sank 3 reasons surface quickly from the Movie and from History’s investigation: