Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III
God In The Midst of the Storm
Acts 27:1-44
Preliminaries
I want to begin by expressing my appreciation to my god friend, brother D.J. Ceasar, and those who have assisted him in preparing these services today, and for this invitation to share with you this morning and this afternoon. The renewed fellowship, in person, between his family and me, have been a blessing to my life. The subject that I would like to share with you this morning, is “God in the Midst of the Storm.”
Introduction
A wreck of any kind is a terrifying experience, whether it be a train derailment, an automobile collision, or the crash of an airplane. But probably the most terrifying of all is a shipwreck, because of the prolonged agony that the passengers and crew endure. Acts 27 is a narrative of one of the most famous shipwrecks in history — that of the Apostle Paul on his way to Rome. It is also one of the best-told, most-detailed shipwreck accounts in ancient history — and certainly the most profitable for this lesson, on this day.
Let me share with you the background of this text.
Having appealed to Caesar, Paul was put in the custody of a Roman centurion named Julius and placed on an Adramyttian ship destined for Italy — the focus of his ministry dreams. Being a Roman citizen and an obvious gentleman, Paul was allowed to take along his companions Dr. Luke and Aristarchus, a devoted Christian brother from Thessalonica. Paul was treated so well that the next day, when they arrived at Sidon, he was allowed to disembark and visit his friends there. So far, so good. But from this point on the voyage rapidly deteriorated.
After leaving Sidon they had to sail up and around Cyprus, rather than straight toward Italy in the west, because the winds were contrary. Finally landing in Asia Minor, the centurion transferred Paul and the other prisoners onto a large Egyptian grain ship. The typical grain freighter was 140 feet long and thirty-six feet wide and bore a thirty-three-foot draught. It was a sturdy ship, but in high seas it had some definite disadvantages. First of all, it had no rudder like a modern ship but was steered by two great paddles extending from the stern. Secondly, it had only one mast on which was a great square sail. The most significant drawback, however, was that it could not sail into the wind.
Departing Myra in the freighter, they reached nearby Cnidus only with great difficulty. Then they were forced to sail south under the shelter of Crete so that with further difficulty they reached Crete’s small southern port of Fair Havens.
Here, according to Acts 27:9-10, Paul, an experienced traveler, warned the centurion that they should stay in Fair Havens because it was after Passover (mid-October) and everyone knew it was dangerous to make that voyage at that time of year. However, because Fair Havens was a rather small and boring port, I mean, after all, these were sailors, and they were looking for some action, there was not a lot of women, and not a lot of wine in Fair Havens, so really, Fair Havens was not the desired place to be…and nobody wanted to be stuck there for the winter; they began to weigh the options of their next move. Our text reveals that an enticing, south wind began to blow, influencing the captain so that he decided to take a chance and set sail for the much nicer and more entertainment-oriented port of Phoenix, Phoenix was jumpin’…and it was only about forty miles away.
And so they’re off! However, once they were underway, it seemed as if all hell broke loose! Any of ya’ll been there before? The south wind blows, and things look fine, only for you to get in it, and find it wasn’t as good as you thought? According to Acts 27:14 (nasb), the sailors had a name for this kind of storm — "Euraquilo." From their point of view, Euroclydon, the terror of seamen, had been watching and waiting from the top of Mount Ida (the fabled abode of Zeus) to drive them to destruction. Now the battle was on! They were in the grips of a deadly "northeaster" (niv) that was driving them across the length of the Mediterranean. Listen as Acts 27:13-20 (NIV) describes the terror:
Acts 27:13-19 (NIV) 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
Those of us who have been made sick by a storm while on water can relate to this picture of abysmal misery.
The dangers faced by the 276 crewmen and passengers worsened rapidly. So with great difficulty they secured the dinghy, then proceeded to pass great ropes around the hull and winch them tight in an effort to tie the ship together. Next they threw over the cargo and cut away the tangled gear that littered the deck. Day after day for fourteen days, with no light of sun by day and no stars by night, they wallowed in the deep until finally they gave up all hope of being saved. They occupied a ghost ship that again and again climbed toward the unseen heavens, then dove back to the deadly, dark depths.
Two years earlier (Acts 23:11) Christ had appeared in Paul’s cell in Caesarea and told him to take courage, for he would bear witness for the Savior in Rome. This was an unconditional promise. Paul would go to Rome — no doubt about it. However, God did not promise smooth sailing along the way. I have come to know, as I am sure many of you have experienced, that as we serve Christ, there will be storms, some self-inflicted, some divinely-inflicted, but nevertheless, storms! Hardships, high seas, breakdowns — but through it all, if you are His child, you can find peace, assurance, fruitfulness, in the sustaining presence of God! You see, just like Paul, God has made us an unconditional promise! In Hebrews 13:5 God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you!” That’s God’s promise to us!
-That’s not your Momma’s promise!
-That’s not your Daddy’s promise!
-That’s not your friend’s promise!
-That’s not your preacher’s promise!
-That’s not even the brotherhood’s promise!
So many times those that you love and those that you respect and those that you think you can count on will show you that these relationships are conditional relationships! I love you because of! I support you because of! But praise God, His presence, His love, His embrace, is with you in spite of! He doesn’t love you because of who you are….He loves you because of who He is!
We read in the fourteenth chapter of Matthew that Christ came walking to his disciples on the stormy Sea of Galilee when their ship was about to sink. They were in danger precisely because they had followed the orders of Jesus — he had told them to go out onto the lake, and they obeyed. Those who claim that all who follow Christ will always have smooth sailing are misunderstanding and misrepresenting the Word of God. F. B. Meyer wrote: "If I am told that I am to take a journey that is a dangerous trip, every jolt along the way will remind me that I am on the right road." Christ warned his disciples they would face trials, but he also assured them he would be with them. The record of Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27 is intriguing history, but it is also a metaphor of what all Christians experience in their voyage through life.
Paul must have had to shout above the spray of the howling storm: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed" (Acts 27:21-22). Huge waves were assaulting the ship, but Paul’s soul was as calm as a windless pond. Why? He was anchored in a way the rest knew nothing about. Every Christian can see God in the midst of life’s storms if he or she uses the proper anchors.
I. YOU CAN HAVE COURAGE IN LIFE’S STORMS THROUGH THE ANCHOR OF GOD’S PRESENCE
In the opening sentence of Acts 27:23 Paul continued, "Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me." On the deck of a sinking ship in a raging storm, Paul was anchored in God’s presence, an ongoing reality for him. This was not the first time the apostle experienced this assurance. In Corinth Christ came to him in a vision, as Acts 18:9-10 records: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." In Caesarea Christ actually stood with the apostle in the flesh (Acts 23:11): "The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ’Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’" Later in Rome, according to 2 Tim. 4:16-17, Christ again stood with him.
There, west of Crete, with mountains of ocean on all sides, if God had opened their eyes they would have seen supernatural beings gliding on the deck. One songwriter wrote…"So to faith’s enlightened sight . . . All the mountains flamed with light!"
How do we become aware of God’s presence? Rarely through an audible voice, but rather through the still, gentle assurance of the Holy Spirit and through God’s holy Word. Remaining alert to His presence with us in the midst of the storms is a key to spiritual health and courage. When we are anchored to God’s presence, we will display amazing courage in the worst storms. And just as important, when we are thus anchored, we can sustain others, just as Paul did. There was a time when I was going through some dark days, some of the darkest I have ever known in the ministry. I felt alone. I could not sense the presence or help of God. As I was sharing this late one night with my wife, her life-giving words to me were, "Baby, Hold on to my faith. I have enough faith for both of us." God’s presence through her was an anchor to my soul.
II. COURAGE IN LIFE’S STORMS THROUGH THE ANCHOR OF GOD’S OWNERSHIP
Paul mastered the storm because he knew he belonged to God: "Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me" (Acts 27:23). He saw himself as God’s property!
How do we belong to God? Like a bride belongs to the bridegroom. The Song of Songs says, "My lover is mine and I am his" (Song 2:16). In fact, the Bible often uses the intimacies between husband and wife to illustrate our union with the Lord. In Ephesians 5, Paul’s description of the marriage relationship, he concludes by saying, "This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church."
We belong to him in the most exalted and personal way — like sheep to a shepherd. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father" (John 10:14-15a).
We also belong to him like a child belongs to his father. I have two sons, Brandon and Christian….Paul was his Father’s possession, and that truth so permeated his inner being that he described God as "the God whose I am."
We belong to God because he bought us. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price." Paul traced God’s possession of him not to the fact that God is Creator, but to the one transcendent act of divine love in which Christ gave his life to purchase us for himself.
God’s ownership enabled Paul to stand tall in the deadly storm.
III. COURAGE IN LIFE’S STORMS THROUGH THE ANCHOR OF SERVICE FOR GOD
Paul had courage because he was anchored in the fact that he was on business for God — "the God whose I am and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). He knew nothing could harm him unless God allowed it.
In another storm on the same sea centuries earlier, Jonah had no such anchor. He refused to serve God. In contrast to Paul’s witness to his Gentile associates, Jonah was reproved by the ship’s crew. All those who are Christ’s, who consciously serve him as best they can, experience sustaining assurance. This is one of God’s gracious gifts to the committed, and Paul knew it to the fullest.
IV. COURAGE IN LIFE’S STORMS THROUGH THE ANCHOR OF TRUST IN GOD
The apostle told the others on the endangered ship, "[God’s angel] said, ’Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me" (Acts 27:24-25). The reason Paul displayed such courage was that he believed God! If our hearts bear the anchors of the Lord’s presence, ownership, and service, we will be able to stand tall in any storm.
Truly trusting and resting in God’s omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence will enable us to be men of courage and to shout words of encouragement above the storm. ……."For we know that all things work together for good."
In an impossible situation Paul said, "So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me." He was anchored to Christ by faith, and that made all the difference in the world. The remaining story of the shipwreck reveals how Paul’s example brought courage to the others.
After Paul’s encouragement, before God saved them all from the sinking ship, things got even worse. As the darkness continued, their sounding lines revealed that the ship was nearing shore and certain death! In a final effort the sailors cast off four anchors from the stern, and they held! The men desperately prayed for daybreak. Some of the sailors tried to escape in the ship’s lifeboat under the pretense of laying more anchors, but Paul warned the centurion that unless all the men remained on the ship to help navigate a landing, all would be lost. The boat was cast away in obedience to the apostle and the God he served. Paul then encouraged them all to eat. They did, and their spirits picked up. Acts 27:37-44 (NIV) record their salvation by shipwreck:
37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea. 39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. 42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.
If this was a Gospel Meeting, I’d play up the part of the text that says the folk needed to stay in the ship, the safety was staying in the ship, when life gets rough, when the seas get tough, when the wind blows, stay in the ship…but this ain’t no gospel meeting, and I’ve got to close this thing down, but I see one more thing that “I must needs amplify” and that’s verse number 44…where the text indicates that some swam to shore, others made it on planks and pieces of the ship…
In this life everyone of us is going to go through a storm. Statistics would probably validate street-sense in knowing that everybody in this house tonight is either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or bless your soul, headed for a storm. But hear me well, it’s not how you come to the storm that matters, what matters is how you come through the storm! Don’t let folk marginalize you and make you feel like something’s wrong with you because you have a storm experience. The Lord is just shaping you and making you and molding you and equipping you, He’s gracing you for an even greater ministry and testimony. Some of us make it because we know how to swim, but just because you know how to swim does not give you the right to look down on someone else because they made it on a plank, “Help me somebody!” Just thank God you both made it through your storm! Lord knows this was just another day in the life of the Apostle Paul! What a man! And what a God! Not one soul was lost, and God’s name was wonderfully glorified!
Why are there storms and shipwrecks? God, who controls the winds and waves, could certainly have spared Paul this situation. Well, we know that whatever God allows to come our way, He loves us and will give us sufficient grace to endure and remain faithful to Him. Of course, sometimes a trial is the work of Satan. Satan will rise up a “Euroclydon” in your life to knock you off course! You’ll be fooled by a calm, south wind, not realizing that Satan has mapped out a plan to destroy you. But be encouraged…Jesus told Peter, Satan wants you, but I have prayed for you, that your faith fails not!
Your body may fail!
Your spirit may fail!
Your sense of direction and discernment may fail…
But whatever you do, keep your faith!
You might not keep your head!
You might not keep your courage!
You might not keep your cool!
You might not keep your conviction!
You might not keep your friends!
You might not keep your influence!
You might not even keep your church!
But whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you experience, For God’s sake and for your sake KEEP YOUR FAITH!
And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren…Peter’s flesh failed, but thank God his faith held strong! Go through your storm, and when you come out, strengthen somebody else!
Conclusion
The winds are howling…BUT I SEE HIM!
The waves are bustling…BUT I SEE HIM!
The ship is being rocked from side to side…BUT I SEE HIM!
I should not have been on this boat…I should have listened to sound advice!
If I had only stayed in the safe harbor…BUT I SEE HIM!
Furthermore, storms and shipwrecks can actually be for our benefit. Oswald Sanders put it this way:
When God wants to drill a man
And thrill a man,
And skill a man,
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When he yearns with all his heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch his methods, watch his ways!
How he ruthlessly perfects
Whom he royally elects!
How he hammers him and hurts him
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How he bends but never breaks
While his good he undertakes;
How he uses whom he chooses
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out —
God knows what He’s about!
Paul was mature in Christ but was still being shaped through trials. We are often objective-oriented, but God is process-oriented. We just want to get to Rome, but God is even more interested in how we get there.
Storms can also be for others’ good. Aboard ship people learn about each other very quickly. Go through a storm…and you’ll find out about yourself and others real quick…and you’ll learn to thank God for the “clarity” of the storm! The imminent threat of death on that storm tossed Egyptian freighter revealed the secrets of each man’s character, and Paul was head and shoulders above them all. Perhaps many found Christ in those following months on Malta. Sometimes storms come so that others will look beyond us to Christ.
Are you in a storm? Does it look like your ship is about to go under? If so, you need some anchors:
The anchor of God’s presence. He is with you — "an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me."
The anchor of God’s ownership. You are his possession — "the God whose I am."
The anchor that comes through serving God. ". . . the God . . . whom I serve."
The anchor of faith. "So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me."
With anchors like these, God’s servants will stand strong and true.
PRAYER
O Lord, as we sail through life’s storms, may your presence and rule in our lives preserve our trust in you. May we not allow the winds and waves to draw us aside from serving you faithfully, wholeheartedly, courageously. When we must decide whether to believe circumstances or the Sovereign Lord, may we again and again choose to trust in you. And may others see you in us and come to know you, too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
