I want to talk about the faith that functions in a crisis and happens because of Christ. James Jeffries was an All-American at Baylor University, and he was the founder of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. One day he stood before the Fellowship of Christian Athletes annual meeting, not as the robust, healthy, strong, All-American football player he had been, but facing the ravages of cancer and the end of his life. He said, "I've stood before you many times saying that Jesus Christ is all you need." He continued, "But you don't really know that until Jesus Christ is all you have. And I want to tell you now, Jesus Christ is all you need."
Acts 27 is a picture of faith functioning in a crisis. It is not a lecture on the subject. There are no sermons preached or songs sung. It is simply someone portraying his faith in Christ as he shows how to react to a crisis when Jesus Christ is Lord of your life.
I heard about brothers who were identical twins in a small town. One was a doctor, and one was a preacher. One say, the doctor was stopped on a sidewalk, and someone said to him, "Your sermon blessed my heart." He responded, "No, I'm not the one who preaches. I'm the one who practices."
Well, there's no preaching in this chapter. It's all practice. It is a real adventure at sea. If you like to read adventure stories, I'd like to commend to you the book of Acts. It's filled with adventure stories written by Dr. Luke, himself a physician, who traveled with the Apostle Paul. Dr. Luke kept him going and wrote the book of Acts, as well as the book of Luke that bears his name.
Of course, he was inspired by God. So it's natural for us to learn that secular historians who have studied Acts from a secular point of view have said that Luke is probably one of the most accurate histories they've read. Part of that history is Acts 27.
Now the three chapters leading up to this explain why this adventure at sea took place. The apostle Paul had been on trial for his life, facing some trumped up charges of disturbing the peace and insurrection. You never hear of anybody charged for disturbing the peace anymore, do you? I guess it's hard to find any peace to disturb nowadays.
However, Paul was on trial for his life in Acts 24 through 26. He stood before three kings. There was Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. When Paul stood before them, he gave his testimony: "I was walking down a road, and something happened. That something was Someone, and His name was Jesus. He changed my life, and I want to tell you about Him." That's really what he did at his trials. He just gave his Christian testimony.
When he did this, Felix trembled, Festus wavered and waffled, and Agrippa almost became a Christian. When the middle king faced this, he wanted to do something politically correct, something he thought would put him in good stead with the Jewish people. So he decided he would simply send Paul back to Jerusalem to be tried by them. That would have been a very dangerous thing for Paul, so the Scripture says that Paul said, "I appeal to Caesar." As a Roman citizen, he could do that, and this is why he is on the way to Rome to face that trial.
He is being escorted by a Roman centurion and contingent of Roman soldiers.
They hire an Alexandrian ship, probably a wheat ship, going to Egypt by way of Crete and Italy. It's a large ship ... two hundred seventy-six passengers besides cargo were on that ship.
Adventure On The High Seas
Now the Bible says, it begins in Acts 27, and verse 4 says that "the winds were contrary." That meant they were blowing against them, and because of that they had a hard time making any headway. This became perilous because it was approaching the time when no one sailed the seas at that time of year. Ships always wintered somewhere in the harbor. They got to a place called Fair Havens. That sounded like a good place to harbor, but apparently it wasn't.
The apostle Paul, in discussing it with them said, "Look, I've been in three shipwrecks," and he had. One time, he spent all night and the next day in the sea. He said, "It's not good for us to go on. I think if we go, we'll probably lose the ship, the cargo, and our lives." The owner of the ship wanted to get to a place called Phoenix (not Arizona, but Crete) because the accommodations were nicer there, and that's where he wanted to spend the winter.
So the owner and the captain of the ship influenced the people to vote, and the majority decided, "Let try to make it to Phoenix." When a good south wind began to blow, they said, "Oh, that's our sign. That's what we'll do. The south wind is blowing." So they pulled up anchor and set sail. Then in just a little while, they were caught up in a tragic storm. This storm drove this ship. In fact, the Scripture said it was out of control. They girded the ship with cables to keep it together. They put out a sea anchor. They did everything they could to save the ship and ride out that storm.
The Word says that for fourteen days and nights (this was no short-lived storm), this ship was battered in that storm and they saw neither sun nor stars. Now that meant a lot in those days because it was by the sun and stars that they navigated. They had no compass or navigational equipment. The sun and stars were their guide. They couldn't see the sun or stars for two full weeks, so they literally didn't know where they were or which direction they were going. They lost hope.
In verse 20, Luke tells us everyone on board simply gave up hope, and in the midst of all that dark time, a voice was heard. This voice said, "Take courage. We're not going to perish. An angel of the Lord to whom I belong and whom I serve, appeared to me last night and said we're going to lose the ship and everything on it, but we, ourselves, will be saved. Not one of us will be lost."
Then, after verse 33, it speaks about how they became so despairing in those last days. They hadn't eaten, and the apostle stood before them and said, "We can trust God. Let's trust Him now. It's going to be all right." He broke bread, prayed over it, and ate it. They took courage, and all two hundred seventy-five of those people ate the bread. Thus nourished, they began to lighten the load of the ship.
The ship was coming in toward the beach. The sailors knew that land was approaching as they were sounding the bottom. They tried to take this opportunity to save their own lives by attempting to get into the little lifeboat that always trailed behind the big ships in those days.
Paul saw this, and he said to the centurion and the Roman soldiers, "Stop them. Get them back on board. Keep them here, or we're all going to perish." The soldiers did that, and they cut the boat loose.
Then the ship caught in the reef right off the isle of Malta. The back of the ship was whipped back and forth in the waves, and it began to come apart. The captain ordered everyone to abandon ship, and they all rode pieces of it to safety. All two hundred seventy-six of them were saved as they landed on the island of Malta.
What if you had been on that ship? What if you had been facing that crisis? Some of you are facing probably very serious crises in life, and they're affecting you as much as if you were on that ship and your lives were threatened. They may have to do with your family or your economic situation. They may have to do with your marriage or your health. There are all kinds of serious crises that you may be facing.
Reactions To Crises
I think we learn the kind of faith that functions in a crisis by studying this event. We see the natural reactions of people on that ship. The first is fear.
Wouldn't you be afraid? Fear would be a reaction. When the angel came to Paul, the first thing the angel said was "Do not be afraid."
Have you noticed that every time in Scripture, almost without fail, an angel appeared to someone ... to Mary, Joseph, Zechariah ... the angel always said first, "Don't be afraid." That's God's first message to all of us, but there's fear in a crisis like that.
Then there was despair. I wonder who among you is to the point of despair right now. At first, there was panic. I'm sure there were words without meaning and movement without direction, but then there set in this terrible despair. In verse 20, Luke records, "We all agreed there was simply no hope. Every one gave up hope." There was despair ... that is, everyone except one. They all gave up hope.
There was selfishness in the crisis. Usually, selfishness shows itself in a crisis like this. The sailors tried to get the boat to save their own necks, and they conspired to do that. They didn't care about anyone else.
I heard about a young man who was applying for a job as an usher in a theater, and he was being questioned by the personnel manager. The man wanted to see about his understanding of tactics in an emergency. He said, "Young man, if this theater caught on fire, what would you do?" The applicant said, "Don't worry about me. I'd get out somehow."
Sometimes, that's all we think about in a crisis ... just how we're going to get out.
However, there was another person on that boat who started that journey as a prisoner and ended it in charge. He started that journey as less than a tourist-class passenger and ended that journey by giving order to a Roman centurion, Roman soldiers, Egyptian sailors, and all the people who were passengers on that ship. How can you have a faith that functions like that in a crisis?
Faith That Functions In A Crisis
Well, you may say, "Paul was one of those heroic kind of people. He's one of those guys that just lived a life like that." I think there's much more to it than that. I think you can have a faith that functions in a crisis when you know how important you are to God and you understand you are a vital person in the plan and will of God.
We've lost that. We talk about individuality in our society, but the New Age heresy sort of makes everybody feel less important rather than more important.
Paul knew God works through people and that he was made in the image of God.
Do you understand that you are created in the image of God. Your heartbeat here is an echo of that heart beating there. You're linked and related to what is highest among all the stars. You need to understand that your life is vitally important if you're going to function well in a crisis.
Paul knew something those pagans on that ship didn't know. He knew that God had made him. He knew that God had given him life and breath and all things. He knew that God had led him to that point, and he trusted that He would continue to lead him. He knew the history of how God works in this world, and God shows how very important people are as He works in what's happening in His story in this world.
Remember the catastrophic judgment was coming? The world was going to be flooded. How does God save the race? There was a man who could build a boat whose name was Noah, and God was working through a person.
Do you recall there was a time when the army of Israel was demoralized? They were frightened and didn't know what to do. The enemy was overpowering and taunting them every day. They were just about ready to surrender, and God sent a teenager with a slingshot to save the day. The world was lost. There was no hope. Sin was bringing forth the death that it always does.
There were spiritual people, yet spiritually alienated from life. What was God's answer? He came down here as a lowly person and humbled Himself. He became one of us, hurt like us, died like us, and by God's power, came out of His grace to win the victory for us.
Paul understood that people are important to God. In our society, that idea is losing ground fast. Children are taught that people are nothing more than just one of the results of a big cosmic bang millions of years ago. Their lives are accidental. Life is just something that happened and God didn't make them. Therefore, they don't feel responsible to God, and that takes away the joy and power of God in their lives. When people think they're just an accidental coming together of genes and chromosomes, they feel they're not responsible. They have no life that's worth living. They have no more reason, purpose, or excitement to live than a dog walking down the street, sniffing the garbage. Some people live like that.
This society is taking away your understanding of how vital and important you are. Paul understood that, and when you understand that, then you can stand in these dark hours of crises and say, "Take courage. I believe God."
Your faith can function in a crisis if you understand the sovereignty of God.
God is a sovereign God. History is His story. Paul knew that. He had a sense of understanding that he was acting out the actions of the sovereign God who gives us life. He understood the sovereignty of God. But notice closely how he acted out of his belief in the sovereignty of God. Here, Paul is saying to the people, "Take courage. No one's going to be lost. All two hundred seventy-six of us will be saved. My God has told me that, and I believe God."
Then he goes up on deck. You'd think he'd go back downstairs to his room and rest. It's all taken care of. "God said we're all going to be saved, so let's just forget it. Let's just go to sleep." However, he doesn't do that. He goes up on deck and stays very actively aware. In this whole process, he watches closely. When the sailors get the boat and try to escape, he says to the centurion and the Roman soldiers, "Get those men. Don't let them get off this ship, or we're all going to perish."
Now wait a minute. He just said that God said they were all going to be saved. The apostle understood that the sovereignty of God means that as we do the thing that God will have us to do, God's will is accomplished. God accomplishes His will through people who follow Him and do His will.
Faith to him was a springboard of doing the thing that would mean that God's will would come to pass and being involved in that.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said "See the birds up in the air? I make sure to it that every one of those birds is fed." Well, the birds don't sit on a gatepost, open their mouths, and God drops a worm in their mouths each day. They have to get up early and dig for those worms, but they do so in the confidence that the worms are going to be there.
When we understand the sovereignty of God, we know we can do what God has given us to do with confidence that God is there and at work. This is why a man who was a prisoner and a nobody on that ship could stand up and be in charge. He was representing the Lord who, indeed, is in charge. He understood God's sovereignty.
During the break up of the Roman Empire, the great voice that brought spiritual strength to that nation was Augustine. Augustine did many great things ... wrote hard, studied hard, preached hard, spent time with the people. He did what he did because he believed deeply in the sovereignty of God. Because he believed in a sovereign God, he could do the things he needed to do in confidence.
During the tragic history of Christendom, during the Reformation, Martin Luther and John Calvin were actively doing the things that must be done. They did it in great confidence of the sovereignty of God.
Their approach was not "Que sera, sera. Whatever will be will be." They weren't like the guy who said, "I believe what is to be will be, whether it happens or not." They understood that a belief in the sovereignty of God is a springboard of faith to do the things you need to do to help accomplish the will of God in the world. When you understand that, you can function in a crisis.
There's one other thing. Two hundred and seventy-five people on that boat spent most of that crisis thinking of one thing. Do you know what is was? "We're going to die." They a panicked, despaired, and lost all hope. Two hundred and seventy-five of the two hundred and seventy-six people on that boat thought about one thing: "We're going to die." There was one person given to pursuing life, and the apostle was that person. In that crisis, he was living, instead of just trying to cope with the idea of dying. A Christian is given the ability to live instead of having to cope with the constant idea of dying.
Now the apostle Paul had a realistic view of death. He was not one of those people who just despaired of death and acted as though it doesn't happen. That's an idea that Sigmund Freud tried to accuse humanity of believing. "If we don't think about it, it won't bother us." No, he was always talking about it. He faced it realistically. There came a time when he would say, "The time of my departure is at hand, and there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness." He would say, "I am ready. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." However, he understood that his job in this world is to live, not to be afraid constantly of dying.
He was the only one on that boat with a proper view of life, because, you see, the matter of death had already been settled for Paul. It was not issue. He had already died to the world. He had decided his life was to be lived in Christ.
He said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).
Do you catch the thrust of that? He had already had his death. He died to the things of this world. He said, "The important thing to me now is to live in the will and the way of God and the honor of Christ." The more you die to the stuff of the world, the more you have settled death as an issue.
You see, if we understand baptism, baptism is the funeral of a Christian. The kamikaze pilots in World War II had their funerals before they went out on their mission. In a real sense, we Christians do the same thing. When we are baptized, we are buried with Christ. We are buried to the cares of this world. We have died with Christ, and we are raised again with Him to walk in newness of life.
That's what Paul meant when he said, "I am crucified with Christ." Death has been settled. It's no longer an issue, for we live forever with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you want to have the faith that functions in a crisis? Then put to death all the attachments to the stuff of this world. Say before God, "You are my most valuable possession. I love You, I give myself to You, and I belong to You. You are my life, my wealth and my security." When you do that, the issue is settled, and you receive Christ.
Then you can go on and say, "God, You're sovereign. As I work within Your will, then I can be certain that You're with me every step of the way. No matter what dark, lonely, hard storm I have to weather, You're with me." It's because you're important to God. You're made by Him.
He knew you before you were ever formed in your mother's womb. He knew you and loved you and had a plan for you and had a life for you and still has. At any point in life, you can step into that and be living with confidence. You can know that you are important, that in God's history, you're vital and special and important.
The only thing you bring to the table for that is faith. There's nothing you can do to earn it. You bring faith. You trust God, saying, "I know You made me. I know You love me. I know what You want for me is what I'd want if I knew as much as You do. I work in the sovereignty of Your will and of Your life, and I understand that because my life is now linked to Christ, I'm never really going to die. I'm going to live forever. That issue is settled, and I'm Yours."
Paul unwittingly ... without even trying, without a lecture, without a sermon, without a song ... shows us the faith that functions in a crisis.
