The Storm Before the Calm
Acts 27:1-44
Rev. Brian Bill
March 27-28, 2022
I suffer from aquaphobia, or the fear of water. I can trace it to four traumatic events.
• When I was around 9 years old, I was fishing in the middle of the night with my dad and his buddies on Devil’s Lake [aptly named]. When it was time to leave, my dad pulled the rope to start the motor on his homemade pontoon boat, and it fell off and sank to the bottom of the lake. I remember being terrified because we had no oars. My dad simply unscrewed some old kitchen chairs he had attached to the deck, and we used them to paddle back to shore.
• When I was around 12, my dad and I were in a small boat salmon fishing on Lake Michigan when a storm suddenly came up. I spent most of the time leaning over the side of the boat “feeding the fish.”
• When I was around 15, I was waterskiing when my buddy was driving the boat and tried to make me wipe out by turning the boat sharply. That caused him to fall on the floor of the boat as it headed straight toward me while I was bobbing in the water.
• My most traumatic event with water happened when I was 18. My friends and I were tubing below a power dam on the Rock River when my friend Tim drowned in front of my eyes.
To this day, I avoid water whenever I can (you’ll be glad to know, I still take showers). It doesn’t take much for my water worry to come cascading like waves over me. In fact, just reading our passage for today caused my heart rate to bump up a bit. Please turn to Acts 27 where we will encounter a seafaring epic filled with danger, suspense, and raw fear as Paul sailed from Caesarea to Rome.
Because this passage is long, our approach will be a bit different. I’ll begin by reading the passage while providing a running commentary. Then, I’ll make some observations along with several applications we can apply to our lives. We’ll end by hearing from a person who experienced God’s providential care while going through many personal storms. BTW, the Ukrainian family we’ve been praying for just arrived in the QCA! We’ll learn more about them next weekend.
This is what I’m hoping we learn today: In the storms of life, make sure you have an anchor for your soul.
Please follow along in your Bible because the Scripture text won’t be on the screen. Instead, we’re putting up a map for those engaging in person and online [if you’re reading this manuscript, in the back of many Bibles you’ll find a map of Paul’s journey to Rome].
Interpretation
And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. The use of the word “we” shows that Dr. Luke was reunited with Paul. The other prisoners were likely being transported to Rome to become prey for wild animals in a gladiator match. Julius was a high-ranking military officer in charge of Paul. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. This was a small coasting vessel, much like the Channel Cat, though bigger. Aristarchus, one of Paul’s companions, was allowed to accompany him.
3 The next day we put in at Sidon. Sidon was 80 miles up the coast from Caesarea. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. Julius was kind toward Paul, allowing him to get some TLC from his friends. As we’ve seen before, Paul went out of his way to find fellowship with fellow Christ followers. It’s great to see so many making an effort to gather again in person – God brought 801 people last weekend, which is close to our pre-Covid attendance. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. Facing contrary winds, they had to stay close to the island of Cyprus for protection. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. The centurion found a larger ship which could handle the open sea and put everyone on board. Alexandria, a port city in Egypt, sent grain to Italy on a regular basis. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. Notice the word “difficulty” is used twice, showing this was not a three-hour tour from a tropic port [that was a reference to the Gilligan’s Island theme song].
9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” The “Fast” referred to the Day of Atonement, which took place in October. Usually, ships did not sail from late fall until spring because it was too dangerous. Paul “perceived” through observation and experience how storms could spring up suddenly. 2 Corinthians 11:25 tells us Paul had survived three shipwrecks and spent a night and a day on the open sea.
11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. The centurion decided to listen to the professional sailors instead of Paul, trusting in “chance” to reach safe harbor.
13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. This seemed to be the right decision because the breeze was gentle and the sea was calm, at least at first.
14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. While coasting along the coast of Crete, a hurricane-force storm suddenly came out of nowhere. We get the word typhoon from this Greek word. The phrase, “the ship was caught” meant it was grasped like a predator clutching its prey. They couldn’t control anything, so they gave up and just let the ship be driven along by the wind.
16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. We see the word “difficulty” used again. The “boat” was a small dingy which was towed behind the ship. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. The sailors wrapped the hull of the ship in cables or ropes, hoping to hold the wooden timbers together and keep the water from seeping in. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. The “Syrtis” was a sandbar filled with quicksand.
18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. The word “violently” means vehemently. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. Like my dad did, they unscrewed the kitchen chairs and any other furniture and tossed it all overboard to lighten the ship. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. Because these sailors didn’t have GPS or even a compass, they counted on the sun and the stars to navigate. Now, they were totally lost and devoid of all hope. They were disoriented, discouraged and in deep despair.
21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Paul can’t resist a bit of, “I told you so.” 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. Paul called the men to courage and told them no one will die. This had to be startling to them.
23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” In the midst of great alarm, God sent an angel to Paul. Note how Paul gave public testimony about Who he belonged to and who He worshipped. Because God owned Him, he couldn’t help but worship Him. Paul clearly connected courage to having faith in God.
27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. They are now about 500 miles off course and could tell they were nearing land from the sound of waves breaking against the rocks. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. They let down a line to see how deep it was. The first time it was 120 feet and it quickly dropped to 90 feet.
29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. Interestingly, this is the first time we’re told they prayed. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. The sailors decided to save themselves by jumping in the lifeboat. Here again we see Paul’s leadership. After cutting away the ropes to the small boat, there was no turning back. They were literally “all in the same boat now.”
33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” Because they were so terrified and had been running on adrenaline, the men hadn’t eaten for two weeks. Paul promised they would be saved without a scratch on their bodies.
35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. Reminiscent of the Lord’s Supper, Paul gave thanks to God for all to hear. When everyone was satisfied and strengthened, they threw all the wheat into the sea.
39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach.
41 But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. Soldiers were responsible with their lives if a prisoner escaped. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. As promised, everyone was saved.
In the storms of life, make sure you have an anchor for your soul.
Observations
Elliot Clark wrote, “Western theology tends to ask why God allows suffering more than how He uses it.” Let’s make some quick observations about how God used this storm.
1. Storms come to everyone eventually.
2. Often we don’t know why storms come.
3. Storms often last longer than we’d like.
4. We are not necessarily out of God’s will when caught in a storm.
5. God works through storms to accomplish His purposes.
6. Storms give us opportunities to serve and witness.
7. Storms cause us to get rid of excess baggage.
8. God loves to bring true hope when we are totally helpless.
9. What appears to be the easy way may end in disaster.
10. Calm seas can fool us into believing storms will not come.
11. God makes a way when we submit to His ways.
12. Sometimes God calms the storms around us and other times He calms the storms within us.
13. Stay connected to others and don’t jump ship.
14. Majority opinion is not always right.
15. Difficult and dark times can slow us down, but God is always at work.
16. Storms reveal what’s inside us.
17. Our response to a storm can lead to damaging bitterness or to deeper belief.
18. Storms help us settle who we belong to and who we worship.
19. Storms reposition us to live out God’s purposes.
20. When going through a storm, make sure Jesus is the captain of your ship.
I reached out to Dave and Denise Browning this week because several years ago their family spent months living on a boat. Denise described what happened one day: “There was not a cloud in the sky. An hour or so later, the clouds came rolling in…we look behind us and there’s a wall of rain coming down the river towards us…the storm overtakes us…we can’t see much past the bow of the boat…the lock and dam is ahead but we don’t know how far away it is…God was the captain of this boat and adventure…under our own power, we would never have come close to doing this.”
Their story reminds me of the lyrics to the old Garth Brooks song called, “The River.”
And there’s bound to be rough waters
And I know I’ll take some falls
But with the good Lord as my captain
I can make it through them all
I think of how God is using Paul and Carlene Eager, our Go Team partners in Poland. They have retrofitted one of their church buildings to house 28 women and children from Ukraine. I love how they refer to these refugees as their “guests.” This is what Paul wrote in a recent update: “I think we can all agree that the last couple of years have been so full of change and turmoil. It has been difficult to plan properly and get settled into a rhythm because tomorrow things may change. Even though we can feel unsettled, we do know that God is in control of the past, today, and our tomorrows.”
Application
My guess is you’re going through a storm right now. If you’re not, just wait. You will. You’ve either come out of a storm, you’re in one now, or you’re about to experience rough waters. Is Jesus the captain of your ship? In the storms of life, make sure you have an anchor for your soul. I see six anchors we can hold onto from verses 22-26.
1. God’s promise. Listen to verse 22: “Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.” You can count on the promises of God.
2. God’s presence. When Paul felt alone, verse 23 says, “For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.”
3. God’s peace. Because God is with us and will never leave us, we can be filled with peace according to verse 24: “And he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul…”
4. God’s plan. It was God’s plan all along for Paul to preach to the emperor in Rome. We see this in the middle section of verse 24: “You must stand before Caesar…”
5. God’s protection. This is spelled out in the last part of verse 24: “And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
6. God’s providence. God loves to work His way and His will according to His sweet providence. Check out verses 25-26: “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.”
Testimony Time
For those engaging remotely, we’re going to end the livestream now out of respect for an individual’s privacy.
Listen now to an amazing testimony of how God used multiple storms in someone’s life to accomplish His purposes.
? Testimony
We’re making Anchor for the Soul by Ray Pritchard available out in the lobby today. It’s a great explanation of the gospel message and a helpful evangelism tool.
I appreciate Ray’s insight into Hebrews 6:19-20: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf…”
Most of us think of an anchor that goes down to the bottom of the ocean, but we have an anchor that goes up to heaven. Our anchor rests in the Holy of Holies in heaven, behind the curtain, in the very presence of God himself.
The word “forerunner” described a smaller boat that went ahead of a large ship to guide it into the harbor. It also carried the ship’s anchor and would lower it so the ship would be safe during the storm. After the storm the large ship would safely enter the harbor.
Jesus leads us home to heaven!
If you are born again, you couldn’t be safer than you already are because you are already anchored in heaven…Jesus went ahead of us into heaven, and then he became the anchor for our soul.
We’re connected to Jesus Christ in heaven.
We’re as safe as Jesus is safe!
That’s why our hope is called “firm.” The word means “never failing.”
Our anchor will never fail.
Our anchor will never slip.
Our anchor will never give way.
Our anchor holds because it rests on Jesus in heaven!
In the storms of life, make sure you have an anchor for your soul.
