The God Of The Storm Series

Acts 27:1-25

The God of the Storm

I have been waiting for Chapter 27.

If the book of Acts was a movie, chapter 27 would be the climax.

I don’t know about you, but My favorite part of any movie is when the hero comes in and saves the day.

It makes me wish Acts had a soundtrack. We have certain music in our heads associated with this kind of scene, don’t we?

In the old west movies it was the trumpet of the cavalry, coming to save the day.

In more modern times it’s the Star Wars theme, or the Indiana Jones music.

I was watching the fireworks on Lake Union the other night, and they started to play the William Tell overture.

Now, nobody associated that with the William Tell opera.

But everybody recognized the piece and all started shouting "Hi ho Silver, away!"

If Acts had a soundtrack, at the beginning of chapter 27, the music would start off slowly and ominously.

Maybe that music from Jaws. You know (Da Dum, Da Dum...)

And then in the background you’d hear the wind blowing and the waves rising.

And then maybe that music from the Wizard of Oz.

You know, when the wicked witch is on her way to get Dorothy.

And then the hurricane hits in full force.

And the waves crash against the hull.

The crew is screaming, the captain is shouting orders.

The tension mounts, all hope is gone, and then...

The climax music. Here comes the hero.

I’ve been accused of having an overactive imagination, but for me it helps this book come alive!

This is not just some dry history book, this is human drama at its most dramatic.

Storms and shipwrecks and lives hanging in the balance.

But you know the main reason I like this chapter?

Because it’s not just about how God dealt with a bunch of guys on a ship 2,000 years ago.

This is how God deals with us right now, today!

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’d barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.

The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.

Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."

Every felt that way? Sucked in, washed up and blown over? Sure you have!

Like these men we’ll read about, you’ve been on stormy seas, and if you haven’t - you will!

Like these men, your boat has been thrown around.

You’ve been plunged into the eye of the storm, and if that hasn’t happened yet, just wait - it’s coming.

Maybe it’s a family disaster. Death or disease or divorce.

Maybe it’s a financial storm. You’ve lost your job or gotten heavily in debt.

Maybe your tempest has come in the form of depression, whose gale force winds can rip down your sails and leave you dead in the water, feeling overwhelmed and underpowered.

I don’t know what it is, or what it will be in your life, but I know this...storms will come!

And the lesson of Chapter 27 is not primarily that God delivered 276 men on the Adriatic sea.

The lesson for you and for me is that God delivers us from the storms of life.

We begin on calm waters in Chapter 27 and verse 1.

“When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.

We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.”