Acts 27:1-44

God’s Grace In The Storm

Acts 27:1-44 Lesson 30
Key verse 27:24 3/15/09

“...and 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.’”

We all like action flicks. Block busters are movies that are filled with action, where the hero faces many dangers and overcomes all odds with superhuman strength in order to save the day and countless lives. Good conquers evil. Our hearts beat faster. We are excited. We wish that we could do what the hero does. Today’s passage is a kind of action flick where God works through Apostle Paul to save the lives of 276 men. Paul begins his final journey from Caesarea to Rome. Along the way he experiences a storm and a shipwreck. During these trying events, God is with him. God visits him through his angel and speaks to him. God uses the storm to prepare Paul for what awaits him in Rome. It was God’s grace to Paul. God’s grace overflowed to his fellow travelers. Today let’s accept God’s grace in any storm we may find ourselves in.

First, “...instead of listening to what Paul said...” (1-12).

Finally, it was decided to send Paul to Rome. Look at verse 1. Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment, and elite fighting force, and they put out to sea, bound for Italy. The personal pronoun “we” begins to appear here again in the book of Acts. This indicates that Luke was with Paul. The author of Acts is Luke. Therefore this account is Luke’s eyewitness testimony of the journey. It is precise and very detailed. To the historian Luke, all the tiny details were significant. May God help us understand why.

Another important person was with Paul. Verse 2 mentions Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. Do you remember him? He was a member of Paul’s world mission journey to Jerusalem (Ac 20:4). He had been persecuted in the riot in Ephesus (Ac 19:29). Paul recognized him as a fellow prisoner (Col 4:10), and a fellow worker (Phil 1:24). Paul did not look down on his young coworker. Rather he respected him and was grateful for his partnership in the remaining sufferings of Christ.

The next day the ship landed at Sidon. The Centurion, Julius, allowed Paul to go to his friends, a local house church, who could provide for his needs. From Sidon, they put out to sea again. The winds were against them. Eventually, they landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and they set sail in it. The journey was slowed by the elements. It was only after much difficulty that they arrived off Cnidus. From there, they wanted to sail due west to the Greek peninsula, but the wind would not allow them to. They were forced almost due south and ended up on Crete in a place called Fair Havens.

The journey had not gone well. It was getting late in the year, and it was too dangerous to sail. At this point, Paul gave them a warning. Look at verse 10. “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” Humanly, Paul was a prisoner. Nevertheless, Paul was God’s servant. Paul was also a seasoned traveler. But the centurion, instead of listening to Paul, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor at Fair Havens was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and harbor there.

Here Luke stresses the fact that the advice of a man of God was ignored and the advice of worldly people was followed. The decision was popular with most people. But it was a wrong decision. The pilot represents the professional opinion. However, his judgment was clouded by his desire, and that of his men. Maybe they had a financially greedy motive to carry on. Maybe they wanted to enjoy the night life of Phoenix. Maybe they couldn’t stand the Cretans and didn’t want to get stuck there. Titus 1:12 reveals a popular prejudice. It reads, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons.” Whatever the reason, Luke, the historian, notes that this was a majority decision. The outcome reveals that it was a wrong decision. The majority is not always right. This is an important lesson for the democratically minded. It is much better to listen to one man who stands on God’s word than to many counselors who are slaves to their sinful desires and making decision according to them.

Second, “We Finally Gave Up All Hope Of Being Saved” (13-20).

The people followed a favorable situation. Verse 13 says, “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.” A gentle south wind represents a favorable situation. In life most people follow a favorable situation. Whatever seems beneficial to them at the time, they seek after with no regard to whether or not it is the will of God. Many Christians even spiritualize their self seeking desires to justify their living for these things. They lack the spiritual insight and moral courage to follow the truth. They trust their senses rather than the word of God. However, their situation can change suddenly.

Despite of their decisions based on human wisdom, these men could not escape their destiny. Look at verses 14-15. “Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.” The men in the ship were caught by the storm. They could not sail from Fair Havens to Phoenix though it was only 34 miles. Instead, they were driven south. As the storm gained intensity, they had to haul in their lifeboat and secure it. They passed ropes under the ship to hold it together. Fear came into their hearts. They envisioned running aground on the sandbars of Syrtis. So they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. The ship took a violent battering. They began to throw the cargo overboard, fulfilling what Paul had warned them of. Then they began to throw the ship’s tackle overboard. This probably refers to the main sail and other rigging, like ropes and large block pulleys. Look at verse 20. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” The pilot and owner and overconfident sailors reached their human limits. After doing everything they could, they gave up all hope and totally despaired of even life itself.

People want to live in the illusion that they rule their own destiny and can do what they want to do. But this is not true. So often they fall victim the storms of life that are sure to come. This is the destiny of man without God. Many young people follow the American dream without much thought. During college they only want to study well to get a good job. So they have no time to think deeply about their life direction. They avoid seeking Jesus and trying to determine God will in their lives. After graduation, they are busy to establish their careers and their families. Then one day, they wake up and find they are not young any more. Whatever money they made is not enough. Their family relationships are temporal and generally shallow. The world that appeared so big and promising in their youth has turned out to be a place of broken dreams and empty illusions. Especially, with the faltering economy, many are left only with the thought that they worked hard for nothing. So they fall into what is referred to as a mid-life crisis. Such people are spiritually dead, even though they are biologically alive. Let’s repent of just following, what seem to favorable circumstances, or our own destiny will be filled with despair.

Third, God’s Angel Visits Paul (21-26).

The men on the ship went a long time without food. It was not because they decided to have fasting and praying. It was because despair and the constant suspense robbed them of their appetites. Then Paul stood up before them and said: “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” (21-22). Paul had godly concern for these men. He rebuked them as their shepherd. Then Paul promised that not one of them would be lost. How could he do this? It was because God was with him.

Even Paul was struggling with fear in the midst of the storm. But the Lord helped Paul overcome the fear in his heart. Look at verses 23-24. “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and 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.’” The angel’s first words were, “Do not be afraid, Paul.” To any person, overcoming fear is crucial. Fear is planted by the devil’s lies. Fear paralyzes people from doing what they need to do. Fear makes people sleep a lot in order to forget about their fears. Paralyzed people become useless. Without overcoming fear, human beings cannot function normally. Living in a state of fear also displeases God, for the cowardly, without Christ, are first on the list of those who go to hell (Rev 21:8). How then can we overcome fear? Let’s learn from this passage. Look at verse 24 again. When Paul heard God’s word, “Do not be afraid, Paul,” the Holy Spirit came to dwell in Paul’s soul. The Holy Spirit drove out fear and renewed the love of God in Paul’s heart. Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba,’ Father.” 1 John 4:18a says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear....” God’s love, expressed through the Holy Spirit, is the antidote to all of our fears. Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit may dwell in our hearts.

Then the angel said to Paul, “...and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This was a kind of bonus. Why should God save them? These men did not deserve to be saved from the storm. They had ignored the word of God’s servant. They were bent on pursuing their own sinful pleasure. They were proud. They should have died in the storm, as Paul had foretold. But God wanted to spare Paul. And in his grace, God also decided to spare the men sailing with him. Because of Paul’s life of mission, the grace of God came to these undeserving men.

I also want to mention a practical application of verse 24, “and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” This can be a promise and a prayer topic that we can hold onto. God has put each of us on a type of ship. We have students in our class. Andrew has students in his tennis club. I have nurses on my shift at work. We have our Bible students and our family members. Why not pray, “Lord, graciously take hold of the lives of all the people you have put me with and grant them eternal life!”

Next, the angel reminded Paul of God’s plan for him to stand trial before Caesar. God had given Paul the vision to go to Rome. God had promised him that he must testify in Rome (Ac 23:11). God had not changed his plan. God reminded Paul of his unchanging purpose for him. In the midst of storms, God reminds us of our purpose of life. Yes, God does have a purpose of life for all of us. But alas, many young people struggle with their physical desires rather than following the will of God. Everywhere we turn we see invitations to follow this course of life. Even Yahoo email is being filled with invites to see singles in our area, accompanied by video clips. Almost every TV drama and every movie introduces our young people to a life led by flesh desires. How can our hearts remain pure in such an environment? Sometimes these desires are so strong that they seem to be the driving force of their lives. But this does not need to be the case. God’s calling and God’s purpose are the driving force of one’s life and can supersede worldly desires in the hearts of those who have surrendered to Christ. We must listen to God’s word. We did not choose God, but God chose us as members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Even when the struggle seems to be futile, we must remember God’s purpose for choosing us. God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Php 1:6).


Fourth, Paul’s Good Influence And Spiritual Leadership (27-44).

Paul’s words of faith and courage brought hope to all on board. Shortly, they sensed that land was near. Then the sailors construed a plot. They pretended to be lowering an anchor, but they really lowered the lifeboat. They planned to jump into it, abandoning the ship. It was a selfish and irresponsible plan. All me were needed on board to survive. Maybe they were all needed to hold the ropes that we keeping the hull intact long enough to get close to land. Men whose only desire is to save their lives in this world cannot be trusted in a crisis. Paul was alert to the problem. So he warned the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” This time, the centurion listened to Paul. The soldiers cut the ropes and let the lifeboat fall into the sea. Though a prisoner in chains, Paul was the true leader in the time of crisis. It was because of his faith. God raised Paul up for such a moment as this. There are times in our lives where it becomes obvious that God has raised us up for us certain purpose. When the purpose comes we need faith and strength to stand up and serve that purpose well and allow ourselves to plant faith in the hearts of despairing people and not abandon ship to save ourselves.

Paul saw what needed to be done. Paul had enough room in their minds to think about their physical condition. They had not eaten for a long time. They needed strength to swim ashore. So Paul encouraged them to eat and promised, “Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” This was an absolute promise. It was the expression of Paul’s faith in God. It was an incredible promise. Actually, Paul, whom historians think was bald, had lost a lot of hair. We all loose hair every day. Look at your hair brush. Look at your drain in the shower. No! Don’t do that! But he promised that not one hair would be lost. His faith in God’s promise was absolute.

Paul’s act of thanksgiving to God was another expression of his faith. Look at verse 35. “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” Paul gave thanks to God in front of all the other travelers. He was thankful for God’s word. He was thankful for God’s world salvation work. He was thankful because he loved God. He made it very clear to everyone that it was God who would deliver them from the storm. He was not afraid of atheists who may have been yelling out, “How can your loving God allow this to happen?” Paul boldly and confidently thanked God publically. And there was a favorable reaction. Verse 36 says, “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” After being encouraged, they could eat well for the first time in many days. We need to boldly lead others in thanksgiving to Jesus…not just other Christians. Under stress some people over eat, but some under eat, thinking too much about their life problems to even take care of their bodies. But we see here that eating well in a stressful situation is possible for those who have faith in God’s promise.

When daylight came, they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They cut loose the anchors and made a run for it. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. It was broken to pieces, just as Paul had foretold. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent their escape. Otherwise they had to forfeit their own lives. But the centurion stopped them in order to spare Paul. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and get to land. The rest used planks and pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety. As Paul promised, they were all saved. God was in control.

In this passage we learn that God was with Paul. God made Paul’s words come true, both words of warning and words of salvation. Finally, even a Roman centurion was obedient to him. This encouraged Paul as he approached Rome. Whatever might happen, Paul knew that God is the sovereign Ruler of the world. Paul knew that God was fulfilling his world mission purpose. This event also encouraged the Christian church. Persecution was about to come upon them. But God would be with them as he had been with Paul. The storms of life are times of God’s mysterious good work. God uses them for world salvation. God is gracious in the storms of life. May God help each one of us to listen to his word, put our faith in his promise, and experience his grace.