This is week 11 of the series “Bound and Determined! – Paul’s Farewell Tour”
Introduction
Last week’s message dealt with Paul defending himself before King Herod Agrippa II. This week’s message is all about Paul’s shipwreck experience and how we are able to prepare for shipwrecks in our lives.
Message
Read Acts 27:1-44
Paul Sails for Rome
27 “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. 2 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.
3 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. 4 From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, 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.” 11 But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; 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 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid 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.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, 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. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 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.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
The Shipwreck
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 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. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 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 other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.”
Last week, the message concluded with King Agrippa concluding that Paul was innocent of any capital offense, but agreeing with Governor Festus that Paul should be sent to Rome to be tried before the emperor. This week we continue the story of Paul heading to Rome by ship.
Just a few points of the story to consider: Luke accompanied Paul on the journey. Perhaps, he was able to convince the captain that the ship needed a doctor on board. Luke’s account of the shipwreck is considered to be a classic description of what happens when ships encounter extreme weather. The second ship that Paul was on was likely hauling grain from Egypt to Rome. The trip began in nice weather. A perfect storm came up unexpectedly (although it was late Fall when they sailed which was not the best time of the year to be sailing in the Mediterranean). Paul was assured that no lives would be lost thereby keeping him on track to Rome. Julius, the centurion who was in charge of Paul and the ship liked Paul and evidently had great faith in Paul when Paul told him to have the sailors stay with the ship rather than get in the lifeboats.
With these points being made, the rest of this message moves now to the concluding remarks and application centering on how we deal with the shipwrecks in our lives. Right now, with the pandemic and civil unrest, it seems like we are either in the middle of a shipwreck or headed for one. The challenge is for us is how do we handle this along with personal things that are taking place or will take place in the future.
Concluding Remarks and Application
1. Can you imagine going through that kind of storm and shipwreck?
2. What an exhausting and terrifying experience it must have been!
II. How to Handle Our Own Shipwrecks
A. If we are honest about the reality of life, then we can acknowledge that life presents many storms.
1. We may wish that life only had sunny days and smooth sailing, but it is just not that way.
2. Some people may have more sunny, calm days than others, but eventually, everyone experiences their share of dark and stormy days.
3. Therefore, we must prepare for those days and learn how to handle them.
B. The secret of survival is what we do ahead of time in calmer waters.
1. Today, if our lives are storm-free, then we need to take advantage of this peaceful lull before the storm and work on mastering the use of the following anchors.
2. We need to get the anchor of spiritual stability in place by growing our relationship with God through prayer and study of His Word, learning to trust in God’s promises.
3. We need to get the anchor of interpersonal stability in place as we develop strong relationships with others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
4. We need to get the anchor of mental stability in place as we understand clearly whose we are and how that God is the one in charge so that we will accept the realities of our situation.
5. Finally, we need to get the anchor of purposeful stability in place as we look to serve and glorify God every day and in every way, regardless of what we are going through.
C. If we will get those anchors in place, then when the inevitable winds of adversity begin to blow, and they most certainly will blow, then we will be ready to respond in faith, rather than in fear. Then those anchors will hold us strong and secure in the midst of the storms and shipwrecks of life.
D. Finally, we also need to jettison some things in our lives when the storms hit. Fear, Worry, Anxiety, Envy, Fatalism (We cannot do anything about it), and whatever else that can cause us to take our eye off the Captain of our ship.
