Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Acts 27:1-12
Acts 27:1When 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.
-- this
morning, we are continuing in our journey through the Book of Acts – when we
left off last week, we looked at the sad state of King Agrippa – who heard the
gospel – who believed the gospel intellectually – but who could not be
persuaded by Paul to take that final step, where one puts their faith in Jesus
for salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life
-- Agrippa
tells Paul that he was almost persuaded, but as we talked about last week,
being almost persuaded – almost believing – almost having faith in Jesus – just
means that you are totally lost and bound by your sins and death
-- and even
though both Agrippa and Festus agreed that Paul was innocent of all the charges
the Jews had brought against him, Paul’s appeal to Caesar stood firm – and in
this next section, we read of Paul’s final journey to Rome
-- I’ve
entitled this message, “Storms, Shipwrecks, and Snakes,” which I thought was
especially fitting given that this weekend is the two-year anniversary of
Hurricane Helene – and as we’ll see in this passage, just like the sailors here
discounted the threat of severe weather, I remember the local forecasters
saying that Helene was going to not be a major threat to our area – but that it
should make landfall as a lower category hurricane, bringing mostly high rain
and some strong tropical storm-force winds with it into Valdosta
-- but they
were wrong, as we all know – Helene was a storm of historic proportions – and we
are still recovering from the damage she brought – and while we were not shipwrecked,
we did experience the wreckage of our homes, our forests, and our community – and
we experienced the snakes and the scammers and those who follow catastrophe,
seeking to inflict even more harm on those reeling from the storms of life
-- so, let’s
look now at Paul and how he handled the storms, shipwrecks, and snakes that
threatened him on his final journey to Rome
II. THE STORM (Acts 27:1-26)
-- look
back with me now at Acts 27:1, and let’s start our study there
Acts 27:1When 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
decision was made by Festus and Agrippa to send Paul on to Rome, at his request
– so they placed him in the custody of a Roman centurion named Julius, along
with several other prisoners
-- Paul’s
innocence was obvious, as he was afforded luxuries probably not available to
the other prisoners – he was allowed to go into port and meet with friends
there – Christians who Paul knew from his three missionary journeys – so that
they might provide resources to help him on the journey
-- the
journey was slow, because the winds were against them – it was late in the year
– after the Day of Atonement, which is in September – and so, the ship had a
difficult time making its way along the coast
-- they
switched ships in Myra, but their slow passage continued – finally, they made
their way to a place called Fair Havens, where a decision awaited them – should
they continue on towards Rome? – should they overwinter in Fair Havens? – or should
they seek another place to overwinter and wait for better weather in the
spring?
-- Paul was
a theologian – a missionary – an Apostle – he was not a sailor – so, when Paul
warned the men that it would be dangerous to proceed with their journey at this
point, no one listened to him – you see, they did not understand that Paul had
something they did not – Paul had the counsel of the Holy Spirit – and even
though Paul was not a sailor, the Spirit impressed upon him the fate that would
come if the ship continued on
-- Julius
listened to Paul, but paid more attention to the pilot and owner of the ship –
for they had experience – they were sailors – and they knew their ship and they
knew the waters they were sailing
-- finally,
a vote was taken – and Luke tells us here that since the harbor was unsuitable
to winter in, the majority decided to sail on – hoping to reach Phoenix and
winter there in a harbor in Crete
-- every day, we are faced with decisions
and choices that we have to make – according to the statistics, the average
person makes over 35,000 decisions a day – from what we will wear – what we
will eat – where we will go – what we will do – what road we will take – the list
just goes on and on
-- that is why some psychologists
have said that we are overly stressed from the sheer number of decisions we are
faced with daily, what they call “decision fatigue” – there are simply too many
choices before us, and it is stressing us out
-- do you remember buying toothpaste
25 years ago? – it was simple – you only had a handful of brands, and they all
did the same thing – your choices really came down to Crest, Aquafresh, Colgate,
Arm & Hammer, and Aim
-- but have you looked at the
toothpaste aisle now? – every brand has multiple types of toothpaste – this one
for sensitivity – this one with a different flavor – this one with a different
means of preventing cavities – this one to brighten your teeth – this one for
tartar control – this one is fluoride-free – this one is natural -- this one does
multiple things – the list just goes on and on – and to try to make a reasoned
choice is difficult – and that’s for toothpaste
-- now think about everything else
that you face on a given day, not to mention the big choices in life – such as
who we will marry – where we will live – what career we will choose – what political
candidates or what party we will follow – the choices are endless and
overwhelming
-- so, when confronted with
decisions like this, how do you determine what is the right course of action? –
do you rely on what the experts say, like the pilot and the owner of this ship?
– do you rely on the word of God and what the Spirit impresses upon you? – or do
you rely on majority opinion? – do you just follow the crowd and do what they
do?
-- it is always better to rely on
God’s word above anything else, and Paul’s counsel to Julius here will show the
wisdom in doing that as we move forward
-- however, in this case, Julius
followed the crowd – he went with what the majority of the people on that ship
told him was the best course of action – but as we will see, that didn’t turn
out well – so, keep that in mind – just because it’s popular – just because the
crowd says this is right – just because the world tells you this is the way to
go – doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do
-- verse 13-26
Acts 27:13 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[b] 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.”
-- not long after they began to
sail again, the ship was hit with a Nor’easter – just like the storm that is
hitting the eastern coast this weekend – Nor’easters are similar to a hurricane
– with strong winds – driving rain – and dangerous conditions
-- these little ships that sailed
in the Mediterranean Sea in the 1st century were just flimsy, wooden
vessels – they were not built to the same standard as today’s ships – and they
couldn’t survive major storms like this
-- the sailors did everything they
could to keep the ship from breaking up – they ran ropes underneath it to hold
the hull together – they threw cargo overboard and even the tackle they needed
for sailing – after they had done everything in their power, they finally lost
all hope of being saved
-- this is what happens when we
make choices and live life in our own power and our own strength – we will fail
– and the men on that ship were facing the consequences of their decision to
press on even after Paul counseled them not to
-- John Wayne supposedly said, “Life
is hard – It’s harder if you’re stupid” – and ignoring God’s word and God’s
direction in our lives is stupid – we will suffer the consequences of our
decisions, just like these men did
-- so, why
do storms come upon us? – certainly, nothing happens to us that God doesn’t
allow, even if He didn’t ordain it in the beginning – and the Bible tells us
that God uses these storms to help grow us and mature us in the faith – but God
is not the author of all the storms we see in life
– some storms happen because we
made bad decisions and we are suffering from the consequences of our actions –
some storms happen just because we live in a fallen world – and we’re catching
the effect of a creation that has been cursed or we’re caught up in the consequences
of someone else’s sin
-- and some storms happen because
Satan is trying to keep us from doing what God wants us to do
-- in Luke 8, Jesus is in a boat
with His disciples – they are heading across the Sea of Galilee and are making
their way to the Gentile region of Gerasenes – Gerasenes was where Jesus found
the man possessed by a legion of demons – and where He healed this man, casting
the demons from him into a herd of pigs
-- Satan did not want Jesus in
Gerasenes – he did not want Jesus to interfere with what he was doing in that
region – and as Jesus is in the boat with His disciples heading to that place,
a major storm came up in the sea and threatened to overwhelm the little boat
Jesus and His disciples were in
-- the disciples in the boat that
day included Simon Peter and Andrew – James and John – seasoned fishermen – seasoned
sailors – used to sailing in storms on that very body of water – but when that
storm hit their ship, even these seasoned sailors lost hope – they feared for
their lives – and they cried out to Jesus, who was sleeping on a cushion, for
help
-- Jesus stood up and spoke to the
storm and calmed it – it is interesting to note the words that Jesus used – in Luke
8:24, we read that Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters – He
“rebuked” them, implying this was something wrong – this was something out of
the ordinary – this was not a normal storm
-- that’s why many believe,
including me, that Satan created that storm that day to keep Jesus away from
Gerasenes – and I believe that Satan was the source of this storm that is
threatening the boat that Paul is on in the Mediterranean
-- remember, Satan has tried
already to keep Paul out of Rome and to keep Paul from preaching the gospel –
he had raised up opposition to Paul and the gospel in almost every town Paul
preached in – he had raised up the Jews to arrest Paul and have him tried by
the Romans
-- when that failed, he tried to
offer Paul the easy way out – the temptation to be released from prison and declared
innocent in Jerusalem – but Paul said “no,” because he knew God wanted him to
go to Rome
-- and when Paul appealed to Caesar,
despite his innocence being recognized by Felix and Festus and Agrippa, Satan
has brought a storm against this ship as another scheme to keep Paul from
standing before Nero and preaching the gospel in Rome
-- and while the sailors and the
soldiers may have feared for their lives, Paul represented peace in the eye of
the storm – for God had promised him through an angel that he would stand trial
before Caesar and that no one on that ship would be killed – and Paul’s faith
in God saw him through
III. The Shipwreck
(Acts 27:27-44)
-- but Satan
was not done in his attempts to keep Paul from Rome – if the storm didn’t do
it, then Satan reasoned a shipwreck would
-- verse 27-32
Acts 27:27 On the fourteenth night we were still being
driven across the Adriatic[c] 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.
-- while the sailors may have made
a bad decision to press on towards Rome, they were still seasoned men who knew
their business – and as the ship is being pushed on by the storm, they quickly
discern that they were approaching land – it was just a feeling they had, based
on experience and skill
-- they started taking soundings,
which proved them right – by measuring the depth of the water using weighted
ropes with marked lengths, they quickly determined the sea was getting
shallower and shallower -- they were heading towards shore – which could be disastrous,
if the ship crashed into rocks or was broken up by the pounding waves
-- just like these men became aware
of a change in their condition – that something was different – God uses
spiritual soundings in our lives to give us a sense of a change in our
condition or an indication of what we should do – through the Holy Spirit –
through prayer – through circumstances – through the church – and through His
word – God speaks to us and lets us know if we are going the right way or
whether we need to make a change in course
-- in order for us to discern these
changes and the call of God in our lives, we have to become seasoned Christians
– we have to stay in His word and stay close to Him in prayer – so that we can
discern when He is making a change or calling us in another direction
-- verse 33-44
Acts 27:33 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.
-- Paul stands up before the sailors
and the soldiers and encourages them to eat something – why does he do this? –
they’re in the middle of a storm – the ship is being driven towards shore,
where the chance of shipwreck and destruction are very real – so, why take a
moment and eat?
-- it’s a demonstration of faith –
Paul had been told by God that no one on that ship was going to perish – that all
of them would live – and he stands up now and encourages the men to eat based
on that promise – because men who are going to die don’t need food – but men
who are going to live, do
-- so, Paul takes the bread – gives
thanks to God – eats the bread, feeding himself physically and spiritually –
and then shares it with the rest of the men on that ship
-- his faith and his trust in God
were contagious – and the men began to believe and ate based on the promise God
gave to Paul
-- when daylight came and the sailors
saw a bay with a sandy beach, they decided to run the ship aground – they cut
loose the anchors and untied the ropes that held the rudders and pointed the
bow at the sand – the ship ran aground on a sandbar and the waves began to
break the ship apart
-- all of the men began to abandon
the ship to swim to shore – but the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners first
– Julius stopped them, because he had become convinced of God through Paul –
that’s not to say he was a believer in Jesus – but he believed God had spoken
to Paul – and based on Paul’s direction, he commanded the men to spare Paul’s
life and the lives of the rest of the prisoners
--
Satan’s second attempt to stop Paul from getting to Rome didn’t completely work
– he was shipwrecked, but he was spared by God and all the men on that ship
made it safely to shore
III. The Snake
(Acts 28:1-16)
-- look at Chapter 28:1-6
Acts 28:1 Once safely on
shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us
unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining
and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper,
driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw
the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a
murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not
allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered
no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead;
but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they
changed their minds and said he was a god.
-- so, when the storm didn’t work
and the shipwreck didn’t work, Satan tried one more thing to keep Paul from
getting to Rome
-- as the day dawned on the
survivors of the shipwreck, they found themselves on the island of Malta, about
60 miles south of Sicily – the islanders came and built a fire, and Paul lent a
hand, gathering brushwood to keep the fire going
-- when he put the wood he had
gathered on the fire, a venomous snake came out and bit him – the islanders
were certain Paul was going to die, because no one survived a bite from these
snakes
-- isn’t it ironic that Satan used
a snake as his last attempt to keep Paul from Rome? – we first see Satan in the
form of a snake in the Garden of Eden, where he successfully tempted Adam and Eve
to sin by causing them to doubt God’s word
-- but Paul remains true to the
Word and trusts in the promise from God that he would stand before Caesar in
Rome and preach the gospel – God protects him from the venom of the snake, to
the amazement of the islanders
--
skip down to verse 11, and we’ll finish up there
Acts 28:11 After three months we put out to sea in a
ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the
figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and
stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The
next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.
14 There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with
them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters there had heard that we
were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three
Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was
encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a
soldier to guard him.
-- Paul and
his companions remained in Malta for the next three months, finally heeding the
Spirit’s counsel to Paul to not sail at that time – they waited for the season
to turn, and when the weather improved for sailing, they found a ship that had
wintered in the island and booked passage on it for Rome
-- it’s
interesting here that Luke describes the ship in such detail – he tells us it
was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux –
as we discussed when we looked at the story of Apollos earlier in the book of
Acts, Alexandria was a city renowned for human wisdom and intelligence – it was
a center for education, with a major library – and so, Alexandria represented
human wisdom and knowledge, as opposed to Godly wisdom and knowledge
-- the twin
gods, of course, represented the pagan religion that was centered in Rome – and
by describing the figurehead in such detail, Luke is setting up the purpose of
Paul’s travel to Rome in the first place – for his arrival in Rome would be a
battle between the spiritual forces of evil and the truth of the gospel of
Christ, as well as a battle between man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom
-- not long
after the Alexandrian ship set sail, Paul arrived in Rome, just as God had
ordained – he was given freedom there as he awaited his trial before Caesar, although
a Roman soldier remained with him as a guard
IV. Closing
-- let me close by sharing with you
the story about a boy who entered a grocery store and asked the saleswoman for
a box of Tide detergent --The saleswoman was puzzled and asked why he wanted a
box of Tide -- The boy said that he was going to wash his cat.
-- The saleswoman said, "Young
man, you should not wash your cat with this kind of soap." -- However, the
boy insisted that it would be okay.
-- A few
days later, the boy returned to the store and the saleswoman asked about the
cat.
-- "Oh,
he died," said the boy -- The saleswoman said, "Well, son. I warned
you not to wash your cat with Tide detergent."
-- The boy replied, "The soap
didn’t hurt him. It was the spin cycle that got him."
-- the Apostle Paul has certainly
been in a spin cycle throughout the Book of Acts as he tried to faithfully preach
the gospel of Christ and convince others to put their faith in Jesus as their
Lord and Savior
-- and here, as the Book of Acts
comes to an end and Paul is trying to make his way to Rome, he gets hit with a
triple spin cycle consisting of a storm, a shipwreck, and a snake
-- but despite everything Satan
throws his way, Paul persists through the power of the Holy Spirit and by
standing on the promise that God has given him
-- all of us are going to get hit
with the spin cycles of life as we go through this world – sometimes it’s
storms – literal and spiritual – sometimes it’s shipwrecks, as life seems to go
off the rails – and sometimes it’s snakes – those people who come into our
lives to harm us and cause us to turn away from God
-- the answer to surviving the spin
cycle is clear – we do what Paul did – we persist through the power of the Spirit
– we stand on our faith – we trust in the promise – and we press on, knowing
that God is with us and that in all things, He will work for the good of those
who love Him and who are called according to His purpose
-- so, as we close, let me
encourage you to face the storm without fear – to stare down the threats of shipwrecks
and destruction – and to stand against the world and the snakes that threaten
our walk with Christ
-- let us set our faces resolutely
towards the throne of God – and let us put our faith and trust in the One who
has promised to never leave us or forsake – but who promises to see us safely
home
-- let us pray
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