Acts 27:1

Amen. God is good. Good morning to you all. Would you be seated if you're standing for just a moment?

George, stay here for a second. I'm going to embarrass you for a moment. I just wanted to publicly congratulate my friend here, George. He graduated with honors yesterday with his bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Horizon University. He was also accepted to Gordon-Conwell Seminary for their Master's in Divinity program, which starts in the new semester. So I just want to say congratulations to you. George is a smart guy. He really is. I've taken some classes with him. He was a student of mine at the Bible College, and he's a great teacher. I am just blessed by George and blessed by him leading worship too. Amen.

I am also wearing this shirt today because, as you know, one of our worship leaders, Rich Gary. Rich, would you stand up for a second? I'm on Richie's gang. If you've been here for a while, you know that Rich, what, seven or eight weeks ago now? Eight weeks ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So we're praying for Rich that God would touch him and heal him. He is going through treatment, and he has another round of treatment that starts tomorrow. So we're praying for you. This has to do with him. You'll see some of these shirts around here. Rich, we love you, and we're praying for you.

In the late 1960s, there was a church not too far away from here to the north where the church was growing really quickly, especially among youth culture at that time. They were growing so quickly that they needed to build a new facility, and they built a new facility and moved in. One day, the pastor of that church showed up and found a sign that one of the elders had put up. It said that if you have bare feet, you can't come in because they were concerned that they were ruining the new carpet with their bare feet. The pastor pulled down the sign and said, "We're going to rip out the carpet then." That was Pastor Chuck Smith, and that was Calvary Chapel back in the late 1960s. So we're just following in Chuck's footsteps and ripping out the carpet. One of the things that we've been saying here...

For the last few months, we have been discussing whether it's okay to bring coffee into the sanctuary. Some leaders expressed concerns that it might ruin the carpet. We responded by saying we have a plan for that: we will just get rid of the carpet. This week, they are going to be polishing the concrete, so we are currently in the middle of that process. If you're wondering if this is how it will look for good, not exactly. It will look a little different when you come in next week.

With that, would you stand with me? Let's open our Bibles to the book of Acts, specifically Acts chapter 27. Today, we are starting a new series in the book of Acts called "Journey to Rome," focusing on chapters 27 and 28. We have moved away from Paul's trials in this passage, and now we are transitioning to the section of Scripture where Paul is on his way to the city of Rome. We are zeroing in on the very end of the book of Acts. If you've been here for a while, you know we started the book of Acts in November of 2008. That's a long time ago! We are moving somewhat slowly, but we are almost done. The end is in sight—no more detours.

We will be in Acts chapter 27, but to give context, please turn back a little to Acts chapter 26, verse 28. In this chapter, Paul is standing trial before the king of the region, Agrippa. It says, "Then Agrippa said to him, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian.' And Paul said, 'I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.'"

When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor, Bernice, and those who sat with them. After they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, "This man has done nothing deserving of death or chains." Then Agrippa said to Festus, "This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar there in Rome."

When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a man named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan regiment. Entering a ship of Adramantium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. The next day, we landed in the city of Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly, giving him liberty to go to his friends to receive care.

After we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. When we had sailed over the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. There, the centurion found an Alexandrian ship to sail to Italy, and he put us on board.

As we look at this passage today, we pray that You would give us insight and application. We believe that You will because Your Word is living and powerful, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword. Lord, You've given us Your Word so that we would be instructed, that we may be reproved and corrected. But more than anything, Lord, that we would be Your people who are ready for good work. So ready us today as we look at this passage. Give us insight as we follow with Paul on this journey to Rome. We ask in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

Have you ever been in a storm? When I say that, I'm not necessarily talking about a weather pattern; I'm actually talking about one of life's storms. How many of you have been in one of life's storms before? All of you basically have. Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seems hopeless and helpless? I know from seeing some people nodding their heads that you've been in that place before. Just about everyone here knows what I'm talking about—going through one of those storms of life.

One of those situations where it seems like you're headed into a storm that is unavoidable. Maybe you've been carried along into a situation like that by others, and along the way, you pointed out the potential dangers, saying, "I don't think this is a good plan. I don't think we should go in this direction." Yet, you didn't have much of a choice. People didn't listen to what you had to say. If you can identify with that this morning, then you can identify with Paul's situation here in Acts chapters 27 and 28.

Paul is in a situation that he can't keep himself from moving in this direction, and there's nothing that is stopping this. Even though, as we're going to see in this passage today, he tries to raise the alarm and say, "Hey, I don't think this is the best plan." In chapter 27, verse 1, the first opening words, the eleven words that start the chapter, say, "And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy."

The drama that is going to unfold in these next 44 verses and on into chapter 28 is a drama that was decided and planned by others. So, point number one on your sermon guide, if you have it handy this morning: sometimes our path is planned for us. Sometimes our path is planned for us.

Our path leads toward an unavoidable storm. However, when you begin to look at the Bible and study what it has to say, you start to understand that the word "sometimes" in point number one could actually be crossed out. So, would you just cross out that word "sometimes"? As you delve into the Scriptures and examine what they reveal about God, you begin to see that our path is planned for us. Our path is planned for us.

Although the path described in Acts chapter 27 seemed to be orchestrated by Festus or Julius, the Roman centurion, ultimately, what we see behind the scenes are the hands of God. His fingers are on it; His fingerprints are left upon it because God is at work. Later on, the Apostle Paul would write in one of his letters to a church in the city of Ephesus, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God ordained beforehand that we should walk in."

God has created us in Christ for good works, which He ordained beforehand that we should walk in. So, God has a plan. God has a path that He has prepared for us. Not just the Apostle Paul recognized this; a thousand years before him, King David wrote in Psalm 37, verse 23, "The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord." They are ordained by God.

Then, David's son, Solomon, considered by some to be the wisest man who ever lived, was given great wisdom by God. He could literally be called a wise guy. In Proverbs chapter 16, verse 9, he states, "The Lord directs the steps of man. A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

Not just in Proverbs 16, but several Proverbs later, in Proverbs chapter 20, verse 24, Solomon again says, "A man's steps are of the Lord. How then can a man understand his own way?" A man's steps are of the Lord. Paul recognized this and wrote of it in Ephesians, having experienced it throughout his life. David wrote of it, no doubt seeing God working.

Solomon could see the truth in it, and we need to recognize that our steps are planned. Our path is planned. However, there is an aspect of our nature, which I would conclude is our sinful nature, that does not like this. We live in a culture, in a nation, that really doesn't like this.

In just a few days, we will be celebrating a holiday that is unique to our country: the 4th of July. This holiday celebrates independence. Over 230 years after that first declaration of independence was signed, we have changed what independence means to the point that every single one of us is individually independent and self-determinant. I believe this reflects our sinful nature because we see it at the youngest ages, even when children are little toddlers.

A few months ago, I played a video here at the church that we had taken of our two-year-old daughter, Evangeline. It was a series of clips of her repeatedly saying, "I do it all by myself." To this day, that is a perpetual saying from Evangeline. Every single day, when I go to get her out of her bed, she insists, "I do it all by myself." When I try to put her in her car seat, she says, "I do it all by myself." She tries to do everything by herself until she realizes she needs help. Sometimes she will ask for help, but rarely, because most of the time, she insists, "I do it all by myself."

As a result of the fall of humanity, we live in a place where we want to be by ourselves, to do things by ourselves, to be the captain of our own ship and the determiner of our own destiny. We resist having anyone over us who might direct what we are going to do. For the modern American mind, the idea that God directs the affairs of humanity really bothers a lot of people.

There is actually a huge debate that goes on in the church regarding this issue. Two different theological camps exist, and you may find yourself on one side or the other. I try to maintain a balanced position in the middle. On one side, there are those who consider themselves Calvinists. They hold a strong view of the sovereignty of God and His directing of all things. On the other side, also consisting of Christians, is a group called Arminians. One group follows John Calvin, while the other follows Jacob Arminius, who lived hundreds of years ago. Arminius believed more in man's responsibility and man's will. Consequently, you find good, well-meaning Christians on either side often in conflict with each other.

The reality is that both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are revealed in the Scriptures. We have to recognize that there is a way, although it may be a mystery to us, that makes sense to God where these things go together. However, there is a part of us that does not like to think about being directed. So much so that in our day, it has become a forefront debate in our nation: the self-determination of humanity to the point where people say, "I don't want to be identified as male or female. I will determine for myself what my sexual identity and gender is."

Do you see what that is? That is man saying, "You will not rule over me. I will determine who I am and how I live." It's phenomenal how far we've taken this in our culture today. But the reality is, as we look at the Scriptures—whether you see Paul's words in Ephesians, David's words in the Psalms, or Solomon's words in the Proverbs—our path is planned for us. Sometimes, in God's way of determining things and planning things, He plans that you or I would go right into a storm, the perfect storm.

I don't know about you, but when I consider that, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "Why? Why would you direct me to go into something that is a crisis, a traumatic situation, a difficulty, a hard thing?" Yet, many of us have experienced that. Looking back on it, hindsight is 20/20. We can see how God directed things, but there is a part of us that just says, "Why? Why would you do that?"

We recognize that it's hard to answer questions of why, especially in that area. I love that passage, Proverbs 20:24. In another English translation, the New Living Translation, it renders it this way: "The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?" Is there anyone here today, like me, who wants to try and figure out everything along the way? I'm one of those inquisitive people who always ask questions. My dad told me that when I was a little kid, the question I always asked was, "Why? Why? Why? Why?" Everything was "Why?" Why is the world this way? Why do we do things this way? Why? I'm still asking that question, "Why?" It probably drove my dad crazy, and I think it probably drives my Father in heaven crazy sometimes as well.

Why? Why? But we need to recognize, and I think we'll see as we begin to go through the drama of Acts chapters 27 and 28, point number two on your outline: God uses storms to bring salvation.

God uses storms to bring salvation. Now, there are some of you sitting here today who find this point applies to you in a very unique way. You would not be here today, and you know this to be true, had it not been for a storm, had it not been for a crisis, had it not been for a difficult diagnosis, a separation, a loss, or some sort of dramatic, traumatic crisis that brought you to the point where you decided, "You know what, I don't know where else to turn, so I'm going to go to church." I see some of you nodding because you know that’s the case.

You see, God uses storms oftentimes to bring salvation, and I would even say to bring His salvation or further revelation of who He is. We see this in the Gospels, don't we? There is a story where Jesus was with His disciples after a hard day of ministry. At the end of the day, He says, "Alright guys, get in the boats." Remember, at least four of His disciples were fishermen, so they got in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus, being tired, went and slept in the back of the boat.

In the midst of this, a great storm came up. His disciples, in the midst of this storm, did everything in their own power to deal with the problem. Isn't that like us? We try to do everything in our own power to take care of it, to fix the situation. They fought to get the water out of the boat and to keep the boat afloat as they crossed the sea. Finally, when they were at their wits' end, they came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Don't you care? I'm dying here."

Have you ever prayed that prayer? "Don't you care? I'm dying here." He stood up and said, "Peace, be still," and everything became calm. Just like that, they were at their desired destination. What happened? They experienced a greater revelation of who He was. They looked at Him and said, "Who is this guy, that even the winds and the waves obey His voice?"

So, God uses storms to bring about salvation or greater revelation of who He is. We will see that here in this passage, but there are those of you here today who are saying, "I would not be where I am today had it not been for that storm." It was not an enjoyable experience; it was not a good thing, but ultimately, it brought about salvation.

And so it was there, verse 1, and when it was decided, when it was decided, Paul had appealed to Caesar. Festus had no...

The other thing that Festus could do was to send Paul to Rome. At the beginning of Festus' rule in Judea, he decided that he had heard Paul's testimony, and now King Agrippa had heard it too. It was time to send Paul along. Festus had other business to deal with and did not want to be burdened with this case any longer. So, he arranged for Paul to be put on a boat. He decided to set Paul up with a centurion named Julius, who was part of the Augustan regiment. Julius was tasked with taking a group of prisoners to Rome, as they all had to appear before Caesar. Paul was one of those prisoners, and he was going.

Historians tell us that Festus came to power in the summer of A.D. 60. This is actual history, not just a story. Festus became the governor of Judea in July of A.D. 60, which is right about this time of year. One of his first orders of business was to hear the Apostle Paul. A couple of weeks after he came to power, a group of Jews came down from Jerusalem to hear Paul. Not long after that, King Agrippa also heard him. Acts 26 takes place during the month of July, A.D. 60.

As time passed, many Bible scholars believe that Paul's journey to Rome began around the middle of August in the year 60 A.D. Paul was set on a boat headed for Rome. It wasn't just Paul on this journey; if we look closely at verses 1 and 2, we see a repeated word. It says, "when it was decided that we should sail to Italy." Then, in verse 2, it states, "so entering a ship of Adramantium, we put to sea."

The author of this book, a man named Luke, also wrote the Gospel of Luke. He was a doctor and a close friend of Paul's. We believe he was the pastor of a church called the Church at Philippi and a close associate of the Apostle Paul. Luke was with Paul while he was in Caesarea, and now he got on board the boat with Paul, heading to Rome.

But it wasn't just Luke. The text mentions that they were meant to sail along the coast of Asia, and Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with them. Aristarchus was one of the individuals who came to faith under Paul's ministry when he was a missionary in Thessalonica. He was a disciple under Paul's guidance. So now, Paul was not alone; he had two close friends with him. Luke and Aristarchus were on the boat, set to go to Rome.

This detail about the timing, the middle of August in 60 A.D., may seem inconsequential, but it is important.

It becomes very important as we go on to study weather patterns. I realize you may not be those who study weather patterns, but if you examine the Mediterranean Sea, you will find that there are certain times of the year when it is safe to sail and other times when it is not. Those who study such things tell us that from about April until August, it is safe to sail on the Mediterranean. However, from about August until the middle of November, conditions are borderline, and you cannot really predict what you will encounter. From November until the end of March, no one would sail on the Mediterranean Sea.

They have a time crunch here. They are already in that borderline period, but Festus says, "I don't want to deal with this anymore, so we're putting you on a boat, and we're going." He has other problems to address, and he certainly did in Judea. So, Paul is put on a boat. In verse 3, we read that the next day they landed at Sidon. Sidon was about 70 miles north of Caesarea, a short single-day journey on one of the sailing vessels. Julius, the commander and centurion overseeing a group of prisoners, treated Paul kindly. The Greek word "philanthropos" indicates that he treated Paul with kindness and gave him the liberty to go to his friends to receive care.

This is phenomenal. In fact, it is incredible that Julius would do this. One of the first things we should recognize, as many Bible commentators point out, is that when it says Paul went to his friends to receive care, the words "receive care" seem to imply that Paul was sick. Julius allowed him this liberty and treated him kindly so he could visit his friends. However, Paul was a prisoner of Rome, and a Roman centurion would never have done this lightly. The centurion's life would be on the line if he lost one of these prisoners. It must have been communicated to him by Festus that Paul was innocent and that this was just a procedural matter. Festus likely advised Julius to treat Paul kindly, noting that he was an older man who had been beaten up quite a bit.

So, Paul is given liberty for a time to be cared for by his friends. When they put to sea from there, as noted in verse 4, they sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. On your sermon guide, there is a map on the back, and I hope you will take a look at it because it is really helpful in understanding what is going on in this passage. You might have a map similar to this in the back of your Bible, but if you look in the lower right-hand corner, you will see...

They set sail from Jerusalem, then to Caesarea, and took a trip up to Sidon. After that, they went north of Cyprus, passing by Cilicia and Pamphylia in the upper right-hand corners. We can see this route that Paul is taking as they head to Rome. They put to sea from there and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. Another way of saying it is that the wind was antagonistic.

Has anyone ever sailed before? If so, lift your hand high. When I was a kid, I really wanted a jet ski. Can anyone relate? I tried to talk my dad into getting a jet ski, but he bought a sailboat instead. He said, "Jet skis require gas, but wind is free." So we got a Hobiecat. My dad had sailed when he was younger and wanted to get another Hobiecat, so we went sailing. I learned a little bit about sailing, and while it can be fun, there are times when you just want to hit your head against the mast.

There are moments when the wind is contrary. In a small boat, you can turn into the wind and tack in certain ways to make progress. However, as we unfold this passage, we see that the wind is coming from the left on your map, from the west. What direction are they trying to go? West. So they are having some issues. They sail under the cover of Cyprus, using the island to shield themselves from the wind so they can navigate around it.

They pass Cilicia, which was Paul's home region, and then Pamphylia. In verse five, it says, "When we had sailed over the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra." You can see Myra right underneath Pamphylia. They arrived in Myra, a city of Lycia, where the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy and put them on board. Notice that they were put on board; Paul and Luke had no choice in the matter. They had to do what they were told, as they were under the authority of this centurion.

In the first century on the Mediterranean Sea, there were no commuter ships. There was no option to buy a ticket from Caesarea to Rome with a short layover in Syria and another layover elsewhere.

Another connection there. It didn't work like that. The only ships on the Mediterranean were trade ships, merchant ships, and working vessels. This Roman centurion had authority from the Roman government because of his position. He could commandeer a portion of any boat that he wanted for his business. This is exactly what he does.

They arrive at the trade port in Myra, which was one of the ports where all kinds of ships would come to offload their wares, change ships, and move around. The centurion begins to look for a ship that is going to Italy because they need to get to Rome. They find one, and Paul is put on this boat. From everything we can tell in this passage, this boat originated in Alexandria, which was the main port of Egypt in the south. Egypt was the granary of the Roman Empire, where all the grain was grown. It would be shipped down the Nile River to Alexandria, put on boats, and then dispersed throughout the Roman Empire.

The grain would go north to a place like Myra, which was right there in Asia Minor. It would be offloaded, and grain would be taken to Asia Minor and other parts of the Roman Empire, or it would be transferred to other ships to go to Rome, the capital city. Paul arrives there with Luke, Aristarchus, Julius, and his Roman soldiers, along with the other prisoners on board the boat, and they change ships. They commandeer a portion of this grain vessel that had come from Alexandria and was headed to Rome.

Archaeologists tell us that these grain vessels were huge wooden ships, single-masted, filled with grain, and sitting low in the water. This was a large ship, as we know from verse 37, which tells us there were 276 men on board, including Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, the Roman centurion Julius, his soldiers, and the other prisoners committed to Julius for transport to Rome. They are all put on board this boat in Myra.

Continuing on in verse 7, it says, "When we had sailed slowly many days, we arrived with difficulty off Snidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed. We sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmona." Look again at your map; from Myra to Snidus is not a very long distance. In fact, it's about 60 miles, but it took them many days to cover that distance. They had gone one day from Caesarea up to Sidon, which was 70 miles, and then many, many days to continue their journey.

You can tell the winds are against them, moving from the west. Historians tell us that these big grain vessels, with one large square sail, were giant ships sitting low in the water and were unwieldy, making them very hard to maneuver. As a result, the wind was against them. They finally reached Snidus, but then they were pushed down below Crete. The most direct route would have been to go north of the island of Crete, but because the winds were contrary and the ship was difficult to maneuver, they found themselves being pushed down below Crete. They passed the eastern side of Crete.

In verse 8, it says, "Passing with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lacy." That sounds good, doesn't it? Fair Havens. Yes! Oh, finally, we get to Fair Havens. However, not so much. Fair Havens had a nice name but was a bad place. It's like Bishop, California. Sorry if you're from Bishop; I apologize. I've been there once for the Mule Days parade when I was in eighth grade.

Continuing on, they arrived at Fair Havens. In verse 9, it states, "Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous, because notice this, the fast was already over." This gives us what we call a temporal marker, a time identifier. The fast refers to a Jewish holiday known as Yom Kippur. How many of you have heard of Yom Kippur before? Yom Kippur occurs in our calendar year sometime in September or October.

If this is indeed the year 60 AD, as many historians suggest, we can determine the exact date of this event when they were in Fair Havens. It happened on Wednesday, September 22nd, in the year 60 AD. Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, Julius, the Roman soldiers, all the other prisoners, and the 276 men on the ship were in port at Fair Havens, and now the fast had passed.

So, between their departure in mid-August and their arrival at the end of September, we know from historians and those who study weather patterns of the Mediterranean that it is not a good time to sail. The wind had already been against them. Therefore, there they were in Fair Havens, a south-facing port in the Mediterranean Sea, which, as verse 12 tells us, was not a good place to winter. You don't want to be there.

Because the waves, the tides, and the winds create such difficult conditions for the boat to remain in port, Paul advised them in verse 9. It’s amazing to me that this man, with no wealth, no power, and no position—he is a prisoner—was given the opportunity to counsel the helmsman of the ship, the owner of the ship, and the Roman centurion. God has given him favor.

Notice his counsel in verse 10, where he says, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end in disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo of the ship but also of our lives." That's optimistic. We need to back up and remember who this man Paul is. In a letter he wrote prior to this event, called Second Corinthians, he tells us that he had already experienced being shipwrecked three times before this point. This man has some PTSD; he has been through this before.

So, this old dude stands up and says, "Listen, guys, I beg you, let's just stay here. It's okay. We don't need to get on that boat. I've been through this before. It doesn't end well. It's bad. Let's just stay here."

Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman, the captain of the ship, and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority advised setting sail from there, hoping to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete that opened toward the southwest and the northwest. It was a better harbor.

Look on your map. Notice that from Fair Havens to Phoenix, we are talking only 35 nautical miles—not a big distance at all. The problem is that the winds have been out of the west the entire time. They are in a big, unwieldy vessel and cannot maneuver it, so they are stuck in Fair Havens. However, the captain insists that they must get out of there. If they get stuck for the winter, they are done.

They just need to go 35 nautical miles. It’s not a big deal; you can practically see it on a clear day. If they can get there, they will be okay. They can stay there for the winter—October, November, December, January, February, March—and then in April, they can go again. This is what they did in those days.

In verse 13, when the south wind blew softly, all the winds changed.

For the good, favorably. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, they put out to sea and sailed close by Crete.

So here's the picture: They were stuck for many days, many weeks, in Fair Havens. The winds were blowing in a bad way out of the west. They couldn't get to where they wanted to go, but they didn't want to stay there. Then one morning, they woke up, and now the winds were softly blowing from the south. Perfect conditions! They were on the southern tip of Crete, and they could just sail over there; it would be a one-day journey. Everything would be good, right? Wrong.

Look at the next verse. In verse 14, you might want to underline "but" in your neighbor's Bible. Not long after, which would probably be in the middle of the day, a tempestuous headwind arose. The word "tempestuous" in the Greek language is "typhoonikos," meaning hurricane-force winds. This wind was well-known to the seamen who fared there on the Mediterranean. They had a name for it. You know it's bad when the guys have a name for the wind, right?

Yes, this is a Santa Ana. When you have names for winds, it's bad. They said this tempestuous headwind arose, called Eurocliden. Doesn't that just sound bad? Eurocliden sounds ominous, like, "Ooh, gosh, that's bad." It means nor'easter, a strong typhoon-class wind out of the northeast, coming from Asia Minor, straight down at them. The wind had been blowing from the west for a long time. Now, all of a sudden, it shifted to the south, but then it made a quick shift all the way from the northeast in one day, and boom, they were in trouble.

Why? Because now the wind was blowing against them, making it impossible to maneuver the big ship into Phoenix.

Point number three on your outline: If there is one thing that we can be certain of in this life, it is that winds change and storms come. But remember, God has purpose even in storms.

So when the ship was caught, in verse 15, and could not head into the wind, they let her drive. Running under the shelter of an island called Clouda or Cowda, they secured the skiff with difficulty. Now, again, on your map, you cannot see it because it's not on this map, but directly south, 21 and a half nautical miles directly south of the city of Phoenix, is a small six-mile-wide island.

island called Cowda. They were caught by the wind, a northeasterly wind coming down from Asia Minor, blowing against them. They could not go into the port at Phoenix, so they let it go. They let the wind carry them and then ran under the shelter of the island, Cowda. The wind was coming from the northeast, and they hoped to use the island as a windbreak to secure their things.

If you're on a large sailing vessel, you pull behind you a little boat called a skiff or a dinghy. That's your last hope if things start to go bad. You don't want that small skiff to take on water because it creates drag and can cause a huge problem. The first order of business is to secure it and get it on the deck of the boat. So, that's what they did. The crew pulled it in and secured the skiff with difficulty; it was not easy. Once they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship.

Not only did they secure the skiff, but the next order of business was to address the stress on the body of the boat. In windy conditions like this, a large wooden vessel with a single mast could break apart. In ancient times, they would cable the boat, putting strong ropes underneath and cinching them up to bind everything together. They were doing everything they could. They used cables to undergird the ship, fearing, as verse 17 states, lest they should run aground on the Cirtus sands. They struck sail, and so they were driven.

Look down on your map in region B4. You see the area labeled Great Cirtus. There are huge sandbanks, even to this day, sandbars that act like a reef of sand. Many ships, including Roman vessels, would be blown into these by the Euroclide. Archaeological finds have revealed many Roman ships that were destroyed there. What would happen is a ship would get stuck in the sand and then be beaten upon by the water until it was destroyed. The crewmen of this boat did not want to end up there, so they did everything they could to avoid it. One translation states that they put out a sea anchor to create drag, trying to ensure they did not end up in the Cirtus sands, which was not a good place to be.

In verse 18, it says that because they were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. They started getting rid of everything. Everything.

They can get rid of. Notice it says they lightened the ship. But then look at this: on the third day, we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our hands. What does this mean? All hands on deck. There were 276 men on board the boat. Everybody's on deck. We're getting everything we can that is not necessary off this boat. Ditch it all to try and make it ride higher in the water. Lighten the ship.

Now, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest beat on us, notice this: all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. Point number four on your outline: if our hope is in ourselves, God will allow us to become hopeless. Sometimes He allows storms to come for that very purpose. My hope is built on nothing less than Miles Elliot, the Benedictus. If that's the case, storms will come.

There's a great passage of Scripture in the Old Testament that applies to this perfectly. It's found in the Psalms. If you turn to about the middle of your Bible, you'll find the Psalms. There are 150 of them. The 107th Psalm, turn there. Psalm 107, starting at the 23rd verse: "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters." Yes, this applies. "They see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep, for He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and they stagger like drunken men. They are at their wits' end. And when they are at their wits' end, then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distress. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. They are glad because they are quiet. So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men."

If our hope is in ourselves, God will allow us to become hopeless. Luke continues in Acts 27:21, "But after a long abstinence from food..." Listen, if you're being tempest-tossed, you don't want to eat. After a long abstinence from food, Paul stood in the midst of the tempest and said, "I will not eat." He repeated this several times. After a long abstinence from food, Paul stood among them all—I love the Apostle Paul—and said, "Men, you should have listened to me." He cannot help but give an "I told you so," right?

"You should have listened to me when we were in Crete. I said this would happen. You're all hungry. We're at our wits' end. All hope is gone. You should have listened to me and not have sailed from Crete, incurring this disaster and loss."

And now I urge you, so listen up. I told you before this would happen, so now listen to me. He has a little bit of credibility at this point. Now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. How could Paul speak with such earnestness? For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve. I love that—the God to whom I belong and whom I serve. This angel stood by me and said, "Do not be afraid."

Now, who do you say "Don't be afraid" to those who are afraid? "Don't be afraid." Why? God, through an angel, reminds Paul of something He already told him in the past. You see, in Acts chapter 23, God told Paul just after he was first arrested and almost killed by a group of angry men, "You have witnessed of me here in Jerusalem; you will witness of me in Rome."

So God now reminds him in verse 24, saying, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar. Indeed, God has granted all of those who sail with you." Therefore, Paul says, "Take heart, men, for I believe God that He will do just as has been told to me."

Point number five of your outline: God makes His people beacons in the storm. God wants His people to be bright, shining lights in the storms of this life. You see, every person, whether they're a Christian or not, experiences storms. We all go through the same things. If you're not a Christian today and you...

Have you ever heard a pastor or a preacher say that if you come to Christ, you won't have any storms? That's a lie. It's not true. Christians and non-Christians go through the same sort of storms and difficulties. The difference is that the Christian has hope in God. God wants to make His people beacons in the storm, shining as bright lights. Jesus said He wanted His people to be like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, a bright light. People should see peace, steadfastness, and confidence in the midst of storms, and they should see that in us.

Paul says, "Take heart, men, for I believe that God will make it happen as He has said." However, we must run aground on a certain island. Point number six on your outline: in a storm, sometimes a crash is inevitable. But remember point number two: God uses storms to bring salvation. That's exactly what we're going to see in our study next time as we finish up Acts chapter 27 and go into Acts chapter 28. The very thing that God is going to bring from this storm is salvation. God uses storms to bring salvation.

Perhaps today you feel tempest-tossed. Maybe, in fact, you came to church today for that very reason. You've never really been a Bible seeker. You don't really know if you believe in the things of Jesus yet, but you came here today because you're tempest-tossed. You're going through a crisis or a trial, or perhaps you're a Christian and you're in the midst of that storm. Remember this important point: our paths are planned for us. For the Christian, it is true that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Sometimes God directs us into storms, but He directs us Christians into those storms so that we can see His revelation of who He is and His salvation. He directs us into those storms so that if our hope is misplaced and in ourselves, it will be redirected to hope in Him. Through that, we can shine for Him in the storm. Would to God that He would encourage you today if that's the place you are in.

Read ahead in Acts chapter 27. I think you'll be blessed by what you see. We'll study it together next time. Let's stand together. We'll close in prayer and a song.

Father God, thank You. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the fact that these things are written.

Two thousand years ago, there were teachings that have application for us right now. There are people standing here who are going through the worst storm they have ever experienced in their lives. I pray, God, that you would help us to recognize and see that even in the midst of that, you are doing something. Even if we can't completely understand it or fully grasp it, I pray that we would have a greater revelation of who you are.

May we see your salvation and shine as lights for you in the midst of our struggles. We ask for this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, "Amen."

Let's sing one last song of praise. Amen.