Dashed Upon The Rocks (Journey To Rome - pt2)

We're in our second study in a series called "Journey to Rome" here at Cross Connection. We're following Paul's journey from the city of Caesarea in modern-day Israel to the city of Rome in Italy. In the midst of it, there are a lot of crazy things that happen, including a shipwreck on the island called Malta. Throughout this journey, God has some great things to teach us about how we are to live in the midst of the storm.

So, open your Bible to Acts 27. I think you'll be encouraged to see some of the things that apply to our lives from this passage that was written 2,000 years ago. God bless.

Now, would you open your Bibles to the book of Acts? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Let's stand together as we read from Acts chapter 27. Open your Bible, turn on your iPad, or use your app—whatever it is. We're in Acts chapter 27, doing a series called "Journey to Rome."

We'll pick it up today at verse 21 to give some context. Acts 27:21 says, "But after a long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them saying, 'Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and the God whom I serve, saying, "Do not be afraid, Paul. You must be brought before Caesar, and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you." Therefore, take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told to me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.'

Now, when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near to some land. They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms. When they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Then, fearing lest they should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.

Lord, as we are here in this place today, we ask that you would take your word, which we recognize is living and powerful. We ask, God, that you would take...

This is inspired by You, and we know that it is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God, as we rightly divide Your word of truth, equip us and ready us to be faithful followers of You.

Lord, help us to see what is reported by Luke here in Acts chapter 27. Let us see not just the facts of what happened 2,000 years ago, but how these things apply to our lives in the year 2014. I know that as we are standing here right now, there are some people who are in the very same circumstance. They are in the midst of an emotional storm, a spiritual storm, or whatever it may be, and they are praying for the day to come. So, God, would You speak and would You minister by Your grace? We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated.

The final point of our study last week was that sometimes a crash is inevitable. Paul makes this very clear in this passage as he speaks to a group of 275 people. Verse 37 tells us the number of individuals on this boat. As Paul was speaking to the 275 people on board, he tells them that we are going to run into a crash; it is inevitable in the midst of this storm. We recognize that this is true. Sometimes a crash is inevitable.

In fact, many of us know this all too well. Back in 2005 and 2006, the U.S. housing market had reached its crowning point. People were cashing out and taking all kinds of money out of their equity, and things were going crazy. Some speculators were saying it was just going to continue, that it would just keep going. But as 2007 began to unfold, economists and analysts started to say that they thought an adjustment was going to come.

Then we entered 2008, and we saw that economic markets around the world were failing. It was as if the crisis was moving toward our nation, and finally, the inevitable crash came on October 1, 2008. There is probably not a single person here today who was not affected in some way by that crash on October 1, 2008, and everything that came after it—the ripples that spread not just throughout our own nation but also across Europe and beyond.

The world has been affected by this, and now, many years later, we are still seeing the effects of that crash. We know that there are times when a crash is inevitable. In Acts chapter 27, the crash was inevitable, as Paul informed them in verses 21 to 26 that they were going to experience loss. The ship was going to go down, and they were going to lose everything aboard.

The only silver lining in the midst of this, if there was one, was that some optimists in the room might say, "Well, okay, life is going to be spared, and we're going to run aground on some island." Thank God they weren't going to go down in the midst of the storm in the middle of the Mediterranean and be floating in the sea. Instead, they were going to run aground on an island.

At this point in Acts 27, the crash is coming. On the back of your sermon guide, you'll see a map; it was there last week as well. Paul has been on this journey since they left somewhere around the middle of summer, probably in August, in the year 60 AD. These events actually happened; this is a history of what took place at that time, nearly 2,000 years ago.

In about August of that year, they left from the very right of your map, the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, from the city of Caesarea. Ultimately, they made it to a port on the island of Crete, right in the middle of the map. On the southern part of the island, there was a port called Fair Havens. It was one of those names that didn't really describe it well because it wasn't a good place. It sounded good but wasn't all that great. It was a place where they could not stay through the winter.

From the text, we can deduce the timing of these events. We know that it was right about the end of September when they were in Fair Havens, and winter was coming. The captain of the ship and the sailors wanted to get out of that port because it wasn't ideal for them to stay there. They only wanted to go about 35 nautical miles to the west to a port called Phoenix, and they were waiting for good enough weather to come.

However, we know from those who study weather patterns in the Mediterranean that this time of year is really iffy, especially in September and October. They were waiting, and the winds were contrary, coming from the left on your map, from the west, which kept them from going in the direction they wanted to go toward the port in Phoenix.

Then, one morning, they woke up, and the winds had changed. A soft southerly wind was coming, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reach their desired destination. So, they got all hands on deck and started to move.

The day a drastic change of events occurred. A huge storm came from the Northeast. They called this storm, this wind, Euroclydon, which meant Nor'easter. This tempestuous wind, as the Bible describes it, does not sound good in English, but in the original Greek, it was typhoonic. So, a typhoon-class wind came down upon them while they were in a huge vessel that did not maneuver very well in winds like that.

In our study last time, we saw that they let the sail down, pulled the rudders up, bound up the boat, and pulled the skiff, the lifeboat, on board. They just let it drive, hoping that they could wait it out and that they wouldn't be blown into a place where they would run aground near the northern part of Africa. A little more than three days into this event, Paul stood up and said, "Guys, you should have listened to me." I love that he gives the old "I told you so." When they were in Crete, he said, "I don't think we should go; loss is going to come." Now they were in the midst of this storm, and everybody had been tempest-tossed. He said, "Guys, you should have listened to me. We wouldn't be in this situation had you listened to me."

But don't worry. The angel of the Lord, the God whom I serve and to whom I belong, has appeared to me and said we are going to be okay. However, we are going to crash. There are times when that crash is inevitable. For those people on that third day of the journey, in the midst of that great storm, all 275 souls on board that boat had lost hope. The sad reality is that many people today live their lives in that kind of hopeless, despairing, and depressed mindset constantly. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who sit in churches and call themselves Christians who also go about their lives with that very depressed and somber "all hope is lost" kind of disposition.

The fact is, we shouldn't be like that. If you're a Christian today, we need to recognize that we do have hope that extends beyond this life. Amen. If you're a Christian today, point number one on your outline is: though all be lost of this life, all is not lost. I recognize that at first hearing, that sounds a little...

It may seem strange, but all is not actually lost in this life. While it may appear that everything is lost, there is plenty to be found in the Bible to support the idea that we, as followers of Jesus, have a hope—a sure and steadfast hope—that extends beyond the trinkets and trappings of this life. Therefore, even if we lose everything we gained in this life, we have not actually lost anything.

Given this perspective, it is vitally important for Christians, for those who believe in the Bible, to take to heart the teachings of Jesus and the pattern of the Apostle Paul. First, let’s consider the teaching of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 6, right in the middle of what is considered by many to be one of Jesus's greatest messages, known as the Sermon on the Mount, we find some profound words. These words are so impactful that even people who don’t necessarily spend much time reading or studying the Bible have heard them somewhere in pop culture.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." He continues in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This means that where your treasure is invested, there your heart will be also.

If you are a Christian today, we need to take these words of Jesus to heart. But it’s not just the words of Jesus that matter; we should also consider the pattern of the Apostle Paul. The same Paul who was stuck in a storm in Acts chapter 27 would, several years later, write a letter back to a church he had planted in the region of Macedonia, in a city called Philippi. This letter is known as the Book of Philippians.

If you turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3, you will find it right after 1 and 2 Corinthians, and just before Galatians and Ephesians.

In Philippians chapter 3, Paul describes the pattern of his life. In verse 7, he writes, "But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss." Interestingly, the word "loss" is the exact same word in the original Greek that Paul used when he was on board the boat, saying, "I believe much loss is going to come from this journey." Here, he states that the things he gained in this life he has counted as loss for Christ. He has given them up, laid them aside, and reckoned them dead because he wants to gain Christ.

In verse 8, Paul continues, "Yet indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count those things as trash, rubbish, that I might gain Christ." This willingness to give up everything of this life to gain Christ shows that Paul recognized the exceeding value of who Jesus is and the worth of who He is. Paul was willing to let go of everything that was gained to him in order to lay hold of Jesus, willing to sacrifice it all for all of Him.

A movie came out a number of years ago, which you may have seen. It was called "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," starring Harrison Ford. In this film, Indiana Jones is seeking the Holy Grail. You have to love movies where characters are on a quest for the Holy Grail. Near the end of the movie, they finally find it. If you remember, they are in a room with an ancient knight who has been there for hundreds of years, surrounded by various cups. The knight tells them they need to choose the right one.

A character accompanying Indiana Jones, the antagonist, picks the wrong cup and drinks from it. The knight then says, "You've chosen badly," and the consequences are dire. Indiana Jones looks around and ultimately finds the right cup. After drinking from it, the knight says, "You've chosen wisely." As they leave the temple, chaos ensues, and everything begins to fall apart.

And this great crack opens up, and the Holy Grail falls down. It's on this little ledge, and then it's like this bottomless pit. Indiana Jones is hanging there, trying to get it, but he can't reach it. He's risked so much to get this cup, and he's holding on with his other hand to his dad, Sean Connery. I love Sean Connery; it's just the voice. Everything I wish I could talk like that. I can't, but there he is, holding on to it. He says, "I can almost reach it. I can almost get it." His dad says to him, "Indiana, let it go. Let it go." Those words of wisdom are interesting. Sometimes, the places you can find truth are surprising.

Let it go. You risk so much to gain it, but let it go. There's another, more updated movie, especially for the little kids in the children's ministry, that has an award-winning song my girls are always singing: "Let It Go." Right, Frozen came out with "Let It Go," and there's some truth, some wisdom in that reality. There are things that we need to let go. Yet, many people, especially in our nation who call themselves Christians, are hanging on to and hoarding the things of this life, as if everything they have is this life. It's a terrible witness to people who don't know Jesus.

Those who don't know Jesus have only one life; they're going to hold on to this. But we, who are believers in Jesus, recognize that this is not all there is. Our lives should be affected and changed by this. The awesome result of living like Paul did, following his pattern in Philippians chapter 3, is that if you willingly reckon all of those things as loss, then if you actually do experience the loss of those things, it's no loss at all. You recognize that you gain Christ.

If you're not a Christian today, there are some words that Jesus spoke that I think are really important around this exact point. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, verse 24, Jesus said to a group of people, "He who desires to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake and the gospel, the same shall find it." I think it's exceedingly important that we take to heart those words of Jesus and recognize that there is really life beyond this life. Giving up everything for Jesus Christ is no loss at all because you gain something far greater.

What Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 is quite relevant today. There’s a saying that has been circulating in our nation for some time now. If you’re a user of Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, you may have seen the pound symbol, the number symbol, or the hashtag followed by "YOLO." You might look at that and think, "I have no idea what that means." That’s okay; if you don’t know what it means, just ask a junior higher. They can transcribe and translate it for you. It means "You only live once," and that’s the banner that many people are putting over their lives today.

The idea is to go for it—go big or go home. Jump out of the airplane, throw the parachute, whatever it may be. For the person who is not a believer in Jesus, that actually is reality. The Book of Ecclesiastes has a lot to say about that because, for them, this is all they have to look forward to.

However, for the Christian, our lives should only have that banner over how we live for Jesus. One great missionary of the 1950s, Jim Elliot, was killed by the people he was trying to reach. There is a saying attributed to him that inspired a generation: "Only one life will soon be passed; only what’s done for Jesus will truly last." It is so important for us to recognize that what is done for Christ is what will truly last. Amen.

The journey continues in Acts 27:27. It says, "Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that we were drawing near some land." They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms. When they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Fearing that they should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, which is the back of the boat, and they prayed for day to come.

After fourteen nights driven and tossed by this typhoon-class wind, all of these people had lost all hope. The only source of their hope was the word of this prisoner, Paul, who said, "I believe that the God to whom I belong and whom I serve is going to save us because He told me I’m going to Rome." Here they are, fourteen nights into this ordeal, navigating the Mediterranean, which at that time was referred to as the Adriatic. Today, the Adriatic Sea is situated between Italy and Croatia, but back then, it encompassed the whole middle region of the sea.

The Mediterranean was considered the Adria, and there they were, in the midst of this whole situation, being driven and tossed for 14 nights. As they were going about, the sailors sensed that they were drawing near to land.

Now, a couple of very interesting things arise. There was a notable Christian author in the 19th century, a Scotsman like Sean Connery, who wrote a scholarly work on the journey and shipwreck of the Apostle Paul. He explains through his study that in a wind like this, a ship of that kind would travel without direction about 35 to 36 miles in a 24-hour period. If you calculate the time, it actually equals the exact distance of 500 miles between Crete and the island of Malta, as shown on the map. All of this fits the facts that Luke provides, aligning with actual history.

As they were in the midst of this, it says that they sensed about midnight that they were drawing near to land. When I read this several weeks ago and saw that they sensed they were drawing near to land, I wondered how they could tell. They didn't have GPS or any of those cool sonar devices that indicate when things are getting shallower. Yet, they sensed they were getting close to land.

When I encounter questions like this that I can't figure out, I often refer to commentators. Most commentators suggest that they must have heard the waves crashing against the rocks, which is possible. In fact, James Smith, the author of that book, states that in storm conditions like this, at a distance of a quarter mile, you can hear the waves crashing on the rocks. However, that still bothered me, so I decided to ask one of our resident experts, Mick Majora. Mick has spent a lot of time on the water in boats, so I asked him yesterday, "Hey, here's the scene. What do you think? How did they sense they were drawing near to land?"

He explained that the surf got steeper. That's a great explanation. When you're out in the open sea, the swell of the waves is lower and spaced farther apart. But as you get closer to land, as the ground rises underneath the water, it causes those waves to come together. The frequency between the waves condenses, and the waves get higher. So there they were, in the midst of it, with the waves getting deeper and closer together.

Up and down these waves, more time is spent down below the waves than above them. It's a distressing situation, and they sensed that they were drawing near to land. For those sailors in the pitch dark night, with no stars to navigate and no idea where they were, can you imagine the despair that gripped their hearts in that situation?

Point number two on your outline: when the surf gets steep, there are rocks ahead. If you're a fan of the movie "The Princess Bride," you might remember the line, "Are there rocks ahead? If there are, we all be dead."

When the surf gets steep, there are indeed rocks ahead. Immediately following that point, number three: make sure you're anchored correctly. Many of our modern boats have a point at the bow, but at the stern, the back of the boat is flat. If you're in conditions like this and you let out anchors from the stern, it puts you nose into the land, and you're being battered by the surf coming at you from the back. This is not a good situation; it batters the ship, and you also take on a lot of water.

However, we know that these large grain vessels came to a point at the bow and at the stern. In James Smith's book, he points out the wisdom of the commander to do this. They were in a ship that did not maneuver well; they couldn't turn it easily, and they were about a quarter of a mile from the shore. So, he positioned the ship in such a way, anchored from the stern, that they were pointed directly at the shore. Their plan, as we will see in a moment, was that at first light, when the sun came up, they would raise the mainsail, drop the rudders, cut the anchors, and beach the craft as fast as they could.

They were positioned and ready. When the surf gets steep, there are rocks ahead, and we need to make sure that we're anchored correctly. They were anchored correctly. You see, if you're a Christian today, you can have the right mooring; you can have the right anchor because you have trust and faith in Jesus. I love the way that the author of the book of Hebrews writes it. You might want to jot this down. I'm going to read from maybe an obscure translation called the JB.

Hebrews 6:17-20, as translated by J.B. Phillips, states that God, wishing to show beyond a doubt that His plan was unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath. God in heaven has a plan for our lives and has made a promise to us of salvation. He wants to prove to us that He will maintain that plan. How many of you have ever broken a plan? God wants to ensure that we recognize He will keep His promises.

The passage continues, saying that God confirmed His unchangeable plan with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things—the Word of God and the oath of God, who cannot lie—we might have a source of strength. God has given us His Word of promise and has made an oath to us, swearing by Himself that He will bring it to pass. This promise is especially for those who are seeking refuge from the dying world, so that we might grasp the hope He holds out to us.

This hope we hold is an utterly reliable anchor for our souls. The author of the book of Hebrews emphasizes that God has given you the Word of His promise, and He will ensure that He brings you through whatever storm this life may bring, leading you into eternity. You can have absolute certainty that He will make good on His promises. He gave you His Word and an oath so that you would have a sure and reliable anchor for your soul in the midst of any situation, fixed in the very certainty of God Himself.

In heaven, where Jesus has already entered on our behalf, He has become the high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For the Christian, when the surf gets steep and there are rocks ahead, we can have our anchor for our souls in God. The reality is that whether you are a Christian or not, everyone experiences storms. Everyone in this life goes through times when they hear a bad diagnosis, when a boss tells them there is no job for them in the future, or when the bank says they are foreclosing.

Whether it is due to our own foolish decisions or something that happens as a result of the fallenness of the world, we all face storms. However, only the Christian can find hope and strength when the steep swell comes and there are challenges ahead.

Rocks ahead have the anchor for their soul, and it's in God alone. He is the anchor.

Continuing on, in Acts 27:30, as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, they let down the skiff, the lifeboat, into the sea under the pretense of putting out anchors from the bow. Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." The soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.

Now, I don't want to cause undue contention between the Army and Navy, but you have some sailors and some soldiers in the midst of this great storm. The sailors said to one another, "Let's bail out. Let's get out of this situation." They decided to let down the skiff, jump in, and pretend like they were going to set new anchors from the bow of the boat. Since that was pointing to the shore, they thought they could get away and leave the others behind. They didn't want to deal with that mess.

Then you had the Army guys who got wind of this. Paul said to them, "Listen, these guys are doing something you don't want them to do. If they leave, you die." Notice how Paul uses the self-preservation instinct of these men. He says, "You die." He had the strong consolation that he was going to Rome, but he didn't know anything about them other than the fact that if they all stayed on the boat, they would be okay. However, if these guys left, he wasn't sure about their fate.

So, the centurion and all the Roman soldiers went over and cut the rope of the skiff, letting it go. Their practical hope was in that small boat. By doing this, by heeding the word of Paul, they were, in essence, saying with their actions, "We trust you and the word that you have given and the God who has spoken to you." It's phenomenal that, for all intents and purposes, the one in command in this whole situation was the prisoner named Paul.

They heeded Paul's word, and as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, "Today is the fourteenth day, and you have waited and continued without food."

And eaten nothing, therefore I urge you. Paul says, "I urge you" in this passage to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. When he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all. When he had broken it, he began to eat. They were all encouraged, and they also took food themselves. In all, there were 276 persons on the boat.

About midnight, they knew they were getting close to land. They took soundings and laid anchors. For the next five hours or so, they were just waiting out the time, waiting for the sun to come up, praying that day would come. Around 6:00 in the morning, Paul stands up. Again, who is in control here? For practical purposes, it is Paul who is commanding. He says, "Guys, listen up. You need to recognize that you haven't eaten for 14 days. You're a little weak, you're tired, but you're going to need your strength today. So let's eat. Let's have breakfast. I encourage you, I urge you, I implore you to eat some food because you're going to need it for your survival."

Next point on your outline: Point number four, take nourishment for your survival. I recognize the context there in Acts 27, verse 34, is actual food they were eating. However, we need to recognize, especially those of you who are followers of Jesus today, that when the surf gets steep and there are rocks ahead, make sure that you're anchored correctly and take nourishment in those storms of life.

If you've ever looked through the Bible and taken some time to study it, you realize that the Bible speaks a lot about nourishment that is not physical food. Jesus speaks of it in this way in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 4 tells us the story about how Jesus had fasted for 40 days. I'm assuming that not too many people in here have fasted for 40 days, but if you've ever fasted for any period of time, you know that at the end of it, you're a little bit hungry. If you've fasted for 40 days, you're ready for HomeTown Buffet hungry, and I don't even like HomeTown Buffet.

So, this guy is hungry. Jesus is hungry, and the enemy, the Devil, comes to him and says, "Command these stones to be turned into an In-N-Out double-double"—that's my translation—to be turned into bread. Jesus answers him from Deuteronomy chapter 8 and says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

In life, we receive nourishment for survival from the revealed Word of God by partaking of His Word and feeding upon it. It is of exceeding importance; yet, there are many Christians who live a spiritually emaciated life because they never partake of the Word of God.

Listen, if you want to maintain strength, you don't only eat one meal a week, do you? The same reality is true for the Christian. To maintain spiritual vitality and strength, you cannot live on one meal in a church like this week after week. Even if it's solid meat and good food from the Word of God, it's not sufficient. We need to be spending time in the Word daily, routinely taking in the Word of God because that is for our nourishment and survival.

When the surf comes and the steep rocks are ahead, we have to be anchored deep. We must ensure that we have been receiving nourishment from the Lord in that situation. In Acts chapter 27, it says that Paul, after he had said these things in verse 35, gave thanks to God in the presence of them all.

Might I encourage you, Christians, today that when you sit down for a meal with family members, friends, co-workers, or neighbors—even if they are not Christians—simply say something like this: "Listen, I'm a Christian, and I think it's a really good thing to thank God through prayer when I eat. So I'm just going to pray if you don't mind." You know, I've never had someone say no, and they won't.

In fact, one time I was with my really good friend, a guy by the name of Victor Marx—some of you know him. We were out to lunch, and as we sat down, getting ready to eat, the waitress was coming over. She had just taken our order, and Victor said to the waitress, calling her by name, "Christy, listen, we're Christians, and in a few minutes, we're going to pray for our meal. Can we pray for you?"

She looked at him like, "Who are you?" But then immediately, she said, "Yeah," and a tear formed in her eye. She started to tell us a little bit about her story and asked if we would pray for that. Right before she left our table, she said, "You know, I used to go to church; maybe I should find a good church."

Notice what happened after Paul.

Prayed in the midst of them all, verse 36 states that they were all encouraged. Take note of that. Continuing on to verse 38, when they had all eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea. They had been carrying their cargo of wheat this entire time, hoping to find some profit from it. Now, they cast it off.

When it was day, they did not recognize the land; they couldn't tell what island it was. However, they observed a bay with a beach onto which they planned to run the ship, if possible. So, exactly as their plan dictated, they let go of the anchors and left them in the sea. Meanwhile, they dropped the rudders into the water, hoisted the mainsail to the wind, and made for the shore.

But striking a place where two seas met, or where two currents came together, the ship ran aground. The bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. We have already discussed this before, but in Roman law, if you were a soldier overseeing prisoners and you lost one, you would take on their judgment and be killed. So, these soldiers thought it best to eliminate that whole headache by killing the prisoners.

However, verse 43 tells us that the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose. He commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, while the rest would follow on boards or parts of the ship. This is the first mention of surfing in the Bible. Notice the last words: "and so it was that they all escaped safely to land." All 276 individuals escaped safely to land.

The last point on your outline is that trusting God brings salvation. I am sure that there is some math major somewhere who has calculated the mathematical improbability of all 276 souls being saved in this storm as they approached the island of Malta. I imagine that the probability of all 276 surviving was incredibly low.

The probability of them safely coming ashore is exceedingly high, but God is bigger than our statistics. Those who trust in God experience His salvation. I imagine that the probability of a man walking on water is pretty low; it's a rather improbable thing that someone would walk on water. However, there is a story in the Gospels about Jesus's disciples being out on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm. Jesus wasn't with them, and when all of their strength was spent and all of their hope was gone, Jesus came to them walking on the water.

They had not seen someone walk on water before, and you probably haven't either—surfing does not count. There He was, walking on the water. When they saw this, they were all freaked out, and He said, "Guys, it's me." Peter then said, "Lord, if it's You, then command me to come out on the water and walk to You." Jesus replied, "Come on out." So Peter stepped out and walked on water. What is the probability of two guys walking on water?

There he was, walking on water to Jesus, but the Scriptures say that when he saw the wind and the waves, which were boisterous, he began to fear and started to sink. In the midst of his sinking, he cried out, "Lord, help!" Jesus, the guy walking on the water, reached out and saved him. It was an improbable situation, yet God is bigger than our statistics. Those who trust in God experience His salvation.

In this situation, they trusted in the word of God through God's man, the Apostle Paul. As they trusted in him, they experienced His salvation, even though their faith wavered a bit. There was some wavering of faith; the sailors said, "Let's let down the boat and get out of here," while the soldiers said, "Let's kill all the prisoners and get out of here. I don't want to lose my life." Even in the midst of small faith and wavering faith, still trusting in God brought salvation.

If you're a Christian today, be reminded that trusting in the Lord brings salvation. If you're not a Christian today, I would encourage you to put your faith and confidence in Jesus. He died on the cross 2,000 years ago to take your sin and my sin upon Himself and to pay the payment for our sin. He experienced the punishment for our sin so that we could trust in Him for salvation and have a sure and steadfast anchor in heaven, even though we experience steep surf and rocks ahead.

We find that we have hope in Him. Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father God, thank You for this passage of Scripture, the facts of it, and the importance of how these things connect. But, Lord, more than anything, thank You for the way that it applies to our lives some twenty centuries later. You have purpose that You want to reveal through the Scriptures, and so God, I pray that we would take heart and take hold of these things this week.

May these things affect the way that we live and the way that we interact with others. Lord, help us who believe in You and have put our trust in You to have a sure and steadfast strength in You, our souls anchored in You. Knowing that even though we lose everything in this life, we have lost nothing because we have a life with You, an inheritance with You that is not corruptible.