Faith that Faces the Storm - Acts 27:1-44

When things get hard, we see 2 kinds of people in God's earth, those who trust in God and those who trust in themselves.

When things are manageable, all goes well; but when things get very challenging, those who trust in themselves may start to break. Adversity is the test that shows us where we stand. By this point, Paul had been imprisoned for 2 years in Caesare. And things continue to be hard. Having been beaten by an angry mob, having to defend himself to the Roman Tribute (who also flogged him) and religious authorities (who wanted him dead). To then have been sent to Felix to make his case, and after 2 years, again made his case to Festus and King Agrippa and Queen Bernice. Paul was facing much strife, loneliness, and constant death threats.

Last chapter we saw how Paul ended up being recognized as innocent by the leaders who kept him. Yet he knew that his life could be in danger at any given time.

Now we come to a part of the Scripture on which Paul faces another life-threatening challenge. But this time it’s not in the hands of people (stoning, beating, flogging). No, this time, Paul faces the fury of the elements. Everything and the kitchen sink have been thrown at Paul! Yet, He did not waver, Paul faced it all and he did not give up! God was with him. Later, Paul, when recalling some of his needs, could say that “I have learned the secret of facing plenty of hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him (God) who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13)

In this new challenge we see how God kept Paul, and how Paul really trusted in His God, to whom he belongs. Real Faith trusts in God no matter what

Adversity has a way of showing what we are really made of. I can think of one story in church history where adversity at sea radically shaped a man who was cut out for ministry, or so he thought, and changed him so that he became one of the greatest evangelists of all time, that being John Wesley

John Wesley, who was ordained in the church of England for 11 years, went on a boat across the Ocean back to London from New England (the colonies) with a group of German Anabaptists known as the Moravians. He was intrigued by their conduct in the ship. But, in one particular day, a life-threatening storm came. John Wesley wrote of the event: “In the midst of the psalm wherewith their [Moravian] service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, “Was you not afraid?” He answered, “I thank God, no.” I asked, “But were not your women and children afraid?” He replied, mildly, “No; our women and children are not afraid to die.””

This experience was instrumental in Wesley’s life. It ultimately drove him to trust Christ for his life. He later became a very well known evangelist, and the leader of Methodism. Adversity came for John Wesley, which led him to repent and trust God. His life was changed.

Like the Moravians to Wesley, Paul models for us what it is like to trust in God no matter what. In our passage this morning we will see the trials that he faced and how, by the power and faithfulness of God, Paul endured and acted in accordance to the trust he had in God.

We will look at 3 points from our text:

When the storm is coming, trust not in men (1-12)

When the storm breaks down, despair not but trust God (13-20)

When the storm rages on, hope in God’s promises (21-44)

Paul had already been subject to much adversity by the time he began his long awaited trip to Rome. Paul was eager to go to Rome much earlier. Acts 19:21- “Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.””

Now he is finally going to Rome! This trip starts at Caesarea and Paul is being accompanied by 2 people. One of them is hinted right in v.1, see the word “we”. Here we have Luke once again! Luke is the author of the book of Acts, anb that is why we have such a lively description of this trip. The other companion is Aristarchus (v.2). Luke and Aristarchus are a source of encouragement to Paul. It is very rare that someone may be allowed to have companions on a prison route. It must have been encouraging to Paul to be able to be with them during this time.

This trip is led by a centurion named Julius. He leads the Augustan Cohort, which is a special courier regimen, known as Frumentarii. They usually transported grain and other food resources across the empire.

Their first stop is in Sidon, a port city north of Caesarea, in the area of modern day Lebanon (over 100km north). Here at Sidon, Julius lets Paul refresh himself

In V.4 the trip continues, from Sidon to Myra. Myra is a port in modern day Turkey, between the islands of Crete and Cyprus (in ancient Lycia). This trip is the beginning of the myriad of challenges ahead.

The sailing moved slowly along the coast! Why was that? It would have been faster to go through the thick of the Mediterranean. The wind became a problem and they had to coast it. When the text says “we sailed under the lee of Cyprus”, it is telling us that they needed shielding from the wind.. It was too much to handle.

It is important to consider the time of the year on which they were sailing. It seems that they started their trip in mid-August. The winds in the Mediterranean are mostly westerly winds (blowing from the west) but, at the end of August is when winds start to change into what gets called the “treacherous season” which goes from November 11 to the end of March! During this period NOBODY crossed the Mediterranean and the winds became extremely strong. But, from September 14 to November 11th it was a transition period, uncertain, a gamble.

(V.5-6) They were finally able to sail to Myra (coasting for approx 750 km), where the centurion secured a ship that went to Italy, finally.

V.7 the difficulty continues, still coasting, sailing against the westerly winds. With difficulty they arrived at Cnidus (250 km). After that, the winds were getting so bad that they needed to move south of Crete to avoid the winds until they reached “Fair Heavens” in southern Crete (v.8). Things were getting ever more challenging.

While waiting for better winds in Fair Havens, Paul speaks up to the leaders about their current situation. This is a crucial time. He tells them to stay in Fair Heavens for the winter (Treacherous Season) and avoid further trials. But they want to continue and “hope for the best”. V.9 says that “the Fast” (referring to the Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur) had already happened by this point. Generally the Day of Atonement takes place between late September and early October. Time it is running out. It is imperative to ACT!

Paul tried to warn them but they were not persuaded. The captain and owner of the boat wanted to get to Italy as soon as possible, part of the crew would prefer to spend the winter at a different port, as Fair Havens had nothing going for it. To do what Paul suggested would mean 2 things: 1) To get stuck in a tiny town (boring – who wants that?!) and 2) It would be costly for leaders of the ship. It is to their best interest, in their own eyes, to continue and get to Italy as soon as possible. They wanted to do it their way.

Paul was not trusting in the men leading the ship, but rather He was trusting of the one who promised him that he would end up in Rome. Real Faith trusts in God no matter what. Including whether the people around you want to go with you or ignore you completely. Paul did not look to them for his security, Paul trusted in God.

Let us continue with our passage

2) When the storm breaks down, despair not but trust God (13-20)

As soon as the winds were calm, they sailed coasting through Crete, still by the shore. But, soon after their false sense of security, the winds started to pick up. And oh man those winds picked up. Luke records for us that this wind was called the “Euroclydon” (v.14 – “Northeaster” ESV) at times this wind resembled a hurricane. This seems to have been one of those times. When these winds were such, it stopped all travel from November to March. This is dangerous, but there is more: As we read in v.15-16 the ship was not able to escape the wind. It was being dragged and the crew was holding to it for dear life! The winds were so strong that they could either overturn the ship, shatter the ship or take it to a coast into shallows by the Libyan coast, leading the boats to a sort of boat graveyard where they would crash, called “Syrtis” in v.17 (translated as quicksand by the KJV), it was likely a reef where boats crashed.

V.16 shows that the boat was indeed being pushed. They were driven southwest for almost 40 km to the small island of Cauda. In that same verse we are told that they had difficulty, not in navigation, but in holding the boat together! When things seem like they cannot get any worse, they just do!

Have you been on a turbulent flight before? Have you heard the plane make crackling sounds and experience drops at times in mid air? Imagine you were seeing literally parts ot the plane be torn in front of your eyes, and the crew rushing to it with chains and rope to keep together while on flight! That would be terrifying.

See v.17 - “they used supports to undergird the ship”. They were facing hurricane winds and their ship was falling apart!. Boats back in those days did not use screws nor sturdy materials to secure its parts. The ship was likely a single-mast boat. The stress was all focused around the mast. With the strong winds it would most likely splinter its entire hull unless something was done. So the crew used ropes to wrap the ship, that’s how they under gird the ship. What a precarious way of facing a hurricane!

So, for Paul and the crew on the ship, not only the winds were strong enough to overturn the ship, wind strong enough to crash the ship at a beach in North Africa. These winds were also strong enough to tear their ship apart.

V.18-19 show us how they had to endure a few more days of this, throwing cargo and the ship’s tackle (pulley system) overboard to lighten their load and stay alive. And to make things even worse, we read in v.20 that they were in complete darkness for many days (over a week!) By this point, they had tried everything they could do.Before they left Fair Heavens they had a full cargo ship, with all equipment and a crew that was hopeful to get to Italy. But now, the ship’s cargo and equipment was reduced to stay afloat. The ship suffered much under the wind, the wind could either overturn it, send it away to crash ashore or even shatter it while at sea. All of this while in complete darkness, without help from anyone. Completely alone. All hope was lost. The only certain thing was death.

Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

What role does faith have at this moment when all hopes of being saved are lost?

Brothers and sisters. There is something very humbling about being destitute of our confidence in our ability and our knowledge. The people on the ship were brought to nothing by the merciless sea and wind. All hope was indeed lost, they had tried it all.

Isn’t this feeling familiar? For those of us who have been confronted by the Law of God this is not an unfamiliar scenario. The Law of God is completely perfect. God’s law is the tempest that breaks through our self-righteousness. The winds that remove all our coverings to hide our sins. The Law of God is the one who breaks us to the core by showing us the absolute perfection of God, the more we would be exposed to our imperfections the more we would break from within, no matter how desperately we try to stay put. When facing the holiness of God, we would also be left without hope, all of it would be gone.

Christian, the story does not end there. For there is indeed Hope. There is sure hope in God and his means of his mercy extended to us. Back on the ship God extended mercy to the people on it by bringing Paul with them, who warned them not to go. And the same man was kept there to further provide another message of hope, as we will see. And I believe that due to the breaking of the people’s confidence in themselves is that there was a different reaction to Paul. There is indeed hope for us today brothers and sisters. If you have come to believe in God for your salvation, you have had to deal with your sinfulness and the holiness of God. That moment of ultimate humility prepares the heart for the good news. And in that moment, we stop looking to ourselves and start looking to the God who provided a way for us to be made anew. Hope is not lost, for in our losing all things, we gain the source of real Hope, which is to turn away from everything, and to trust and depend on Christ for our lives, so we do not despair.

Let us move to our third point

3) When the storm rages on, hope on God’s promises (21-44)

After such a traumatic experience, even after going many days without food (cherry on top), now we see Paul coming once more to the people in v.21. He seems concerned for them, and to be strangely calm. But how? He simply points that they should have done what he said, BUT, even now, when things couldn't get any worse, Paul says in v.22 to “take heart”, other translations have it as “be of good cheer”. Take heart? Be of good cheer? PAUL! Where have you been for the last few days?!? Look around! Can’t you see the devastation? Haven’t you experienced the darkness and loneliness everyone experienced?? Haven’t you seen all the cargo thrown to the sea and how there is barely any food for over 200 people here?!

V.22 continues “... for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship”. How does he know this? He was told:

V.23-26 - “For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said: ‘Do not be afraid Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you’. So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told”

What fantastic news to tell a bunch of disheartened, desperate people! This is the turning point of the whole chapter and all started with the revelation Paul had from God.

What Paul was told here, he was also told before: Acts 23:11- “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome”

Our faithful God had promised Paul that he would be in Rome before and says it so again here. Paul can rest confidently on this promise from God. Here is the source of Paul’s faith. Paul knew God, and He knew God would take care of him, despite how terrifying it was around him. Real Faith Trust in God no matter what, and here is Paul, trusting in God to the point of boldly sharing that message with others, to encourage them.

That’s how Paul can tell them to take heart and be of good cheer. There is a sure Hope from God that they will reach their destination. Take heart.

As we said before, When things get hard, we see 2 kinds of people in God's earth, those who trust in God and those who trust in themselves. The crew trusted in their skill, in their equipment and in their sheer willpower to get to their destination, which ultimately led to hopelessness. Not so Paul, for he trusted the one who does not waver, the one that does not change, the one who holds the future in the palm of His hands. And Paul knew that he belonged to God (v.23). He was safe.

Brothers and sisters, do you know who you belong to? Can you display such faith even in the hardest and most dark times in your life? Paul shows us what is like to not despair, but to trust in God and his promises.

God, in Christ, has also given us an ultimate destination James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

As Christians we belong to Jesus. And as such, we are promised to be part of the greatest event in the history of the universe. The day when Christ comes back and restores all things, when peace reigns. In Christ, despite of the storms we may face, we are kept secure to that end.

What happened after Paul spoke to the leaders of the boat? In the providence of God the storm push them very close to Italy, and took them all the way to Malta. They were getting really close, without them even knowing it!

v.27-29 we see that sailors suspected that land was near. Even though it was dark (midnight) they used their knowledge to measure how far they were from shore. They used “ancient sonar” I like to say. They listen for “fathoms”, which is a distance equivalent to one’s outstretched arms. By this measure they were able to estimate that shore was coming soon. So the crew was getting ready to avoid crashing on the coast. They wanted to save themselves by taking the lifeboat! (v.30-32).

They still decided to trust in their own knowledge of the sea and not in God’s message. They trusted in themselves, they were despairing and not knowing to trust in God, whom they did not personally know. But Paul, he knew whom it was that made the promise to him. Thus he was able to stand to the storm.

Real faith trusts in God no matter what. Even trust God when all the knowledgeable people around are convinced that there is no way out. The sailors were an example of unbelief, and Paul, an example of what True Faith does.

In v.31 we see Paul’s reaction. He talks to the centurion and the soldiers directly and gives a quick warning. “Unless these men stay in the ship you cannot be saved”

Wait a minute here. Didn’t we just see that Paul had the certainty that all people would arrive safely to Italy? What’s up with this? Once Paul shared the revelation he had from God, Paul did not cross his arms and waited until they arrived to Rome. He was active. In this case even taking leadership over the affairs of the boat. It was not a “done deal” but rather a test of Faith into action. For Real faith [actively] trusts in God, no matter what. God had revealed (it seems) that all people needed to be on the ship, and Paul obeyed and took leadership to accomplish what he was entrusted with.

Paul went from ignored prisoner to leader of the mission to survive the storm! In v.31 we see the seriousness with which the centurion and the soldiers took Paul’s words. They got rid of the only way out of the ship! This in their own initiative without Paul saying to do this. They were completely invested into Paul’s good news.

“God gives the promise, Paul believes it, and Julius becomes the means of fulfilling God’s promise.”

Paul takes even more of a leadership role afterwards, in v.33-34 he even encourages everyone (all 276 of them!) to take food to prepare to what’s ahead, and that the end of this storm is near. Paul continues to trust in God and encourages others to do the same. His faith in God is contagious, he is encouraged in it and is able to encourage others towards the same promise.

He further invites them into trusting God, he takes a meal with all, giving thanks to God. Thanks? If you were on this battered boat, would you find it in you to be thankful? The ship was nearly ripped apart, the winds have blown mercilessly for weeks and there is no clear direction forward. Yet to be thankful for a morsel of food? Who has time for that?

I’ll tell you who has time for that, those who know their God and trust Him. God is faithful and Paul knows it. Because, Paul knows God and trusts in Him.

We are told they all took food and were encouraged. What a beautiful thing that was! After being completely hopeless awaiting death. Now, they can be hopeful once again! They were taken from trusting in themselves, to humbly trust in God’s word through Paul.

Finally, the next day they noticed land and released the anchors and let go of the ropes that kept the boat together. It was time to swim! Some of the soldiers worried that the prisoners would escape. For the Romans, if a prisoner runs free, the punishment of the prisoner goes towards the guard. Some soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners to avoid this. But the centurion stopped them. Likely by this point the centurion respected Paul and instead came up with a plan to get everyone to shore. They ended up on the coast of Malta

Paul stood in faith, despite the harshness of the circumstances, and not only gave hope to a hopeless crew, but inspired them to follow him. In reality Paul’s faith was inspiring as he held to God, who gave him all the assurance, who made a way for them to do the impossible and survive.

By the grace of God all 276 passengers made it! That in itself is a kind of miracle! They landed in what is called today “St. Paul’s Bay” which stands as a place where to remember this wonderful story of true Faith standing to trials. Real Faith trusts in God no matter what! Christian, you may never step on a ship... but still storms may come your way. God does not promise us a life wihtout trouble. It is ok to ask the Lord to get us through a storm if we cannot handle it. It is not valid to ask God to keep us from all trouble. But if he wills us to get through trouble, we can ask him the strength to face it, like Paul. God will honour that prayer.

Brothers and sister, we will ultimately face the storm of our own mortality. When that storm comes, would we have real faith that trusts God even through that? We must trust in God’s promise that He will save us through the last mighty enemy to bring us into His fold, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The cross is our transport to our destination. Unlike Paul’s ship, the cross is not feeble nor subject to be broken by any storm. The empty tomb is not a ship that can be run aground

The apostle Paul trusted in the promise of God to arrive to Rome despite the massive storm. Like Paul, we must trust also in God’s promises to save us from death. Take heart, for what awaits us is to receive the crown of life, promised to those who love Him

If you are not a believer today, I invite you to be reconciled to God through Jesus today. For we do not know when the winds of life may change around us. That there will be a storm one day that you will also face when no matter what you try, you will not be able to escape. But instead of finding desperation and hopelessness, you can find true Hope through the cross of Christ. By turning away from your self-reliance, by seeing the immensity of the gap between us and God, for he is completely perfect and we are not, and by trusting in the free gift of eternal life for those who trust in Christ. You may be brought out of death into not just a better life, but eternal life. Hold to promises like 1 John 1:9 where we read: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

When things get hard, we see 2 kinds of people in God's earth, those who trust in God no matter what and those who trust in themselves. Who would you be when the time comes?

Let us pray.