Shipwreck

Doing What Sailors Do

Rodney Gehman – April 27, 2025 – Acts 27:27-44

[ 001 ] Good morning! My name is Rodney and I’m one of the pastors here at River City. Back a few weeks ago, Nate, one of the other pastors, was taking us through Vision Sunday, and mentioned that our third pastor, Steve, and his wife Kiff, will be headed out on Sabbatical this summer. If that’s an unfamiliar term to you, a Sabbatical is a leave of absence that happens generally around every 7 years. We have seen enough pastors crash and burn to know that we know we will only be able to serve you well if we are healthy in our own walk with the Lord, and have a good grasp of an identity that is not founded on what we do, but one that is anchored in who we are in Christ. Sometimes that means we need to step away from good things for a while to just rest that leadership muscle, and really lean into being instead of always doing. Nate and Janene were able to do that last summer, and that’s what we want for Steve and Kiff this summer. So they are currently getting some coaching around how this time could look, and how to hand off their responsibilities. We’ll give you a few more details in a couple of weeks before they officially step aside, but just wanted you to be aware that this is coming up for them, and then Jodi and I have plans to step out next summer for some rest of our own.

Last before I dismiss the children, just a quick update on the Building Team. If you’re just joining us, or are new to River City, we are obviously meeting in a school, and have been making plans to find our own space. There is a Team that has been pursuing options for land, and opportunities for building and all of that. The team is meeting again this week to continue to take steps in the direction of making a purchase. Again back on Vision Sunday, we assured you that we would not make any purchases without putting it in front of you all for you. We are not quite to that point yet, but are getting closer. We as a team invite you to join us in prayer as we meet this week again, just for clarity. Wisdom. And that God’s favor would be on this whole process.

Dismiss KidCity

INTRO

How many of you have ever wrestled with the idea that God is sovereign? That he is in control over everything that happens in our lives?

There’s a kind of teaching that tends to emphasize God’s sovereignty over all of Creation – past, present and future. It emphasizes God’s participation in the world, where nothing happens, good or evil, outside of his sovereign will. When it comes to how people are saved, these folks would argue that God chose who he would save before he made the world, and then makes sure that they come to salvation. And there is another kind of teaching that tends to emphasize human responsibility. This teaching leans into human free will, where God gave us agency to choose the things we do with our lives – especially when it comes to salvation. We choose whether or not we submit and surrender to Jesus or reject him, and so on.

And those two theologies, on the surface, feel like opposites. Does God choose me or do I choose him? What actually determines the way the world goes – is it God’s sovereign will, or humanity’s free choice? Are we waiting for God or is he waiting for us? They feel like opposites, and oftentimes in theological nerdery and discussions about Christian doctrine, these two teachings are often pitted against each other. And it’s easy for us to dig in our heels on one side of that discussion or the other, but you know what’s wild? The Bible says both are true at the same time. God is sovereign AND we must choose. To emphasize one without the other is to only have half the story.

We’re going to see in our text today that God’s sovereign will being accomplished in the world depends on his sovereign authority AND us being responsible participants.

PRAY

We are back into Acts 27 this morning, so I invite you to please turn there with me. Last time we were in Acts, right before Resurrection Sunday, we left Paul in the [ 002 ] middle of the Mediterranean Sea in a ship that was fighting a massive storm on their way to Rome. There are three groups of people on board – the sailors who are actually operating the ship, a bunch of prisoners on their way to Rome to be tried at the Supreme Court level, and the Roman soldiers who were guarding them. They ignored Paul’s advice to stay put in a certain harbor for the winter, and as a result, were blown way off course, had no idea where they were, and had lost all hope that they were going to be saved. Things were pretty desperate until Paul stepped forward with a vision from the Lord that they were all going to be saved. No one was going to die. He sovereignly declared to his Apostle, none of you will die – even though you’ll lose the ship and all the cargo.

So, let’s hypothetically get back on the ship with them, and pick up where we left off right after Paul’s vision.[ 003 ] 27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. Even though it’s midnight and they can’t see much beyond the front of the ship, these experienced sailors can tell by the sound of the waves that they are approaching land. Paul had said in verse 26 we’re going to be saved when we run aground on some island, so, as they approach land, Paul once again looks like the only guy onboard who knows what’s going on and the God he belongs to is looking more and more reliable all the time.

So to determine how close to land they are, [ 004 ] verse 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep. When I went fishing as a kid, we filled a paint bucket with concrete, tied it to a long rope, and that was good enough to be our anchor. That wouldn’t have worked as an anchor for these guys, but that’s almost exactly what they would have used to figure out how deep the water is. They would have had a very long rope with a lead weight on one end, and then the rope was marked every 6 feet. Some of your translations might say how many “fathoms” deep the water was – a fathom is a mark on the rope every six feet. So, they drop the weight into the water, and you count the “fathoms” that go by until the weight hits the bottom. Of course, if the water is getting shallower, it’s your clue we are approaching land – and land usually means rocks.

This is why lighthouses were invented – to help ships navigate your way through shallower waters at night. These guys don’t have that luxury, [ 005 ] so 29 …fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. In other words, they put the parking brake on, and decided to sit tight until the sun came up.

They drop four anchors from the back of the ship to hopefully keep them in place right where they are. Technically you would also want to put some anchors out from the front of the ship as well, so the ship doesn’t just flop all around but stays fairly straight. But the back of the ship is not designed to take a beating from the waves. So the sailors who have had experience with storms and ships and navigation look at the this situation with the waves crashing on the back of the ship and say, this is suicide. These waves are going to destroy the ship before morning, and then we all drown. There’s a way out – We’re out of here. So, verse 30, they pretend they are going to go put the anchors out from the front of the boat, but really they are trying to escape on the skiff. [ 006 ] You’ve probably seen this kind of thing on movies – anchor the large ship out in the harbor, and everyone gets to shore on these little rowboats. That’s what a skiff is.

But, they didn’t get to this point, because as Paul watches these sailors try to escape, he also realizes if we lose the people who know how to operate the ship, all that’s left on board are soldiers and prisoners (Gangel, 5:541), and if that’s the case – no one survives. [ 007 ] So, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

Obviously Paul believes in the sovereignty of God. He preached back in Acts 17 that God gives everyone life and breath and all things. That he determines where you live, when you’re born, when you die, all of that. Paul believes God works all things – even suffering and evil – according to his own wisdom and purpose. So when God says “you’re going to be saved”, Paul believes God has the power and the ability to control all things (water, weather, wind, their work – everything) so that it happens exactly like he said. But he also believes that no matter how sure God’s promises are, it doesn’t take away the fact that he doesn’t know how to operate this ship (Barnes, 366)! God’s promise to save them didn’t mean the sailors could ignore their responsibilities or jump ship.

I mean, we feel the sailors’ pain though, right? When we’re in the darkest moments of our own lives, that’s where we’re the most tempted to jump ship, isn’t it? I know it is for me. When I’m hurting or feel like I’ve really let people down, those are the moments I go, I don’t know Jodi, maybe God’s calling us to do something else. When things aren’t going well financially, I’m like maybe we should just sell everything and just go live in a van down by the river.

I think we could spend an entire sermon series on the various “skiffs” we jump in to try and escape our responsibilities when things are tough, right? I’ll let the Holy Spirit point that out.

But look closer at what Paul is saying. Unless these men stay in the ship, we all die. In other words, God is going to rescue us – he’s going to save our lives – He promised he’s going to get us all to Rome – I’m confident about that – but he’s not just going to pluck us up out of the water, and drop us in Rome. [ 008 ] He’s going to use sailors doing what sailors know how to do to fulfill his sovereign promise. God was going to use experienced sailors doing what experienced sailors do in order to save everyone on board.

We’re asking God for wisdom when it comes to a future building for the church. We’re asking God to sovereignly open the doors for us to have the land he wants us to have, to make a way for us to have the building he wants us to have. We are 100% dependent on him to make a way. What’s God going to use to answer those prayers? I guarantee you it’s not going to be a new building coming down out of the sky onto our selected piece of land. That’s going to happen with the New Jerusalem, but that’s it! To fund this thing, He’s going to use generous people doing what generous people do. To build it, He’s going to use architects and builders and electricians and plumbers doing exactly what they are gifted with the wisdom and skill to do.

We pray as parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins/children for our friends and family members to come to know Jesus. How do people come to faith in Jesus? How do people get saved today? Well, Jesus said in John 6 that no one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him or her. In other words, none would ever choose to follow Jesus without God making the first move. So before we ever see our need to repent of our sin and receive Christ, God must first awaken our minds to understand the gift of grace, he opens our hearts and affections and changes our will so we can see Jesus as a glorious treasure. If he doesn’t, we stay dead in sin. So we pray that God sovereignly opens someone’s mind, changes their heart, and causes them to see Jesus. But what does he use to open their minds? What does he use to soften our hearts and awaken us to his grace? The Holy Spirit goes to work using pastors doing what pastors do. Parents doing what parents do. He uses counselors doing what counselors do. He uses godly neighbors doing what godly neighbors do. He uses missionaries doing what missionaries do. He uses our prayers to do what prayer does. He uses discipleship to do what discipleship does. He uses scripture to do what scripture does. He uses us confessing our sins to do what confession does. And he breathes his own breath into all of it, bringing us from death to life!

So does the salvation of the people on Paul’s ship depend on God’s sovereign declaration and power and provision, or on the sailors' experience and wisdom? YES! Does the salvation of people in Riverside and the surrounding communities, in our families and schools depend on God sovereignly drawing people to himself, or on redeemed people diligently doing what redeemed people do? YES!

When River City Church came to Riverside in 2019, we didn’t come hoping that God is going to do something here, hoping that someone would be saved – we came confident that God would be faithful to draw people to himself, and that people would be saved, people would find freedom in the gospel of grace, that people would be transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Jesus. Not because he was going to sprinkle some magic gold dust on the city one night, and everyone would wake up in love with Jesus.

Nor because we brought with us some secret sauce that no other church in Iowa is doing. But we knew life and freedom would come to Riverside because God has sovereignly chosen to use redeemed people who rehearse the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, when we speak truth to each other in love for the building up of the body, when we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, when we pray without ceasing, when we sing true songs of faith together, when we step out in faith and dependence on God, when we love each other despite our different opinions and perspectives and outdo each other in showing honor.

When we keep Jesus front and center of everything we do, all of it infused by the Spirit of God, all for the glory of Yahweh – He is going to use this little gathering in small town Iowa to be part of the salvation story of hundreds – maybe even thousands – that he is already drawing to himself… some who will be saved long after we’re gone.

So you don’t get to jump ship and say, “well, I’m not a pastor. I’m not a missionary. I’m just a sailor. I don’t know how to pray like some people I know. I don’t know all the doctrine stuff Rodney knows. I’m just a sailor. I don’t know how to preach or start churches. I couldn’t lead a Bible Study. I’m just a sailor.” Yeah, well Paul’s doctrine isn’t going to get them to shore!! They need sailors who can sail ships! So stay on board, brothers! Don’t bail on us!

But let’s be honest, sometimes the darkness is so heavy, the circumstances are so desperate, that you don’t really care. Apparently, in their despair and unbelief, the sailors still didn’t buy it, so verse [ 009 ] 32 … the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away. Notice, it wasn’t the sailors who cut loose their own escape plan. Sometimes we all need someone else to intervene in our lives and help us face reality instead of escape. Counselors, pastors, discipleship or community group leaders, parents, etc. Just ask someone close to you – what is the skiff you see me trying to use to escape reality or escape responsibility? Then let them help you cut it loose and let it drop away. That also could be a whole sermon in itself.

[ 010-1 ] 33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. [ 010-2 ] 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.”

Here we run into it again – on one hand, God has sovereignly ordained that none of you will die here at sea – not one of you will lose a hair from your head. It’s a figure of speech that means we’re all going to be fine. Why? Because God gave us his word. But if you want to survive, you better sit down to the meal. So around 5am or so, when it’s almost daylight, Paul gets everyone’s attention. They’re not rowing anywhere. They’re not throwing stuff overboard. They are just waiting for daylight, and Paul seizes the opportunity…[ 011 ] 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, [ 011-2 ] and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves.

[ 012 ] Paul gives thanks to God in the presence of all of them. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. A calm, non-anxious presence in the middle of anxious and chaotic times is a testimony to the peace and presence of God. When a family or a group of friends bow their heads and pray for their meal in a busy restaurant, it is a testimony to God’s goodness and his faithfulness to a watching world. We’ve known Paul long enough to know that he’s always looking for a way to point people to the presence of God, and with their lives hanging in the balance, he quiets everything down and pauses – not to beg for mercy, but to be thankful.

The world has no category for that. Thankful for the storms? Are you kidding me? Thankful for the bread we’ve had 1000 times before – what about the fact that the sailors who run this ship are trying to think of ways to jump overboard and leave us here to die? What about that, Paul? Or for us in the room – What about my job? What about my kids? What about my spouse? What about that relationship that’s still not reconciled?

Paul leads the way – “Oh I know we’re not out of the waves yet, Father, but thank you for the bread. I know we’re not sure if we’re going to make it, these sailors might bail on us before the sun comes up, but thank you for the opportunity for all 276 of us to know your provision and your protection for us to this point, Lord.”

Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is take the time to sit down and eat dinner around the table together. Or if you don’t have family, as a community group. With godly friends. Not in front of the TV, no screens or phones… just a few people going around the table and listing things you’re thankful for. And Philippians 4 says that when we present our requests to God “with thanksgiving”, the peace of Christ will rule your hearts and minds.

Worrying or complaining about the storm will never bring peace. It will only bring despair and make you want to jump overboard. Thankfulness always brings peace and refreshment and wisdom. [ 013-1 ] 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

[ 013-2 ] 39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. [ 013-3 ] 40 After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. They are making this ship as light and as fast as possible so it can go as far into shallow waters as it can before it hits the ground and breaks apart. Less distance for them to swim. Without anchors, this ship will never stop again. Without rudders, it can never be steered by anything but the wind. It’s ride or die for this ship and everyone on it.

[ 013-4 ] Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. [ 013-5 ] The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.

Paul’s vision said they’d run aground on an island; this is close; But it’s go-time to get off of this ship and find a way to get to shore. As we’ve talked about before, if a Roman soldier loses a prisoner, the soldier can be killed for failing to do his job. The soldiers on the ship figure, hey, these prisoners are going to jump and swim to shore before we do and then get away from us. Then we’ll be killed for letting them escape. So here’s the plan – [ 014 ] let’s just 42 … kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. We’ll just say “they all, including Paul, died in the shipwreck” (Barnes, 368) and we’ll be fine. Yeah, sounds like a plan – let’s do it. [ 015] 43 But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan and here’s the key phrase, because he wanted to save Paul… stop there for a second.

The centurion kept them from killing all the prisoners, because he wanted to save Paul. Why didn’t the centurion just say, “Paul come over here. Stand beside me –Okay soldiers, have at it with the rest of them”? What did the centurion owe to any of those other prisoners? NOTHING! They may have helped throw the cargo overboard, but other than that, they can all die and it’s not a huge loss. But because he wanted to save Paul, he ordered that no one else be killed.

Imagine you are one of those other prisoners for a second. You are guilty of some crime, that’s why you’re here. You’re on your way to Rome to face trial, potentially execution. You are onboard a ship that is going down; you have a Roman soldier approaching you, sword drawn, he’s ready to run you through and toss you into the waves, when suddenly the centurion calls out – “No! Don’t kill that man. Cut him loose so he can swim to shore!” Guilty prisoners on death row, set free because of one wise and righteous and innocent man who was wrongly accused. Do you see it? I hope so. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Not a single one of us was saved because we deserved it. Far from it. We were guilty of treason. We were the prisoners on the ship, headed for judgment and death. Then one man shows up on the planet with us. The King of heaven, here on the earth. The one we have offended has come to live among us. That in and of itself is not good news at all – it’s terrible news. Horrifying. The Lord of heaven and earth, the all-powerful, all-knowing, always-present, Holy and Exalted One you have offended has come to town. There’s only one reason that would happen, right? He’s coming for vengeance. He’s coming to run us through. It’d be no loss for him. He’d still be God, just as righteous and holy as he always was.

But instead of drawing the sword and running us through like our sins deserve,[ 016] John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Instead of treating us like our sins deserve, that one wise and righteous man and innocent man carried our sins to the cross, and allowed himself to be treated as if he were the sinner. Allowed himself to be treated as if he was the one who had offended God.

He stood in and took every single blow that should have been on me, and when he said from the cross,“It is Finished,” all of the work necessary for my salvation was done in an instant! The record of every sin I’ve ever committed, Colossians 2 says, was nailed to the cross, erased, and it won’t hold up in court anymore, because the bill has been paid. The very next verse says that when my record of sin was erased, at the same moment, the powers of darkness that try so hard to take us out have been disarmed. They can’t use my sin as a weapon against me anymore.

They can’t use my past against me anymore. They can’t use lies against me anymore. Those lies of you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re not educated enough. You’re not smart enough. The lies of well, you’re just a mom, or you have to be married for God to use you. Those lies of You’re too old. You’re too young. You have sinned too much. Your life isn’t clean enough for you to be in that position.

The cross says none of those arguments hold up in court anymore! And the prosecutors are still showing up saying, but do you know what he’s done!? But do you know what kind of person she is when certain people aren’t looking? And the Judge (our heavenly Father) goes, of course I know… but everything on her record has been washed away by the blood of Jesus, who is alive and sitting right next to me with the holes in his hands and his feet that are ongoing reminders that he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

The prisoners on that ship were not saved because they worked for it, earned it, or paid their way – they were saved simply because the centurion wanted to save Paul. They owed their life to the one righteous, innocent man on that ship.

I’ll end with this…finish out [ 017 ] verse 43, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. [ 017-2 ] 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. And here’s the conclusion: In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.

God’s sovereign promise was that everyone would be saved. How did they safely reach the shore? In this way… In what way? Swimming if you could swim, floating on debris if you couldn’t. And if you’re still wondering, okay, so show me God’s sovereignty in all of this. Show me where God was at work in the storm. Show me. Because when I’m in the middle of MY storms, I sure don’t feel like God is sovereign at all.

Okay. Go to chapter 28:1. [ 018 ] Once safely ashore, we then learned that the island was called Malta. Go back to the map. [ 019 ] That fierce storm blew them 500 miles west to an island called Malta, just 50 miles south of Italy. Fourteen days since the derecho hit them in Crete. Several days without seeing the sun or stars. Afraid they were going to be blown to the ship graveyard on the African coast. Having no idea where they are, the ship breaks apart, they swim to shore, and of all the places they could have ended up, [ 020 ] they learn that they are actually still right. On. course. To get to Rome.

[ 021 - blank ] I don’t know what all of you are going through today, but does getting out of the storm you’re in depend on God’s sovereign intervention, or on you working out your own salvation with fear and trembling? Yes. Let me encourage you today: Trust God’s promises with all of your heart. Believe his Word to be True. Rest in his finished work on the cross and his resurrection power. Know that just like he put Paul on that boat to be a guide and a voice of reason, Jesus has given us his own Spirit to live us those who believe – to be their helper, their guide, their voice of truth, their strength. Practice being thankful for his sovereign provision and protection – and pray like your life depends on it… then get up, grab a piece of debris and doggy paddle for land just as hard as you can go.

In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.

So which ditch do you often get caught in? Do you find yourself kicking back going, eh, Let go and let God? It’s all in his hands. Or do you find yourself routinely worked up like it all depends on you? Do you find yourself in a difficult situation where it makes more sense to jump ship than it does to stay put? Do you find it difficult to be thankful?

[ 022 ] As always, I want to give you a few minutes to reflect. Think it over. Talk to Jesus.

This is a good opportunity to just praise him for being a deliverer. A rescuer. Praise him for his sovereign control over all creation, your life, the lives of everyone around you.

Confess your unbelief – God I confess I’ve trusted myself more than I’ve trusted you. Or maybe, God I confess I’ve fallen into the ditch of let go and let God, and I’ve become lazy. I’ve not been responsible with things that were right in front of me.

Thank him for his grace. Thank him for Jesus, who took our sin and shame on himself at the cross. Thank him for not only being in the storm, but directing it and using it to grow us as disciples, and even influence others for the kingdom – all while taking us exactly where he promised he’d take us.

Benediction: Philippians 4:4-9

SOURCES

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996)

Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998)

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Acts, ed. Robert Frew, (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885)

Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019)

Clark, S. G. (2025, March 4). Map shows us states where Christianity is surging, falling. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-us-states-where-christianity-surging-falling-2038851