A Leader Knows How to Take Charge
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Introduction: Review previous lessons
Earning trust
Taking initiative
Using good judgment
Being Courageous
So, there was good news and there was bad news. Everyone on board had already figured out that they were headed for a shipwreck so to hear that no one would lose their lives was indeed good news..
Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
At this point, who do you think is set up to fill the role of leader? Paul took his orders from God and spoke with the authority of God. At this point, that fact was becoming more and more clear to everyone on board that ship. Even though Paul had the lowest position on the ship he was quickly becoming the most capable and trustworthy leader. A leader is someone who can handle stressful situations. When everyone else is running around like headless chickens a leader takes charge of the situation by identifying the problem and proposing solutions that lead to victories.
Paul had officially taken charge. Notice however that Paul not only knew how to take charge but he also knew when to take charge. Paul did not usurp anyone else’s authority in order to take charge. At this point, the leadership on that ship handed authority over to Paul. Paul had already proven that he had valuable insights and he had already earned the trust of the men in that he would do what was best for them. The captain wasn’t truly leading at this point. They had all already given up hope that they could be saved. The centurion didn’t know what to do in a storm. Paul was the only man left with a level head and so he naturally became the leader.
Leadership is not the same as having a position. Leaderships is influence. Leaders lead, not because they had a title, but because they have ability.
So, being driven by the wind, having not eaten for two weeks, being overwhelmed with panic, and having no clue what to do next, the men of the ship turn to Paul. His assurance that no one would lose their lives was their last and final hope.
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 some land. And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.
They did not see the shore (due to the storm). They “sensed” the shore.
Explain how they would have taken soundings.
A fathom would be the length of two outstretched arms. A standard fathom was about 6 feet.
20 fathoms = 120 feet. 15 fathoms = 90 feet.
This was a cause for concern. Here they all were, in the middle of the night, literally being washed ashore. They could not see due to the storm and so a jagged rocked could have sunk their ship at a moments notice in these conditions. So they dropped their anchors and prayed that they would survive till morning.
The island that they were nearing was the island of Malta.
Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.
Having dropped four anchors off the back of the ship the plan was to wait till morning and if it looked safe they would pick up the anchors and beach the ship.
In the meantime, the weather was apparently worsening.
And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”
The men who you would most expect to stay with the ship are the men who are trying to leave the ship. If you are ever in a situation where the crew on a ship begins to panic you know you are in trouble.
Ironically, Paul, the prisoner, whom you would expect to attempt an escape in a situation like this, is the one recommending that everyone stay with the ship.
The act of Paul giving a command to the centurion and his soldiers confirms that Paul is now completely in charge.
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
The soldiers obviously trusted Paul as they cut down the skiff which was literally their only lifeboat and their only transportation from the boat to the shore. They had greater confidence in Paul and his God than in the skiff. Now there was on other hope but Paul and his God.
This is the epitome of leadership, being able to influence people to the point where they trust you with their very own lives.
God’s decree did not nullify man’s responsibility.
A Leader Never Compromises Truth
A Leader Never Compromises Truth
When God has spoken, there is no acceptable compromise.
We must sometimes compromise matters of opinion but we must never compromise the truth.
Many struggle with indecision and fear of confrontation, but a leader knows what is right and will stand for it. For Christian leaders, the truths of life are declared and settled by the Word of God.
I am sure the sailors were disappointed that Paul had thwarted their plans. However, Paul was doing them a favor. It was foolish to try to make it half a mile to shore in a hurricane in the middle of the night in a lifeboat. Paul literally saved their lives.
A leader never compromises truth because he cares for those he leads. A leader never compromises truth even if it makes him unpopular and unliked.
Finally, the moment they had all been waiting for arrived - dawn.
And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.
Knowing that the skiff was now gone and, in the end, everyone would have to swim to shore Paul instructed them to take nourishment. Paul says, “You will all survive without injury, however, you will need a good breakfast!”
A Leader Leads by Example
A Leader Leads by Example
Paul then took food and ate which encouraged the other men to eat as well. After they ate they then threw overboard the very last supplies they had on the boat in order to prepare the boat to be run aground.
So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
It was now time to be shipwrecked
When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore.
Acts 27:
In God’s sovereignty they found themselves in a place where they could beach themselves.
But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves.
At this point we need to remind ourselves of the situation of the Roman soldiers. Do you think they would have wanted to try to make their way to the shore chained to prisoners? Of course not. The soldiers then devised a plan to do away with the prisoners.
And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.
Paul’s leadership made him indispensable at this point and the centurion would not allow Paul to be killed along with the other prisoners.
The odds against these people surviving are astronomical. Imagine, as the waves beat their ship to the point of disintegrating, they jump into the waves and swim for shore. However, every single one of them survived.