"God of the Storm" Sermon: Acts 27:1-44

“God of the Storm”

[Acts 27:1-44]

July 3, 2011 Second Reformed Church

            The time had come.  Paul had appeared before King Agrippa, and Agrippa had told the governor, Festus to go ahead and send Paul to Rome to be tried by Caesar as he requested.  He told him to send a letter to Caesar explaining that though the Jews asked that Paul receive the death penalty, they found nothing to hold him for according to Roman Law – he had not broken Roman Law,  However, Paul claimed his right as a Roman citizen to be tried by Caesar, and so, he was begin sent, with no changers against him by the Empire of Rome, but because Paul insisted on being tried by Caesar, and they could not go against his request as a Roman citizen.

            (Eusebius records that the Jews were so enraged at Paul being allowed to travel to Rome to be tried by Caesar that they took James, the brother of Jesus, brought him to the highest peak of the Temple, and threw him off.  When they checked him on the ground, they found that he was not yet dead, so they took bats and beat him to death.)

            Paul could not be sent immediately, because they had to find a full boat that was going to Italy, so it probably took a few weeks before they sailed.  Eventually one was found and Paul, with other prisoners, was loaded onto the ship, along with Paul’s friends, Luke and Aristarchus.  The centurion in charge, and Augustan Cohort (which means he was likely one of Nero’s bodyguards) named Julius was in charge.

            The first leg of their trip took them up the coast of Israel and across the southern coast of modern-day Turkey.  They sailed from Caesarea to Sidon – just north of Israel – and Paul was allowed to get off of the ship and meet with his friends there and have his wounds tended by them.  Then they sailed north of the Island of Cyprus to Myrna in south central Turkey.  There they changed to an Egyptian cargo ship that was headed for Rome, as it sold wheat from port to port.

            The weather was getting rough as it was past the Passover.  (The storm season in the Mediterranean is from late September to early February).  Thus, they travelled slowly across the southern coast of Turkey to Cndius at the southwest corner of the country.  From there they had intended to sail straight west, between the southern coast of Greece and the northern coast of Crete.  But it was too late – the weather was getting worse, so they went south, around the southern coast of Crete, landing in Fair Havens in south central Crete

            At this point, they were in storm season; it was very dangerous to sail, and ships usually ported for the winter.  Paul even spoke up and urged them to remain in Fair Havens until after the winter for the sake of the ship, the cargo, and their lives.  But Julius discussed the matter with the pilot and the owner of the ship, and they believed it was still early enough in the season to travel, and, if they made it to Phoenix on the far side of the island, they would have a much better place to spend the winter, so they sailed on.

            As they left the port, a south wind blew gently, and they believed they had made the right decision, but as they got out into the open water, a hurricane from the northeast blew in and captured them.  They lost control of the ship and the hurricane blew them along.  With great effort, they kept from crashing into the small islands of Cauda and Syrtis.

            The ship was being tossed to and fro, and rain poured down, and the ship filled with water.  The crew went to the back of the ship and made sure that the lifeboat was securely fastened.  Then they pulled the supports tight around the boat.  (There would have been a number of ropes around the whole of the ship to help keep planks from breaking loose in a storm; they would pull these ropes tightly to secure the integrity of the ship.)  They also pulled down the sails.

            The second day of the hurricane, they threw much of the cargo overboard – everything except the food and water – to keep the ship afloat.  And on the third, they threw out the anchor in the hopes that it would slow them from crashing into anything.

The hurricane continued and did not stop, and Luke tells us that it was not a small hurricane – this was a fierce storm which continued for days.  It was so severe that they did not see the sun or moon or stars for many days – it was constant night and storm.

Then one night, an angel of God – the God Whom Paul worshipped – appeared to him and told him not to be afraid of the storm, but to be comforted, because he must preach the Gospel to Nero.  And God promised, not only would Paul be saved, but everyone on board would be saved for Paul’s sake.

Are you reminded of another storm?

“On that day, when evening had come [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side [of the sea].’  And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.  And other boats were with him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.  And they woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace!  Be still!’  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid?  Have you still no faith?’  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who is this then, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” (Mark 4:35-41, ESV).

Let us understand first this morning, that God is Sovereign over the storm.  In fact, God is Sovereign over all of Creation.  Nothing and no one act outside of God’s Will and/or Permission.  And everything must occur according to God’s Promises and God’s Plan.

That does not mean that we do not sin, because we do.  What it means is that no one can stop God from doing exactly what God intends to do.  And history will occur exactly as God has planned it to occur – including our sin.

So Paul stood before the men and told them, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.  Yet now I urge you to take heart, for their will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship.”  And then he told them how the angel of God had come to him.  “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.  But we must run aground on some island.”

Paul gave them a divinely sanctioned, “I told you so,” and asked them to listen to him now.  He asked them to listen to him because God – the God of the storm – the God Who holds all Creation in His Hand and causes it to act according to His Will – God had sent a message to him:  For Paul’s sake, every person on the ship would live through the storm if they stayed on the ship.

Does that seem strange to you?  Why would God save all of their lives for Paul’s sake?

God spoke to Abraham and said, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3, ESV).

And Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have weeds?’   He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’  So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’  But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the harvest time, I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matthew 13:24b-30, ESV).

And Paul wrote, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?  Will the thing molded say to its molder, ‘Why did you make me like this?’  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use?  What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory – even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from along the Gentiles?  As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people, I will call “my people,” and her who was not beloved, I will call, “beloved.” And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they then will be called ‘sons of the living God’’” (Romans 9:20-26, ESV).

Let us understand, second this morning, that God blesses all the peoples of the world for the sake of the elect.  God does not bless anyone because he or she is deserving of blessing, but God blesses everyone that the elect – all those who will ever come to faith in Jesus Alone for Salvation -- so they will understand the Greatness and the Glory of God.

The hurricane continued, and on the fourteenth day, the sailors saw waves breaking, and they thought it must mean they were close to land.  So they took a sound and found that   the water was, indeed, getting shallow.  In fear of the ship crashing, they ran to the life boat hoping to escape for land before anyone else found out what they had discovered.  But Paul was alerted, and he told the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”  So, the soldiers, who now believed that Paul knew what he was talking about, cut the life boat free, and it was lost into the ocean.

Remember, God’s promise was if they all stayed in the ship and crashed the ship on the shore, for Paul’s sake, God would save them all.  But if they left the ship, prior to it crashing, they would die.  And in fact they would have.  Scholars have mapped the area and found a place south of Greece, where, for a short time, reefs jut up in the water, giving the appearance of land being near.  In fact, land was not near, and right past the reefs, the ocean plummets down into the depths again.  If the men had gotten into the lifeboat, they would have died at sea.  (Of course, if the view was clear, they would have known they were not near land, but it was pitch black in the storm, so they could only measure the depth of the sea, not how far they were from land.)

Luke tells us from the beginning of the storm, all of the men had fasted – no one had eaten in fourteen days.  So, Paul urged them to eat, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing.  Therefore, I urge you to take some food.  It will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.”  And then Paul took bread, and gave thanks to God before all the men of the ship, and he broke it and gave it to them all, and they ate.  Luke tells us there were 276 persons on board.

As tempting as the language is to think this was the Lord’s Supper, it could not be, for three reasons:  first, he did not bless and share the cup, and more importantly, second, Paul would not have offered the Lord’s Supper to non-Christians, and also, thirdly, he would not have told them to eat their fill – the Lord’s Supper was never intended to fill our stomachs.

However, we might consider for a moment the fact that the Lord’s Supper is also called the “Eucharist.”  “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.”  So there is a parallel between the Lord’s Supper and any other food – and it is this – we are always to give thanks to God for our food.  Most of us were brought up praying and giving thanks for our food -- and it is a good thing to do, as it helps us remember that everything we have is from God.  Surely, the Great Eucharist is the Lord’s Supper, in which we give thanks for the “meal” of Jesus, God’s Son.  But we ought to eat our coffee hour and all meals eucharistically, giving thanks to God Who has supplied it for us.  That is a third thing we ought to understand this morning.

After eating, they threw the rest of the food overboard, hoping to keep the ship afloat by lessening her weight again. 

On the fifteenth day, the skies began to clear, and though they did not recognize the coast, the men could see land in the distance.  In looking at it, and no longer doubting Paul, they determined that they might crash the ship into a sandbar between two reefs and be saved.  So they cut the anchors loose, and pulled up the sail, and began careening toward the beach.  But they struck one of the reefs and were stuck, and the ship began to break up in the surf.

Now, some of the soldiers feared that if they jumped in the ocean to swim to shore, some of the prisoners might try to escape, and then they would be held responsible for them and punished, so they determined it was best to kill all of the prisoners.  But Julius, Nero’s bodyguard, the centurion, had faith in Paul and his God and wanted to save him, and he prevented them from killing the prisoners.

Julius instructed those who could swim to jump into the surf and swim for shore, and those who could not swim, to grab a piece of the crumbling ship, trusting that Paul’s God would bring them to shore as He promised.  And all 276 persons were safely brought to shore – of an island they would find out in the next chapter, was Malta – a small island south of Sicily.

And so we see, fourthly, that God will bring to pass whatsoever He wills; God cannot fail to keep His promises.

As we turn to the Lord’s Supper and prepare to meet Jesus in the elements, let us remember what we have seen:  God is the Sovereign God over the storm and all Creation.  God blesses all people for the sake of the elect – those who believe savingly in Jesus.  Since God provides us with everything we have, we always have reason to give Him thanks, and we ought to thank Him for everything we receive from His Loving Hand.  And finally, God brings to pass whatsoever He wills, without fail; God keeps His Promises.

            Since all these things are true, let us trust that God will bring us to and through many things until He brings us to His Purpose for us and His Promise to us.

Let us pray:
Almighty God of the storm, and our Loving Father, we face many storms in life, and we are also blessed beyond expectation or worth.  Help us to trust You at all times and give thanks, knowing You are our Sovereign God, Loving Father, and Risen Savior.  For it is in You Alone that we can survive the storm.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.