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God’s Purpose in the Storm | Acts 27 | Ryan Scott · Chapel Talks

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Whenever I was 17, probably around that time
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when I was reading the Bible for myself, I passed
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my driving test and got my first car. I grew
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up in a rural area where you needed to be able
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to drive early on, so I did. And it was one cold
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evening, I was driving out. It was the eighth
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time that I had ever driven this little blue
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Renault Clio. And it was a frosty evening and
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I was going faster than I should have been. And
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I began to slide on ice. And there's one thing
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that you're always told whenever that sort of
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thing begins to happen. And that is don't brake.
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Don't brake. But those lessons all went out the
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window. In that moment, I slammed on the brakes.
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The car started to slide violently from one side
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of the road to the other side of the road and
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then back to where it was as it did. So it flipped
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upside down, crashed into the trees along the
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side of the road. And I was hanging upside down
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with the seatbelt. The other side of the car
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was all crushed in. The wheels were spinning
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like mad. The windows had all broken. I thought,
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the car's going to go on fire. I thought, I could
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die here. I managed to release myself down on
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top of myself, climb out through the windows
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that had thankfully all been smashed. And I was
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able to climb out from that experience alive.
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And here's a question that I sometimes ask myself.
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And it's this, why did God preserve my life?
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that evening tragic reality as we all know that
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many people are killed on our roads many young
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people are killed including and that I'm sure
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is a question that is very much in the forefront
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of Paul's mind as he goes through a near -death
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experience not on the road but on the sea but
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as we'll see it's a question that he has a very
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clear answer for if you want to turn back with
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me to Acts chapter 27 that's where we're going
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to be thanks so much to Matt for bringing us
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through that reading And in studying this passage,
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I've struggled to think of another part of the
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Bible which is similar to this chapter. Perhaps
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we could think maybe over lunch afterwards of
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any other parts of Scripture that you can think
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of that are similar. But why are there 44 detailed
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verses of this dangerous journey? Why is there
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so much attention given to characters like Julius
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the Centurion or sailors instead of Paul? Why
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is there such a little emphasis on the spiritual
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focus? which dominates the rest of the book of
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Acts. It's not even explicit in this section
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or the later section that Paul tells people the
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gospel whenever he arrives in Malta as well.
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Whereas the rest of Acts, that's all that he's
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ever doing. And all of this comes, of course,
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in the penultimate chapter towards the very end
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of the book of Acts. So what on earth is going
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on? Well, let me just recap some of what we heard
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in our reading, and then I'll consider what I
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think might be the big point for us and how it
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might help us. and today we see in the book of
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acts of course the journey of the message of
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jesus beginning at jerusalem then on to judean
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samaria and then all the way towards the ends
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of the earth we see the trials of the apostle
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paul who's been arrested he's been told by god
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that he's going to testify before caesar and
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in verse one they find a boat that's going for
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italy some things go okay initially but then
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from verse seven onwards everything that can
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go wrong does go wrong What should be over in
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just a couple of days is slow and takes many
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days. Verse 8, they move along the coast with
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difficulty. They come to the place called the
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Fair Havens near the town of La Silla. After
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much time had been lost, sailing had already
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become dangerous because it was now after the
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Day of Atonement. They're now in the beginning
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of October. And in ancient times, sailing in
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the high seas after September was not considered
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wise. So Paul warns them, verse 10, doesn't he?
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Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be
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disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo
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and to our own lives. Also, I don't think this
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is a kind of divine intervention that Paul has
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experienced to have this knowledge. It seems
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to be just experience, knowledge that's come
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from his own experience. He's been across the
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Mediterranean already several times by this point.
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He's a seasoned traveler, according to 2 Corinthians
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chapter 11. He's already been shipwrecked three
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times. So he's a bit of an old hat when it comes
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to shipwreck. And then verse 11, but the centurion,
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instead of listening to what Paul said, did what
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I think most of us would do. And he followed
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the advice of the pilot and the owner of the
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ship. Julius the centurion has treated Paul very
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well. Up until this point, you can see that.
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Clearly, Paul is a very unusual kind of prisoner.
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You know, he was a Roman citizen. He hasn't been
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formally charged. He hasn't been found guilty,
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much less than that. He seems to be quite happy
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to be taken to Rome and he's certainly not trying
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to run away. So he's quite willing to follow
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his decisions in many cases. And then you can
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see just the increase in level of suspense from
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verse 13 onwards. Cue the tense music, the creeping
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camera angles. The wind starts off as a gentle
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wind. The sailors are seduced into thinking that
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everything's going to be okay. And then things
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get worse and worse and worse. They encounter
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a hurricane force. The ship is caught in a storm
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and they could not head into the wind. They're
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unable to make the lifeboat secure and they're
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worried in verse 17. already that they're going
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to make shipwreck they take a violent battering
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and then they begin to take really desperate
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measures like throwing tackle overboard there
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are 300 people crowded into a vulnerable boat
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the winds are getting higher the waves more furious
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the passengers watch experienced sailors take
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an extreme action throwing cargo and tackle overboard
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they knew only too well how dire things were
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the nights would have been truly terrifying the
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stormy day is not much better they're soaking
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wet chilled to the bone huddled together eating
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nothing they can hear and smell people vomiting
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misery and terror for soldiers and for slaves
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tradesmen and apostle alike they're all in the
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same condition until finally first 20 when neither
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sun nor stars appeared for many days and the
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storm continued raging we finally gave up all
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hope of being saved Very bleak. And yet God had
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promised Paul that he would go to Rome and testified
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before Caesar. If you flick back with me to chapter
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23 of the book of Acts, we read in verse 11.
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That the Lord stood near Paul and said, take
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courage as you have testified about me in Jerusalem.
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So you must also testify in Rome. And I wonder
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if you've ever been in that kind of a situation
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as a Christian person. You know, Lord, you've
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promised this to me in your word. But in all
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honesty, life feels very different at the moment.
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Or Lord, I thought we were going down this particular
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path, this particular direction in life. But
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actually now the kind of the way there seems
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to be closing off. And we seem to be going this
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way instead. Well, Paul had that kind of experience
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intimately. But actually for Paul, it was even
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worse. Because for Paul, and probably for Luke
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who writes this narrative as well, they would
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have a particular way of understanding a storm
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like this. Tom Wright points out that they were
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part of a biblical tradition which recognized
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storms to be part of the dark and satanic forces
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of chaos within our worlds. And so not only is
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this an assault by wind and water and the sailors
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who don't know what they're doing and impending
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death, but for... In all of those things, Paul
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would have also felt that he was enduring one
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of the most profound spiritual attacks that he'd
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ever encountered. This chapter comes towards
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the end of the book of Acts. And I think I'm
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going to suggest here that in that way we can
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see a kind of a parallel to the narrative of
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the life of Jesus. The pattern of Paul's life
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in so many ways in the book of Acts maps onto
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the pattern of the life of Jesus. And in the
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accounts of the life of Jesus right up towards
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the end of course we have his crucifixion. Where
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the powers of darkness were unleashed upon Jesus.
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And where he endured the most profound spiritual
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attack that he ever faced. In Luke 22 Jesus says
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to those who are coming to arrest him. He says
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every day I was with you in the temple courts
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and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is
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your hour when darkness reigns. When darkness
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reigns. When Jesus was crucified, darkness reigned.
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And so too here now, darkness seems to reign
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because there's no sun or stars. The storm continues
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to rage and they've given up all hope of being
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saved. And in the midst of this darkness, we
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have an intervention finally by God in the hope
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of desperation. Paul starts off with the good
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old, I told you so, verse 21. Men, you should
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have taken my advice not to sail from Crete.
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then you would have spared yourselves this damage
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and loss. Everyone loves to hear that, don't
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they? But actually, Paul's not angry, is he?
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He's encouraged. Look at verse 22 with me, if
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you've got your Bibles there. But now I urge
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you to keep up your courage, because not one
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of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed.
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Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong
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and whom I serve stood beside me and said, do
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not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before
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Caesar. God has graciously given you the lives
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of all who sail with you. So keep up your courage,
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men, for I have faith in God that it will happen
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just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run
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aground on some island. Probably this message
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by the angel was in the response to the prayers
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of the people. So you can imagine even as the
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sailors are trying to secure the ship physically.
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Here Paul is, he's engaged in spiritual warfare,
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spiritual battle, trying to secure the safety
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of the ship through prayer. It's good news. We're
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all going to make it. I will stand trial before
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Caesar. The gospel will go to the ends of the
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earth, but the ship itself is going to go down.
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The anchors go down, verse 29, and they pray
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for sunlight. As they understand it, the anchors
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would have been let down one by one to slow the
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ship as much as possible. And then each in turn
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would have threatened to break the ship under
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the pressure. So the ship would have lurched
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50 yards forward or so and then been jerked back
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again and again and again. Afterwards, the sailors,
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they still aren't convinced by Paul's message,
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are they? And so they try selfishness instead.
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You can see their scheme there in verse 30. In
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an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors
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let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending
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they're going to lower some anchors from the
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bow. hoping not to be seen, but Paul, he keeps
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them in check. They have something to eat before
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they make their way towards the final crash.
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Nobody on board knew the place where they might
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bring the ship in, but they see land ahead of
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them, don't they? And they don't recognise it.
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They're going to decide to let the ship run aground,
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verse 40. They cut the anchors, let the tillers
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go slack and hoist a sail to try and bring them
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in. They aren't quite ready for the hard ridge
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of rock when the ship is struck. And it begins
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to break up in pieces. They hear a horrible grind
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and a crunch of the ship as it's headed into
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the rock. The winds are pounding upon the sails.
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Sailors shouting, passengers screaming. And then
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water finally rushes into the body of the ship.
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And amidst all of this chaos, finally, almost
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when they're nearly there, the soldiers are about
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to kill the prisoners. But then Julius the Centurion
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comes to the rescue and ensures that their lives
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are safe. And then towards the very end we read,
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in this way everyone reached land safely. And
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chapter 28 and verse 1, once safely on shore.
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They've been through storm and shipwreck and
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they've got to safety. Salvation, safety has
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come at the end of this terrible, terrible event.
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So what are we to make of all of this and all
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the details of this passage? Seven times in this
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passage. Salvation for Paul comes at the end
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of this disastrous event after Paul has had an
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encounter with the forces of darkness. And for
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Luke, I suggest here that this word safety or
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salvation is being used maybe with a blend or
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range of meaning. Acts 27 shows us the pattern
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of the book of Acts, of course, but it also gives
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us an insight into the pattern of the life of
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Jesus working through Paul. And the pattern of
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the life of Jesus working through the church.
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And the pattern of the life of Jesus working
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through the lives of you and I. God brings his
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people through these kinds of messes. He doesn't
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make his church avoid these kinds of encounters.
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But he saves his people through them ultimately.
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It's a little bit like the kids storybook. I'm
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going on a bear hunt. I'm sure you all know it.
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Can't go over it. Can't go under it. We've got
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to go through it. God delights to bring his people
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through these kinds of messes, delivering the
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lives of his people through storm and shipwreck
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to bring his message ultimately to the ends of
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the earth. Just consider how many things God
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is in control of here, how many details are in
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the palm of his hand to tell Paul that the ship
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would be destroyed, but every one of the passengers
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would be safe. That every decision of the sailors
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and every detail of the ship was in the knowledge
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and within the power of God. To finally arrive
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at Malta. Again all within the power and within
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the knowledge of God. Salvation comes at the
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end of this storm. And this shipwreck. Because
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salvation comes to all those on the ship. And
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enables the preservation of the life of the Apostle
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Paul. So that God's promise that he would testify
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before Caesar. In Rome can be fulfilled. God
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has sovereignly preserved the life of his servant.
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So that his gospel can go forth. And this is
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the pattern of life now. The pattern of the progress
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of the gospel is consistently through storms
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and through disasters and through shipwreck.
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That's ultimately just how Jesus does things.
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Simon Gilbert writes that we are immortal until
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God calls us home. We are immortal until God
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calls us home. In other words, you cannot die
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until God has fulfilled the plan that he has
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for your life within you. And then he wants to
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bring you home. So why did God preserve my life
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that night when I was 17 and rode off my car?
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Well, it must have been because God had some
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purpose in my life that was not yet fulfilled
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in that moment. And that is something I need
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to remember a lot. And therefore not to go through
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life on autopilot. I find it very helpful to
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reflect on this again this week, to get up every
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day, to take each day as a gift, to know that
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God has a purpose for me. God is working through
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me in the events and the days of this life and
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this week that I have. Friends, you, if you still
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have breath in your lungs, it's because God has
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a purpose in your life. To live for Christ. Now,
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Paul, his life was preserved. So he could go
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to Rome, preach about Christ. And for you and
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I, it's something else as well. And it may be
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that this afternoon, God, after this afternoon,
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God takes my life tonight. I don't know when
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it will be. Could be today, could be tomorrow,
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could be any other day after that. We never know.
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And all of us are moments away from death every
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single day. Something could go wrong, something
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small. We take our final breath. And so we take
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each day now as a gift and fulfill the purpose
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that God has given us to complete. Here's a prayer
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that I sometimes like to pray at the beginning
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of the morning. It was like this. As I rise from
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my sleep, I thank you, Holy Trinity. that in
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your great goodness and patience you were not
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angry with me an idler or a sinner nor have destroyed
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me in my sins but have shown your usual love
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for me for when i was prostrating in despair
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you raised me up to keep to glorify your power
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now enlighten my mind's eye and open my mouth
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to study your words and understand your commandments
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and to sing to you in heartfelt adoration and
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praise your most holy name of father son and
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holy spirit now and ever and unto the ages of
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ages amen It's not a prayer that I wrote. I nicked
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it from somebody else, as you can probably tell.
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But I like it because it gets to that sense of
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why has God given us this new day as a gift?
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He has a purpose for us to complete. He has a
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work for us to do. For Paul, he saved his life
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so he could testify before Caesar in Rome. And
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it may be that for us, God is bringing us through
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all kinds of storms and shipwrecks and disasters
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for a final purpose. Jesus is with us. He has
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a purpose in you. to spread his message throughout
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the world. So Christian, let's take each day
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as a gift. Let's confront any negative self -talk
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that we might have about our lives. Let's confront
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our self -pity. We are immortal until God takes
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us home. And let's know that salvation will come
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when God brings us through the storms of this
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tempestuous life and lands us safely and securely
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on the shores of heaven above. Let's pray and
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thank God for his word. Heavenly Father, we thank
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you that you know the details of our lives. You
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know the end from the beginning and the things
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that have not yet taken place. Father, thank
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you that you've called us to be part of your
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work in our world. And what an immense privilege
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that is. Help us never ever to take it for granted.
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Help us to take this day and all days as a gift
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from you. Help us to arise from our slumber and
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be called forth towards a higher purpose. until
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that final moment when you take us home into
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glory forever. We pray these things in Jesus'
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name. Amen.