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Acts 27 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I pray is well read and treasured in your hearts.
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And turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 27.
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Yes, we are still working our way through the book of Acts, which is our habit to do verse by verse exposition, but we are nearing the end.
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We have this Sunday and two more if things go to plan and we'll complete our study of the book of Acts.
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But before we get into today's text, I'll summarize where we are in Luke's narrative of the ascended Christ working by the agency of the Spirit in the life of the Apostle Paul.
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At the beginning of chapter 21, Paul returns to Jerusalem where he is attacked at the temple and subsequently arrested by a Roman cohort.
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Because of the uproar of the crowd, the confusion concerning their accusations against Paul and a plot to kill him, he is detained and stands trial a number of times across the following chapters.
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In chapter 25, Paul exercises his right as a Roman citizen and makes an appeal to Caesar.
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That is to be sent to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, which is granted to him.
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And that brings us to the decision to sail for Rome in today's text.
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And wasn't that the most sweeping summary ever of those chapters?
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So before I begin reading in Acts 27, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
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It was written for his glory and our good.
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We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
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Now, as we read across the following chapter, I'm going to stop at some periodic places and give some brief explanation just so we know, fully wrap our minds around what's happening in this episode in Paul's life.
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And then we'll give some application following it.
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So Acts 27, verse 1.
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So note first the phrase, we should sail.
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I just think it's good for us to recognize that Luke is using first person plural pronouns again.
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So he is back on the scene, right?
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That means he joined Paul as he is sent to Rome.
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He was likely nearby during all of those trials, but he's observing from a distance what is happening.
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Many have supposed that Luke served as Paul's physician for his general health as he went on all of these hazardous journeys,
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as well as the thorn in his flesh mentioned in 2 Corinthians.
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We don't know exactly what that was, but many have supposed it was some kind of ailment that Paul carried with him.
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Luke serves us as a beautiful example of friendship and service as he returns and joins him on his trip to trial and imprisonment in Rome.
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Note also that they get on a ship of Adramidium.
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And it's only substantial because I think sometimes words like this become distracting to us.
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Like what in the world is a ship of Adramidium?
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Adramidium was a place.
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It was the ship's home port.
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And the ship is likely a merchant ship carrying wheat westward, as we see in verse 38.
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We find out later in the chapter that there's a massive number of people on this ship.
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Ships of this size in that day would have been the largest seagoing vessel.
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So it was a large ship of Adramidium carrying most likely wheat.
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Verse 38 says, when they'd eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
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And we also see that he's accompanied by Aristarchus.
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And Aristarchus has served as one of Paul's travel companions for quite some time.
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In fact, he is one of the men seized in the Ephesian riot that we learned about back in chapter 19.
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So another picture, a beautiful friendship and service to Paul as he goes with him.
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Verse 3.
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The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.
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And putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
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Now, if you would like, in the back of your Bible, probably there's a map of Paul's missionary journeys.
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If you have an ESV like I do, a thin line, it's the last one.
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So you can just very quickly turn to it and see the path that he takes.
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If that helps you, you can flip back and forth between the two.
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Sidon from Caesarea would have just been a bit north on the coast of Israel.
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So they've sailed just a bit of a way.
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And Julius, this soldier of the Augustan cohort, allows him to go to who's likely his friends being the church there in Sidon and be cared for.
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We see also in these two verses that they sail under the lee of Cyprus.
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Now, Luke uses the word lee twice more in this narrative.
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So it's important that you understand what he's referring to.
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And the lee is the protection of a landmass from the wind.
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That is to say, they sailed on the downwind side of Cyprus.
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They were protected from the strong winds by sailing in the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against them, Luke records.
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Now, a sailing ship is most easily sailed with the wind at its stern, its backside.
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That's the way we think of sailing ships, right?
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The wind blowing it along.
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But did you know that when the wind is at the bow of a ship, it can still be sailed?
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I had never given this any thought until the year was 1996.
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And my dad and I went up to Maine, and we got to take a sailing ship out, and we took it up the coast.
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And I didn't think, how do we get back?
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We had to turn around and sail against the wind.
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And you do a process called tacking.
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You cut across the wind, back and forth, and you make progress in that way.
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But it's not an easy thing to do.
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And so, with the wind at the bow against them, right, they can still sail, but with this difficulty.
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And in especially high winds, it can become quite impossible.
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And it became a continued problem on this voyage they're taking.
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Verse 5.
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And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
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There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board.
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We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Nidus.
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And as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.
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Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fairhavens, near which was the city of Lycia.
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So they were working against the wind.
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All this language of difficulty is what that means.
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So they put into a port called Fairhavens.
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Fairhavens still exists as a place.
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It's still called Fairhavens.
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And it now has a small city.
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About 200 people live there.
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But it likely did not have a city in that day as Luke records that it's near this city of Lycia.
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But even if it did, it's a pretty poor port.
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It's open to the southeast, which means that it's exposed to the winter winds.
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And that's a problem.
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So they finally make their way into this port, which gives them some temporary shelter.
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But it's not going to give them long-term shelter from the wind.
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And this sets up this issue that's before them.
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We'll see in verse 9.
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Since much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the fast was already over,
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Paul advised them, saying,
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Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss,
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not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.
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Now, when Luke uses the phrase, even the fast was already over,
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he's doing so simply to mark the date.
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He's referring to the last, the fast of the day of atonement, which fell in late September.
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You can see why I'm filling in these details because we have no concept of much of this.
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For ancient vessels, any travel on the Mediterranean past mid-September was dangerous.
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It was dangerous to venture out past mid-September.
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And all travel ceased from mid-November until past February, at least until February.
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All travel ceased altogether.
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So, they were trying to sneak this trip in.
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So, back at the beginning of the chapter, when it was decided for them to go,
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the decision was either we try to slip this trip in and get Paul to Rome now,
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or we wait until the spring.
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So, they're sneaking it in.
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And with the difficulty they had experienced thus far,
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they're entering an even more treacherous time to continue westward.
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So, Paul says, and it doesn't really seem to be phrased as a prophecy in this way,
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but he just says, I perceive this is going to go bad for us.
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Look at how difficult it's been so far.
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Verse 11,
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But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
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And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, that's fair havens,
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the majority decided to put out to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix,
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a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
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Now, when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose,
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they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete close to the shore.
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But soon, a tempestuous wind called the Northeaster struck down from the land.
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And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.
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Running under the lee of a small island called Kauda,
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we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.
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After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship.
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Then, fearing they would run aground on the Sirtis,
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they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along.
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So they decide to make a run for it, right, in the hopes of wintering at Phoenix.
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But the winds shift.
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So they get this nice wind, they say, now's our chance, and they go,
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but the winds shift.
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And a particular wind comes called the Northeaster, right, a tempestuous one, right,
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coming from the Northeast.
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If you're looking at your little map in the back of your Bible,
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you can see that on the south side of the island of Crete.
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And so as this wind comes across the island of Crete,
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not only is it a strong wind, but it becomes a turbulent wind as well.
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The island itself begins to break the wind up, so it's not steady any longer.
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And this wind is turbulent enough, strong enough,
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that as they turn, it would seem they turn and try to go back
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and make their way back into Fairhavens again.
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And they're unable to sail against it, so they have to give in to its power.
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Luke says that we manage with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.
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So this would have been a boat used to go into shore.
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This was a large sailing vessel,
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so a boat that they could have landed on the beaches with.
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And they had pulled it.
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It would have been pulled along beside, behind the ship,
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so they pulled it in and secured it on board the ship.
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And then he says that they used supports to undergird the ship.
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Some of your translations may say cables.
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The wind was so strong and the sea so violent at this point
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that they looped cables underneath the ship to help hold it together.
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That's what they're doing, right?
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It's already that kind of wind that they're looping rope,
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tying it tight up underneath the ship to hold it together,
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which was a common practice in such situations.
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Then he says that they're concerned that they're going to run aground on the Sirdis.
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The Sirdis Shallows or the Sirdis Sands
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is an area off the coast of North Africa with many sandbars.
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It's deep water, but it has a lot of sandbars in it.
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And it's well known as a ship graveyard.
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Lots of ships would run aground on these sandbars,
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especially these large ships that would have carried heavy loads
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and sat deep in the water, would get stuck and then get beat to death by the waves.
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So it's a common place that people would run aground.
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They are quite some distance from the Sirdis at this point,
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but it would seem that they do not know their exact location.
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They're just not quite aware where they are exactly in the Mediterranean Sea.
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And so wishing to avoid the Sirdis altogether,
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they lowered the gear,
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which can mean either they lowered the sails
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or they lowered the sea anchor.
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Some of your translations may say that.
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Or both.
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It's possible that both things happen,
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which is what I propose with my very limited knowledge of sailing.
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As the winds coming from the northeast,
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and they desire not to be driven to the southwest,
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where this region, the Sirdis, was at,
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they drop sails,
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and they employ a sea anchor,
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which was a large bag.
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It's kind of like a parachute that floats under the water
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that acts as a brake,
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orients them with the wind,
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and it's in this way
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that they're driven along.
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They're driven westward,
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if you're looking at that little line on your map.
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Verse 18.
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Since we were violently storm-tossed,
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they began the next day to jettison the cargo.
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And on the third day,
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they threw the ship's tackle overboard
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with their own hands.
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When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days,
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and no small tempest lay on us,
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all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
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Since they had been without food for a long time,
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Paul stood up among them and said,
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Men,
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you should have listened to me
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and not have set sail from Crete
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and incurred this injury and loss.
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Yet now I urge you to take heart,
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for there will be no loss of life among you,
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but only of the ship.
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For this very night there stood before me
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an angel of the God to whom I belong
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and whom I worship.
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And he said,
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Do not be afraid, Paul.
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You must stand before Caesar.
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And behold,
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God has granted you all those who sail with you.
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So take heart, men,
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for I have faith in God
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that it will be exactly as I have been told.
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But we must run aground on some island.
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When the fourteenth night had come,
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as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea,
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about midnight,
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the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.
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So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.
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A little farther on,
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they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.
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And fearing that we might run on the rocks,
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they let down four anchors from the stern
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and prayed for day to come.
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It gets intense, doesn't it?
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I love it.
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This is the Bible.
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So Paul sees a vision.
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He says,
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We're going to be okay,
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but we need to run aground.
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And then these sailors perceive,
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they think,
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they suspect that they're nearing land.
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And the only thing I can figure,
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again with my very limited seafaring knowledge,
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is that as experienced sailors,
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maybe the waves begin to change
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the way they're interacting with the bottom of the ocean
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as it shallows out.
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Maybe they have the kind of experience to know that.
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That's the only thing I could guess.
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It's nighttime.
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They can't see that there's land coming up.
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But maybe.
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They think that they're approaching land.
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And so they take a sounding.
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They let down a rope that was intended for this very thing
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with a weight tied to the end of it
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and used for measuring depth.
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And they found twenty fathoms,
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which is 120 feet.
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And then going a bit farther,
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they measured 15 fathoms,
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which is 90 feet.
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So the ocean floor is approaching sea level,
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which means that the sea is shallowing.
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They're approaching land of some kind.
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And so they don't want to run around a ground on rocks.
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So they let down four anchors from the back of the boat,
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right,
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as the boat's being driven forward
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to slow them down and prevent this type of accident.
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Verse 30.
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And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship
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and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea
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under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow,
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Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,
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unless these men stay in the ship,
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you cannot be saved.
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Right?
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So God made this promise
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that he would maintain the crew.
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And Paul adds to that,
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we've got to stay together in this.
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Under pretense,
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basically they say,
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hey,
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we're going to get out in the boat
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and we're going to put some more anchors out
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from the bow of the boat,
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the front of the boat.
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But they were lying about it.
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And Paul says they must stay on board.
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So,
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verse 32.
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Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat
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and let it go.
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They didn't let them get in it.
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They cut the ropes.
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As day was about to dawn,
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Paul urged them all to take some food,
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saying,
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today is the 14th day
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that you have continued in suspense
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and without food,
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having taken nothing.
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Therefore,
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I urge you to take some food,
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for it will give you strength,
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for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.
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And when he had said these things,
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he took bread,
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and giving thanks to God in the presence of all,
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he broke it and began to eat.
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Then they all were encouraged
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and ate some food themselves.
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We were in all 276 persons in the ship.
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When they had eaten enough,
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they lightened the ship,
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throwing out the wheat into the sea.
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Now when it was day,
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they did not recognize the land,
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but they noticed a bay with a beach
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on which they planned,
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if possible,
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to run the ship ashore.
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So they cast off the anchors
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and left them in the sea,
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at the same time loosening the ropes
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that tied the rudders,
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then hoisting the foresail to the wind
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they made for the beach.
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But striking a reef,
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they ran the vessel aground.
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The bow stuck and remained immovable,
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and the stern was being broken up by the surf.
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The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners,
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lest any should swim away and escape.
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But the centurion,
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wishing to save Paul,
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kept them from carrying out their plan.
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He ordered those who could swim
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to jump overboard first
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and make for the land,
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and the rest on planks
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or on pieces of the ship.
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And so it was
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that all were safely brought to land.
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So they see on this morning,
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right after the 14th night,
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they see an inlet with a beach,
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and in order to run the ship aground,
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they make it as light as they possibly can.
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They cut away the anchors.
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Loosening the ropes
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doesn't mean they let the rudder flop.
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It means that they actually cut the rudders away.
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So there's not no rudder on the bottom of it.
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It's as smooth as it can possibly be
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on the bottom of this thing.
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They hoist the mainsail,
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but the wind would drive them
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all the way in to land.
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But as we see,
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there's a reef that they get caught on,
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and the boat gets beat to pieces
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as they all abandon ship
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and are brought safely to the shore.
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So there's our text for today.
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So let's make three valuable observations
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from, or we could say in some cases,
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about today's text.
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As I've said to you before,
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preaching from historical narrative
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is often very difficult
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because my first reading through this,
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I really wanted to say,
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and this morning there's one point.
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Wow, what a journey, right?
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What do we learn from such a text, right?
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Like what is there to be said to us from a text?
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And I do think there's some really important things
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after further consideration.
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So observations from or about today's text
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as we read it together.
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And here they are.
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These are the three observations,
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and then we'll go through them one by one.
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Number one, God's words are true.
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God's words are true.
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Number two, God is in control of all things.
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And number three, God uses suffering
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to work good in the hearts of his people.
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Okay, so first, God's words are true.
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I want to make this first point
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in a really general sense.
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This is an astoundingly accurate account
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of what a journey of this magnitude
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would have been like.
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Like that's lost on us, isn't it?
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It was really lost on me
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on my first reading of it.
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Luke's account here has historical veracity
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as a record of a treacherous first century crossing
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of the Mediterranean Sea.
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In fact, Acts chapter 27
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is used in lots of secular literature
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as a historical account
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of what it would have taken
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and what sailing looked like in this day.
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What would first century sailors do
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in the case of a tempestuous wind?
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What would happen in that way?
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So it's a very historically voracious account.
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F.F. Bruce,
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who was a 20th century New Testament scholar,
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wrote a work on Acts,
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and he quotes in that work
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the 19th century British yachtsman James Smith.
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You're tracking that?
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A book within a book.
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James Smith wrote this book
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entitled The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul,
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which is an exploration
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of the accuracy of Luke's account.
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So James Smith, as a yachtsman,
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sets out to figure out
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how historically accurate it is.
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And where I found this
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was F.F. Bruce talking about this book.
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Okay?
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I'm going to read this quote to you
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as best I can
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to let you track me.
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Smith relates
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how he made careful inquiries
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of experienced Mediterranean navigators
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in order to ascertain
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the mean rate of drift
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of a ship of this kind
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laid to in such a gale.
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So he asked around navigators, right?
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How fast would a ship like this
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drift under these conditions?
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The conclusion which he reached
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was a mean drift
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of about 36 miles in 24 hours.
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The soundings recorded in verse 28
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indicate that the ship
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was passing Korah,
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a point on the west coast of Malta,
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on her way into what's now called
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St. Paul's Bay.
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Okay?
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On the island of Malta.
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It's now called St. Paul's Bay.
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But the distance from Klaudah
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to the point of Korah
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is 476.6 miles,
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which, at the rate deduced
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from the information,
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would take exactly 13 days,
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one hour, and 21 minutes.
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And not only so,
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the coincidence of the actual
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bearing of St. Paul's Bay
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from Klaudah
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and the direction in which
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a ship must have driven
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in order to avoid the Cirtus
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is, if possible,
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still more striking
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than that of the time
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actually consumed
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and the calculated time.
23:56
Then, after carefully reckoning
23:59
the direction of the ship's course
24:00
from the direction of the wind,
24:02
from the angle of the ship's head
24:03
with the wind,
24:04
and from the leeway,
24:06
he goes on.
24:07
So Smith goes on to say,
24:09
Hence, according to these calculations,
24:11
a ship starting late in the evening
24:13
from Klaudah would,
24:14
by midnight on the 14th day,
24:16
be less than three miles
24:18
from the entrance of St. Paul's Bay.
24:20
I admit that a coincidence
24:21
so very close as this
24:22
is to a certain extent accidental,
24:24
but it is an accident
24:26
which could not have happened
24:28
had there been any inaccuracy
24:30
on the part of the author
24:32
of the narrative.
24:34
So he just does this extensive study
24:36
which is to say
24:38
that Luke made a very careful recording
24:42
of this trip that took place.
24:45
The scripture has historical veracity.
24:49
This is one wonderful example
24:50
of that in our text today.
24:53
Secondly, God's words are true
24:57
in the text itself.
24:59
In verse 24,
25:01
Paul recounts this visitation
25:03
of an angel who said,
25:04
Do not be afraid, Paul.
25:05
You must stand before Caesar
25:07
and behold,
25:08
God has granted you
25:09
all those who sail with you.
25:13
Now, in light of this kind of storm,
25:17
the odds were very clearly
25:18
stacked against them.
25:19
This was a miserable situation to be in.
25:21
Don't read past
25:22
how very horrible this trip was.
25:25
They are two weeks
25:27
being driven in a storm.
25:28
They're not seeing the sun
25:29
or the moon or the stars.
25:30
They're being beaten down
25:32
in this horrible winter storm
25:34
for two weeks.
25:36
And yet,
25:38
God's word proves true.
25:40
Verse 44,
25:41
And so it was
25:42
that all were brought safely to land.
25:45
All 276 souls were spared.
25:50
Beloved, God's words are true.
25:53
And this is why we would all do well
25:54
to listen to it
25:55
in order to believe its promises
25:56
and obey its commands.
26:00
Proverbs 30, verse 5,
26:01
tells us that
26:02
every word of God proves true.
26:06
He's a shield to those
26:07
who take refuge in Him.
26:09
And Psalm 119, 89, says,
26:11
Forever, O Lord,
26:13
your word is firmly fixed
26:15
in the heavens.
26:16
If God has said something,
26:18
it will come to pass.
26:22
So God's words are true.
26:25
Not only are God's words true,
26:26
but God is in control
26:28
of all things.
26:29
So secondly,
26:30
God is in control
26:30
of all things.
26:34
Now Luke does not express
26:35
this reality directly
26:37
in this passage.
26:38
But as a good student
26:39
of our Bibles,
26:40
we can know that
26:41
God sovereignly rules
26:42
all things at all times.
26:45
We call this
26:46
God's omnipotence, right?
26:48
He is all-powerful.
26:51
Turn with me, if you will,
26:52
to Job chapter 37.
27:08
There's a lot of good
27:22
flipping happening.
27:24
I like to hear it.
27:26
Job chapter 37.
27:28
In the midst of Job's suffering,
27:30
I'm going to assume that you know
27:31
about Job's suffering.
27:32
I'll tell you more about it
27:33
if you would like to know.
27:35
But for the sake of time,
27:36
in the midst of Job's suffering,
27:38
the bad advice of Job's friends
27:40
is corrected by a young man
27:42
named Elihu.
27:43
I love Elihu.
27:45
He's a neat character
27:46
in the scripture.
27:47
I encourage you to study him.
27:49
Listen to what he says to Job
27:51
in Job 37,
27:52
beginning in verse 1
27:53
and following.
27:56
Elihu says,
27:57
At this also my heart
27:59
trembles and leaps
28:00
out of its place.
28:02
Keep listening to the thunder
28:04
of his voice
28:04
and the rumbling
28:05
that comes from his mouth.
28:07
Under the whole heavens
28:09
he lets it go
28:10
and is lightning
28:11
to the corners of the earth.
28:13
After it,
28:14
his voice roars.
28:15
He thunders
28:16
with his majestic voice
28:17
and he does not restrain
28:19
the lightnings
28:19
when his voice is heard.
28:21
God thunders wondrously
28:22
with his voice.
28:24
He does great things
28:25
that we cannot comprehend.
28:27
For to the snow,
28:28
he says,
28:29
fall on the earth.
28:30
Likewise to the downpour,
28:32
his mighty downpour.
28:33
He seals up the hand
28:35
of every man
28:36
that all men
28:37
whom he made
28:38
may know it.
28:39
Then the beasts
28:40
go into their lairs
28:41
and remain in their dens.
28:43
From its chamber
28:44
comes the whirlwind
28:45
and cold
28:46
from the scattering winds.
28:48
By the breath of God,
28:50
ice is given
28:50
and the broad waters
28:52
are frozen fast.
28:54
He loads the thick cloud
28:56
with moisture.
28:57
The clouds scatter his lightning.
28:59
They turn around
29:01
and around
29:01
by his guidance
29:02
to accomplish
29:04
all that he commands them
29:05
on the face
29:06
of the habitable world.
29:08
Whether for correction
29:09
or for his land
29:11
or for love,
29:13
he causes it
29:14
to happen.
29:17
And after further correction
29:18
by God himself
29:19
to Job,
29:20
Job says in Job 42,
29:22
verse 2,
29:23
I know that you
29:24
can do all things
29:25
and that no purpose
29:27
of yours
29:28
can be thwarted.
29:31
So,
29:32
we learn from Job
29:33
that God is in control
29:35
of all things
29:36
and certainly
29:37
expressed so clearly
29:38
in Job 37
29:39
by Elihu
29:40
that he is in control
29:41
of the weather.
29:44
In Jeremiah 32,
29:46
verse 27,
29:47
God says,
29:48
Behold,
29:49
I am the Lord,
29:50
the God of all flesh.
29:52
Is anything
29:53
too hard
29:54
for me?
29:55
And we know,
29:56
of course,
29:57
that's a rhetorical question.
29:58
The answer is clear.
29:59
No,
30:00
nothing is too hard
30:01
for the Lord,
30:03
the God of all flesh.
30:06
So,
30:07
God caused
30:08
the shifting winds,
30:09
right?
30:10
When they made
30:10
their run for it
30:11
with the gentle
30:12
south wind,
30:13
he caused the wind
30:14
to shift.
30:15
That northeaster
30:16
was sent
30:17
by the Lord.
30:19
That northeaster
30:20
that drives the ship
30:21
that Paul is on
30:21
across the sea
30:22
to be broken up
30:23
on a reef.
30:24
Why would God
30:26
do such a thing?
30:28
Doesn't it seem
30:29
best in our minds
30:30
that Paul would
30:31
just be taken
30:31
safely to Rome?
30:33
Wasn't he already
30:34
giving enough,
30:35
sacrificing enough?
30:36
Does Paul really
30:37
have to go through
30:38
another shipwreck?
30:39
And yes,
30:40
this is the fourth
30:41
that we know about.
30:44
Well,
30:44
there's many reasons.
30:45
I think there's
30:46
a multitude
30:46
of reasons
30:47
why this may have
30:48
happened to Paul
30:49
and his companion.
30:51
but one that we
30:52
can be sure of.
30:54
We find out
30:54
in chapter 28
30:55
that the island
30:56
they are shipwrecked
30:57
on is called Malta
30:59
and they spend
31:00
the winter there.
31:00
They spend three
31:01
months in that place.
31:04
Church tradition
31:04
holds that Paul
31:06
established,
31:07
by God's grace,
31:08
a church on that
31:09
island before he
31:10
left.
31:11
He's there.
31:12
Chapter 28 tells us
31:13
he's healing people.
31:15
He is preaching
31:16
the gospel
31:16
as Paul does
31:17
every time
31:18
he's working
31:19
miracles.
31:21
And church history
31:21
tells us
31:22
that a church
31:22
was established
31:23
while he was there.
31:25
So,
31:26
God brought
31:27
the saving message
31:28
of the gospel
31:29
of Jesus Christ
31:29
to Malta
31:30
with a storm.
31:33
So,
31:34
God is in control
31:35
of all things.
31:37
We would do well
31:38
to remember that
31:39
and to trust him
31:40
in all things.
31:43
And thirdly,
31:45
God uses
31:46
suffering
31:46
to work good
31:48
in the hearts
31:49
of his people.
31:50
So,
31:50
God is in control
31:51
of all things
31:51
including
31:52
our suffering.
31:54
He brings about
31:55
our suffering.
31:55
He ordains
31:56
our suffering.
31:58
And he does so
31:59
to work good
32:00
in the hearts
32:02
of his people.
32:05
God's control
32:06
of all things
32:06
at all times
32:07
for the good
32:07
of his people
32:08
is called
32:08
his providence.
32:11
It's a precious
32:11
word.
32:13
God's providence
32:14
extends
32:15
to the suffering
32:16
of his people.
32:18
If you suffer
32:19
and you're not
32:19
a Christian,
32:21
you need to see
32:21
your suffering
32:21
as a judgment.
32:23
Sin in the world
32:24
working its effect,
32:26
bringing about
32:27
conviction.
32:28
That's what needs
32:28
to be happening
32:29
in your hearts
32:30
as you suffer
32:30
as an unbeliever.
32:31
But if you're
32:32
in Christ,
32:34
suffering is ordained
32:35
for your good.
32:37
Can you just imagine,
32:39
right,
32:39
then wrap your brains
32:40
back around
32:41
how miserable
32:42
a two-week storm
32:44
must have been.
32:46
I can't ride
32:47
a kid's roller coaster
32:48
without feeling
32:49
nauseous.
32:50
When I drive
32:51
in the mountains
32:52
around here,
32:52
I feel sick.
32:55
Thinking about
32:56
being tossed
32:57
in a boat
32:58
for two weeks
32:59
is absolutely
33:00
horrid
33:01
to me.
33:02
This is the biggest
33:03
ship of the day,
33:04
most likely,
33:04
but it's not
33:05
cutting through
33:06
these waves.
33:06
They are riding
33:07
up and down,
33:09
these massive
33:10
wave trains.
33:12
In fact,
33:12
I think that
33:13
the reason
33:14
that they're
33:14
not eating,
33:16
they're tense,
33:17
right?
33:17
There's not a lot
33:18
of time
33:18
to take breaks
33:19
as these waves
33:20
are crashing
33:20
and they're having
33:21
to mend lines
33:22
all the time.
33:23
But I imagine
33:24
they just didn't
33:25
feel good enough
33:26
to eat.
33:27
Probably even
33:27
the best of sailors
33:28
feel sick
33:29
after a certain
33:29
amount of time
33:30
being tossed
33:31
up and down
33:33
in that way.
33:34
So Paul has
33:35
to urge them
33:36
to take food
33:37
they haven't
33:38
even eaten.
33:39
You can just
33:40
reduce the suffering
33:41
to that.
33:41
They just haven't
33:42
eaten for two
33:43
whole weeks.
33:45
What a miserable
33:46
time of suffering
33:47
that Paul and his
33:48
companions are
33:49
part of along
33:50
with the others
33:50
on that ship.
33:53
What does God
33:53
intend to accomplish
33:54
with such a thing?
33:58
In 2 Corinthians
33:59
chapter 11
34:00
verses 24
34:01
through 30,
34:02
you may want
34:02
to join me there.
34:03
I'll give you a little
34:04
time if you want
34:04
to.
34:05
Paul writes the
34:08
following,
34:09
but keep in mind
34:10
that this is
34:11
written,
34:11
the book of 2
34:11
Corinthians is
34:12
written before
34:13
the event that we
34:14
read about this
34:15
morning from
34:15
Acts 27.
34:19
So this is
34:20
front loaded
34:21
to this journey
34:22
that Paul goes
34:23
on.
34:24
2 Corinthians 11
34:25
beginning in
34:26
verse 24.
34:27
Paul says,
34:28
five times I
34:30
received at the
34:31
hands of the
34:32
Jews the 40
34:33
lashes less
34:34
one.
34:35
Three times I
34:36
was beaten with
34:37
rods.
34:38
Once I was
34:39
stoned.
34:39
We know that
34:40
stoning,
34:40
they thought he
34:41
was dead,
34:41
but he actually
34:41
wasn't.
34:42
Three times I
34:43
was shipwrecked.
34:45
And night and a
34:45
day I was adrift
34:47
at sea.
34:48
This is verse 25
34:48
if you're just
34:49
joining me.
34:49
So before this
34:51
shipwreck, he was
34:52
shipwrecked three
34:53
other times.
34:54
And Luke doesn't
34:54
even record that
34:55
for us in the
34:56
book of Acts.
34:57
But sometime in
34:58
the Acts narrative,
34:59
he's shipwrecked
35:00
three times.
35:01
And one of those
35:01
times he's just
35:02
adrift on a
35:03
plank for a
35:04
night and a
35:04
day in the
35:05
ocean.
35:05
Right?
35:06
That's suffering.
35:07
Just a fascinating
35:08
note.
35:09
Paul took between
35:10
nine and twelve
35:11
ocean journeys up
35:14
to this time,
35:14
Acts chapter 27,
35:16
which means the
35:17
shipwreck rate for
35:18
Paul was really
35:19
high.
35:21
A third to
35:23
twenty-five percent
35:23
of the time.
35:25
I don't know if
35:26
that was normative
35:26
in the day or
35:27
not, but Paul
35:28
really is suffering.
35:29
Right?
35:30
God's bringing
35:30
about.
35:31
And again, God
35:32
is in control of
35:32
all things.
35:33
God is putting
35:34
him through these
35:35
shipwrecks.
35:37
Verse 26,
35:39
on frequent
35:39
journeys in
35:41
danger from
35:41
rivers, danger
35:42
from robbers,
35:44
danger from my
35:44
own people,
35:46
danger from
35:46
Gentiles, danger
35:47
in the city,
35:48
dangers in the
35:49
wilderness, danger
35:49
at sea, danger
35:51
from false
35:51
brothers, in
35:53
toil and hardship
35:54
through many a
35:54
sleepless night, in
35:55
hunger and thirst,
35:56
often without food,
35:57
in cold and
35:58
exposure.
36:00
And apart from
36:00
other things,
36:01
all that stuff,
36:03
there's the daily
36:03
pressure on me of
36:04
my anxiety for all
36:06
the churches.
36:07
And he expresses
36:08
that by saying,
36:09
who is weak and I
36:09
am not weak?
36:10
I am with them
36:11
and their suffering.
36:13
Who was made to
36:14
fall and I am not
36:15
indignant or I'm not
36:16
concerned about their
36:17
failure.
36:18
So on top of all
36:19
of that, this great
36:20
love and concern
36:21
for the church as an
36:23
apostle of Jesus
36:24
Christ.
36:26
So Paul was made
36:27
to suffer, right?
36:28
By the good hand
36:29
of God, Paul was
36:31
made to suffer.
36:33
And to what end?
36:35
Why?
36:37
What does this
36:37
produce in Paul?
36:40
Look at verse 30.
36:41
He says,
36:43
If I must boast,
36:45
I will boast of the
36:46
things that show my
36:49
weakness.
36:51
What does all this
36:52
produce in Paul?
36:54
Humility.
36:55
It produces a great
36:56
humility in his life.
36:59
If God would bring
37:00
about suffering in
37:00
this way, then he
37:01
would see his great
37:02
need of God.
37:05
Let me give you
37:06
another very
37:06
applicable example
37:08
from Mark chapter
37:09
four.
37:09
However, when Jesus
37:10
with the apostles
37:11
crossing the Sea of
37:12
Galilee, they are
37:13
caught in a violent
37:14
storm, right?
37:15
As we study this
37:16
together, the Sea of
37:17
Galilee would have
37:18
been much like Lake
37:19
Lanier, kind of in
37:20
its general size,
37:21
although it's different
37:21
in its shape.
37:22
I fully recognize
37:23
nothing's quite the
37:24
shape of Lake
37:25
Lanier.
37:25
water.
37:27
The storms were
37:28
immense.
37:29
The way that winds
37:31
came through the
37:32
valley would kick up
37:33
waves that were 10
37:34
to 20 feet high.
37:35
I don't know how much
37:36
time you spend at the
37:37
ocean, but I don't
37:37
think any of us have
37:38
probably been out in
37:39
waves that big.
37:41
If you have, I want to
37:42
talk to you after the
37:43
service because that's
37:43
incredible.
37:45
Huge waves.
37:46
They're experiencing
37:46
this other great,
37:47
huge, violent storm.
37:50
Jesus is asleep in the
37:52
stern of the boat.
37:53
The back of the boat
37:53
passed out on a
37:55
cushion.
37:55
Mark chapter 4 tells
37:56
us that the waves are
37:57
crashing over the ship.
37:59
They're taking on water
38:01
and Jesus is asleep.
38:03
Why?
38:03
Because he's the son of
38:04
God and he trusts God's
38:05
goodness in the situation.
38:07
So the apostles,
38:08
though, they frantically
38:09
wake him up and then we
38:10
read beginning in verse
38:11
39, and he awoke and
38:13
rebuked the wind and said
38:15
to the sea, peace, be
38:17
still.
38:18
And the wind ceased and
38:19
there was a great calm.
38:21
He said to them, he
38:23
turned to the apostles,
38:24
why are you so afraid?
38:27
Have you still no faith?
38:31
So Jesus, having exercised
38:33
his control over nature,
38:35
turns his attention to the
38:36
apostles and what is his
38:38
concern?
38:40
Their faith.
38:42
His concern is for their
38:43
belief in him as the
38:46
Christ.
38:46
And we see later on in the
38:47
chapter, they say, who is
38:48
this guy that can even talk
38:49
to the storm and tell it
38:50
what to do.
38:52
He's concerned about
38:53
bringing about good,
38:55
birthing good in the
38:57
hearts of his people.
39:00
Paul wrote in Romans
39:01
chapter 8, verse 28, 29.
39:04
We know that for those who
39:05
love God, all things work
39:07
together for good.
39:08
For those who are called
39:10
according to his purpose.
39:11
purpose.
39:13
What is the good that God
39:15
works all things together
39:17
for?
39:19
What is this good that God's
39:21
effort is aimed at?
39:24
Paul doesn't leave us
39:25
uninformed.
39:26
Praise God.
39:27
Verse 29.
39:29
For those whom he foreknew,
39:30
he also predestined to be
39:31
conformed to the image of
39:33
his son in order that he
39:35
might be the firstborn among
39:37
many brothers.
39:40
Ignore this morning, if you
39:41
can, the controversial
39:42
words of verse 29 and see
39:45
that God is working all
39:46
things so that his people
39:49
will be conformed to the
39:50
image of his son.
39:52
This is the good that God
39:54
seeks.
39:54
Our sanctification, our
39:56
growing perfection in
39:59
Jesus Christ.
40:00
Humility, faith and every
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other good work.
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suffering is aimed at
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bringing that about in
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God's people.
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So, beloved Christian,
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take heart this morning.
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Whatever figurative storm
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you are experiencing,
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none of us are experiencing
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quite the same storm, but
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whatever the figurative
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storm you may have been
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through, you are currently
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going through, or that you
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will go through, hold fast
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to the truth that God's
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words are true.
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God is in control of all
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things, and God uses
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suffering to work good in
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the hearts of his people.
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Now, I'm going to close
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this morning with a reading
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of a hymn written by
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William Cowper entitled,
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God Moves in a Mysterious
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Way.
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People like to use that
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phrase a lot.
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That comes from this hymn.
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But before I read it, let me
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tell you a bit of the story
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that led him to the writing
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of this hymn.
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It's not entirely because
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of this event, but it's part
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of the events of his life
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that led him to the writing
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of this hymn.
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Cowper was a gifted and
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famous English hymn writer
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in the 18th century.
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Really well known.
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But he dealt with serious
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bouts of depression.
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There were at least four
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years-long bouts of depression
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in his life.
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On one occasion, he sought
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to take his own life by
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drowning himself in the
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Thames River.
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Full intention to do this.
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So he hired a carriage that
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night to take him from his
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house to the river.
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But on the way there, a thick
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fog enveloped London, and the
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carriage driver was unable
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to find his way around the
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city.
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Couldn't see at all to get
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him to the Thames River.
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So they're working their way
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around the city, trying to
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find the river.
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The driver has no idea why
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he wants to go there.
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But frustrated by the state
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of their disorientation,
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Cowper asked the driver to
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stop so that he could just
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proceed on foot.
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He just said, okay, let me
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out.
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I'm going to go figure this
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out on foot.
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And upon leaving the
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carriage, he steps out of
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the carriage.
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Cowper found himself back at
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the front door of his very
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own house.
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The place that the carriage
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stopped was back at his
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front door.
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And he was overwhelmed by
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this.
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And he saw this as a mighty
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providence of God preventing
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him from carrying out his
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plan.
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It was after this incident
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that Cowper penned the
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following.
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So hear Cowper in the midst
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of a storm.
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Hear him suffering.
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And this is what he wrote.
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God moves in a mysterious
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way.
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His wonders to perform.
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He plants his footsteps in the
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sea and rides upon the storm.
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Deep and unfathomable minds of
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never failing skill, he treasures
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up his bright designs and works
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his sovereign will.
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Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
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take.
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The clouds ye so much dread are big
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with mercy and shall break in
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blessings on your head.
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Judge not the Lord by feeble
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sense, but trust him for his
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grace.
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Behind a frowning providence, he
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hides a smiling face.
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His purposes will ripen fast,
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unfolding every hour.
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The bud may have a bitter taste,
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but sweet will be the flower.
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Blind unbelief is sure to err and
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scan his work in vain.
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God is his own interpreter and he
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will make it plain.
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Let's pray together.