The Perfect, Powerless Storm

The following is a rough transcript of the message I preached from Acts 27:1-28:16:

I want you to see three realities in this text, two of which are completely outside of us and the third of which is inside of us and affects the way we respond to everything outside of us.

THE REALITY OF OPPOSITION

During Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, he indicated that God was leading Him (he was “resolved in the Spirit”) to go to Rome (Acts 19:21), and we saw that God Himself in Acts 23:11 declared that His plan was for Paul to testify in Rome. And yet it seems that at every turn, Paul is meeting opposition to this thing that God wants to do with Him. That is nowhere more clearly seen than on this sea voyage to Rome. It is a journey that is saturated with difficulty.

The Difficulty of the Sea & Storm (1-44): We repeatedly read that the winds were “against” them (4), that they had to sail “slowly” (7), and that they proceeded “with difficulty” (7,8) the whole way! The journey became so bogged down that they were in danger due how close they were getting to the winter season (9). “The Fast” is a reference to the Day of Atonement, which took place in late September to early October, and the sea was considered “closed” from November to early spring due to how dangerous the open seas were during the winter months.

Before they can get to a port big enough to winter in, they are taken by a typhoon force wind called the “northeaster” out to the open sea (14). The storm is so violent that they have to, “with difficulty,” secure the ship with cables (16). Fear then arises that they might be taken by the storm over “the Syrtis,” which was an area off the northern coast of Africa that was known as a ship graveyard for its shallow shoals and sandbars. They apparently take on a large amount of water, because they throw over most of the ships cargo and even the gear needed to sail the ship (18-19). Add to that so heavy a cover of clouds that they cannot see the sun or stars in order to navigate! Eventually, everyone moves from desperation to ultimate despair as it says, “all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.” (20) Have you ever been here?

The Difficulty of the Shipwreck (41): Hope is not lost though, because Paul encourages the crew with a word from God that they will all be saved and after fourteen days at sea in this storm they find an island. Finally, there is hope. They eat and take heart only to have their ship wrecked as it tried to get to this island that is in plain sight! Now everyone is going to have to swim or float the dangerous waters to shore.

The Difficulty of the Soldiers (42-44): Faced with the reality that everyone will have to make it to shore own their own, the soldiers realize that this will be an opportunity for some of the prisoners to try to escape. A soldier would have to pay for an escaped prisoner with his own life, so they decide to now execute the prisoners on the spot. Doesn’t this just keep getting better for Paul? Providentially, God keeps Paul from being executed through Julius and everyone makes it to shore safely (44).

The Difficulty of the Serpent (1-6): Now on shore, surely it can’t any worse than this right? Wet and cold, but glad to be alive, they are met by the native people of the island who show them kindness by building a fire for them. While helping gather and add wood to the fire, “a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand” (28:3). Wow. Have you ever had a bad day? Paul has had a bad couple of years! I must say that this may have been my breaking point. But not Paul, and I’ll talk about why a little later.

A Word on Difficulty:

Life is difficult. Don’t let graduation speeches misguide you. You should plan and dream, but you should also expect difficulty. I’ll talk about one reason why later, but another is that we are broken people who live in a broken world full of other broken people. What I am saying is simply this: there will be storms and shipwrecks and soldiers and serpents and sickness, and a host of other things that go wrong in your life. Life is especially difficult for anyone who has chosen to follow Christ. This is because this fallen world full of fallen people under its fallen master is opposed to God. To follow Christ is to sail into the wind. Difficulty, however, is not the final word, because there is a greater reality seen in this passage.

THE REALITY OF PROVIDENCE

Providence is such a beautiful word & concept. It really means the same thing as saying that God is sovereign, but it brings to mind something much more poetic than simply saying that God is sovereign does. To say that God is sovereign means that He rules and reigns and does whatever He wants in and with all of history and creation. To say that God is providential is speaks more to the way that He rules and reigns over all of history and creation. He does so in a way that provides for His people. And sometimes it doesn’t look that way! Yet hidden under what appears to be is His good and unstoppable plan. In what seems to be a catastrophe, God is providing everything that is necessary for the good of His people and the display of His glory. These are the two lines of the poem of providence. And no attempt to thwart the plan of God is ever successful. There are at least six places that we see the Power and Providence of God displayed here.

The Storm is Powerless: all the storm does is take them closer to Rome! We see providence here because the odds of them randomly ending up on the island of Malta are about the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack! We also see that the Shipwreck is Powerless: not only is Paul preserved, but not one person loses their life in the journey to shore. The Soldiers are Powerless too. Not only are the soldiers prevented from killing the prisoners, but none of the prisoners are said to escape!

The Serpent is Powerless: Here we see both a profound miracle and a profound metaphor. While this is possibly not in the text itself, I say metaphor because the opposition that Paul faces on his way to Rome, I would argue, is Satanic. And here we see a powerless serpent. This is one of the great victories of the cross and of the gospel: Satan, the serpent, has been rendered ultimately powerless! 1 John 3:8 says that the reason Jesus Christ appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Satan is just as powerless to stop the plan of God as this serpent is to harm Paul. His bite may be felt, but his venom is powerless.

The Sickness We See is Powerless: not only do we see death defied, but also disease defeated in Paul’s time on the island of Malta as God’s kingdom continues to break into this fallen world. This reminds us that God has won, is winning, and will win. The Sinful Hearts of Mankind are Powerless – it is remarkable that we meet brothers that are already in Italy. The idea seems to be that Christianity is somewhat widespread in Italy when Paul arrives. In Acts 2:10, we read that some visitors from Rome were present when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. Paul has already written his masterpiece, the book of Romans, and in it Paul addresses a multitude of believers that are his friends in Rome even though he has never met them! This final place that we see the power and providence of God here makes a powerful point: the gospel is advancing to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and will not be stopped. And it will even get there with or without Paul. Is God taking Paul to Rome? Yes, but God doesn’t need Paul to get the gospel to Rome.

A Word on Providence:

In this passage we come face to face with what Ephesians 1:11 calls the God Who “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” As Proverbs 21:30 says, “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.” The beauty and the poetry of providence is that God also works all these things for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That’s providence: God doing whatever He wants and because He wants what is always best for His people, He sovereignly provides whatever they need to become like Himself.

THE REALITY OF FAITH

The Importance of Faith: Fewer things are more important in the life of a Christian than faith. We are both saved by it and walk by it (Eph. 2:8-9, 2 Cor. 5:7). Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith. So what is it? Hebrews 11:1 calls it “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Romans 4:20-22 describe faith as being “fully convinced that God” is “able to do what He had promised.” Simply put, faith is believing God. It is taking Him at His word, regardless of what reality may look life for feel like.

Did you notice how Paul has this unshakeable peace and calm in the midst of this storm and these circumstances? Why? It is because he believes the God to Whom he belongs and worships. Look at Acts 27:21-25 again. Paul tells everyone on board to “take heart” and to “not be afraid” because God has spoken to this situation. Paul “must” stand before Caesar. No one will die and not even a hair on their head will perish (34). And here (25) is the key: Paul says “I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” Paul says that God will do exactly what He says He will do. This brings up two very profound and practical questions.

The Importance of Having a Word from God and Believing It: Biblical faith is not blind; it simply sees what others do not. Biblical faith is also not wishful thinking; it is being fully convinced of something. Paul’s faith has an object: God and His Word (25). This is some of the most practical and most powerful advice I could ever give you. You need to have passages of scripture to hang on to and to hide in your heart for the storms that you will face. Whether your storm is death, divorce, or depression, or something else, you need to have passages of scripture that speak to those situations. You also need passages of scriptures down that speak to suffering in general (Romans 8:28-39). Do You Have a Word from God for Your Storm?

But here’s the kicker: a word from God will do you no good if you don’t believe Him! This is important because many of us who say we believe God really don’t. I’ll give you an example. If the thought of my own death paralyzes me with fear every time I think of it, then there is some point at which I do not believe what God has said about death, regardless of what I say.We must have a word from God and we must believe that word because when God doesn’t speak to the storm, He can still speak to our hearts. God may not say, “Peace! Be still!” to the storm (Mark 4:39). But His Word can say it to our hearts. Here’s the final kicker: we can’t believe God on our own. It must be granted to us and it must be helped along the way (Phil. 1:29). We need to pray here what the father of the demon possessed boy prayed in Mark 9:24, that God would help us with our “unbelief.”

In passing, I hope you to notice in this passage of how liberating it is to believe God. Paul is freed to encourage and minister while everyone else is so full of fear and anxiety that they cannot eat. I could preach a whole sermon on what a witness Paul is in this whole experience. I want you to know that the same thing can happen in your storm when you begin to believe God and take Him at His word.

The Importance of Storms: The last thing I want to say about faith is how storms are absolutely necessary to it. In other words, because faith is so important, there must be storms, and shipwrecks, and soldiers, and serpents, and sickness, and the like. If we put Ephesians 1:11 and Romans 8:28 together, we get the truth that everything God orchestrates is aimed at His own glory and the good of His people. Well, what is good for us is to believe Him. Faith is what is good for us. And here’s where I’m going with this: Storms that wreck ships build faith. Faith is built by hearing God’s Word (Rom. 10:17), but faith is also built in seeing God keep His Word that we hear through a terrible storm. Storms force us to ask that question, “Do I believe God will do what He said?” Otherwise we would coast along and possibly never trust God for anything. When we come through a storm and see God be faithful to us, something begins to solidify in us as we learn by experience that God is good and trustworthy. Then we begin to say, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8) That’s what storms do: they build our faith.

In closing, I want you to know that you will have days and weeks and months and years like this if you live long enough. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you can know that in all of them that God is at work for His glory and your good. Everyone of the hairs of your head are numbered (Mark 10:30) and not a one of them will be harmed without the almighty permission of God. And any one of them that is harmed will be part of the providential way that God molds you more into image of Christ than He would have had those hairs not been harmed. As Psalm 51:8 says, even the bones that He has broken can rejoice. Find a word from God’s word and beg God to help you believe it.

If you are not a believer, then I beg and plead with you to come to faith in Christ. While God uses every storm that a Christian faces for their good, exactly the opposite is true for you. Every storm that you taste is but a small token of the ultimate storm of God’s righteous judgment that is coming for you. Just as surely as the flood waters of the Mississippi will make their way to the gulf, so will God’s judgment pour all over you. And there will be no evacuation from the flood of His judgment. You are His, and you will answer for whether you have lived that way or not. Your only hope is to surrender yourself to Jesus Christ and come to trust that He has weathered this ultimate storm for you in your place on the cross. That is the only way to avoid it.