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Acts 27
 
What was the most frightening experience you ever had?
How did you respond or react to that experience?
 
*ILL**:* Over the Himalayas going to Tibet, the plane dipped.
Short experience and hope wavered.
Paul and Luke were in the ship 14 days.
Paul demonstrated courageous leadership.
Why?: Prayer; Trust~/Faith in God~/He obeyed God by going and completing his task.
My purpose is in coming into the New Milleneal year, you will be motivated to incorporate three vital spiritual componenets into your life: 1.)  prayer; 2.) Trust~/Faith  3.)  and to Go in God’s name (to obey God and do His will).
*Background: *Paul arrives in Jerusalem on May 27 (Passover), 57 AD.  Arrested and appears before the Sanhedrin a few days later.
Next day, before Felix, and then before Felix & Druscilla, and left in prison for 2 years (bribe & favor to Jews).
In July, 59, he’s brought before Festus, and Paul makes his appeal to Caesar.
During the first of August, he brings his defense before Agrippa II and Festus.
Festus asks for Agrippa’s help, so he may know what to write to Rome in regards to charges against Paul.
In fact, Luke records in detail Paul’s speeches in the last book of Acts, to possibly serve in defense for Paul.
I.e.: Gallio’s ruling of Paul’s innocence in Corinth.
Later, Paul is acuitted of these charges and then martyred in 67 AD on later charges.
And now in Acts 27, Paul, as a prisoner, is sailing to Rome to stand trial before Caesar.
In 27:1-12, tells us that Paul is under a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
He is kind to Paul.
They board a ship and travel slowly against strong winds.
Then they transfer ships and sail once again against strong winds.
They continue on until they land at a place on the island of Crete called Fair Havens.
It was now October; 59 “the fast” (v.
9) was the Jewish Day of Atonement, and on that year it fell in the first half of October.
According to the navigational practice of the time, sailing was considered doubtful after September and impossible by November.
Ancient ships had neither sextant nor compass and in cloudy and dark weather they had no means of finding their way.
Directed by God, Paul warns the centurion to winter in Fair Havens, as he knows there will be in great danger and disaster if they press on.
The ship was an Alexandrian corn ship.
The owner would be rather the contractor who was bringing the cargo of corn to Rome.
The centurion, being the senior officer on board, had the last word.
It is significant that Paul, the prisoner under arrest, was allowed his say when counsel was being taken.
However, the centurion rejects Paul’s advice, taking the advice of the master and the contractor to sail farther along the coast to Phoenice where there was a more commodious harbour and a bigger town.
Like the centurion we may become impatient and rush ahead and disobey the will of God.
We should not be like the horse that rushes ahead, or the mule that lags behind (Ps.
32:9), but trust God to lead us in His timing.
God is never late, but does not always do things according to our time table.
*ILL**: *Wanted to go on mission field, but worked as a social worker for 1 1~/2 years here in TN before God opened the doors.
That time seemed forever, but God knew exactly when it was best for me to go.
Again, we are in the USA for schooling, and looking forward to return to Thailand next summer, but it will be in God’s perfect timing.
Furthermore, the centurion had faith—but his faith was in the wrong people!
God’s wisdom is far above the wisdom of men.
The person who knows the Word of God knows more than the “experts” (Ps.
119:97–104).
While knowledge is important, we also need wisdom (James 1:5).
Let’s begin looking at the passage and drawing applications for us today, particularly in the areas of prayer, faith and going:
 
*13           When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.*
The very wind they needed came along and seemed to prove how wrong Paul was.
We must beware of “great opportunities” and “ideal circumstances” that seem to contradict the Word of God.
/ /
Put your trust in the Word of God and what you know is true.
Seek wisdom when situations come up that appear attractive.
Make sure they don’t go against God’s Word.
Seek counsel and pray.
/ /
We must be careful to obey God’s Word by faith, even when circumstances seem to prove us wrong.
* *
God will be faithful and help you see you through situations.
*14           Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island.*
* *
The balmy south wind soon turned into a terrible storm.
It is a “Northeaster” storm, or hurrican proportions -- a typhoon.
Often, when we disobey the Word of God, we have storms in our life.
God doesn’t do this to be mean, but that we learn to trust in Him and be obedient to Him.
 
God’s first line of discipline is the Word of God.
Then, God may resort to providence: suffering, crisis, etc., so that we may humble ourselves and cast ourselves on Him.
 
*ILL**: *We prefer John & Josiah obey us so that we do not have to use other means to discipline.
But when they disobey, we will discipline, because we desire good fruit in their lives.
They don’t like it, but we can see what they can’t see in their immaturity; that it is for their very best.
That is how it is with God’s hand in our lives.
He desires us to obey, but He will discipline us for our best -- so that we will produce good fruit in our lives.
*15           The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.*
With a favorable wind in their mainsail, these ships could cover about fifty nautical miles in daylight, or ninety miles in twenty-four hours; but they had little resistance to a powerful wind going in a direction they wished to avoid.
* *
*16           As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure.*
*17           When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together.
Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along.*
*18           We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.*
*19           On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands.*
The only place to anchor at Cauda is also exposed to the east-northeast wind and thus could not help them.
Note that Luke uses “we” in this section, indicating that all the crew and prisoners were busy trying to save the ship.
These corn ships were not small.
They could be as large as 140 feet long and 36 feet wide and of 33 feet draught.
But in a storm they had certain grave disadvantages.
They were the same at the bow as at the stern, except that the stern was swept up like a goose's neck.
They had no rudder like a modern ship, but were steered with two great paddles coming out from the stern on each side.
They were, therefore, hard to manage.
Further, they had only one mast and on that mast one great square sail, made sometimes of linen and sometimes of stitched hides.
With a sail like that they could not sail into the wind.
The crew then take 4 measures that was standard in trying to save a ship during the storm:
 
1.)
Life-boat was taken in (v.
16).
The “boat” or “lifeboat” was used for landings, to maneuver the ship for tacking and so forth.
Sometimes these boats were kept on deck; at other times, as here, they were towed behind.
Here, filled with water or in danger of breaking loose from the ship, it has to be brought on deck to be rescued.
2.)
Ropes~/cables were past under and around the ship to bind it so that it won’t fall apart (v.
17).
Worst thing of all, the single mast and the great sail put such a strain on the ship's timbers in a gale that often they started so that the ship foundered.
It was to avoid this that they they passed  “supporting cables” or “ropes” under the ship and drew them tight with their winches so that they braced the ship and held it together like a tied up parcel.
3.)
The anchor would be dragged to serve as a brake, so the ship would not drift further south, along the shoal coast and dangerous quick sand along the north African coast (modern Gulf of Sidra).
Many ships were lost that ventured into this area.
Even in good weather, Alexandrian grain ships sailed northward to Asia and then westward to Italy, rather than directly northwest, because a sudden change in winds could wreck them on this shoal.
Along with the anchor, they would have pulled down part of the sail, leaving enough to steady the ship (v.
17b).
4.)
The next day, they began to lighten the ship by throwoing some of the cargo overboard (v.
18), just as in the days of Jonah centuries earlier.
In crises like this one no distinction is made between valuable and cheap cargo.
By the third day even the gear and tackle was thrown out (v. 19).
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