072 Shipwrecked

Acts | Unfinished  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  50:22
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Acts 27:1–43 NKJV
1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. 2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. 7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8 Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. 9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. 13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. 16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. 21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.” 27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. 28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off. 33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. 38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea. 39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. 40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. 41 But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. 42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land,
introduction:
Acts 23:11 NKJV
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
Acts 26:32 NKJV
32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

1. Traveling from Caesarea to Fair Havens. - Paul’s journey to Rome begins.

Acts 27:1–8 NKJV
1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. 2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. 4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. 7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8 Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

(1) A. Paul won the favor of Julius.

God is already working his plan through a Roman soldier.
We might think it chance, but never think things are chance.
Julius liked Paul.
It could be that God moved in Julius’ heart to like Paul.
It could be the way Paul treated him.
Either way, God was going to use this friendship later.

(1) B. Bad weather was setting in.

Lukes description:
The winds were contrary.
So they took a different route.
They sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty.
The wind didn’t let them leave.
Then they sailed again with much difficulty.
How many of you feel like this describes your life?
Maybe in some ways you feel like you are living Paul’s life.
We like movies because the hero always wins.
Paul isn’t winning.
Paul MUST be thankful he isn’t living his best life now.

2. Paul expresses his concern for the voyage.

Acts 27:9–10 NKJV
9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”
He clearly warns them about coming disaster.
I think this voyage will end in disaster both for the cargo and the people.
Their previous voyage set them behind.
It was going to be difficult to finish the voyage before winter.

3. The storm begins. - A series of bad decisions.

Acts 27:11–12 NKJV
11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

(3) A. The centurion listened to “expert” advice rather than godly advice.

Julius was not a sailor. He was a soldier.
He was looking for advice.
Paul was no dummy.
He had been around ships quite a few times.
And not always had the best experience.
2 Corinthians was written around Acts 20.
2 Corinthians 11:25 NKJV
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
We have a habit of relying too much on expert advice than godly men and women.
Sometimes we just need their wisdom.
Find spiritual fathers and mothers and seek their council. Then listen to them!
Get advice from people who are committed to obeying God no matter the cost!
It might not be the advice you want, but will probably be the advice you need.

(3) B. The centurion listened to the majority.

Even in the Bible the majority is usually wrong.
A majority of the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt and be slaves again.
A majority of the Israelites wanted a king like the other countries.
Even though they were warned by a prophet.
A majority of the people wanted to crucify Jesus.

(3) C. The ship’s crew tried to fix their problems on their own.

Acts 27:16–20 NKJV
16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. 17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. 18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
Look at what they did.
The secured the skiff with difficulty.
They had been towing the skiff behind and it was probably filling with water.
They hoisted it up on the deck.
They used cables to tie the ship together so it wouldn’t fall apart.
They threw cargo overboard.
The next day they lowered the ships tackle overboard.
For fear of running aground.
When they did everything the could - they gave up hope!

4. Paul’s “I told you so” and encouragement.

Acts 27:21–26 NKJV
21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

(4) A. Paul was encouraged by God’s promises.

Paul is still clinging to the promise Christ gave him in Acts 23
Acts 23:11 NKJV
11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
We must cling desperately to God’s promises.
Knowing that we are nothing!

(4) B. Paul lived God’s promises.

Acts 27:27–38 NKJV
27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land. 28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off. 33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. 36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. 38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
Knowing God’s promises and living them are two completely different things.
Paul knew God’s promise.
The other men on the ship knew God’s promise.
As soon as they were afraid they would run aground, they tried to bail out!
James 1:22–25 NKJV
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
All the knowledge of God and the Bible do us NO GOOD if we don’t live what we know!
We can spend all the time we want studying and wasted our time if we do not DO what we have learned.
We spend all this time in church.
We study God’s Word.
We know the right answers.
But as soon as things get out of our control we want to jump overboard.
We can do all the right things and we can know all the right stuff.
We can intellectually agree with God.
We can have an understanding that He is always right.
But to actually live it is another.
It is one thing to know that...
We are to love our wives as Christ loved the church.
We are to love our enemies.
We are supposed to trust God with our finances, health, and circumstances.
We are commanded not to abandon gathering together regularly with our church family.
We are to do everything in our power to put ourselves where the preaching and teach of the Word is.
We are to GO out and make disciples.
Paul had a continuous pattern of living God’s Word no matter the cost.
Luke 14:28–30 NKJV
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Have you truly counted the cost?

5. God really did have everything under control!

Not only was it under control but it went exactly as He planned.
Paul earned favor with the centurion.
When they were going to run aground the soldiers wanted to kill all the prisoners.
The centurion did’s want Paul to be killed.
Thus saving all the prisoners.
The ship broke apart but everyone made it safely to land.
Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
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