Text for tonight's message is taken from Acts 27 verse 13-26. In our previous message, we had talked about the Roman Centurion Julius. Although he had grown to trust and respect Paul, nevertheless, he still chose to listen to the ship captain instead of taking shelter at the fair Havens. Due to the strong wind, they decided to sail toward Phoenix where there was a harbor of CR. Hopefully, they could spend winter there. Because of that decision, they would have to face very serious consequences. To be precise, there would be a shipwreck. So there would be trials. And what we want to learn from today's passage is how the passengers on board the ship responded to the trials. The Romans Centurian, the soldiers, the sailors, the passengers, the prisoners including Paul and his friends Luke and Aristatus. The title of our message is "What Can Trials Do to Us?"
Our first point is trials can unite the people. Let us begin with verse 13, "And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing tents they sailed close by Crete." After they made the decision to sail to Phoenix, there was a south wind that came up. The sailors decided that they could take advantage of the apparently good condition. They departed from the fair Havens and sailed along the coastal line of Crete.
Verse 14, "But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon." The word Euroclydon is a compound word which means made up of two words Greek and Latin. Basically, it means the East Wind and the North Wind. So when these two winds came together, you can imagine the devastation. That was why it was called a tempestuous wind or a violent wind.
"And running under, oh!" Verse 15, "And when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive." So not long after that, they were caught up by this strong wind. They could not withstand it. Therefore, the sailors had no choice but to let the wind carry the ship along. That was what it means. In other words, they had lost control of the ship.
"And running under a certain Island which is called CL, we had much work to come by the boat." As they let the strong wind carry the boat along, they came to this shelter on a particular small island called CL. With much difficulty, they managed to take control of the lifeboat. The word boat was a reference to the lifeboat. Most ships would have at least one lifeboat. Instead of letting the lifeboat drift behind the ship, they had to bring it on board the ship as verse 17 tells us, "Which when they had taken up, they used helps." Probably ropes to hoist the lifeboat up and secure it.
"Undergirding the ship means to fasten the ship." And fearing lest they should fall into the quicksand, strike sail, and so were driven. As they were sailing very close to the coastal line, they were afraid of hitting the shallow shoreline. So again, they loosened the sail and let the strong wind carry the boat along.
Verse 18, "And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship." But the next day, they were still being violently tossed with the storm. And in this precarious situation, the sailors had no choice but to lighten the ship by throwing overboard the cargo. This was to prevent the ship from sinking.
"And the third day, we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship." After three days, the situation was not getting any better. They had to throw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. The ship's tackle could be miscellaneous equipment that was not very crucial in sailing the ship. It could be an instrument to help in loading and unloading the cargo. In this desperately dangerous situation, to prevent the ship from sinking, the sailors had to decide what were the things they could throw overboard. Firstly, they decided the cargo would have to go, and then the next thing was the ship's tackle.
I would like us to take note of the word "we" in this passage. Look at verse 15, "We let her drive," which means we let the wind carry the ship along. Verse 18, "We being exceedingly tossed with a tempest." Verse 19, "We cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship," which means with their own physical hands, they lifted up the tackle of the ship and threw it overboard. The word "we" would include everyone on board the ship. The Roman Centurion, the soldiers, the sailors, the passengers, the prisoners, including Paul and his friends Luke and Aristatus. In a literal sense, they were all in the same boat. In other words, they were in the same predicament. They were all united as one. Everyone involved in fighting for their lives. It didn't matter who they were. Their social distinctions, status, professions, nationalities, and couches were all thrown out of the window in their fight for survival.
Do you realize that sometimes God would allow a trial into our lives so that the people who cling together, they would be one people? All the barriers and hindrances will be removed. They will be united as one to fight a particular cause. Isn't it true that sometimes God would allow a trial into the church and ministry so that whatever differences and divisions will be removed, and the people would stand together and fight a good fight of faith? Last week, we have learned that trials can reveal to us who our true friends are in times of trouble. Paul knew who his true friends are. Luke and Aristatus stood with him all the way. Today, we learn another wonderful lesson about trials, and that is it can unite the people in ways we can never imagine. In fact, the more intense the trial is, the greater the bond will be.
Perhaps your family is facing a particular trial at this very moment. It is a very painful and difficult one. But this trial has caused the family to be closer than it has ever been. This trial has enabled the husband to love the wife with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his strength. This trial has enabled the wife to support the husband even more. The children to respect and obey the parents like never before. I remember an Ethiopian Pastor who said that there was a time when his country was in a political upheaval. The church had very little. The people were poor and always hungry. They would share their meals together. When one family was being attacked by the rebels, the neighbor would open up his house to take in the entire family. They would share their clothes. The older kids would pass their clothes to the younger kids. When someone is sick, they will come together and gather all their little resources to help. They were always praying together. The prayer meeting in the church was always packed with people. Times were hard, but they were happy because they were united as a spiritual family. Then all of a sudden, the situation had changed and became better. The economy started to do well. The people were gainfully employed. They were able to buy material things and build their own houses. With their newfound wealth, they started to be jealous of one another. They gossiped and fought over trivial matters. Their doors were always
closed. They refused to share. No longer can the neighbor who was sick, dead or alive, they stopped praying together. The church prayer meeting was almost empty. And the Ethiopian Pastor would pray this, "God, please remove all the money. Please remove all the material things. Instead, send trials so that the church will be united once again."
My friends, if we believe that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), then we must believe that God has a sovereign purpose for trials.
One of the sovereign purposes for trials is that the people will be united together, regardless of the differences, barriers, and hindrances. They will come together and fight for the particular cause.
Our second point is Trials point the people to God. However, all their efforts were to no avail because verse 20 tells us, "And when neither Sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small Tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be safe was then taken away." The storm did not die down. They were sailing in darkness as there was no sun, no stars to help them navigate through the ordeal. We must remember that this happened a very long time ago, where they did not have the technology or devices to assist them, not even the compass because the compass was only invented in the 11th or 12th century. So without all these helps, they relied heavily on the light of the sun, moon, and stars. Without the sun and the stars, they were totally lost.
Take a moment and consider yourself in a boat without any navigation devices, and there was a big storm. The wind was howling, the waves were roaring. The boat would rise up high in the air and then plunge down quickly back into the sea again, like you were in a Viking. The only difference is that it was a real Viking, and there was the danger of hitting the sharp rocks that could completely destroy the boat. On top of that, there was seasickness. It was impossible for you to stand, let alone walk. All this time, there would be this looming thought hanging over your head, "I'm going to die, I'm going to die." This was exactly how the passengers had felt, including Luke, who wrote, "All hope that we should be saved was then taken away." In other words, any glimmer of hope had all vanished.
But there was a special passenger who said very quietly, finally he stood up, and it was none other than Paul. Look at verse 21, "And after long abstinence," which means it had been a long time they were without food, perhaps due to the seasickness or the inability to prepare the food, any one of them could be a possible reason. Paul stood up in the midst of them and said, "Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss." Remember, Paul had previously advised the people to take shelter at the fair Havens, but they had refused to listen to him. The Roman Centurion Julius thought it was better to listen to a group of professional sailors. But now, they had turned into a group of desperate men fighting for their lives. If they had listened to the Apostle Paul, they would not be in this predicament. His purpose was not to rebuke them but to encourage them by pointing them to someone who was greater than the storms, and that was God himself.
My friends, perhaps the most important sovereign purpose for trials is that the people would turn to God. It is true that people have never been more prayerful, more worshipful, spiritually oriented, and heavenly minded than when they are sick, afflicted, and troubled. Consider the number of conversions that took place on deathbeds. It was not as if the people had never heard the gospel before; they had heard the gospel on many occasions. It just did not register. All it took was just one trial, one deathbed situation for them to drop everything else and then focus 100% on life and death, heaven and hell, on God and the gospel. This is how God can use trials to point the people to himself.
Paul said in verse 22, "And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship." In other words, they should not be afraid; they should be of good courage because the ship will be lost, will be destroyed, but their lives will not. Some people might think this was some kind of wishful thinking. It will bring little comfort to the passengers. But what Paul went on to say was extremely critical.
Verse 23, "For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve." Which means he had received the divine revelation. The God whom he served, the God whom he belonged to, has sent an angel to speak to him. This was what the angel has said. Verse 24, "Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee." Remember, Paul had appealed to Caesar; it was not just his own choice but by God's providence. He must be brought before Caesar; it was God's will for him. He must testify at Rome; that was God's will for him. So the Lord will protect Paul so that he would fulfill the will of God. Because of that, all the others who were sailing together with him would also benefit from the Lord's protection of Paul. This was what he meant.
Let us take a moment and consider this. God's will for Paul, God's protection for Paul, somehow would affect all the other people who were sailing together with him, and most of them were unbelievers. This reminds us of God's covenantal blessing. Salvation is personal, but the blessing that comes with salvation is covenantal. That was the reason why Paul said to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." All the spiritual blessing that the believer receives from God will indirectly be experienced by the unbeliever living together with him or her. As the believer goes about living his or her Christian life, the unbelieving husband or wife will be exposed to the Christian testimony, the worship, the prayer life, the answered prayers, the blessings, the Bible reading, and most importantly, the gospel on a daily basis.
Can you imagine that? Perhaps you are the only believer in your family, and in a time of crisis, you prayed earnestly, the Lord heard and answered your prayer. Isn't it true that your unbelieving family members would also benefit from how the Lord had delivered you? Likewise, in the church, we know that not everyone is a believer. It is a mixture of believers and unbelievers. When the believers prayed earnestly, the Lord hears and answers. Isn't it true that the unbelievers would also experience the goodness that comes with the answered prayers? In a city where there are many Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, Bible-defending churches, is it not true that the morality in that city will be protected to a certain extent?
Paul knew and believed this truth with all his heart, and he went on to say in verse 25, "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." Perhaps at this moment, some of the skeptics would be questioning, "Well, you have just said that we will lose the ship but we will not lose our lives. But if we were to lose the ship, that would mean we would all be drowned. How is that going to happen that we would not lose our lives?" For the benefit of all the skeptics, Paul revealed the prophecy very clearly in verse 26. Look at the final verse, verse 26, "Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island." In other words, the ship will be destroyed when it hit the shore on a particular island, and they would all escape drowning by either swimming to the shore or clinging onto the broken pieces of the ship and drifting onto the shore. This prophecy was given to the people before the actual event happened so that the people who believe God saw the prophecy fulfilled. Most certainly, we will learn more about that in our next message.
My friends, nothing happens by chance or coincidence. It is by God's appointment and according to his sovereign purpose. What can trials teach us? Trials can unite us together. Trials will also point us to God. Tonight, if you are troubled by some very devastating thing that has occurred in your life, let your hearts not be troubled. Let this trial take you to God's people, that you will all be united together to pray, to support one another, encourage one another. And let this trial, most importantly, take you to the almighty God who will help you at every step of the way. I pray that all of us will believe God is sovereign. He allows trials into our lives for his own sovereign purpose, for the good of you, for the good of me. We must believe. Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we thank thee for thy precious word that we are able to learn from this portion of scriptures. Even as we draw spiritual lessons from thy word, help us to apply them into our lives. Remind us that we should not be hearers only, deceiving our own selves, but let thy word sink into our hearts, let thy word always be in our minds and be the guide of our lives. Indeed, we have a sovereign God who is in control of all things, including trials. Our lives, our deaths are in thy hands. We trust in thee, and we who trust in thee also believe that thou would allow trials for thy sovereign purpose, for the good of you, for the good of me. We must believe.
Help us, that in times of trouble, our hearts, even though heavy, will turn to thee and cry out, "Lord Jesus, help us!" And we know that thou wilt guide and lead us at every step of the way, all to the glory of thy precious name. We give thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.