Storms, Shipwrecks, and Snakes, Oh My!

Amen. So good to worship with you. Good morning Gospel City Church. How’s everyone doing today? Good? Go ahead and open your Bibles. Open to Acts chapter 27. And we are coming to a close on the book of Acts this week and next week. It’s been a great journey through the book, wouldn’t you say? And I’m excited to tell you where we’re going next. We’ll tell you next week.

But today I’m going to preach a message to you entitled “Storms, Shipwrecks and Snakes, Oh My!” Lots going on in Acts chapter 27. You may not know this, but I have something in common with the apostle Paul as it pertains to a crisis on the Mediterranean Sea. So you know that I was in Greece several years ago. I’ve shown you pictures along the journey, along the way. And at the end of our trip we had the opportunity to go to Crete, the island of Crete, which you’ll see in the text today.

And for fun, on a Friday night, we were going to jump on a boat and sail nine hours to the island of Crete through the night. And so we got on this boat in Athens and we were going to see a ministry and do some sightseeing and all that too. And we got on this big boat. It wasn’t a cruise ship, but it had like sleeping quarters and a cafeteria. We ended up, me and a few pastors, ended up in the cafeteria that evening. It was about 10:00 PM.

And all of a sudden over the intercom the man behind the counter in the cafeteria started speaking in Greek. Obviously we didn’t understand what was going on. But we looked around and everyone was listening intently. They’re listening to what he said. And as soon as he finished, everybody with a little bit of frantic demeanor gets up and leaves the cafeteria. And so we’re sitting there like, What is happening?

So I went up to the counter. I said, “Excuse me sir, what’s going on?”

And in broken English he said, “Go to your room.”

And so I went down to the next floor and found another counter. I asked, “Hey, can I ask what’s going on?”

They said, “Hey, we’re not allowed to tell you. Just go to your room.”

So there we were on the Mediterranean Sea on a giant boat. What’s going on? I poke my head out of our bedroom out into the hallway and I notice guys running up and down the aisle in military uniform. And so I stopped one of them. I said, “Excuse me, what’s going on?”

And he said, “Boom!”

And I said, “What do you mean ‘Boom!’?”

And he said, “Bomb threat on boat,” and went runnign down the aisle.

So I went back in the room and I’m like, “Hey guys, it’s not a big deal. It’s just like a bomb on the boat. W’ere going to be die out here on the Mediterranean.”

And you know, I called my wife and I said, “I love you.” I didn’t tell her about the bomb. I just left that detail out. I said, “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Good night!”

And I remember someone running into our room and checking under our beds and checking under the sink in the bathroom. And we’re like, What is happening? And so we’re waiting. And I laid down that night and I was just like praying, “Lord, I hope I did everything You wanted me to do.” And I tried to like, I’m going to try to get some rest.

And I close my eyes and all of a sudden, “BOOM!” No, it didn’t. There was no bomb. No bomb went off. And we made it to our destination.

And Paul does not make it to his desired destination in Acts chapter 27 today. And he dosn’t have a bomb threat on the Mediterannean Sea, but he was dealing with a massive storm. And Acts chapter 27 is a remarkable chapter. And many people have written books about Acts chapter 27. Many have studied it. You know, it’s kind of an obscure chapter in the book of Acts.

We’ve seen all these great details of the church, and then Luke gives us this long chapter describing how this massive boat sailed through this massive storm. And you could wonder, Why did he give us all these details? And many have studied it for the sake of sailing through storms and keeping a boat afloat. And what they probably don’t take into account is the fact that God was guiding the ship. And that’s very important.

But you could read it and wonder, Why did Luke give us all these details in the book of Acts? And yet I think you’ll be encouraged today to see that God is all over this situation that Paul finds himself in. And the big idea this morning is this: You can trust God to work out His will in your life, but it probably won’t go how you think. You can trust God to work out His will in your life. He’s always working. But it probably won’t go how you think.

Perhaps you’ve predicted since you were young what your life would look like today and you’ve nailed it. But I would venture to say that it hasn’t come without hardships, it hasn’t come without challenges, it hasn’t come without obstacles or some of you would say today, Yeah, you know what? My life hasn’t turned out at all like I thought it would have. And maybe you’re a little bit frustrated about it. Maybe you’re here today and say, I have questions for God as to why you are in life where you are at right now. Or maybe you’re sad at the reality of the storm that you find yourself in right now.

Can I just invite you wherever you sit today, wherever you are, whatever you’re going through, can I invite you to renew your trust and to renew your faith in a good and guiding and gracious God? That’s what He is. In Philippians 1:6 Paul wrote this: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. We can have a trust that the Lord is working for our good because He’s a gracious God. Let’s read in Acts chapter 27. A lot of reading, but we’ll kind of take it as we go this morning. Let’s pick it up in verse 1.

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 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. (Acts 27:1-3)

Real quick. Just notice that Luke is saying “we”, because somehow Luke is on this ship and so is another friend from Macedonia. This is a ship full of prisoners heading to Rome. Don’t know how Paul got a couple friends, but then he’s put under the care of Julius, the centurion. We’ve seen a lot of centurions in the Bible. They are men of character, great leaders. Centurions of the Roman army would have been leaders of one hundred and more. And, you know, think about the centurions. Matthew 8, Jesus was impressed with the centurion who had faith. Think about the centurion at the cross who said, “Surely this man is the Son of God.”

Think about Cornelius, the centurion in Acts chapter 10. He was a God-fearing man. He gave to the Lord. And now we meet Julius, and he befriends Paul. And he’s respectful to Paul. And when they get to Sidon, he lets Paul go off. He’s a prisoner. The dude has probably seen lots of prisoners. But for some reason he’s kind to Paul. He lets Paul go and find some friends in Sidon because Paul had friends everywhere because he has been making disciples. It’s just interesting to me.

Think about the people that Paul has dwelt within the political realm. Festus and Agrippa. Just unreasonable men. And then when they’re put under the care of these centurions, often these men of character come to faith in Christ. And I just think that’s really cool. Now verse 4.

And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. (Acts 27:4-5) You recognize some of those names because Paul has made disciples in all of these places.

There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
Verse 9. Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” (Acts 27: 6-10)
Paul was probably the most experienced sailor on that boat. I mean, he’s gone on three missionary journeys. He’s been all over the Mediterranean Sea. He’s like, Hey, the weather conditions this time of year aren’t very good, aren’t very favorable. We should probably hold up in Fairhaven.

Verse 11. But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. Verse 12. And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. (Acts 27:11-12)
So they’re already, Fairhaven is a small little town on the east side of Crete. They needed to go northwest just a little ways, up the coast. Crete is not massive. And so they needed to get to Phoenix, and that’s where they thought, We’ll just get there and we’ll set up there for the winter.
Verse 13. Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda (that’s south of Crete now), we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along.
Verse 18. Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. (Acts 27:13-20)
Things were not going well on the Mediterranean Sea that day. Point number one is this: God’s will for your life does not promise smooth sailing. God’s will for your life does not promise smooth sailing.
Let me just go to bat for my man Paul for just a moment. The man had been a great servant of the Lord. Yes, he did a lot of bad things pre-Jesus Christ. But God doesn’t punish us because of our past. The beauty of the gospel is that God punished His perfect Son Jesus in our place on the cross. And when we are justified to the Lord our sins are cast deep into the sea and we are now positionally perfect with the God of glory. It’s a beautiful thing, a beautiful truth of the gospel. But since Paul had been saved, he had endured much suffering. He caused a lot of suffering before Christ. Now he’s enduring much suffering.
And you remember that Annanias was told, “Go to your brother Saul. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” But hasn’t the guy gone through enough? Just recount with me the last several years of his life. He was persecuted in Pisidia. He was stoned at Lystra. He was beaten with rods and imprisoned in Philippi. He had to hide in Thessalonica. He was arrested in Jerusalem. He’d been shipwrecked two other times. He’s been in jail for the last two years for no reason.
And in all this time he’s simply preaching the gospel, loving the lost, and making much of Jesus Christ. That’s enough to make somebody want to give up. And yet here’s Paul continuing on his journey, now on a boat full of prisoners. And one of his dreams was to make it to Rome. Paul was, you know, sixty years old (ish) at this time. He was a regular guy. He traveled to many different cultures. Rome was the epicenter of the world at the time.
In Acts 19:21 it says this: Now after these events, Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
So he wanted to get to Rome. He wanted to see Rome. I’m sure he wanted to preach the gospel in Rome because he had people waiting there for him. And he says in Romans 1:13, I intended to get there but I have been prevented thus far. And now he’s heading to Rome but he’s heading there as a prisoner in chains on a boat full of convicts. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the weather conditions were not helping one bit.
Notice in the text today. Let me just kind of recount all the things that we just read. Verse 4 said that the winds were against them. Verse 7, we sailed slowly with difficulty as the wind did not allow us to farther. Verse 8, they coasted along with difficulty. Verse 9, the voyage was now dangerous. Verse 14, tempestuous winds struck down. Verse 15, they couldn’t face the wind.
Verse 17, they were driven along. They weren’t sailing with ease. They were driven. Verse 18, they were violently storm-tossed. Verse 20, there was no sun, moon or stars. Nothing for them to navigate. They didn’t have iphones. They didn’t have a compass. They didn’t have a GPS helping them along the way. So they would look at the stars. They couldn’t even see the stars for navigation. That all sounds really bad.
And yet God’s will and plan for Paul was being carried out. Paul was on his way to Rome on the government’s dime by the way. You think about those missionary journeys that he went on. The church was collecting money for months so that they could send him. That’s expensive. And now Paul is heading to Rome on the government’s dime. God’s will for Paul to get to Rome and Paul’s dream of seeing Rome were coming to fruition. It just probably wasn’t at all how he thought it was going to go down.
And I say all that today to say this. God has got your life. God has got you. It just won’t always be smooth sailing. And that’s not God’s fault. That is a result of living in a broken world. But God is so good that He uses the trials in our life. He uses the things that we face in this life to make us more like Jesus Christ. And for the believer, we understand that the hardships of this life are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond what we could ever imagine.
But I’ll relate with you for a moment. The storms absolutely stink. They’re inconvenient. They’re painful. They’re deflating. They’re harsh. Sometimes they take us to the end of ourselves. But for the believer, once we’ve reached the end of our rope, we realize that God hasn’t changed and that God is still a merciful Father and that God is standing with us, arms wide open, bringing comfort, bringing peace and bringing grace to our weariness.
But if you got into this following God thing or you’re checking out church and faith and all of this so that you can have an easier life, you are painfully mistaken. And some of us do a really good job of following God when everything is going right in our lives or when you have blessing in life or everyone is firing on all cylinders. You come to God with the mentality of “If I take care of loving God in my life, He’ll take care of me.”
So you go to church every Sunday. You start reading your Bible. You start raising a hand in worship. But as soon as the storm turns up, you get sucked right back into where you came from and you fall right back into the pit of despair. And you have no hope in the storms of this life because your hope is tethered to the blessing rather than the God of the blessing.
And that is not the kind of faith that you need. That is not the kind of faith that can save you. You are like the man who builds his house on the sand. And when the storms come you have no foundation to stand on and you are washed away, sent back into the world feeling hopeless.
But everyone needs to hear today that life does not promise smooth sailing. In fact it promises that you will face troubles in this life. Scripture says that you will face trials of various kinds. And you’re like, Well, who wants to sign up for that? I don’t want to sign up for that. The truth is, you’re going to face it either way. You’re going to face trials and tribulation and hardships in this life either way. But for the believer we recognize that Jesus is making us more like Himself through the hardships of this life. He’s just that good.
And as I went through all of the descriptors of what this ship was facing and what these sailors were facing on the Mediterranean Sea. many of you could say, Yeah, I totally relate to that. Some of you are like, Yeah, I feel like the winds are always against me. I totally feel like I’m drifting into dangerous territory or I can’t see what’s ahead. And nothing seems to be guiding me in life. Where are you God?
But you’re not alone in the storm. Job chapter 5 says this: For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. But man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. As sure as the sparks of a fire will ascend upwards, so will trouble and tribulation and trial and affliction come in your life. You will face choppy waters. You will endure hardships. And sometimes we simply need reminded that God doesn’t promise smooth sailing.
It doesn’t sound encouraging, but as you sit shoulder to shoulder with people today in the midst of whatever you’re going through, isn’t it encouraging to know that you’re not alone in your storm? That you don’t know what the people beside you have been facing, what the people beside you have been walking through, going through. And yet we’re all going through something. And God is working on our behalf if we are in Christ Jesus so we can take heart.
He doesn’t promise that life will be easy, but He does promise that nothing can separate you from His love. He promises that all things work together for the good of those who are in Christ. He promises that you can take heart because Jesus Christ has overcome the world and the trials and the tribulation. He promises that you can consider your trials as joy because they are making you more complete and more steadfast in Christ Jesus. Those are amazing promises that we put our hope in. And your hardships will not be in vain if you are following God.
The rain falls on the just and the unjust, but those in Christ will receive the inheritance of His grace. It’s beautiful.
Now number two this morning that I want to give you is this. Fatih in God is an anchor of thanksgiving when everything seems to be sinking. Faith in God is an anchor of thanksgiving when everything seems to be sinking. And we sang it this morning. I put my faith in Jesus, my anchor to the ground. My hope and firm foundation; He will never let me down.
Look in verse 21-26 for a moment. It says this. Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said. So Paul is going to speak again. Only rational one on the boat seemingly. And he says, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Paul is like, I told you so. You should’ve listened. Not a great move. I’m sure he was humble and kind. Verse 22. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on some island.” (Acts 27: 21-26)
Now this is a remarkable paragraph in the middle of this long chapter and all this chaos that’s going on on the Mediterranean Sea. Don’t miss what Paul is communicating, and everything that he’s communicating stems from verse 25 when he says, “I have faith in God.”
This is everything for the believer. It is the faith in God’s promises and God’s power that keep you anchored in the storms of this life. And as a Christian, I think you know that. I think you’re like, That can sound cliche sometimes. Like if you’re going through hell in life, you don’t need somebody saying, “You just need more faith. Hey, you’ve got to have more faith.” That can put you in a bad mood real quick. But you have to get to the point where you’re like, Why does Paul say in the middle of this storm that “I have faith in God”? What gave him this confidence? How could he say that when absolute chaos was ensuing around him?
Sure, an angel appeared to him and told him like, Everything is going to be ok. You’re going to make it. No one is going to die. That’s a big deal. That shouldn’t be minimized. God was doing miraculous things to carry this ship forward. And the details shouldn’t be minimized. But what’s remarkable is what Paul proclaims to those in the ship.
In verse 23, he proclaimed that he belongs to God. In verse 23 he proclaimed that he worshiped God. And in verse 25 he trusted in the Word of God that came from the angel. Exactly as I have been told, it will come to pass. You’ve got to write that down this morning. I put it on the screen. You can have faith in the storm if you belong to God, you worship God and you trust the Word of God.
Think about that for a moment. If you belong to God, you know that God will not mess up your life. If you truly believe that God is almighty, God is the God of glory, He is Creator, He is Sustainer, if you belong to God, He won’t mess up your life. Nothing against you can separate you from him. As human beings, right, the things that belong to us we tend to take responsibility for. And so you take responsibility for your bills. You take responsibility for your homes, for your kids, for your cars. God takes care of what belongs to Him perfectly.
So because Paul belonged to God, he could have faith in the storm and he knew God would take care of him and that ultimately God held his life in the palm of His hand. And then it led Paul to say that he worshiped God. That means that he knew that God was bigger than anything on this planet, that God was over the storms, that God was able to calm the storms, that God was able to bring him through the storm. And so he was giving glory to God in the middle of the storm that he was facing.
Paul worshiped God through the lowest valleys in life and therefore he had faith. And if you will worship God in the middle of the hardships of this life, you will recognize that God might actually be working for your good no matter what you’re facing. But often we get our eyes off of God and we get our eyes on the storm. We get our eyes on the lesser things. We get our eyes on our feelings, what we think should be happening. And that starts to reorient our worship to something that is lesser than the God of the universe. And that never leads to anything good. That never leads to the joy that should come in the trials that we are facing.
And then you can have faith in the storm if you trust in the Word of God. You can take heart just like Paul told the sailors to take heart in verse 22. Why can I take heart? Because what God promises will always come to pass. And you’re like, Well I didn’t receive a miraculous revelation from God like Paul did from that angel.
And I would say, “Yes, you did.” You’ve received the Bible. And man, we do not turn to this enough in the middle of the storms. This is all that we need for life and godliness. And it can sound cliche sometimes, and yet this is where we have to turn. This is full of promises that will get you through anything in this life. Where else are you going to anchor yourself? Everything that Christ has said is in this Word, written down for our good. And if we would just take heed to it, it would lead us and anchor us in the Lord through the storms.
Now I’m just kind of going to fast forward through 27 a little bit. They’re on the fourteenth night. So imagine that. Fourteen nights on this massive storm going where they didn’t want to go. And they took a sounding, verse 28.
Verse 29. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow. (Acts 27:29-30)
So a couple of guys are like, I’m out. I’m taking it into my own hands. I’m jumping on the lifeboat. Look at what Paul says.
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. (Acts 27:31-32)
Just real quick. I think that’s an awesome moment of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. God gave a word. God said, “Everyone will be saved if they stay in this boat.” And they stay together. And some of them were like, I’m not doing it, God’s way. I’m doing it my way. I’m jumping on the lifeboat.
God is sovereign over salvation. You want God’s will for your life? It’s this. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. And no man comes to the Father except through Jesus.” The truth that He died on a cross in your place as a substitute for your sins. He rose from the dead so that you can call on Him and repent and believe. God is sovereign over salvation, but you have a responsibility to call upon the great name of Jesus. You don’t want to get to the end of your life and say, “I did it my way. I wasn’t doing it God’s way. I jumped ship, jumped on my own boat.” That will not go well for you.
We call upon the name of the Lord because that is what He called us to do. All right?

SPLIT HERE

Look in verse 33.
As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying (so rational), “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.”
So he’s speaking rationally and he’s speaking truth to them. God said you’re not going to perish. And so he keeps speaking over them the truth. Nothing is going to perish. We speak truth over one another in the storms. Verse 35.
And when he had said these things, he took bread, and threw it in the sea to appease the god of the sea. No. He took bread and he scarfed it down really fast because he was very famished because it’s been fourteen days. No. He took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. (Acts 27:33-38)
I just want to hone in on verse 35 for a moment. When he had said these things, he took bread and he gave thanks to God. He gave thanks. He prayed for his meal in the middle of a massive storm. Do you ever wonder if you should pray before you eat? Paul did.
You ever wonder if you should pray at a restaurant when you’re around unbelievers? Paul prayed in a middle of a storm on a boat full of convicts and Roman sailors and he did it unashamedly. That’s pretty convincing to me. And he gave thanks to God. What did Pual have to give thanks for? You heard all the things that he had gone through. Tons of bad things. And yet here he is able to give thanks even in the middle of the chaos for the food that God provides and the sustenance God provides.
I’m convicted by that. Thanksgiving, thankfulness, is an anchor in the storms of this life. And, you know, even in my own demeanor at times I catch myself having a complaining spirit. Hey, how are things going? Oh man, I just answer with like a defeated personality rather than a victorious one in Christ Jesus.
And Paul is an example that we should be being thankful to God for everything we could possibly give thanks for in the middle of our storms. When you are thankful, man, everything is lighter. When you are thankful, you have a better outlook on life. When you’re complaining, you stay down deep in your pit of misery. And it makes you discouraged. It makes you depressed. It makes you no fun to be around. Oh, that we would have thankfulness in the middle of the things that we face. Paul’s faith in God stands out through this entire passage. And Paul’s face in God made him the leader that he was through this entire scene. And Paul’s faith in God enabled him to give thanks to God even in poor circumstances.
In 39-44 I’ll summarize it quickly. The next day came and they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach. And they ran the ship aground striking a reef. The boat was wrecked. They found land. God had brought them through. The soldier planned to kill the prisoners, in verse 42, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, (man of character) kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. (Acts 27:42-44)
I was reminded of a story that I’ve read before and that I’ve heard before this week. A story about Corrie and Betsie ten Boom. So they were sisters. And Corrie and Betsie found themselves arrested for harboring Jews during the wa and placed in a German concentration camp full of square platforms. You couldn’t stand. So Corrie and Betsy are taken to this Nazi camp and they’re shoved in this concentration camp. Very small aisle. Little square platforms that you were shoved in to sleep. And you couldn’t even stand up. You couldn’t even sit up.
And so the first night that they were there, they laid down on this rancid straw that was laid out for their bedding. And as they laid down, they quickly found out that it was flea infested. Corrie bounces up. She recounts in her book The Hiding Place that she bounces up and she says, Fleas! Oh my gosh!
And they run to a small corner in the room where there was light beaming through. And Corrie asked in a panic how they could survive this. How could we live in these conditions? How could we survive this? And Betsie was already praying and she was already recounting the Scripture that she had read that morning from her Bible. And she points to Pual’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18.
Paul wrote this: Comfort the frightened. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. It goes on. Rejoice always. Pray constantly. And give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Chirst Jesus.
Paul wrote that, and Paul was living that on the Mediterranean sea. And so many years later in a horrible, unjust situation, Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were recalling the words of Paul in the middle of their storm, in the middle of their pain.
And in that gross, crammed, flea-infested dungeon, they began to thank God for any and everything that they could. They thanked God that they were still together. They thanked God that the guards didn’t search them and find the Bible that Corrie had on her person as she went into that concentration camp.
And then every day they were sent to work in the fields. And as some time went by, Betsie’s health declined and so she wasn’t able to go outside and work. So they allowed her to stay inside the barracks and sew socks. And she was quick and fast at sewing. And so she would get her quota done by noon every day. And then the rest of the afternoon she would go table to table and she would read Scripture to those who were still finishing up their quota.
She noticed that the guards never made it into the barracks. The guards never came in to see what she was doing. The guards never came in and stopped her from reading Scripture.
And one day Corrie came back from working and Betsie said with a smile to her, “It’s because of the fleas.”
And Corrie said, “What are you talking about?”
And she said, “It’s because of the fleas that the guards are staying out of the barracks, that they don’t come in. and I’m allowed to read Scripture to these people because of the fleas. I thank God for the fleas!”
Isn’t that incredible? What faith. What a story. Using the hard circumstances of life to point people to Jesus and to thank God regardless of the circumstances that they were walking through.
Corrie ten Boom also has famously said, or it’s been written down that she said, “If God will send you on strong paths, He will also supply you with strong shoes.” Whatever you’re going to walk through, God wants to walk it with you. So we can have faith anchored to faithfulness in the middle of our storms.
Number three this morning is this: When the waves finally settle, God is the same as He has always been. See, God never changes. He is the same unfailing good God that He has always been. You want a fancy theological doctrinal word? That’s called the immutability of God. It’s just a theological way of saying that God never changes. His love never changes. His goodness never changes. His forgiveness never changes. His control never changes. His comfort never changes. His holiness never changes.
But you and I? We easily change, and we waver all the time. So when the storms come or the waves of life pick up, we have a tendency to assume that God has changed. So we start to say things like, “Where is God now?” Or, “How could God be good if He would allow me to go through this circumstance?” Or, “Is God absent?”
And the reality is God is the same as He’s always been. We’ve just gotten our eyes off of His promises. And we forget that we belong to Him, so we forget to worship Him and to trust in His Word.
Can we read in chapter 28 starting in verse 1? After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice (that’s the god that they worshiped on the island) has not allowed him to live.”
Verse 5. He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead (because that’s what they’ve seen other people do when they get bit on this island by this viper). But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:1-6)
So I’ve got a snake over here. I’m just kidding. How awesome would it have been if I whipped out a python? You would have freaked out. Some churches do that I think.
But think about what just happened. So they arrive after this fourteen day long massive storm, not going where they wanted to go on the island of Malta. And you know how like in the movies you land on a deserted island? You’re kind of like creeping onto shore thinking, I hope we don’t get killed. I hope we don’t meet cannibals.
They met the most kind natives that you could possibly meet. Unusual kindness on the island of Malta. By the way, like when you sail from Fair Havens northwest to Phoenix, it’s a short sail. But as soon as this ship hits the wind that God sent, it’s a straight shot southwest to Malta. God knew exactly where that ship was going because God cares about every tribe, every tongue and every nation hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And He knew that the gospel needed to make it to the island of Malta. And so He redirected that grain ship, and that grain ship was no longer a carrier of grain. It was a carrier of the gospel and it was sent to the island of Malta. And they get off and they’re shown unusual kindness.
And they build them a fire and Paul starts to collect sticks. Because yes, Paul was a great leader, but no job is beneath a leader. He was a servant leader. And so he’s picking up sticks and he’s serving the people, he’s serving the convicts, he’s serving the sailors. He’s throwing it on. And then God, you know, had prophesied that you know, no snake bites are going to kill you and you’re going to be able to do miraculous things. I’m going to do miracles through you. I’m going to authenticate the message that you preach and show the people that you are sent in My name.
And so this viper comes out of the fire, bites his hand, and everybody is like watching in horror. And they’re like, That guy is definitely a murderer because that snake bit him. That’s unfortunate. They were very superstitious. And then quickly, Paul is just like, shakes it off, starts putting more firewood on.
And they’re watching. Nothing happens and they’re like, Oh, he’s not a murderer. He’s a god! He’s got power over the vipers! And why is that important? Because it gets Paul before the chief of the island, which allows him to serve them and I would assume make some disciples.
Look in verse 7. Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. (Acts 28:7-10)
Do you see the kindness and unfailing goodness of an unchanging God throughout this scene? Verse 1 says it brought them through the storm. Verse 2, the natives showed them unusual kindness. Verse 2, they kindled a fire and welcomed them. Verse 7, the chief received them. Verse 7, they entertained them hospitable for three days. Verse 8 and 9, God provided opportunity for them to minister to these people. Verse 10, they honored them. Verse 10, they loaded up their supplies and sent them off to Rome.
and Paul was going to make it to Rome. The gospel was making it to a new country, not only to Malta but to the continent of Italy. And God’s will for Paul’s life was being carried out. It just wasn’t happening like he thought it would.
And as Paul left the island of Malta he had to breathe in the grace of God and exhale the praise to an unchanging good and gracious and guiding God. He would have never asked for all of these things to come to pass the way that they had. And yet I doubt he would change them. I’m sure as he looked back on his life he could say, God has always been with me. And God has always been faithful. And even through the moments that I wish wouldn’t have happened, I saw the faithfulness of God breathing life into my situation. And so I can trust Him to work out His will for me and to get me to where I need to go. Because He’s a good and gracious and guiding God.
Let me just encourage you this morning. Some of you are stuck in the middle of a storm and you’re like the sailors who thought about jumping ship. God promises He will never leave those who are in Christ Jesus. God will be good on that promise, but you have a responsibility to put your faith in Christ. You have a responsibility to trust in the great name of the great Lord almighty, to call upon Him. If you’ve yet to repent and believe, that is the first step to a life that will show you God’s goodness and grace.
And so you call upon the name of the Lord who is mighty to save. You call upon Jesus, who gave His life for you, a sinner. You’re going to face hardships in this life. You’re going to face trials in this life. But Jesus wants to show you that He will carry you through because He endured the cross so that you could have life.
And some of you are only here because life is good right now and you know that you don’t have much of an actual foundation to stand on when life gets hard. And you need to truly ask yourself, “Do I belong to the God of glory?”
Do you belong to God or do you belong to the world? I can’t answer that for you. That’s between you and the Lord. But if you belong to God, He will take care of you and he will get you to where you need to be. If you belong to the world, you’ll spend your life navigating the storms with nothing to guide you. Or you’ll continually turn to things that are lesser than the God of glory. You’ll continue to kick against the goads, like we saw last week. You’ll continue to run your head up against a wall that will never be moved until you call upon the name of the Lord.
And then some of you, a lot of you, I assume love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And you’re hanging on for dear life in the storm right now. Can I just encourage you to renew your faith in God today? The Lord wants to bring you safely just as He brought this ship safely through. Turn your spirit of complaining into a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving and allow thankfulness to be the anchor in your life.
Give thanks to God in the middle of what you are facing. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full on His wonderful face. And the things of this earth, they’ll grow dim in the light of His glory and grace. C’mon stand to your feet with me. Let’s go to pray and let’s respond to the Lord in worship.
Lord God, we come and Lord we thank You for Your faithfulness. We thank You for Your goodness, Your mercy and grace. We thank You for the example that we see in the apostle Paul, trusting You through many hardships and much suffering in this life. And Lord, we know that trials and tribulations will come. We know that hardships will come and affliction will come. But as believers, Lord, we take heart in the fact that Jesus Christ has overcome the world.
We thank You that we do not serve a high priest who cannot sympathize with us in our weaknesses. Wte thank You that in every way Jesus was tempted and Jesus was tried and Jesus endured the cross. And Jesus suffered and bled and died in our place for our sins so that we could come to You and we could see that even in the hardest days of this world, we have a hope that lies beyond the grave.
And so Lord, if You don’t deliver us here, we know that because of Jesus we will arrive safely in Your presence in a home that You are preparing, in a place that You have gone before us so that You could welcome us home. Oh, how we look to the things that are above and not the things that are on this earth.
God, would You encourage us today? Would You give us the faith to say, “Yes, we will worship You in the lowest of valleys. We will choose to praise. We will choose to give thanks for even the hard things because we have our minds and eyes on the gospel of Jesus Christ advancing in the world. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.