Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I pray is well read and treasured in your hearts.
And turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 27.
Yes, we are still working our way through the book of Acts, which is our habit to do verse by verse exposition, but we are nearing the end.
We have this Sunday and two more if things go to plan and we'll complete our study of the book of Acts.
But before we get into today's text, I'll summarize where we are in Luke's narrative of the ascended Christ working by the agency of the Spirit in the life of the Apostle Paul.
At the beginning of chapter 21, Paul returns to Jerusalem where he is attacked at the temple and subsequently arrested by a Roman cohort.
Because of the uproar of the crowd, the confusion concerning their accusations against Paul and a plot to kill him, he is detained and stands trial a number of times across the following chapters.
In chapter 25, Paul exercises his right as a Roman citizen and makes an appeal to Caesar.
That is to be sent to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, which is granted to him.
And that brings us to the decision to sail for Rome in today's text.
And wasn't that the most sweeping summary ever of those chapters?
So before I begin reading in Acts 27, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
It was written for his glory and our good.
We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
Now, as we read across the following chapter, I'm going to stop at some periodic places and give some brief explanation just so we know, fully wrap our minds around what's happening in this episode in Paul's life.
And then we'll give some application following it.
So Acts 27, verse 1.
So note first the phrase, we should sail.
I just think it's good for us to recognize that Luke is using first person plural pronouns again.
So he is back on the scene, right?
That means he joined Paul as he is sent to Rome.
He was likely nearby during all of those trials, but he's observing from a distance what is happening.
Many have supposed that Luke served as Paul's physician for his general health as he went on all of these hazardous journeys,
as well as the thorn in his flesh mentioned in 2 Corinthians.
We don't know exactly what that was, but many have supposed it was some kind of ailment that Paul carried with him.
Luke serves us as a beautiful example of friendship and service as he returns and joins him on his trip to trial and imprisonment in Rome.
Note also that they get on a ship of Adramidium.
And it's only substantial because I think sometimes words like this become distracting to us.
Like what in the world is a ship of Adramidium?
Adramidium was a place.
It was the ship's home port.
And the ship is likely a merchant ship carrying wheat westward, as we see in verse 38.
We find out later in the chapter that there's a massive number of people on this ship.
Ships of this size in that day would have been the largest seagoing vessel.
So it was a large ship of Adramidium carrying most likely wheat.
Verse 38 says, when they'd eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
And we also see that he's accompanied by Aristarchus.
And Aristarchus has served as one of Paul's travel companions for quite some time.
In fact, he is one of the men seized in the Ephesian riot that we learned about back in chapter 19.
So another picture, a beautiful friendship and service to Paul as he goes with him.
Verse 3.
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.
And putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us.
Now, if you would like, in the back of your Bible, probably there's a map of Paul's missionary journeys.
If you have an ESV like I do, a thin line, it's the last one.
So you can just very quickly turn to it and see the path that he takes.
If that helps you, you can flip back and forth between the two.
Sidon from Caesarea would have just been a bit north on the coast of Israel.
So they've sailed just a bit of a way.
And Julius, this soldier of the Augustan cohort, allows him to go to who's likely his friends being the church there in Sidon and be cared for.
We see also in these two verses that they sail under the lee of Cyprus.
Now, Luke uses the word lee twice more in this narrative.
So it's important that you understand what he's referring to.
And the lee is the protection of a landmass from the wind.
That is to say, they sailed on the downwind side of Cyprus.
They were protected from the strong winds by sailing in the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against them, Luke records.
Now, a sailing ship is most easily sailed with the wind at its stern, its backside.
That's the way we think of sailing ships, right?
The wind blowing it along.
But did you know that when the wind is at the bow of a ship, it can still be sailed?
I had never given this any thought until the year was 1996.
And my dad and I went up to Maine, and we got to take a sailing ship out, and we took it up the coast.
And I didn't think, how do we get back?
We had to turn around and sail against the wind.
And you do a process called tacking.
You cut across the wind, back and forth, and you make progress in that way.
But it's not an easy thing to do.
And so, with the wind at the bow against them, right, they can still sail, but with this difficulty.
And in especially high winds, it can become quite impossible.
And it became a continued problem on this voyage they're taking.
Verse 5.
And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
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 Nidus.
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 Fairhavens, near which was the city of Lycia.
So they were working against the wind.
All this language of difficulty is what that means.
So they put into a port called Fairhavens.
Fairhavens still exists as a place.
It's still called Fairhavens.
And it now has a small city.
About 200 people live there.
But it likely did not have a city in that day as Luke records that it's near this city of Lycia.
But even if it did, it's a pretty poor port.
It's open to the southeast, which means that it's exposed to the winter winds.
And that's a problem.
So they finally make their way into this port, which gives them some temporary shelter.
But it's not going to give them long-term shelter from the wind.
And this sets up this issue that's before them.
We'll see in 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.
Now, when Luke uses the phrase, even the fast was already over,
he's doing so simply to mark the date.
He's referring to the last, the fast of the day of atonement, which fell in late September.
You can see why I'm filling in these details because we have no concept of much of this.
For ancient vessels, any travel on the Mediterranean past mid-September was dangerous.
It was dangerous to venture out past mid-September.
And all travel ceased from mid-November until past February, at least until February.
All travel ceased altogether.
So, they were trying to sneak this trip in.
So, back at the beginning of the chapter, when it was decided for them to go,
the decision was either we try to slip this trip in and get Paul to Rome now,
or we wait until the spring.
So, they're sneaking it in.
And with the difficulty they had experienced thus far,
they're entering an even more treacherous time to continue westward.
So, Paul says, and it doesn't really seem to be phrased as a prophecy in this way,
but he just says, I perceive this is going to go bad for us.
Look at how difficult it's been so far.
Verse 11,
But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, that's fair havens,
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.
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 Kauda,
we managed with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.
After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship.
Then, fearing they would run aground on the Sirtis,
they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along.
So they decide to make a run for it, right, in the hopes of wintering at Phoenix.
But the winds shift.
So they get this nice wind, they say, now's our chance, and they go,
but the winds shift.
And a particular wind comes called the Northeaster, right, a tempestuous one, right,
coming from the Northeast.
If you're looking at your little map in the back of your Bible,
you can see that on the south side of the island of Crete.
And so as this wind comes across the island of Crete,
not only is it a strong wind, but it becomes a turbulent wind as well.
The island itself begins to break the wind up, so it's not steady any longer.
And this wind is turbulent enough, strong enough,
that as they turn, it would seem they turn and try to go back
and make their way back into Fairhavens again.
And they're unable to sail against it, so they have to give in to its power.
Luke says that we manage with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.
So this would have been a boat used to go into shore.
This was a large sailing vessel,
so a boat that they could have landed on the beaches with.
And they had pulled it.
It would have been pulled along beside, behind the ship,
so they pulled it in and secured it on board the ship.
And then he says that they used supports to undergird the ship.
Some of your translations may say cables.
The wind was so strong and the sea so violent at this point
that they looped cables underneath the ship to help hold it together.
That's what they're doing, right?
It's already that kind of wind that they're looping rope,
tying it tight up underneath the ship to hold it together,
which was a common practice in such situations.
Then he says that they're concerned that they're going to run aground on the Sirdis.
The Sirdis Shallows or the Sirdis Sands
is an area off the coast of North Africa with many sandbars.
It's deep water, but it has a lot of sandbars in it.
And it's well known as a ship graveyard.
Lots of ships would run aground on these sandbars,
especially these large ships that would have carried heavy loads
and sat deep in the water, would get stuck and then get beat to death by the waves.
So it's a common place that people would run aground.
They are quite some distance from the Sirdis at this point,
but it would seem that they do not know their exact location.
They're just not quite aware where they are exactly in the Mediterranean Sea.
And so wishing to avoid the Sirdis altogether,
they lowered the gear,
which can mean either they lowered the sails
or they lowered the sea anchor.
Some of your translations may say that.
Or both.
It's possible that both things happen,
which is what I propose with my very limited knowledge of sailing.
As the winds coming from the northeast,
and they desire not to be driven to the southwest,
where this region, the Sirdis, was at,
they drop sails,
and they employ a sea anchor,
which was a large bag.
It's kind of like a parachute that floats under the water
that acts as a brake,
orients them with the wind,
and it's in this way
that they're driven along.
They're driven westward,
if you're looking at that little line on your map.
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.
Since they had been without food for a long time,
Paul stood up among them and said,
Men,
you should have listened to me
and not have set sail from Crete
and incurred this injury and loss.
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.
When the fourteenth night had come,
as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea,
about midnight,
the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.
So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.
A little farther on,
they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.
And fearing that we might run on the rocks,
they let down four anchors from the stern
and prayed for day to come.
It gets intense, doesn't it?
I love it.
This is the Bible.
So Paul sees a vision.
He says,
We're going to be okay,
but we need to run aground.
And then these sailors perceive,
they think,
they suspect that they're nearing land.
And the only thing I can figure,
again with my very limited seafaring knowledge,
is that as experienced sailors,
maybe the waves begin to change
the way they're interacting with the bottom of the ocean
as it shallows out.
Maybe they have the kind of experience to know that.
That's the only thing I could guess.
It's nighttime.
They can't see that there's land coming up.
But maybe.
They think that they're approaching land.
And so they take a sounding.
They let down a rope that was intended for this very thing
with a weight tied to the end of it
and used for measuring depth.
And they found twenty fathoms,
which is 120 feet.
And then going a bit farther,
they measured 15 fathoms,
which is 90 feet.
So the ocean floor is approaching sea level,
which means that the sea is shallowing.
They're approaching land of some kind.
And so they don't want to run around a ground on rocks.
So they let down four anchors from the back of the boat,
right,
as the boat's being driven forward
to slow them down and prevent this type of accident.
Verse 30.
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,
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers,
unless these men stay in the ship,
you cannot be saved.
Right?
So God made this promise
that he would maintain the crew.
And Paul adds to that,
we've got to stay together in this.
Under pretense,
basically they say,
hey,
we're going to get out in the boat
and we're going to put some more anchors out
from the bow of the boat,
the front of the boat.
But they were lying about it.
And Paul says they must stay on board.
So,
verse 32.
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat
and let it go.
They didn't let them get in it.
They cut the ropes.
As day was about to dawn,
Paul urged them all to take some food,
saying,
today is the 14th 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.
And when he had said these things,
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.
When they had eaten enough,
they lightened the ship,
throwing out the wheat into the sea.
Now when it was day,
they did not recognize the land,
but they noticed a bay with a beach
on which they planned,
if possible,
to run the ship ashore.
So they cast off the anchors
and left them in the sea,
at the same time loosening the ropes
that tied the rudders,
then hoisting the foresail to the wind
they made for the beach.
But striking a reef,
they ran the vessel aground.
The bow stuck and remained immovable,
and the stern was being broken up by the surf.
The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners,
lest any should swim away and escape.
But the centurion,
wishing to save Paul,
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 safely brought to land.
So they see on this morning,
right after the 14th night,
they see an inlet with a beach,
and in order to run the ship aground,
they make it as light as they possibly can.
They cut away the anchors.
Loosening the ropes
doesn't mean they let the rudder flop.
It means that they actually cut the rudders away.
So there's not no rudder on the bottom of it.
It's as smooth as it can possibly be
on the bottom of this thing.
They hoist the mainsail,
but the wind would drive them
all the way in to land.
But as we see,
there's a reef that they get caught on,
and the boat gets beat to pieces
as they all abandon ship
and are brought safely to the shore.
So there's our text for today.
So let's make three valuable observations
from, or we could say in some cases,
about today's text.
As I've said to you before,
preaching from historical narrative
is often very difficult
because my first reading through this,
I really wanted to say,
and this morning there's one point.
Wow, what a journey, right?
What do we learn from such a text, right?
Like what is there to be said to us from a text?
And I do think there's some really important things
after further consideration.
So observations from or about today's text
as we read it together.
And here they are.
These are the three observations,
and then we'll go through them one by one.
Number one, God's words are true.
God's words are true.
Number two, God is in control of all things.
And number three, God uses suffering
to work good in the hearts of his people.
Okay, so first, God's words are true.
I want to make this first point
in a really general sense.
This is an astoundingly accurate account
of what a journey of this magnitude
would have been like.
Like that's lost on us, isn't it?
It was really lost on me
on my first reading of it.
Luke's account here has historical veracity
as a record of a treacherous first century crossing
of the Mediterranean Sea.
In fact, Acts chapter 27
is used in lots of secular literature
as a historical account
of what it would have taken
and what sailing looked like in this day.
What would first century sailors do
in the case of a tempestuous wind?
What would happen in that way?
So it's a very historically voracious account.
F.F. Bruce,
who was a 20th century New Testament scholar,
wrote a work on Acts,
and he quotes in that work
the 19th century British yachtsman James Smith.
You're tracking that?
A book within a book.
James Smith wrote this book
entitled The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul,
which is an exploration
of the accuracy of Luke's account.
So James Smith, as a yachtsman,
sets out to figure out
how historically accurate it is.
And where I found this
was F.F. Bruce talking about this book.
Okay?
I'm going to read this quote to you
as best I can
to let you track me.
Smith relates
how he made careful inquiries
of experienced Mediterranean navigators
in order to ascertain
the mean rate of drift
of a ship of this kind
laid to in such a gale.
So he asked around navigators, right?
How fast would a ship like this
drift under these conditions?
The conclusion which he reached
was a mean drift
of about 36 miles in 24 hours.
The soundings recorded in verse 28
indicate that the ship
was passing Korah,
a point on the west coast of Malta,
on her way into what's now called
St. Paul's Bay.
Okay?
On the island of Malta.
It's now called St. Paul's Bay.
But the distance from Klaudah
to the point of Korah
is 476.6 miles,
which, at the rate deduced
from the information,
would take exactly 13 days,
one hour, and 21 minutes.
And not only so,
the coincidence of the actual
bearing of St. Paul's Bay
from Klaudah
and the direction in which
a ship must have driven
in order to avoid the Cirtus
is, if possible,
still more striking
than that of the time
actually consumed
and the calculated time.
Then, after carefully reckoning
the direction of the ship's course
from the direction of the wind,
from the angle of the ship's head
with the wind,
and from the leeway,
he goes on.
So Smith goes on to say,
Hence, according to these calculations,
a ship starting late in the evening
from Klaudah would,
by midnight on the 14th day,
be less than three miles
from the entrance of St. Paul's Bay.
I admit that a coincidence
so very close as this
is to a certain extent accidental,
but it is an accident
which could not have happened
had there been any inaccuracy
on the part of the author
of the narrative.
So he just does this extensive study
which is to say
that Luke made a very careful recording
of this trip that took place.
The scripture has historical veracity.
This is one wonderful example
of that in our text today.
Secondly, God's words are true
in the text itself.
In verse 24,
Paul recounts this visitation
of an angel who said,
Do not be afraid, Paul.
You must stand before Caesar
and behold,
God has granted you
all those who sail with you.
Now, in light of this kind of storm,
the odds were very clearly
stacked against them.
This was a miserable situation to be in.
Don't read past
how very horrible this trip was.
They are two weeks
being driven in a storm.
They're not seeing the sun
or the moon or the stars.
They're being beaten down
in this horrible winter storm
for two weeks.
And yet,
God's word proves true.
Verse 44,
And so it was
that all were brought safely to land.
All 276 souls were spared.
Beloved, God's words are true.
And this is why we would all do well
to listen to it
in order to believe its promises
and obey its commands.
Proverbs 30, verse 5,
tells us that
every word of God proves true.
He's a shield to those
who take refuge in Him.
And Psalm 119, 89, says,
Forever, O Lord,
your word is firmly fixed
in the heavens.
If God has said something,
it will come to pass.
So God's words are true.
Not only are God's words true,
but God is in control
of all things.
So secondly,
God is in control
of all things.
Now Luke does not express
this reality directly
in this passage.
But as a good student
of our Bibles,
we can know that
God sovereignly rules
all things at all times.
We call this
God's omnipotence, right?
He is all-powerful.
Turn with me, if you will,
to Job chapter 37.
There's a lot of good
flipping happening.
I like to hear it.
Job chapter 37.
In the midst of Job's suffering,
I'm going to assume that you know
about Job's suffering.
I'll tell you more about it
if you would like to know.
But for the sake of time,
in the midst of Job's suffering,
the bad advice of Job's friends
is corrected by a young man
named Elihu.
I love Elihu.
He's a neat character
in the scripture.
I encourage you to study him.
Listen to what he says to Job
in Job 37,
beginning in verse 1
and following.
Elihu says,
At this also my heart
trembles and leaps
out of its place.
Keep listening to the thunder
of his voice
and the rumbling
that comes from his mouth.
Under the whole heavens
he lets it go
and is lightning
to the corners of the earth.
After it,
his voice roars.
He thunders
with his majestic voice
and he does not restrain
the lightnings
when his voice is heard.
God thunders wondrously
with his voice.
He does great things
that we cannot comprehend.
For to the snow,
he says,
fall on the earth.
Likewise to the downpour,
his mighty downpour.
He seals up the hand
of every man
that all men
whom he made
may know it.
Then the beasts
go into their lairs
and remain in their dens.
From its chamber
comes the whirlwind
and cold
from the scattering winds.
By the breath of God,
ice is given
and the broad waters
are frozen fast.
He loads the thick cloud
with moisture.
The clouds scatter his lightning.
They turn around
and around
by his guidance
to accomplish
all that he commands them
on the face
of the habitable world.
Whether for correction
or for his land
or for love,
he causes it
to happen.
And after further correction
by God himself
to Job,
Job says in Job 42,
verse 2,
I know that you
can do all things
and that no purpose
of yours
can be thwarted.
So,
we learn from Job
that God is in control
of all things
and certainly
expressed so clearly
in Job 37
by Elihu
that he is in control
of the weather.
In Jeremiah 32,
verse 27,
God says,
Behold,
I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh.
Is anything
too hard
for me?
And we know,
of course,
that's a rhetorical question.
The answer is clear.
No,
nothing is too hard
for the Lord,
the God of all flesh.
So,
God caused
the shifting winds,
right?
When they made
their run for it
with the gentle
south wind,
he caused the wind
to shift.
That northeaster
was sent
by the Lord.
That northeaster
that drives the ship
that Paul is on
across the sea
to be broken up
on a reef.
Why would God
do such a thing?
Doesn't it seem
best in our minds
that Paul would
just be taken
safely to Rome?
Wasn't he already
giving enough,
sacrificing enough?
Does Paul really
have to go through
another shipwreck?
And yes,
this is the fourth
that we know about.
Well,
there's many reasons.
I think there's
a multitude
of reasons
why this may have
happened to Paul
and his companion.
but one that we
can be sure of.
We find out
in chapter 28
that the island
they are shipwrecked
on is called Malta
and they spend
the winter there.
They spend three
months in that place.
Church tradition
holds that Paul
established,
by God's grace,
a church on that
island before he
left.
He's there.
Chapter 28 tells us
he's healing people.
He is preaching
the gospel
as Paul does
every time
he's working
miracles.
And church history
tells us
that a church
was established
while he was there.
So,
God brought
the saving message
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ
to Malta
with a storm.
So,
God is in control
of all things.
We would do well
to remember that
and to trust him
in all things.
And thirdly,
God uses
suffering
to work good
in the hearts
of his people.
So,
God is in control
of all things
including
our suffering.
He brings about
our suffering.
He ordains
our suffering.
And he does so
to work good
in the hearts
of his people.
God's control
of all things
at all times
for the good
of his people
is called
his providence.
It's a precious
word.
God's providence
extends
to the suffering
of his people.
If you suffer
and you're not
a Christian,
you need to see
your suffering
as a judgment.
Sin in the world
working its effect,
bringing about
conviction.
That's what needs
to be happening
in your hearts
as you suffer
as an unbeliever.
But if you're
in Christ,
suffering is ordained
for your good.
Can you just imagine,
right,
then wrap your brains
back around
how miserable
a two-week storm
must have been.
I can't ride
a kid's roller coaster
without feeling
nauseous.
When I drive
in the mountains
around here,
I feel sick.
Thinking about
being tossed
in a boat
for two weeks
is absolutely
horrid
to me.
This is the biggest
ship of the day,
most likely,
but it's not
cutting through
these waves.
They are riding
up and down,
these massive
wave trains.
In fact,
I think that
the reason
that they're
not eating,
they're tense,
right?
There's not a lot
of time
to take breaks
as these waves
are crashing
and they're having
to mend lines
all the time.
But I imagine
they just didn't
feel good enough
to eat.
Probably even
the best of sailors
feel sick
after a certain
amount of time
being tossed
up and down
in that way.
So Paul has
to urge them
to take food
they haven't
even eaten.
You can just
reduce the suffering
to that.
They just haven't
eaten for two
whole weeks.
What a miserable
time of suffering
that Paul and his
companions are
part of along
with the others
on that ship.
What does God
intend to accomplish
with such a thing?
In 2 Corinthians
chapter 11
verses 24
through 30,
you may want
to join me there.
I'll give you a little
time if you want
to.
Paul writes the
following,
but keep in mind
that this is
written,
the book of 2
Corinthians is
written before
the event that we
read about this
morning from
Acts 27.
So this is
front loaded
to this journey
that Paul goes
on.
2 Corinthians 11
beginning in
verse 24.
Paul says,
five times I
received at the
hands of the
Jews the 40
lashes less
one.
Three times I
was beaten with
rods.
Once I was
stoned.
We know that
stoning,
they thought he
was dead,
but he actually
wasn't.
Three times I
was shipwrecked.
And night and a
day I was adrift
at sea.
This is verse 25
if you're just
joining me.
So before this
shipwreck, he was
shipwrecked three
other times.
And Luke doesn't
even record that
for us in the
book of Acts.
But sometime in
the Acts narrative,
he's shipwrecked
three times.
And one of those
times he's just
adrift on a
plank for a
night and a
day in the
ocean.
Right?
That's suffering.
Just a fascinating
note.
Paul took between
nine and twelve
ocean journeys up
to this time,
Acts chapter 27,
which means the
shipwreck rate for
Paul was really
high.
A third to
twenty-five percent
of the time.
I don't know if
that was normative
in the day or
not, but Paul
really is suffering.
Right?
God's bringing
about.
And again, God
is in control of
all things.
God is putting
him through these
shipwrecks.
Verse 26,
on frequent
journeys in
danger from
rivers, danger
from robbers,
danger from my
own people,
danger from
Gentiles, danger
in the city,
dangers in the
wilderness, danger
at sea, danger
from false
brothers, in
toil and hardship
through many a
sleepless night, in
hunger and thirst,
often without food,
in cold and
exposure.
And apart from
other things,
all that stuff,
there's the daily
pressure on me of
my anxiety for all
the churches.
And he expresses
that by saying,
who is weak and I
am not weak?
I am with them
and their suffering.
Who was made to
fall and I am not
indignant or I'm not
concerned about their
failure.
So on top of all
of that, this great
love and concern
for the church as an
apostle of Jesus
Christ.
So Paul was made
to suffer, right?
By the good hand
of God, Paul was
made to suffer.
And to what end?
Why?
What does this
produce in Paul?
Look at verse 30.
He says,
If I must boast,
I will boast of the
things that show my
weakness.
What does all this
produce in Paul?
Humility.
It produces a great
humility in his life.
If God would bring
about suffering in
this way, then he
would see his great
need of God.
Let me give you
another very
applicable example
from Mark chapter
four.
However, when Jesus
with the apostles
crossing the Sea of
Galilee, they are
caught in a violent
storm, right?
As we study this
together, the Sea of
Galilee would have
been much like Lake
Lanier, kind of in
its general size,
although it's different
in its shape.
I fully recognize
nothing's quite the
shape of Lake
Lanier.
water.
The storms were
immense.
The way that winds
came through the
valley would kick up
waves that were 10
to 20 feet high.
I don't know how much
time you spend at the
ocean, but I don't
think any of us have
probably been out in
waves that big.
If you have, I want to
talk to you after the
service because that's
incredible.
Huge waves.
They're experiencing
this other great,
huge, violent storm.
Jesus is asleep in the
stern of the boat.
The back of the boat
passed out on a
cushion.
Mark chapter 4 tells
us that the waves are
crashing over the ship.
They're taking on water
and Jesus is asleep.
Why?
Because he's the son of
God and he trusts God's
goodness in the situation.
So the apostles,
though, they frantically
wake him up and then we
read beginning in verse
39, and he awoke and
rebuked the wind and said
to the sea, peace, be
still.
And the wind ceased and
there was a great calm.
He said to them, he
turned to the apostles,
why are you so afraid?
Have you still no faith?
So Jesus, having exercised
his control over nature,
turns his attention to the
apostles and what is his
concern?
Their faith.
His concern is for their
belief in him as the
Christ.
And we see later on in the
chapter, they say, who is
this guy that can even talk
to the storm and tell it
what to do.
He's concerned about
bringing about good,
birthing good in the
hearts of his people.
Paul wrote in Romans
chapter 8, verse 28, 29.
We know that for those who
love God, all things work
together for good.
For those who are called
according to his purpose.
purpose.
What is the good that God
works all things together
for?
What is this good that God's
effort is aimed at?
Paul doesn't leave us
uninformed.
Praise God.
Verse 29.
For those whom he foreknew,
he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of
his son in order that he
might be the firstborn among
many brothers.
Ignore this morning, if you
can, the controversial
words of verse 29 and see
that God is working all
things so that his people
will be conformed to the
image of his son.
This is the good that God
seeks.
Our sanctification, our
growing perfection in
Jesus Christ.
Humility, faith and every
other good work.
suffering is aimed at
bringing that about in
God's people.
So, beloved Christian,
take heart this morning.
Whatever figurative storm
you are experiencing,
none of us are experiencing
quite the same storm, but
whatever the figurative
storm you may have been
through, you are currently
going through, or that you
will go through, hold fast
to the truth that God's
words are true.
God is in control of all
things, and God uses
suffering to work good in
the hearts of his people.
Now, I'm going to close
this morning with a reading
of a hymn written by
William Cowper entitled,
God Moves in a Mysterious
Way.
People like to use that
phrase a lot.
That comes from this hymn.
But before I read it, let me
tell you a bit of the story
that led him to the writing
of this hymn.
It's not entirely because
of this event, but it's part
of the events of his life
that led him to the writing
of this hymn.
Cowper was a gifted and
famous English hymn writer
in the 18th century.
Really well known.
But he dealt with serious
bouts of depression.
There were at least four
years-long bouts of depression
in his life.
On one occasion, he sought
to take his own life by
drowning himself in the
Thames River.
Full intention to do this.
So he hired a carriage that
night to take him from his
house to the river.
But on the way there, a thick
fog enveloped London, and the
carriage driver was unable
to find his way around the
city.
Couldn't see at all to get
him to the Thames River.
So they're working their way
around the city, trying to
find the river.
The driver has no idea why
he wants to go there.
But frustrated by the state
of their disorientation,
Cowper asked the driver to
stop so that he could just
proceed on foot.
He just said, okay, let me
out.
I'm going to go figure this
out on foot.
And upon leaving the
carriage, he steps out of
the carriage.
Cowper found himself back at
the front door of his very
own house.
The place that the carriage
stopped was back at his
front door.
And he was overwhelmed by
this.
And he saw this as a mighty
providence of God preventing
him from carrying out his
plan.
It was after this incident
that Cowper penned the
following.
So hear Cowper in the midst
of a storm.
Hear him suffering.
And this is what he wrote.
God moves in a mysterious
way.
His wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm.
Deep and unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, he treasures
up his bright designs and works
his sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage
take.
The clouds ye so much dread are big
with mercy and shall break in
blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his
grace.
Behind a frowning providence, he
hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err and
scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter and he
will make it plain.
Let's pray together.