How To Handle A Shipwreck

Acts 27:7-30

7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;

8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.

9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

12 And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.

13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

15 And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

16 And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:

17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.

18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;

19 And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth 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.

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.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;

28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,

Intro:  When we begin to examine the very rugged life of the great apostle Paul.  Several things that he endured come to mind.  He was beaten, stoned, thrown in jail, mocked, ridiculed, his ministry techniques questioned. Two of the more famous : SNAKEBIT & SHIPWRECKED.  I can personally say for myself, because I can’t stand snakes…I would rather take my chances on a shipwreck.  Though neither of the two sound very inviting.  In many ways, the storm Paul and his companions encountered in Acts 27 developed along the lines of what modern meteorologists consider a perfect storm.  In recent history, such a storm occurred in the waters of the North Atlantic.  In 1991, volatile fronts from the north, the east, the west, and the south converged off the coast of Massachusetts, creating such a threatening combination of hurricane forced winds and towering waves that the entire East Coast went scrambling for cover.  Numerous fishing vessels retreated to safer waters.  Writer Sebastien Junger, in his book The Perfect Storm, tells the tale of that strange confluence of atmosphere and sea, and the ill-fated ship name the Andrea Gail, whose captain and crew vanished without a trace.  Jungers dramatic retelling of that freak combination of weather elements, in a single storm system eerily resembles what Luke describes in Acts 27.

Euroclydon

Luke tells about a wind in verse 14 called a Euroclydon, 14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

Euroclydon, is the equivalent of one America’s northeasterners; the combination of gale-force winds and rough seas that rage along the eastern seaboard from south to north, dumping heavy rain, snow, and ice along the way.  Such blizzard like conditions can create grave hazards.  Only what Paul experienced was not on land, but rather on sea.

Commentary of Paul's Storm

I looked up what one biblical commentary writer had to say to describe what Luke was telling us in Acts 27.  “The storm grew so violent in its intensity that they began to throw the cargo overboard. Until eventually they were forced to even throw over the ships tackle which rendered the vessel helpless, and impossible to control. To make matters worse, the thick canopy  dark clouds blocked any view of the constellations, which normally served as a reliable navigational guide.  Hope waned. Survival now in question, especially as the battle against the winds continued relentlessly for days.  Finally, the storm-weary crew caught a ray of hope.  Luke writes, When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being drive about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise they were approaching land.  That led to a series of soundings that alerted the men to the dander of running the ship aground.  So, the Bible says “They cast 4 anchors from the stern and wished for the day”

Storms will Come

Somewhere down the road if you live long enough, you are going to experience some kind of storm in your life.  The storm is inevitable. At times like Paul you may even question your own survival.  Questions and doubt begin to emerge as fear grows within.  You may even panic.  What are you going to do when you have to face your very own Euroclydon.  For example, when your in the hospital, and visiting hours our over, and they turn the lights out, and your left alone to ponder the news the doctors just gave you?  Or when your mate walks out on you, and your left alone, and your living in the backwash of months, even years, of consequences you caused? What do you do? How do you go on?  I beg you today to do what Paul, and the crew did in vs 29…

Acts 27:29Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

Notice they threw out four anchors.  Today I offer you four anchors to help stabilize you in your storm.  You will need these anchors when the news comes that someone near to you has died, or your teenage son or daughter doesn’t come home one night, or the baby’s fever won’t break.  You need these four anchors to keep you from drifting into despair.

1.     Anchor of Stability

Notice these verses – Acts 27:20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth 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.

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.

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

THE ANCHOR OF STABILITY HOLDS FIRM WHEN YOUR NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILS!

It’s easy to lose your bearings in the storm. You can’t find your way through your circumstances, and like Luke records “All hope of being saved is abandoned” That is when you have to drop the anchor of stability…Stability in a higher power!! Facing intense adversity Paul announces “Be of good cheer….I’ve heard from the Lord!”  I know it don’t seem like the time to be cheery but it is in that Word from the Lord that we must trust and find stability!!  GOD’S WORD NEVER FAILS! HE CANNOT LIE!

2.     Anchor of Unity

Notice these verses- Acts 27:27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;

28 And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

30 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

The scene shows desperate men under extreme pressure and danger who thought about escaping the ship.  The temptation was strong to flee the ship. But that’s no way to survive a storm.  You can’t run from your problems.  Paul told them, in order to ensure our survival we must abide in the ship.

Paul knew that they all needed each other to survive the storm.  When life’s storms start blowing….Don’t let the devil blow apart your marriage and your family. Certainly don’t let him keep you out of the house of God….It’s in those moments you need to drop the Anchor of Unity!!  Don’t jump ship!! Don’t backslid DROP ANCHOR!!

3.     Anchor of Renewal

Look at these interesting verses: Acts 27:33-33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.

Can you imagine fighting a storm for 2 weeks and getting virtually no nourishment?  That’s what these men were experiencing.  When we get physically weak, emotionally drained, and unable to sleep.  It’s time to Drop the Anchor of Renewal.  The anchor of renewal helps keep us going and alert.  But first he prayed.  Can you imagine that scene….The storm raging all around them and Paul leads almost 300 men in prayer!! Awesome!! After they pray they eat….This is a symbol of a great spiritual diet….A prayer life, and ingesting the preached word of God….I tell you friend that it is an Anchor of Renewal to your soul!!

4.     Anchor of Reality

Acts 27:41-44

41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.

42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.

43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:

44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Reality!! Now was the time to swim to shore!! Reality screamed the ship is literally being broken apart!! It’s time to move.  The anchor of reality is often dropped in our lap to remind us of  the time we are living in….Reality says that Jesus is coming back…It’s time to get busy!! It’s time to do something for God!! All the men in the ship began to take action when action needed to be taken!! Thus it should be in the life of the child of God!!  Reality to should cause us to be better soul winners for GOD.

God is Faithful

Let’s pause long enough to do the math…. How many started the voyage?

Answer 276.  How many were promised they’d make it? Answer 276.  How many made it safely to shore?  Answer 276.  God is faithful!