Whenever I was 17, probably around that time
when I was reading the Bible for myself, I passed
my driving test and got my first car. I grew
up in a rural area where you needed to be able
to drive early on, so I did. And it was one cold
evening, I was driving out. It was the eighth
time that I had ever driven this little blue
Renault Clio. And it was a frosty evening and
I was going faster than I should have been. And
I began to slide on ice. And there's one thing
that you're always told whenever that sort of
thing begins to happen. And that is don't brake.
Don't brake. But those lessons all went out the
window. In that moment, I slammed on the brakes.
The car started to slide violently from one side
of the road to the other side of the road and
then back to where it was as it did. So it flipped
upside down, crashed into the trees along the
side of the road. And I was hanging upside down
with the seatbelt. The other side of the car
was all crushed in. The wheels were spinning
like mad. The windows had all broken. I thought,
the car's going to go on fire. I thought, I could
die here. I managed to release myself down on
top of myself, climb out through the windows
that had thankfully all been smashed. And I was
able to climb out from that experience alive.
And here's a question that I sometimes ask myself.
And it's this, why did God preserve my life?
that evening tragic reality as we all know that
many people are killed on our roads many young
people are killed including and that I'm sure
is a question that is very much in the forefront
of Paul's mind as he goes through a near -death
experience not on the road but on the sea but
as we'll see it's a question that he has a very
clear answer for if you want to turn back with
me to Acts chapter 27 that's where we're going
to be thanks so much to Matt for bringing us
through that reading And in studying this passage,
I've struggled to think of another part of the
Bible which is similar to this chapter. Perhaps
we could think maybe over lunch afterwards of
any other parts of Scripture that you can think
of that are similar. But why are there 44 detailed
verses of this dangerous journey? Why is there
so much attention given to characters like Julius
the Centurion or sailors instead of Paul? Why
is there such a little emphasis on the spiritual
focus? which dominates the rest of the book of
Acts. It's not even explicit in this section
or the later section that Paul tells people the
gospel whenever he arrives in Malta as well.
Whereas the rest of Acts, that's all that he's
ever doing. And all of this comes, of course,
in the penultimate chapter towards the very end
of the book of Acts. So what on earth is going
on? Well, let me just recap some of what we heard
in our reading, and then I'll consider what I
think might be the big point for us and how it
might help us. and today we see in the book of
acts of course the journey of the message of
jesus beginning at jerusalem then on to judean
samaria and then all the way towards the ends
of the earth we see the trials of the apostle
paul who's been arrested he's been told by god
that he's going to testify before caesar and
in verse one they find a boat that's going for
italy some things go okay initially but then
from verse seven onwards everything that can
go wrong does go wrong What should be over in
just a couple of days is slow and takes many
days. Verse 8, they move along the coast with
difficulty. They come to the place called the
Fair Havens near the town of La Silla. After
much time had been lost, sailing had already
become dangerous because it was now after the
Day of Atonement. They're now in the beginning
of October. And in ancient times, sailing in
the high seas after September was not considered
wise. So Paul warns them, verse 10, doesn't he?
Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be
disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo
and to our own lives. Also, I don't think this
is a kind of divine intervention that Paul has
experienced to have this knowledge. It seems
to be just experience, knowledge that's come
from his own experience. He's been across the
Mediterranean already several times by this point.
He's a seasoned traveler, according to 2 Corinthians
chapter 11. He's already been shipwrecked three
times. So he's a bit of an old hat when it comes
to shipwreck. And then verse 11, but the centurion,
instead of listening to what Paul said, did what
I think most of us would do. And he followed
the advice of the pilot and the owner of the
ship. Julius the centurion has treated Paul very
well. Up until this point, you can see that.
Clearly, Paul is a very unusual kind of prisoner.
You know, he was a Roman citizen. He hasn't been
formally charged. He hasn't been found guilty,
much less than that. He seems to be quite happy
to be taken to Rome and he's certainly not trying
to run away. So he's quite willing to follow
his decisions in many cases. And then you can
see just the increase in level of suspense from
verse 13 onwards. Cue the tense music, the creeping
camera angles. The wind starts off as a gentle
wind. The sailors are seduced into thinking that
everything's going to be okay. And then things
get worse and worse and worse. They encounter
a hurricane force. The ship is caught in a storm
and they could not head into the wind. They're
unable to make the lifeboat secure and they're
worried in verse 17. already that they're going
to make shipwreck they take a violent battering
and then they begin to take really desperate
measures like throwing tackle overboard there
are 300 people crowded into a vulnerable boat
the winds are getting higher the waves more furious
the passengers watch experienced sailors take
an extreme action throwing cargo and tackle overboard
they knew only too well how dire things were
the nights would have been truly terrifying the
stormy day is not much better they're soaking
wet chilled to the bone huddled together eating
nothing they can hear and smell people vomiting
misery and terror for soldiers and for slaves
tradesmen and apostle alike they're all in the
same condition until finally first 20 when neither
sun nor stars appeared for many days and the
storm continued raging we finally gave up all
hope of being saved Very bleak. And yet God had
promised Paul that he would go to Rome and testified
before Caesar. If you flick back with me to chapter
23 of the book of Acts, we read in verse 11.
That the Lord stood near Paul and said, take
courage as you have testified about me in Jerusalem.
So you must also testify in Rome. And I wonder
if you've ever been in that kind of a situation
as a Christian person. You know, Lord, you've
promised this to me in your word. But in all
honesty, life feels very different at the moment.
Or Lord, I thought we were going down this particular
path, this particular direction in life. But
actually now the kind of the way there seems
to be closing off. And we seem to be going this
way instead. Well, Paul had that kind of experience
intimately. But actually for Paul, it was even
worse. Because for Paul, and probably for Luke
who writes this narrative as well, they would
have a particular way of understanding a storm
like this. Tom Wright points out that they were
part of a biblical tradition which recognized
storms to be part of the dark and satanic forces
of chaos within our worlds. And so not only is
this an assault by wind and water and the sailors
who don't know what they're doing and impending
death, but for... In all of those things, Paul
would have also felt that he was enduring one
of the most profound spiritual attacks that he'd
ever encountered. This chapter comes towards
the end of the book of Acts. And I think I'm
going to suggest here that in that way we can
see a kind of a parallel to the narrative of
the life of Jesus. The pattern of Paul's life
in so many ways in the book of Acts maps onto
the pattern of the life of Jesus. And in the
accounts of the life of Jesus right up towards
the end of course we have his crucifixion. Where
the powers of darkness were unleashed upon Jesus.
And where he endured the most profound spiritual
attack that he ever faced. In Luke 22 Jesus says
to those who are coming to arrest him. He says
every day I was with you in the temple courts
and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is
your hour when darkness reigns. When darkness
reigns. When Jesus was crucified, darkness reigned.
And so too here now, darkness seems to reign
because there's no sun or stars. The storm continues
to rage and they've given up all hope of being
saved. And in the midst of this darkness, we
have an intervention finally by God in the hope
of desperation. Paul starts off with the good
old, I told you so, verse 21. Men, you should
have taken my advice not to sail from Crete.
then you would have spared yourselves this damage
and loss. Everyone loves to hear that, don't
they? But actually, Paul's not angry, is he?
He's encouraged. Look at verse 22 with me, if
you've got your Bibles there. But now I urge
you to keep up your courage, because not one
of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed.
Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong
and whom I serve stood beside me and said, do
not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before
Caesar. God has graciously given you the lives
of all who sail with you. So keep up your courage,
men, for I have faith in God that it will happen
just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run
aground on some island. Probably this message
by the angel was in the response to the prayers
of the people. So you can imagine even as the
sailors are trying to secure the ship physically.
Here Paul is, he's engaged in spiritual warfare,
spiritual battle, trying to secure the safety
of the ship through prayer. It's good news. We're
all going to make it. I will stand trial before
Caesar. The gospel will go to the ends of the
earth, but the ship itself is going to go down.
The anchors go down, verse 29, and they pray
for sunlight. As they understand it, the anchors
would have been let down one by one to slow the
ship as much as possible. And then each in turn
would have threatened to break the ship under
the pressure. So the ship would have lurched
50 yards forward or so and then been jerked back
again and again and again. Afterwards, the sailors,
they still aren't convinced by Paul's message,
are they? And so they try selfishness instead.
You can see their scheme there in verse 30. In
an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors
let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending
they're going to lower some anchors from the
bow. hoping not to be seen, but Paul, he keeps
them in check. They have something to eat before
they make their way towards the final crash.
Nobody on board knew the place where they might
bring the ship in, but they see land ahead of
them, don't they? And they don't recognise it.
They're going to decide to let the ship run aground,
verse 40. They cut the anchors, let the tillers
go slack and hoist a sail to try and bring them
in. They aren't quite ready for the hard ridge
of rock when the ship is struck. And it begins
to break up in pieces. They hear a horrible grind
and a crunch of the ship as it's headed into
the rock. The winds are pounding upon the sails.
Sailors shouting, passengers screaming. And then
water finally rushes into the body of the ship.
And amidst all of this chaos, finally, almost
when they're nearly there, the soldiers are about
to kill the prisoners. But then Julius the Centurion
comes to the rescue and ensures that their lives
are safe. And then towards the very end we read,
in this way everyone reached land safely. And
chapter 28 and verse 1, once safely on shore.
They've been through storm and shipwreck and
they've got to safety. Salvation, safety has
come at the end of this terrible, terrible event.
So what are we to make of all of this and all
the details of this passage? Seven times in this
passage. Salvation for Paul comes at the end
of this disastrous event after Paul has had an
encounter with the forces of darkness. And for
Luke, I suggest here that this word safety or
salvation is being used maybe with a blend or
range of meaning. Acts 27 shows us the pattern
of the book of Acts, of course, but it also gives
us an insight into the pattern of the life of
Jesus working through Paul. And the pattern of
the life of Jesus working through the church.
And the pattern of the life of Jesus working
through the lives of you and I. God brings his
people through these kinds of messes. He doesn't
make his church avoid these kinds of encounters.
But he saves his people through them ultimately.
It's a little bit like the kids storybook. I'm
going on a bear hunt. I'm sure you all know it.
Can't go over it. Can't go under it. We've got
to go through it. God delights to bring his people
through these kinds of messes, delivering the
lives of his people through storm and shipwreck
to bring his message ultimately to the ends of
the earth. Just consider how many things God
is in control of here, how many details are in
the palm of his hand to tell Paul that the ship
would be destroyed, but every one of the passengers
would be safe. That every decision of the sailors
and every detail of the ship was in the knowledge
and within the power of God. To finally arrive
at Malta. Again all within the power and within
the knowledge of God. Salvation comes at the
end of this storm. And this shipwreck. Because
salvation comes to all those on the ship. And
enables the preservation of the life of the Apostle
Paul. So that God's promise that he would testify
before Caesar. In Rome can be fulfilled. God
has sovereignly preserved the life of his servant.
So that his gospel can go forth. And this is
the pattern of life now. The pattern of the progress
of the gospel is consistently through storms
and through disasters and through shipwreck.
That's ultimately just how Jesus does things.
Simon Gilbert writes that we are immortal until
God calls us home. We are immortal until God
calls us home. In other words, you cannot die
until God has fulfilled the plan that he has
for your life within you. And then he wants to
bring you home. So why did God preserve my life
that night when I was 17 and rode off my car?
Well, it must have been because God had some
purpose in my life that was not yet fulfilled
in that moment. And that is something I need
to remember a lot. And therefore not to go through
life on autopilot. I find it very helpful to
reflect on this again this week, to get up every
day, to take each day as a gift, to know that
God has a purpose for me. God is working through
me in the events and the days of this life and
this week that I have. Friends, you, if you still
have breath in your lungs, it's because God has
a purpose in your life. To live for Christ. Now,
Paul, his life was preserved. So he could go
to Rome, preach about Christ. And for you and
I, it's something else as well. And it may be
that this afternoon, God, after this afternoon,
God takes my life tonight. I don't know when
it will be. Could be today, could be tomorrow,
could be any other day after that. We never know.
And all of us are moments away from death every
single day. Something could go wrong, something
small. We take our final breath. And so we take
each day now as a gift and fulfill the purpose
that God has given us to complete. Here's a prayer
that I sometimes like to pray at the beginning
of the morning. It was like this. As I rise from
my sleep, I thank you, Holy Trinity. that in
your great goodness and patience you were not
angry with me an idler or a sinner nor have destroyed
me in my sins but have shown your usual love
for me for when i was prostrating in despair
you raised me up to keep to glorify your power
now enlighten my mind's eye and open my mouth
to study your words and understand your commandments
and to sing to you in heartfelt adoration and
praise your most holy name of father son and
holy spirit now and ever and unto the ages of
ages amen It's not a prayer that I wrote. I nicked
it from somebody else, as you can probably tell.
But I like it because it gets to that sense of
why has God given us this new day as a gift?
He has a purpose for us to complete. He has a
work for us to do. For Paul, he saved his life
so he could testify before Caesar in Rome. And
it may be that for us, God is bringing us through
all kinds of storms and shipwrecks and disasters
for a final purpose. Jesus is with us. He has
a purpose in you. to spread his message throughout
the world. So Christian, let's take each day
as a gift. Let's confront any negative self -talk
that we might have about our lives. Let's confront
our self -pity. We are immortal until God takes
us home. And let's know that salvation will come
when God brings us through the storms of this
tempestuous life and lands us safely and securely
on the shores of heaven above. Let's pray and
thank God for his word. Heavenly Father, we thank
you that you know the details of our lives. You
know the end from the beginning and the things
that have not yet taken place. Father, thank
you that you've called us to be part of your
work in our world. And what an immense privilege
that is. Help us never ever to take it for granted.
Help us to take this day and all days as a gift
from you. Help us to arise from our slumber and
be called forth towards a higher purpose. until
that final moment when you take us home into
glory forever. We pray these things in Jesus'
name. Amen.