The Anchor Holds
Acts 27:1-44
August 11, 2013
One of the names of the enemy we face is “Satan”
It is a Hebrew word that simply means “Adversary”
And that certainly depicts Satan’s main plan in life.
He simply opposes everything that God tries to do.
And it is important to understand the capability he has in this regard.
2 Corinthians 4:4 “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
So Satan is the god of this world, and the whole world lies in his power.
This transfer occurred back in the garden when
Satan usurped what God had given man dominion over.
Adam was given the right to rule all of creation,
But he lost his lofty position when he took the offer of the serpent.
The writer of Hebrews spells that out pretty clearly:
Hebrews 2:5-8 “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”
The writer of Hebrews knew that God had subjected all things to man,
And yet that is not at all what we see today.
Creation is not subject to man – creation seeks to destroy man.
• Go to Oklahoma City, they know about the deadly force of nature.
• Go to Haiti you can still see the devastating effects of an earthquake.
This world does not do what man says.
It lies in the power of the evil one, and continually seeks
To oppose all that God would accomplish.
Now the beauty of this, is that even though Satan is the god of this world, Our God is the God of all, and He has authority even over fallen creation.
We remember the story:
Matthew 8:23-27 “When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Now there we saw creation out of control
And then we saw the Son of God exercise His authority over that creation.
That event certainly confirmed His deity and blew the minds of those in the boat.
Well tonight we see a similar story, only from the opposite perspective.
We see creation out of control,
Except this time God didn’t call creation into subjection.
This time God accomplishes His perfect will
In the midst of creation’s attack.
And this is every bit as impressive.
Certainly we are amazed that Jesus can command the waves, but here we watch God let creation deal its worst, and God fulfills His plans anyway.
That is power.
That is why tonight we call this story “The Anchor Holds”
• It is not a story about how God stopped a storm.
• It is a story about how God accomplished His perfect will in the midst of the storm.
As you know we are nearing the end of the book of Acts,
And the Acts narrative comes to conclusion with the story surrounding Paul’s arrest, trial, and arrival in Jerusalem.
And as we have studied we have kept our focus on two main themes.
1) The Required Faithfulness of God’s Servants
Certainly Paul had this.
• Faithful to go to Jerusalem even amid warnings.
• Faithful to testify in Jerusalem instead of seeking release.
• Faithful to proclaim the truth to the rulers he stood before.
1 Peter 3:15-16 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
2) The Divine Providence of God
And this has been seen in God’s ability to take even the worst
That the enemy could dish out and not only survive it,
But use it to further His own purposes.
• God used the arrest to grant Paul opportunity to speak to the Jews.
• God used the assassination plot to grant Paul opportunity to speak to Felix.
• God used the corruption of Felix to grant Paul opportunity to speak to Festus.
• God used the confusion of Festus to grant Paul opportunity to speak to Agrippa.
And now God is using the unbelief of all of those men
To grant Paul the opportunity to testify to Caesar.
After all, this is what God promised.
Acts 23:11 “But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”
The enemy is most certainly opposing God’s plan,
But he isn’t slowing it down in the least.
The Diving Providence of God continues to win the day.
And really no story emphasizes the providence of God
Like this leg of the journey.
Paul is literally headed to Jerusalem, “Come hell or high water”
And really the best thing we can do here is just work our way through the story,
For you will see the hand of God as we do.
We’re going to break our story up into 7 points tonight, just to help us understand it a little better.
#1 A FRUSTRATING START
Acts 27:1-8
We simply notice that the time has come for Paul to sail for Rome.
And Paul isn’t alone, there are many other prisoners who are also traveling with him.
And you will also notice that Paul has some traveling companions.
(2) “And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia, we put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica.”
• The use of the word “we” there indicates that Luke has rejoined Paul and has decided to take the trip with him.
• We also notice “Aristarchus” has thrown in with him.
This is certainly a courageous thing to do,
And it may have even been a sacrificial thing.
Some commentators have noted that the only way Luke and Aristarchus would have been able to accompany Paul is if they had become his slaves.
But none the less, the journey is on.
We also readily notice that God’s hand of favor is distinctly upon Paul.
(3) “The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul with consideration and allowed him to go to his friends and receive care.”
This is really a generous consideration.
I can’t imagine that it was normal Roman protocol
To let prisoners in transport to go and visit friends.
But God had His favor on Paul and the centurion permitted it.
Then we begin to see the opposition to the trip start to mount.
And what we notice is that from the outset
This was a slow, difficult, and frustrating journey.
(4-8) “From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.”
Everything there was with difficult.
• “the winds were contrary”
• “sailed slowly for a good many days”
• “with difficulty arrived of Cnidus”
• “the wind did not permit us to go farther”
• “with difficulty sailing past [Salmone]”
Nothing here was easy, and finally the boat came to rest in a place called “Fair Havens” which, as you will see, was not desirable.
This trip is facing frustration from day one.
It sounds like driving in rush hour traffic with a couple of major accidents.
It was certainly frustrating.
And you know what it’s like to face frustrating situations.
Very rarely do things in this life move as quickly as we would like.
However, just because things seem to be moving slowly,
Does not mean God is not at work.
A Frustrating Start
#2 A FOOLISH SUGGESTION
Acts 27:9-12
Now you immediately notice that this ship stayed in Fair Havens
Longer than anyone intended.
“When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over”
Apparently the winds never really did turn around, and it was looking like this trip was going to be postponed even longer.
However, something must have tipped Paul off to the fact that
The captain was thinking about sailing anyway.
For Paul addresses the group.
(10) “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”
You could argue that Paul had divine insight here,
Or you could just argue that Paul had common sense.
Paul had spent his fair share of time on the sea
And had already been involved in two shipwrecks.
He knew the dangers of sailing this late in the year.
But Paul was ignored.
(after all, he was merely a prisoner)
(11-12) “But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.”
It is not surprising that the centurion
Took the advice of the captain and pilot over a prisoner.
The foolish decision is the reason for moving
And that is because “the harbor was not suitable for wintering”
That is another way of saying it wasn’t comfortable.
(a boat in the water is a boat in the water)
The captain, the pilot, the majority, and eventually the centurion all agreed
That if they could reach “Phoenix” their winter would be more enjoyable.
So they press on.
And, if they got the proper conditions, the trip from Fair Havens to Phoenix
Might only take about three hours.
You can see what they are shooting for.
But, the suggestion to risk danger for the sake of comfort
Would prove to be a dangerous one.
And I’m sure you can identify with this too.
Ever been put in a bad situation as a result of someone else’s foolishness.
(many of you already have a Dr.’s name come to mind)
It can sure be hard to move forward under those circumstances.
Well, rest assured that even when others are costly to you as a result of their mistakes, it does not thwart the plan of God.
A Frustrating Start
A Foolish Suggestion
#3 A FATAL STORM
Acts 27:13-20
Well, here we have a crew hoping for a more comfortable port, and when they get a slight wind they think they’ve got all they need.
BUT…
No sooner did they get out to sea, than the big one hit.
And just to read the account you can understand
What sort of trouble they were facing.
In verse 15, “we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along”
In verse 16, “we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control”
The ship’s boat was the lifeboat that was pulled behind.
In rough weather it was pulled on board, and here Luke says we could barely do that.
In verse 17, “they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship”
And “they let down the sea anchor” (hoping to stop before running aground)
In verse 18 “they began to jettison the cargo”
In verse 19 “they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands”
And finally since no sun or moon or stars appeared and it was impossible to navigate where they were, or where they were headed.
“all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned.”
The sailor’s realized that soon the boat would sink
And everyone on board would drown.
It was just a brutal, brutal attack from nature.
• I mean nothing is going right.
• And now the boat is adrift in a storm somewhere in the Mediterranean sea,
• No clue where they are headed, and no hope of survival.
I’ve never been on a boat like that, but someone who has been in the middle of a storm on the water can certainly identify with the grief and despair that most were feeling.
What we can identify with is the storms of life that seem to be relentless.
We have all at one time or another felt victim to Murphy’s Law
(What can go wrong, will go wrong)
We have all been in situations were
Just when we thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.
It appears here like Satan is about to completely thwart God’s plan
Of having Paul solemnly testify in Rome.
Fallen creation is about to win the day.
A Frustrating Start A Foolish Suggestion A Fatal Storm
#4 A FITTING SERMON
Acts 27:21-26
What begins to happen here is really astounding.
John MacArthur even wrote an entire book on leadership
Using nothing but this story.
Here we have a prisoner arise to a position of leadership,
And before all is said in done, Paul is calling all the shots.
It begins with Paul reiterating that while everyone else thought sailing was a good idea, he had counseled against it.
(21) “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred damage and loss.”
I’m sure it had a tent of “I told you so” coming from the lips of Paul.
But Paul really isn’t trying to rub their noses in their mistake.
Rather, Paul is trying to regain credibility
So that they will listen to his plan of survival.
Giving someone an “I told you so” without a plan is only cruel and self-serving.
Paul only does it because he wants them to start listening to him now.
And here we find God intervening in this dark situation.
(22-26) “Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. “For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ “Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. “But we must run aground on a certain island.”
Now, we need a little perspective here.
• God has spoken into Paul’s situation.
• An angel has assured him that Paul and everyone on board is safe.
• And the reason is reiterated that it is because God has planned for Paul to stand before Caesar.
But please understand, that while Paul is saying this,
• The storm is still raging.
• The boat is still rocking…
• The waves are still crashing…
• The sky is still hidden…
It is now a call for genuine faith in the middle of the storm.
And Paul has it.
“I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”
Paul tells everyone to “keep up your courage”
God will intervene.
Now, also notice that God’s intervention
Runs right in line with a little human ingenuity.
“But we must run aground on a certain island.”
God could have stopped the storm dead in its tracks.
However, it was evident God was not doing that.
God was going to deliver,
Paul could only assume that God would deliver in a traditional way.
So the advice is to stay strong and trust God.
#5 FAITHLESS SAILORS
Acts 27:27-32
Well, up until now the journey has been more than difficult.
We already saw that people had lost hope.
And then Paul stood up and related his confidence.
He claimed an angel had spoken to him,
And that God had promised to deliver everyone on the ship.
And I honestly believe that at the moment people believed him.
People naturally gravitate towards hope.
BUT:
(27-29a) “But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being driven about the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to surmise that they were approaching some land. They took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be fifteen fathoms. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak.”
Everyone on that boat was trying to keep the faith.
Everyone on that boat was trying to have hope.
But those 2 ½ verses are full of reasons why their faith was deteriorating.
• “fourteenth night”
• “we were being driven about”
• “they were approaching some land”
• “fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks”
I’m sure they were trying to believe Paul,
But the evidence was stacking up against them.
Two weeks is a long time to have a common cold,
But two weeks on a ship in the middle of a storm is like eternity.
And now it looks like their journey is about over,
Since they will soon be on the rocks, the boat will be broken up,
And they will all drown.
It really looks like the end is near.
And so, the sailors begin to lose faith.
(29b) “But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow…”
This was that boat that they were barely able to get on board
During the early hours of this storm.
Well now, the soldiers have dropped it back in the water,
And they are abandoning ship.
No one knew the danger like the sailors did,
And they are abandoning the situation.
HOWEVER:
(31) “Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship you yourselves cannot be saved.”
Now, this is an interesting statement for a number of reasons.
1) We have the prisoner calling the shots.
Paul has accepted full leadership on this sailing vessel.
2) Without the sailors death would occur.
While we know God was the Savior, Paul also knew that the crew couldn’t be
saved apart from the sailors. God’s plan obviously included using them to guide
boat for a longer period of time.
3) Paul’s life still wasn’t in jeopardy.
Notice Paul said, “you yourselves cannot be saved.”
It is as though Paul knew he was safe regardless,
But the lives of the rest on board depended on God using the sailors.
And so, all those on board have reached a real crisis point.
(32) “Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.”
I’ll admit it sounds a bit drastic to just cut the ropes
And not pull the life boat back on board.
But, you can’t argue their faith at this point.
They just removed their only hope of escape from the ship.
Now it was up to God.
And I would suppose that more than one person
Has been in this same boat in their life before.
You face a dilemma and you literally do all that you can do.
Like a sailor in the boat you fight the storm with every ounce of knowledge, experience, and strength you have.
But the storm is still winning.
And you realize that unless God intervenes,
I don’t have enough of what it takes to defeat this storm.
At first, that can be a terrifying place, but what we are reminded of here
Is that it is not a bad place to be at all.
God is about to come through.
A Frustrating Start, A Foolish Suggestion, A Fatal Storm, A Fitting Sermon
Faithless Sailors
#6 FICKLE SOLDIERS
Acts 27:33-42
Well the entire boat has just realized that like it or not,
They are all now in God’s hands.
Even if they didn’t want to be, the life boat is now gone.
They have only one choice, and that is to trust Paul’s God.
And Paul knows the sentiment of the boat
And so instantly he steps up to reaffirm the trust
That he has in God.
(33-36) “Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. “Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.”
Again divine faith meets human understanding.
Up until now the people hadn’t eaten anything.
• Partly because of stress
• Partly because of sea sickness
• Partly because of busyness and difficulty in eating
But Paul knew that part of their deliverance
Was also taking care of their physical needs, which was food.
Paul said, “Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”
What a statement.
You need to eat so that you don’t starve to death.
Here is the beauty of that picture.
Because of God’s promise those on the boat
Were in greater danger of starvation than drowning.
God had promised they wouldn’t drown,
But if they didn’t eat they would starve.
Now, not a one would have answered that their greatest danger was starvation,
But from God’s perspective that was it.
And so everyone in the boat was encouraged, they all ate (276 of them) and then they threw the wheat into the sea.
And at daybreak they finally saw the land they had been hoping for.
(39-40) “When day came, they could not recognize the land; but they did observe a bay with a beach, and they resolved to drive the ship onto it if they could. And casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach.”
Now you and I know that the island they were seeing was Malta.
What is amazing here is that Malta is nothing but a speck
In the middle of the Mediterranean.
There is relatively no chance that boat just happens upon that island.
But God is in control, and so that is precisely where it is headed.
However, one more problem arises.
(Satan isn’t giving up that easy)
(41-42) “But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape;”
Apparently the soldier’s faith wasn’t as strong as it had once seemed.
Their gratitude was certainly lacking.
And yet once again God will overcome the enemy’s opposition.
#7 A FAITHFUL SAVIOR
Acts 27:43-44
And of course at this point there is a massive sigh of relief.
God was also working in the heart of this centurion.
The same man who had allowed Paul
To go and stay with friends at the beginning of this trip.
This man stepped in and saved Paul’s life (as well as the other prisoners)
• And notice that those who could swim, used their ability and swam.
• Those who could not, found God’s providence in the form of debris.
But the great statement is:
“And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.”
Had just one person died, God would have been a liar.
Had just one person been killed by a soldier, God would have been untrue.
But God did precisely as He said.
The anchor held, in spite of the storm.
Did God use human ingenuity and understanding?
Yes.
• We had sailors who knew how to sail…
• We had swimmers who knew how to swim…
• We had soldiers who knew how to keep control of a ship…
And God used all of that.
But none of those things could save anyone apart from God.
He had to be the deliverer.
And that is true in our storms.
YOU ALSO NEED TO KNOW LUKE’S MAIN PURPOSE IN THIS STORY.
And Luke is showing you all of this providential work of God
Because he is driving to his final point of the book of Acts.
We can take a quick look at it.
Acts 28:30-31 “And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.”
That is the point Luke is now making.
Come hell or high water, God’s church will not be stopped
From fulfilling the mission God has for her.
“The gates of hell will not prevail”
And that is highly encouraging.
On a personal note, we take comfort in the storms of life
And better learn how to face them.
As I studied this chapter I was reminded of:
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
Now obviously this story is about salvation, but there are many parallels.
Both men built a house, and both men experienced the same storm.
But one man tied his house to the only thing
That would survive the storm, and that was the rock.
And again we are reminded “The Anchor Holds”
You have to trust in Christ, you have to trust in God,
He is the surest anchor we have ever had,
And the only true anchor we’ve ever had.
Psalms 107:23-32 “Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters; They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep. For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea. They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.”
