DON’T GET SHIPWRECKED 

ACTS 27:1-44

          This is the story of Paul’s voyage from Caesarea to Rome.  Having already been arrested for preaching the gospel and having mentioned that he was a Roman citizen, King Agrippa sends Paul to Rome to stand before Caesar.  Paul’s companions on this trip were Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts and Aristarchus Paul’s helper.  As we read on we will find that the trip was perilous and eventually ended in shipwreck.  This leads me to the topic this morning of “DON’T GET SHIPWRECKED”.  When we say to someone, “Don’t get shipwrecked” we are saying “Don’t give in to the pressures, circumstances, temptations, etc., that will cause you to be destroyed, ruined, broken up and lying in a pile of emotion, and spiritual waste.  Now it is very easy to say to someone stay on course and don’t get shipwrecked.  But we must realize that no one ever sets out to be shipwrecked.  However, it happens very often and in all facets of our lives, especially in our emotional and spiritual lives.

          I want to start today by looking at 4 factors that lead to getting shipwrecked.

1.     ACTS 27:4-8 – Impatience or improper timing.

                   Sailing from east to west on the Mediterranean Sea was a difficult task and only possible at certain times of the year.  The prevailing winds blew from the west so that a ship traveling west would be moving into the wind.   Now keep in mind that these boats are not motorized ships like we have today, but were sail boats with oars, which made it even more difficult to move forward against the wind.  It would have been wiser to wait to sail until there were less winds but because of impatience those in charge decided to sail when the winds were contrary.  This was an inappropriate time to be sailing west on the Mediterranean Sea.  The fact that they were struggling and fighting with the wind, making very little progress is evidence that their timing was wrong.  They continued to try to press on.  When we are struggling we need to stop and assess why.  Sometimes it is the enemy, sometimes it is our flesh resisting change and sometimes it is God trying to deter us.  If it is your flesh or the enemy you must press on through the struggles to accomplish the goal.  However, if it is God you must stop and spend some time with God to determine what His will is.  

                    Last weeks message, “Casualties of Sin” focused on Joshua 7.  There we saw the Children of Israel struggling to win a battle that God had already determined they would lose.  Sometimes we will try to keep pushing forward when God is trying to stop us or hold us back.  The fact that the wind was contrary should have told them of impending danger.  They had plenty of warnings of the danger ahead but they would not heed the warnings.  Sometimes we are just like these men.  We try to push on without knowing the will of God.  We refuse to heed the warnings God sends our way.  I know that sometimes problems come up quickly like a tornado in our lives and there is little we can do but react quickly.  But when we have time to stop and evaluate what is happening we should do it so that we are not responding improperly. 

          ACTS 27:9

                    Had these men stopped earlier to consider the time of year and the trip they were making, maybe they would have changed directions, or made the trip by land.  For sure they could have done a better job of planning.  Failure to stop and evaluate the situation before launching off on this trip caused them to lose valuable time. When we become impatient with God’s timing in our lives we will normally act in an inappropriate manner or with improper timing.  Inevitably this causes us to lose valuable time, because typically we have to backtrack and repeat the test.  We must remember that God is working on a plan and if we work patiently with Him we will reap the benefits of that plan.  James 1:4 says “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”  Though we want our desires right now, we must remember that choosing to wait patiently on God will cause us to mature spiritually and to be lacking nothing that is needed to enjoy our desire when it is granted.  However, if you continue to press on against God’s will, more than likely you will end up shipwrecked. 

2.     ACTS 27:10-11 - Failure to Heed wise counsel

              The centurion listened to the pilot (master) and the owner of the ship and not to God’s messenger.  The centurion put his trust in people.  Maybe he thought the pilot to be an expert, one who was familiar with travel on the Mediterranean and though Paul had traveled much in that region, he was not a sailor by trade.  What the centurion failed to understand is that God’s wisdom is far above the wisdom of men.

PSALMS 119:97-104

     The person who knows the Word of God can know more than experts.  The psalmist says that he through God’s word is wiser than his enemies.  He knows better how to apply the wisdom he has achieved than all his teachers and even the elders.  While knowledge is important we also need wisdom.  The pilot may have had more knowledge about sailing, but he lacked wisdom.  But not only did he lack wisdom, he failed to heed the wise counsel offered by someone who had a direct line with God.  That is so like us.  We don’t know how to handle things for ourselves, we fail to seek God for ourselves and then we will not listen to one who we know to be connected with God.  Sometimes we would rather go to those who have no connection with God because we see them as trained or educated.  Psalm 1:1-2 says, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law does he meditate day and night.”  An expert who does not have open access to the wisdom of God is ill-equipped to provide life changing advice to the believer.  Accepting such advise may lead to being shipwrecked.  Advice about what to do from the ungodly, whether they are teachers, counselors, psychiatrist, or whomever, should be viewed through the light of God’s Word, and offered to God for His approval before being acted upon.  To act without heeding wise counsel from God will lead to being shipwrecked.

3.     ACTS 27:12 – Being led by the flesh

              The Haven was not a comfortable place to spend the winter.  The centurion could not see spending 3 months in this uncomfortable place.  We cannot always seek to be comfortable.  Many times we fail to do as God ask of us because it makes us feel uncomfortable.  We say that we belong to God, yet we only want to do what is comfortable to us.  Had the centurion chosen to be uncomfortable for 3 months he could have been assured the safety of God.  As Christian we have committed ourselves to surrendering to the will of God.  If we are going to live up to the commitment we have made then we must accept the fact that in the Christian life we will sometimes be discomforted.  If we, in an attempt to be comfortable, or happy, surrender to our flesh, then we stand in jeopardy of being shipwrecked.

GALATIANS 6:7-8

        Paul warns the people not to be deceived into thinking that they can snub or turn up their nose at God.  If you snub God, choosing to follow after your own desires rather than God’s desires, you will reap what you have sown.  If you spend your life planting fleshly seeds in a flesh that is already corrupted then from the corrupt ground in which you have sown your seeds you will reap corruption.  The centurion because he did not want to be uncomfortable, ended up losing the ship, the grain they were caring and everything else that was on the ship except for the passengers.

        Another thing that I see in Acts 27:12 is that they took a vote.  Paul says that the most part advised to depart.  In other words the majority of those voting wanted to move on.  As parents we often hear, “well everyone else is doing this or that”.  Let me tell you that having more people participating in a particular activity does not make it any less of a sin.  Following the majority will usually get you shipwrecked.  We must be committed to being lead by the Spirit of God, not by the majority.

4.        ACTS 27:13—Misreading Circumstances

        The south wind blew softly.  The very wind that they needed came along and seemed to prove that Paul was wrong.  That is just like our enemy.  He tries all the time to give us favorable circumstances, prodding us to step outside of the will of God.  Great opportunities and ideal circumstances must be scanned with the light of God’s word.  If it seems too good to be true then more than likely it is just that unless it is in some way connected to God.  Following circumstances without first clearing them with God will get you shipwrecked. 

        Now if your life right now feels like a wrecked ship or appears to be heading towards a shipwreck, there are 6 things that I see in this passage that might help you.

1.              ACTS 27:14-20 - Don’t abandon your hope.  Ps. 42:5 says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.”   Turn to God for the help that you need.  If you are a believer, hold on to God no matter what life is throwing at you and He will bring you through to safe ground.

2.              Acts 27:21-26 – Be sensitive to The Spirit of God and the encouragement He sends your way.  I Cor. 10:13 says “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.  Stick with God, listen for his instructions and follow then.  They will lead you to deliverance.  

3.              Acts 27:27-30 – Don’t panic even when the situation appears to be getting worse.  Sometimes we already feel like we have more than we can handle on our plates and even more stuff keeps getting piled on.  Don’t panic.  Apply your instructions from God.  I Peter 5:7 says “Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.”

4.              Acts 27:31-32 –Depend on God for deliverance.  Cutting off the life boats left them no other avenue for escape.

5.              Acts 27:33-36 – Support Your faith with actions.  When you start to act as if you have already been delivered your struggle will lessen.  This is not because the circumstances have changed but rather because you are no longer focused on them.  Redirect your focus to the things of God and you will be amazed at the peace that will overcome you.  Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.”  

6.              Acts 27:37-44 – Know that God will come through for you and that He will use whatever means he desires to deliver you, even your enemy.  The Centurion wanted to save Paul. 

          Though life tends to pound us with wave after wave of trials, tribulations, temptations and distress of all types, we do not have to end up broken and scattered, shipwrecked.  God through His Word and through His Holy Spirit offers us safe passage deliverance from being shipwrecked.