Last Tuesday, I began preparing this sermon. During that day, three people experiencing shipwreck came sailing into my life. Let me tell you about one of them. His name is Bill.
I decided to replace the broken door on the church storage shed while the weather was still warm and was crossing the parking lot to get something at home, when a man stopped me. He said I looked like a nice guy to talk to!
Bill asked if I had any work he could do. He told me he was staying at the rescue mission and had fallen behind in his rent, $1 a night. “I’m a hard worker,” he said. “I’m not one of those dudes who goes around scamming people.”
Normally, I don’t fall for stories like that, but as I thought about it, I decided I really could use help, so I said yes. As Bill and I worked together, I learned that he grew up in this neighborhood. He had lived on Scott Street and Harrison and his grandmother still lives on St. Johns. He said he had been to this church in the early 80s. He had worked as a carpenter pre-apprentice when he was younger. He had been in the military. And he had attended UN OH to study car and diesel mechanics. Things were promising for Bill, until he hit rough waters.
One of his aunts, in a fit of rage, murdered his mother. Bill eventually married, but his wife took her own life. He himself got into trouble and ended up in prison. Now he is 38, out of prison two weeks and looking for a job to get back on his feet. But jobs are hard to find when you have a record, he told me. His life was a wreck
I asked him if he had ever felt God near to him. “Yes, at one time in my life he was real close. But then I wandered away and lost everything I had,” he said.
After giving him 5 nights of rent money, I invited him into the church for a moment, where I prayed for him and made sure he knew he was welcome to worship with us. Before turning to go, he gave me a big hug and said, “You are God’s angel today. Thank you so much.” And off he went.
First Anchor
What do you do when storms beat you down and you face the certainty of shipwreck? The story of Paul’s final voyage on stormy seas provides several anchors for us to hold on to.
Paul’s voyage to Rome was one incredible journey. I hope you will read Chapters 27 & 28, taking time to picture the details of the description. It is every bit as exciting as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey or Melville’s Moby Dick.
Keep in mind that Paul was not going to Rome as a sight-seer. He was not on a cruise ship. He was a prisoner under the guardianship of a Roman centurion named Julius because he had appealed his case to the Roman Emperor.
Paul was not alone. And here comes our first anchor. Accompanying him, first of all, was Luke, a physician, and the writer of the Gospel of Luke and this book of Acts. How do we know? Look at the first line of Chapter 27. It says “When it was decided that we were to sail…” Note the word “we.” Luke was right there beside him. This beloved doctor had been a consistent friend each mile of the way.
But that isn’t all. Verse two says that Aristarchus was with them. Aristarchus was converted during Paul’s ministry at Thessalonica. He became Paul’s faithful friend and comforter. We first hear his name in Acts 19 when Paul was in Ephesus. In Acts 20 we see that he went with Paul to Jerusalem. Only special prisoners were permitted to have companions like this. Here were brothers in the faith who would struggle through the storms with him and provide spiritual and physical care. Think about the encouragement that Paul must have experienced from the prayers and insights of these dear friends as they traveled.
In the first leg of this trip, Paul was permitted to stop in to see fellow believers in the church at Sidon. Even though he had never been there, he knew there would be instant fellowship when he met them because of Christ’s love. How do you survive a storm? Not by going off and trying it alone as many people seem to. The first anchor is to surround yourself with other people who love and serve God, who can provide spiritual encouragement.
When people call us for help because of a personal crisis, we ask if they belong to a church where they can get counsel, help, and support. Most often, their answer is no. How sad. God never intended us to be loners and self-reliant. He created us to be part of a spiritual family where we can be surrounded with fellow believers and spiritual advocates. The Bible says nothing about spiritual hermits isolated from other believers. We are part of God’s family.
Second Anchor
Paul’s journey started off calmly enough. The ship they got on followed the shoreline for quite a ways. But then they needed to transfer to a larger ship to cross the dangerous waters. And that ship was an Egyptian grain hauler heading toward Italy. Egypt was the source of wheat for Italy and lots of these ships went back and forth on the Mediterranean Sea.
This ship was about as wide as this building and about 40 feet longer. I don’t want to make you seasick, but imagine yourself on the deck of this huge, fully loaded, grain ship.
Unfortunately, they got caught in a violent storm called the northeaster. And with a ship that big, there was no escape. When the storm struck, they began throwing some of the cargo into the sea. Then they threw out much of the equipment they used to sail the ship. They even put ropes or bands around the ship and tightened them with a winch so the ship wouldn’t break in pieces. And Luke’s description says they were “driven.” It must have been a terrible time because verse 20 says that all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. Despair had filled their hearts.
Have you ever felt that way? I remember one day when I was a child in the mid-1940s, living with my parents on the farm, I heard my mom and dad talk about the financial bind they were in. The livestock was not doing well. They had run out of money. All I heard in their voices was discouragement. I still recall their shock when I said, “I guess we might as well dig a grave and crawl into it.” And they realized the effect their conversation was having on me. I never heard them talk that way again. And I never asked them how things got turned around eventually, but I often heard them speak of ways God intervened in their lives.
Here comes the second anchor. Even the experienced navigators and skilled sailors on Paul’s ship ran out of courage in the face of this desperate situation. But God intervened in a special way. God had sent an angel to Paul the night before with a message of encouragement. That is why Paul is able to say in verses 22 & 25, “Keep up your courage.” Twice he said it. And he could encourage them because God had encouraged him.
Many of you have experienced the courage God can give in tough times. Last Wednesday evening, in our Thanksgiving service, several of you shared songs and scripture that give you courage. For example, one shared from Psalm 34 “I sought the Lord and he answered me.” Another talked about Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” God has given us his word to sustain and encourage us. How important is God’s word in your life? Next week, on the first Sunday of Advent, you will receive a folder from our renewal team that high-lights the importance of God’s Word in your life. I hope you will be here to commit yourself to take that first step toward spiritual renewal.
For some of you, God has sometimes opened a door you didn’t know was there. That sequence of events, that opportunity, came at a special time that you just knew was God’s intervention. That’s Betty’s story regarding her surgery.
Or maybe God sent an angel, a messenger, a person who met a need or provided you with encouragement. God does intervene, maybe not always in ways we think he should, but God is present and you can depend on him. That is anchor number two.
Third Anchor
But Paul’s speech about courage wasn’t the end of the matter. It’s not clear how long the storm went on, but on the fourteenth night they were drifting out in the open sea with no way to guide the ship. The sailors could tell they were nearing land and some of them tried to escape from the ship, but once again Paul had some words of advice and courage: “Stay in the ship or you cannot be saved.”
Over these two weeks of stress and fear and battling with the elements, passengers, prisoners, and sailors had not eaten. Number one, the boat was so unsteady it may not have been possible. Number two, they were so worried, they couldn’t eat. Once again, God gives Paul the words to say. And here comes the third anchor. “Take some food, for it will help you survive.” You need physical strength to get through a crisis.
You know what often happens when you get worried and stressed and anxious. You get off schedule. You don’t eat right. And the food you eat is often the wrong kind to nourish your body. When you face the storms of life, good care of your body requires not only that you eat, but that you eat nourishing food.
V. 36 says that Paul took bread, “and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat.” Then we read that all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. And they had enough energy to throw the wheat into the sea to lighten the load.
Do these words about giving thanks and breaking bread remind you of someone else? These words sound very much like the words Jesus used when he fed the 5,000 (Luke 9:16), when he ate with the disciples at the last supper (22:19), and when he ate with them again after the resurrection (Luke 22:19). The act of blessing this bread and breaking this bread, and eating this bread reminds us of Christ’s broken body when he gave his life so that we might live eternally. What an experience it must have been for these 276 people gathered on this drifting ship.
Unfortunately, there are many people whose Christian commitment and witness is weak and lethargic today because they do not partake of the spiritual food at the table of communion. God desires robust and healthy Christians who recognize that their strength comes from obedience to Jesus’ command to eat and drink, remembering the price he paid. Food from the table of communion will help you survive. That is anchor number three.
In the end, the ship does break apart, but everyone is safe when they land on an island, and through this experience, as we read in Acts 28, not only are they saved, but people on the island are healed through these unexpected circumstances. And Paul arrives in Rome and is able to minister to many people there. And through Paul, through the storm, even through our brokenness, God accomplishes his purposes. And so can He do through you if you submit yourself to him.
At 11:30 Friday night we were awakened to the persistent ringing of the doorbell. It was Bill. He said he had not made it to the mission by their deadline and did not have a place to stay. He wondered if we could give him money to stay in a motel. We told him no, but we’d call the mission to let them know he was coming. He said it won’t do any good and he left. We called. They said they don’t have anyone registered by that name.
It serves as another reminder to pray for those shipwrecked souls navigating the streets of our city.
